Part of the Tarot Garden by Niki de Saint Phalle, Tuscany, Italy
The Tarot Garden (Giardino Dei Tarocchi) is an exploration of the human condition whose medium is mosaic on a monumental scale. These almost impossibly brightly coloured combinations of buildings and sculpture reflect the metaphysical qualities represented by the 22 main tarot cards (the major arcana). They're not concerned with the fortune-telling uses of the cards, rather the elements of life's experience, personality and self-knowledge they refer to. Work on the garden began in 1979 and the main part of the work was carried out in the 1980s; it was officially opened to the public in May 1998. During construction Niki de Saint Phalle lived in the sphinx-like Empress, a mirror-glassed cavern with kitchen, bedroom and bathroom leading off.
There are 3 cards in this photo.
The High Priestess of intuitive feminine power (card no 3., on the left). This feminine intuition is one of the "keys" of wisdom. She represents the irrational unconscious with all its potential. Those who wish to explain events by reason or logic alone remain on the surface of things without the depth of instinctual vision and imagination.
The Magician (card no. 2., above the High Priestess), the great trickster, For me, the Magician is the card of God the creator of the universe. It is he that created the marvelous joke of our paradoxical world. It is the card of active intelligence. Pure light, pure energy, mischief and creation.
The Wheel of Fortune in the foreground, card no. 10.
Niki de Saint Phalle
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