Fortuitously pulled from the deck, individual cards can be arranged in different spreads to emulate those synchronistic patterns that allow a reader to glimpse at portents to come. The arcana and illustrations speak alongside the topics in the spread to describe one’s full fortune. Whether professional psychic or ordinary person, all of the archetypes, pictures, and spreads of Tarot simply better prepare you to look at the cards and hear for yourself the omens whispered by the spirits of the arcana. Read the cards, contemplate their messages, and let the arcana guide you into the future of contemporary jewellery.
The Six of Pentacles is full of a giving spirit. While this card deals with generosity and prosperity, that can come in more forms than simply financial. Generosity of emotion, time, and information all fall within the purview of this minor arcana. It is befitting for Lorette Cole Duprat’s jewellery to represent the Six of Pentacles with its acrylic forms that behave like a magnifying glass. Through giving, one can help one understand their own or other people’s needs, as if looking through a magnifying glass comprised of compassion. Duprat’s pieces soft curves appear as if gliding through the windowpane of the Six of Pentacles. Meandering around the card’s composition they indicate multiple acts of generosity that when wrapped around the spirits of its participants create a flow of prosperity. If unable to understand a nagging lack, try and give something valuable away. The act of giving will be returned in unexpected ways.
Coursing with the energy of life, creativity, and action, the eggshell and silicone jewellery from Joohee Han levitates in The Magician’s card. This arcana embodies the grounding force of willpower to make something real out of life’s possibilities. Optimistic by implication, an egg can hatch into anything but still needs sustenance to grow. The Magician is the conduit that channels emotional and creative power into freshly hatched goals – but this power is not gentle or benign. That is why the eggshells in Joohee Han’s pieces have broken and reformed into many geometric shapes. Changed by the power of The Magician, these eggs have hatched and became something even more esteemed. The Magician indicates that we live our lives most fully when acting and creating. Some people may be tempted to linger in this energized state, but this will cause stagnation as it is not The Magician’s nature as a conduit of willpower. Vitality is present and able to make new things possible. Take the first steps of a towards an idea and then pass the energy of inspiration on to your peers.
The Three of Wands is a card that is at peace with the past and full of energy towards exploring the future. The number three indicates combinations such as those within Margherita Chinchio’s jewellery – pieces born from a hybrid of other designs found on social media. Chinchio’s questions of authorship and mimicry are within the realm of the wands who deal with inspiration. When present in an act of divination, the digitally inspired jewellery conjures new ways to transport information in an age of constant observation and feedback. This minor arcana also contains swirls of achievement. Success in an era of digital hybrids means unlocking fresh metrics for accomplishment. Many colors vibrate behind Chinchio’s jewellery but have not materialized into final forms. The Three of Wands suggests an openness to these new models and their unknown destinations. Embrace the potential in new sources of information and accomplishment. Consider the way these metrics can combine with current standards of success for a future-facing hybrid.
When Fortuna spins her shining wheel the symbols blur like a bird’s wings in flight. Designed to enable curiosity, the inlayed bird feathers in Jing Jiang’s wheel shaped earrings don’t spin but they do hypnotize with hints of deeper meaning. The spiritually curious will discern that there is more waiting to be seen within the Wheel of Fortune’s illusions of luck and fate. Concealed behind fluttering bird’s feathers is the hidden connections between all events. Halfway through the Tarot deck, The Wheel of Fortune does not answer why and how change enters into one’s life but rather continues unceasingly turning both up and down. Jiang gives the feathers new life in the soft delicacy of fine craft just as The Wheel of Fortune turns the life cycle of death and rebirth. An indication of change, the card is a reminder of the importance of adapting to chaos. Consider the way contemporary jewellery is adapting to change. See chaos as an opportunity for curiosity, and ultimately self-knowledge.
Unlike the ticking face of a typical watch, Jing Chang’s watch face is still as a reflecting pool. Both the Four of Swords and Chang’s jewellery reside in that stillness to meditate on reflection. Checking the time is the reason a person looks at their watch, but the reasons a person would question who they are can be more complex. The impetus for looking inward is part of the Four of Swords along with the stabilization that comes with rest and retreat. Jing Chang’s jewellery considers that impetus and the labor that comes with focusing the mind. The work of polishing jewellery affects the image that reflects back at on its wearer. More time spent reflecting, or buffing, yields a clearer picture of oneself. Withdrawal also can mean healing and the chance to replenish mental power. A watch face becomes a portal to a place where one can respond to difficulties in their own time with room for a cautious return. Sometimes it is good to be separated, and use that isolation to grow, but don’t lose the connections to the outside world for when it is time to come back.
Inside of the ouroboros within Justice is Tiphaine Le Monnier’s balanced neck cuff. The stationary point around which opposites revolve, Justice shows Monnier’s jewellery with one half circle embodying the past and the other future – understanding of the former leads to just actions in the latter. The snake eating his tale whilst spinning in the divine equilibrium of complementary colors conjures the wholeness and psychic freedom of truth. Honesty not just in one’s dealing with others, but in the way one considers their own actions and limits. Monnier’s cuff floats around the truth-telling vocal cords to intercede and ornate the neck. A physical reminder of the necessity in taking responsibility for a current situation. People are formed by the actions of the past but the future self is formed by the decisions of the present. Justice’s psychic freedom comes from the clarity between these halves and spoken from within a balanced piece of jewellery. The present exists in only one form, but the future could be many things. It is time to make a choice what that future will be.
Potent and stern, The Emperor conjures the father in his archetypal role as protector. Olaf T. Hodne’s stone brooches offer a similar symbolism by referencing the silhouettes of shields – an item often decorated by a coat of arms pledging loyalty to a male ruler. The coat of arms on this shielding brooch is not a specific patriarch but the earth from which the stone is cut. As The Emperor speaks of the stability within a just society Hodne’s brooches invoke the stability of mountains who share the same stone faces. The father is grounded in the institutions of society without which a subject would not be able to pursue personal and spiritual growth. Framed by and composed of orderly geometry, Hodne’s brooch similarly safeguards its wearer from chaos. Conversely, The Emperor’s penchant for law and order can cause repression within an unbalanced system. Through the support of a stable environment creativity within contemporary jewellery can flourish. Beware of those with too much power or face stagnation.
A joyous and buoyant omen, the flutter of new love’s touch is present in the Ace of Cups. Barbora Jamrichova’s objects for the hand also inspire touch, but as a means of understanding their ambiguity. The fondness with which one reaches out to a sweetheart, an exciting new phase of life, or a pleasing and strange object is all the same. The novelty of an object, person, or idea with ambiguous function leaves us receptive to the emotions it conjures as we attempt to understand. Emotional energy flows around Jamrichova’s beckoning object in both warm and cool tones. The Ace of Cups indicates joy to those receptive to that current and chaos for those who try to brutishly seize it through prescription. Exciting newness emerges within contemporary jewellery. Reach out to hold it tenderly, without imposition, and understanding will bring bliss.
This editorial was commissioned by Current Obsession and a version of it was published in the Munich Jewellery Week Paper in March 2020
We thank Chloé Valorso and Lauren Eckert for their contributions!
