Barbie Tarot: Minor Arcana Post 8

These are the last of the Barbie Tarot cards. A couple of people asked me about my Star Trek Tarot deck, which is constructed not from photos but from drawings by my husband on a deck of blank cards; the icon for this entry is The Chariot. *g* If you are on my friends list, you can see the cards here -- the entries are locked because I really don't want the artwork stolen. If you are not on my friends list, you can see a few of the cards here. 

A few people also asked for Tarot links that I have posted in the comments to these entries, but I will reiterate them here, because I love sharing Tarot stuff and I've found that even most people who say that they're not into Tarot change their minds after visiting Aeclectic and realizing just how many interest-themed decks there are, from theme decks like those based on Greek myth or Arthurian legend to decks incorporating the work of artists such as Klimt or Da Vinci to really delightful fun decks like The Housewives Tarot and The Halloween Tarot. I have never read the cards for divination; I read them for the archetypes, because they help break blocks both psychological and writing-specific, because meditating with them relaxes me; I know that there are people who have had mystical and precognitive experiences using Tarot cards but for me the spiritual connection is on a simpler level. 

I used the Waite deck as a basis for my decks not only because Pamela Coleman Smith's drawings are so familiar to so many readers, but also because the deck she and Waite constructed is the basis for many, many other popular decks with illustrated Minor Arcana cards. (People who are involved with contemporary Kabbalah may tell you that Waite's deck violates certain Kabbalistic principles but this has never concerned me.) Waite's The Pictorial Key to the Tarot is online, as is P.D. Ouspensky's somewhat more obscure but equally important to occultists The Symbolism of the Tarot, both at sacred-texts.com. Tarot Journey has a page for each card in the Tarot showing images from several different decks and a bunch of interpretations, including Waite's and Ouspensky's. Robert M. Place, whose web site is The Alchemical Egg, has a book, The Tarot: History, Symbolism, and Divination, that I like a lot, and I have also found Rachel Pollack's Seventy-Eight Degrees of Wisdom interesting. But really, I think Robin Wood has it right when it comes to reading the cards as opposed to studying them -- I tend to read more from the gut than from any particular interpretive system. 

All images of Barbie dolls, the background imagery from the boxes and the names Barbie, Ken, Teresa, Stacie, Christy, etc. are copyright and trademark Mattel Inc. All Rider-Waite card images are copyright US Games Systems Inc. No infringement is intended and no profits are being made; this is a labor of love. If you want to save or print these for your own personal use, wonderful, but please don't repost them or hotlink directly to the images. 

Princess of Purses      Pinstripe Power from the Barbie Millicent Roberts Collection The princess must work hard to reap her rewards, so Barbie is being practical as she heads to the workplace with her coffee and oversized bag. (Rider-Waite)  

Prince of Purses      1 Modern Circle Ken The prince in this suit can be unwavering to the point of stubbornness, insisting on self-reliance, yet he is also trustworthy and hard-working. Ken may be wearing a leather jacket but you can be certain he's more concerned with the work to be done in that portfolio of his. (Rider-Waite) 

Queen of Purses      Lilly Pulitzer Barbie and Stacie from the Designer Series Intelligence, creativity, resourcefulness and nurturing are the strongest aspects of this Queen, here played by a Barbie who has dressed her little sister in matching clothes as they stand in front of their house. Think Barbie will be persuaded to take Stacie out with her? Maybe if Stacie puts on her shoes. (Rider-Waite)  

King of Purses      James Bond 007 Set It's James Bond, the man with the best gadgets in the world and always a beautiful woman on his arm! Think he has government secrets or a bomb in that case? Barbie may need her gun in a thigh holster but Bond doesn't even bother to show his piece. The card represents a reliable and enterprising person, someone who can be counted on to pull people out of scrapes. (Rider-Waite) All the cards in the Barbie Tarot are in this gallery.