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John D. Williams is convinced his Kingdom Highway
Tarot has something
for everyone. "It's colorful. It's fun. It's entertaining. If people see it as a set of pretty pictures, these cards are very pretty pictures." But it's more than that. The Kingdom Highway Tarot was conceived as a book rather than a bundled collection of picturesque meanings. "That's really how the classic decks were designed. Of course, each card has its own distinctions, based on the inner workings of the deck. In the Rider-Waite-Smith deck, for instance, the freezing woman in the Five of Pentacles is the same as the rich lady in the Nine of Pentacles. Not a coincidence, obviously. The 19th century writer, Papus, saw the whole deck as a metaphor for the universe told on multiple levels." While the Kingdom Highway references these enduring traditions, it also reveres the whole history of the tarot. Or should it be said, the histories of tarot? "Origin tales and the use of tarot cards over the centuries have produced, in my mind anyway, a rich patina to the cards and they wouldn't be the same without them. Modern scholarship sets their origin around 1450 but tarot wouldn't be tarot without acknowledging the long held belief they came from ancient Egypt. Think of all those Egyptian decks - have they been rendered obsolete?" With each suit referencing an important epoch in the history of tarot and the Major Arcana a clever combination of Renaissance dry-point and American Gothic, the cards weave a complex, often witty, tapestry of history and meaning. Asked if it is an art deck, Williams replies, "It's got art in it. I'm hoping the art will advance meaning, not close it off. They're not decorations." The cards contain a number of traditional symbolic devices, layered in the fresh images, inspired by the Marseilles decks, the RWS and other classic tarots. Each suit has a traditional color, element, and season. The Hebrew alphabet is used in the Majors with visual references to the letter's meaning. "That is, what the first authors thought was the meaning!" says Williams with a laugh. "Don't let the facts get in the way of the truth. I mean that. The modern tarot is a reaction against the specification of the scientific world view. That's hard for some people to get around. But if you think about it, what books stand up to the test of time? Fiction or nonfiction? In the long view of history, the two are mixed together. Facts change. The imagination of the individual, if there's truth in it, is what stays eternal. To be honest, I built this deck to last." ~~~
"After all that is said, what's
great is these cards will
beguile you and give you insight. See for yourself. You will love them." ~~~ |