The marvelous thing about New York City is that hidden gems await you if you know where to look . . .
One of my favorite under the radar spots in New York is The Pierpont Morgan Library, the home and private library of financier J.P. Morgan.
I adore tracing the footsteps of the robber barons of the 19th Century, imagining that I am one! You’ll find me strolling through Central Park pretending it my private family grounds. You may spot me looking approvingly at the celestial works above Grand Central Station, as if to tell the artists they’ve carried out my plans to perfection!
Delusions of grandeur yes – but that is why living in the city is so marvelous. I can venture into The Frick and pretend that the Rembrandt’s painting, teasing me with light and shadow, has been in my family for generations . . .
On Friday, December 12th, I arranged for a group of Tarot lovers to visit The Pierpont Morgan Library for a private viewing of the oldest Tarot deck in existence, The Visconti-Sforza Tarot. An intimate and extraordinary afternoon! The curator of Medieval and Renaissance Manuscripts, William Voelkle, guided us through the Hogwart like museum (see pic above) for a tour, showed us a secret passage, into a private room, wowed us with an Egyptian Book of the Dead and proceeded pull out seven cards from the deck including: The Magician, The Chariot, The Hermit, The Queen of Swords, and The Hanged Man!
I created the following Tarot spread in honor of our very special afternoon.
Try it at home and see if the ghosts of Tarot past might inform the ghosts of your very own future!
The Visconti Tarot Spread
December 12th, 2008
The Visconti deck is the oldest known Tarot deck on record. The surviving originals are spread between The Pierpont Morgan Library (35 cards), the Carrara Academy of Bergamo (26 cards) and Colleioni family of Bergamo (13 cards).
Among the originals, four cards remain missing . . .
The Devil
The Tower
3 of Swords
Knight of Pentacles
Today we peeked into Tarot’s past. Now is an opportunity to peek into your psyche.
Let the mysterious missing Visconti cards give us inspiration for this spread. We will take the issues suggested by the missing Visconti cards and let those issues create our questions.
Pull a random Tarot card to answer each question. Enjoy!
1. Devil issues – How you can invite more daring, delicious, devilish fun into your life?
2. Tower issues – What inside you can be released in order to reach your authentic, fabulous self?
3. Three of Swords issues – What you can cut out of your life in 2009 that no longer aids you?
4. Knight of Pentacles issues – A plan you should think about putting into action in 2009 . . .