You might not think that a bunch of dead people would have much to say. However, a good graveyard can reveal a lot about the society that built it, from its history and its architecture to its superstitions. I have been to the original blockbuster cemetery, Pere Lachaise in Paris, Prague’s Jewish cemeteries and the oldest Christian cemetery in Penang. Here at home I regularly visit small, beautifully serene, historic cemeteries in the Central Goldfields, Victoria, Australia. There are so many narratives to be found in these often abandoned places.
Recently I set out on my first Mystery Tarot Tour. Friends love it when I suggest that we go on one of Akari’s (my Mazda 3) mystery tours. Sometimes I take writers, seeking inspiration, to historic cemeteries. All those headstones have a story to tell.
I am not sure where the idea came from but a week or so back I decided to revisit some of my favourite cemeteries to read some tarot cards with the long dead. (I confess that visiting cemeteries, armed with Tarot decks, is a bit different even by my standards.) I set out with my two companion animals, a picnic basket and a tarot deck.
At the Sandon Cemetery I stopped at an unmarked grave to ask about what kind of life the occupant had experienced. Not surprisingly, given the harshness of life on the early goldfields, the nine of rods spoke of a life filled with a lot of hard work.
Further on, at the Majorca cemetery, when I asked the Martell’s to share some wisdom out came the Fool from Monicka Clio Sakki’s Art Tarot Deck. I confess I was quite taken aback – stopped in my tracks long enough to take another photo that I could use as an avatar as I establish myself as a Tarot Midwife.
Perhaps I am on a Fool’s journey or maybe I am on to something quite profound. Time will tell!
The Deck I Used:
The Tarot Midwife 