Just found this video in which Bea Nettles explains how she came to create, between 1970 to 1975, the first photographic and photo-collaged Tarot deck. A friend knew Bea Nettles and told me about the deck, so I was able to get a copy when it originally came out. It’s great to finally see the creator of this landmark deck. Follow the link to buy the updated version of the Mountain Dream Tarot.
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Mary K. Greer has made tarot her life work. Check here for reports of goings-on in the world of tarot and cartomancy, articles on the history and practice of tarot, and materials on other cartomancy decks. Sorry, I no longer write reviews. Contact me HERE.
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Mary K. Greer has made tarot her life work. Check here for reports of goings-on in the world of tarot and cartomancy, articles on the history and practice of tarot, and materials on other cartomancy decks. Sorry, I no longer write reviews. Contact me HERE.
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October 17, 2008 at 7:54 pm
alex d
As a tarot aficionado and a photographer, I have been seriously considering creating a tarot deck myself… That video was interesting…
Thanks for that Mary.
October 19, 2008 at 7:22 am
Sally C.
Thanks for the video feed Mary. As always I enjoy and learn from your BLog. This video seemed especially wonderful as the pictures on the cards took me back to a place that many of us were in the 70’s the hair the fashions, How delightful. Now I must see the whole deck.
October 19, 2008 at 1:45 pm
fahrusha
Thank you so much for posting this video. I too loved the period photos. Was the deck ever published?
October 19, 2008 at 2:27 pm
mkg
Fahrusha – Thanks for asking. Yes, this deck was published in several editions, including a digitized remastered version in 2001. It’s available here –
http://www.beanettles.com/store/?page_id=348
I’ll add it to the post.
October 19, 2008 at 3:53 pm
TarotByArwen
So very very cool. Thank you for posting this! It looks like a fascinating slice of life to me.
October 20, 2008 at 9:27 am
Stefan (aka la-luna )
Lovely vid. mary thanks for posting, and when looking at youtube I also found another one by Bea nettles about the 2of swords (i saved both upon my computer and into my little tarot-database )
February 23, 2010 at 10:45 am
William Haigwood
Loved hearing her describe the work she did to create her cards and without Photoshop! I ordered a deck. The Prairie Book Art Center also refers to other photography she’s done that sounds intriguing. Thank you for this great link. I have an abiding interest in photographic Tarots–there aren’t many.
March 2, 2010 at 12:07 am
William Haigwood
The Mountain Dream Tarot arrived today. It is a marvel of inspiration–deeply personal and yet still fresh with the creative energy of its creator. Bea Nettles was a remarkable photographer. As the creator of a photographic deck myself, I find her personal relationship with the Tarot an affirmation of art and experience. I’ve found in creating mine that photography–used as interpretation and not merely as staging–whether drawn from intimate family experiences or a vast body of cultural photo history, has a powerful capacity to engage with the Tarot. Imagery, of course, is fundamental to the making of Tarot cards. But it must be imagery that brings language into play, that lets us talk and write in ways that connect our daily lives with perpetual and eternal archetypes. One new charm of the Tarot, especially since its post-war Renaissance, has been an explosion of artistic and interpretive decks on every theme imaginable. Still, all follow some essential, perhaps not fully penetrable order of experience that those of us who love and abide its symbolism seem to recognize instantly. Many truths remain to be told. And photography–as Bea Nettles demonstrates–is a rich storyteller.