The Anatomy of Life

  • Alison Dominguez

Designer Tarot Card Deck Human Biology is defined as ""the physiology, behaviour, and other qualities of a particular organism or class of organisms." "Tarot cards are one of many forms of divination. They are commonly used to measure potential outcomes and evaluate influences surrounding a person, an event, or both." I took aspects of human biology and combined and matched them with the concept of tarot cards, the science of life with the spirituality of life. I chose to replicate and recreate the Tarot deck Major Arcana which consists of 22 cards. I created a deck that consists of 23 cards (as humans have 23 pairs of chromosomes). Each card refers back to a historical tarot meaning from Major Arcana with a biological reference. For example, The Empress of the Major Arcana symbolises Mother Earth, fertility and maternal influence, she signifies the creation of life, which is why I decided to redesign the traditional card by adding a woman’s uterus connecting to the flow of the river. In literature water often symbolises rebirth and in biology we are all born from a woman’s reproductive organs. The combination of the tarot references with the biological ones showcases how systems overlap and connect.