Tarot, Art and Magic of Leonora Carrington.

Finally, a long-awaited package from Fulgur press arrived. After months of anticipation, I impatiently opened the box, and was pleased to see that the contents were more than I ever expected. "Le Jeu de Tarot of Leonora Carrington" is a pure delight, executed on thick board, brightly colored and squarish in format, embossed with gold and silver leaf, perfumed with "Huit Etoiles," a unique fragrance created by Aisha Shenu-Ansell.

According to the enclosed booklet, "The Major Arcana Leonora Carrington" were influenced by the two popular decks - the Tarot of Marseille and Wait-Smith. Even though they follow the traditional sequence, the images and colors deviate from the traditional, reflecting Carrington's personal journey from naïve and daring young "Fool" to the world-renowned artist.

I was first introduced to the works of Leonora Carrington eight years ago. LACMA (Los Angeles County Museum of Art) had a fantastic exhibition titled "in Wonderland" dedicated to the adventures of surrealist women in Mexico and the United States. It almost sounds like an oxymoron "women surrealist" since maestro Andre Brenton who coined the term surrealism, marginalized the role of women to be a muse to artists rather than artists themselves. Conceivably, I may be a bit too harsh on Brenton as he wanted to emphasize male surrealist fixation with the mysteries of the female psyche and the notion of woman to be seen mainly as an object of desire. Nevertheless, after attending this exhibit, I realized that women's approach to surrealism is much more gentle, sensual, and mystical, reminiscent of lucid dreams. After all, even in ancient times, women ruled over dream temples.

There were 48 women artists with more than 200 works presented at the exhibit; some are well known, iconic names like Frieda Kahlo, and some were less known, at least to me. Interestingly, many of these women were married to famous surrealist artists, which proved that women were both inspirations and creators of art. What set Carrington apart from other artists and attracted my attention was her layering the stories in a non-linear, recursive fashion, collapsing time and space. Many of her works were inspired by her life experiences which were at times turbulent, dramatic, even tragic. I saw her paintings as multilevel visualizations, simultaneously resembling both sacred scriptures and fairy tales. From this, I concluded that she had firsthand knowledge of the occult. Being fond of mystical art myself, I wanted to explore this connection much further. Naturally, as an astrologer, I needed to examine her birth chart. 

Leonora Carrington ( 6 April 1917-  25 May 2011) Natal Chart  Birthtime  -  Unknown

Leonora Carrington was born on April 6, 1917, in Chorley is a small town in Lancashire, England. Unfortunately, we do not have her birth time, and her nativity can be limited to a noon chart. From the first glance, it was evident that cardinal fire elements dominate Carrington's birth chart. A combination of Aries stellium (Mars, Venus, Sun, and Mercury) in opposition to Libra Moon indicates a courageous, feisty, and highly independent character. Her natal Sun makes an exact trine to Black Moon Lilith, emphasizing strong will, well-defined sense of self, peppered with radical tendencies such as liberty at all costs.

She had an unhappy childhood raised by nannies and nuns, sent out to live in boarding schools. Young Leonora had a hard time subordinating to schools' rules and was reprimanded for "anti-social tendencies" (Sun/Mercury square Saturn) and "supernatural" proclivities (Venus/Neptune trine). Eventually, her parents were asked to take her back home as deemed "mentally deficient." They were greatly disturbed by her conduct, but fortunately, in an attempt to "civilize" her, she was sent to Florence, Italy, to study at Mrs. Penrose's Academy of Art. The school itself had little to do with art, but her stay in Florence proved to be of great importance in her future career. Later she continued her studies in London and wanted to become a professional artist. Of course, her family opposed her career choice as well as her love relationships. At age 19, she traded the life of the debutant for the life of a bohemian by running away to Paris to live with her married lover more than twice her age, Max Ernst. There she was introduced to Brenton and accepted in surrealists' circles; however, she strongly objected to the status of the "muse."

 "I didn't have time to be anyone's muse... I was too busy rebelling against my family and learning to be an artist".

Leonora Carrington

 In 1938 she and Ernst escaped to southern France, where they made their home. To suit their creative needs, they restored several delipidated dwellings. They worked together and alone; both had interests in occult literature and mysticism. This year was the most idyllic period of their relationship. While they were living in "La vie en Rose," ignoring signs of impending war, a great tragedy was to bring them down to Earth. In 1939 after France declared war on Germany, Ernst, a German national, was arrested and sent to the concentration camp. A year later, after the German invasion of France, he was arrested again by Gestapo. Unable to cope with the situation, she had a nervous breakdown and spent time in a mental ward. Eventually, they both left Europe for the new world, but not together. She settled in Mexico and Ernst in the US. 

Moving to Mexico provided Carrington with another chance to transform her life. She embraced her new home with an open heart. With its dynamic cultural and religious hybrids, Mexico was ideal for her imaginative and mystical nature (natal Venus trines Neptune). She bonded with other European refugees, and together, they created "a magic circle" where they studied alchemy, the kabbalah, and the post-classic Mayan mystical writings.

We do not know precisely when and how she started her tarot work. Only two of the cards were dated, and she kept her work in secret for reasons unknown. They lay undiscovered in her archive until a 2018 retrospective in Mexico City and now gathered in a new book by Susan Aberth, The Tarot of Leonora Carrington (Fulgur Books).

So earlier this year, after reading an article in "Guardian" about Carrington's newly discovered tarot deck, I was eager to add this deck to my existing tarot collection. My tarot collection is maybe not that extensive, but every deck I have acquired or was gifted has a unique story. The mystery behind the creation of these cards is intriguing as is the artist herself. I personally find these images fascinating and compelling to continue the exploration of art and tarot magic as a path to self-realization. I hope you like them, too.