Deviant Moon Tarot Deck

Description

The Deviant Moon Tarot Deck by Patrick Valenza presents a unique alternative interpretation to traditional tarot. First, the images are inspired by childhood dreams. Second, stylized moon-faced characters were created by manipulating photographs of 18th century tombstones. Finally the images are set against evocative backgrounds. Incorporated into the artwork are surreal scenes of distant smoke stacks, insane asylums and abandoned buildings.

The Deviant Moon Tarot Deck booklet gives interesting card descriptions and interpretations, both upright and reversed. The symmetric card backs, showing different phases of the moon, allow for reversed readings. Also included in the booklet is a unique ten-card spread called the Lunatic Spread, which mimics the shape of the full moon, and derives energy from its circular pattern.

Include other moon related items when you work with this deck.

This deck has drawn a cult following and was voted as the Top Tarot Deck of All Time by Aeclectic Tarot readers.

Deviant Moon deck © U.S. Games Systems, Inc.

From the U.S. Games Deviant Moon booklet:

The Deviant Moon Tarot deck was created using various forms of photographic manipulation. Each card began with a complete drawing, which was then scanned into the computer where I applied various photographic textures. Nineteenth-century tombstones provide most of the clothing worn by the citizens of the Deviant Moon. I bent, twisted, and reformed my photos to become capes, boots, hats and trim. One of the best aspects of creating the deck was “hunting” for specific textures as I respectfully tiptoed around the graveyards of eastern Long Island, New York. Background buildings were created with photographs I took of a local abandoned insane asylum. Rotted doors, windows and walls became castles, factories and cities.

My character stylization was influenced by ancient Greek art, yet I added a slightly abstracted twist. I chose to draw the figures in a flat, playing card style, rendering them with heavy light and shadows, then placing them in a shallow background.

As I worked, different styles emerged, and before long the characters evolved into the moon-faced beings seen in the cards. Symbolism for the deck comes from childhood dreams and imagination that carried itself into my adult world. I have always been intrigued with the melancholy side of life and have sought to express my visions through the characters I create. The moon has always been a psychic friend to me. As the sentinel of the night, it feeds my dreams and casts a strange glow on the way I see the colors of reality.

While this physical deck has taken over three years to complete, from an inspirational standpoint, Deviant Moon Tarot has been at least thirty years in the making. It is not only a testament to my art, but a record of my life.

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