Tarot cards are experiencing a remarkable resurgence, driven by political turmoil and high-fashion endorsements. Karen Vogel, co-creator of the Motherpeace Tarot deck, reports a 268% sales increase in the past six months, largely credited to Christian Dior's 2016 collection inspired by her cards. The Paris fashion house's use of tarot imagery on haute couture catwalks has brought the centuries-old practice into the mainstream.
Industry-wide, US Games Systems notes a 30% sales rise in 2017. Vogel attributes this to Dior's influence but also points to societal factors: 'Our societies are going through an extreme sense of alienation,' she says, citing Donald Trump's election, far-right groups, and misogyny. 'People are lonely and angry. Tarot helps them cope with insecurity.'
Sociologist Mike Sosteric of the University of Athabasca agrees, noting that rapid global change drives people to seek answers. 'Through tarot, people can mimic a sense of control,' he explains. Many find traditional religions patriarchal and turn to alternative systems, such as the #MagicResistance movement, where witches cast 'mass spells' on Trump using tarot cards like The Tower.
New York designer and witch Tina Gong combines witchcraft with coding to create tarot apps and an online school. She sees tarot as a tool for political resistance, especially for young women and marginalized groups. 'The witch symbolizes everyone that has been an 'other',' she says. 'Reading tarot is to take this otherness and celebrate it.'
Tarot's political role is not new. Sosteric explains that the 78-card deck emerged in 15th-century Italy to 'gamify' the shift from feudalism to capitalism, guiding people on new societal roles. Today, it serves as a tonic for insecurity, even among celebrities: Jayne Wallace of Psychic Sisters read cards for Kim Kardashian West on her TV show.
