Fountain Tarot Deck
In different religions and cultures, God is represented in completely different ways. Someone believes in a gray-haired old man sitting in heaven. Others worship mother nature. However, in all denominations, a certain source of everything is mentioned. This is space, essence, combination of forms and matter in one. Such unity is shown in the Fountain Tarot. The deck offers a fresh look at the predictive technique, try to realize yourself as something more. After all, the person himself is only a part of the whole. The future of the whole world depends on his free will. Personality is just a drop. But the ocean is made up of many drops.
History of creation of the Fountain Tarot Deck
Jonathan Saiz is the author of the Fountain Tarot. The deck was first published in the US in 2014. The main idea in creating the cards was the idea of the original energy that gives and takes life. This is a kind of Absolute, God, the highest law. Everything subsequently comes out of this Fountain – people, animals, elements. Moreover, the image of a person is taken as a basis here. It can be assumed that this very Absolute is both outside and inside the individual. Everything is permeated with the primordial energy of chaos, a bizarre pattern that develops in order. The author paid special attention to the theme of geometry. Smooth lines, the golden ratio, the beauty of forms – this is what the Fountain Tarot is. In part, the deck resembles Crowley, but here, again, all the energies come from the personality itself.
The deck comes with a complete book of 112 pages. In it, Jason Gruhl described how to work with Arcana. He gave all the meanings in the upright and reversed positions. The author of the book paid special attention to numerology, symbolism and geometry of images. The case was designed by Andi Todaro. She tried to convey the airiness and sublimity of the Fountain Tarot deck. Holography decorates the gray tones, sets the mood for the cards. Often, the Arcana in new editions has a silver cut. The standard size is 7 by 12 cm.
Key features of the Fountain Tarot
The Fountain Tarot combines the approach of the mystic Aleister Crowley with the familiar system of Arthur Waite. The deck is a kind of synthesis, the golden mean of the two schools. At the same time, the author left the tradition of 78 classical images. Now he has added another Arcana. The last card is called the Fountain and has no number. Instead of a number, an infinity symbol is inserted next to the name. You can consider this card as unshakable chaos, the true source of everything. It stands as if at a distance from the Jester and the World. The first and last cards show the hero’s path from the Fool to the Enlightened One. But the Fountain has no path. This is both a road and a walking one. This is an “open door” card to a better future, a huge supply of energy, the image of God.
The rest of the Major Arcana in the Fountain Tarot shows the usual plots. However, even at the first glance at the major group, one gets the feeling that all this is nothing more than a projection of the hero, a kind of dream breaking through the depths of the unconscious. So, the Fool shows a boy jumping from a cliff. The motion vector is directed upwards, which symbolizes flight. A triangle appears under the character’s feet – like a bridge connecting blue stone blocks. A pale spot of the sun is visible above the hero’s head. This is a new beginning, and the path appears under the feet of the boy. In general, the card refers to the ideas of Waite, differing only in visualization.
The Minor Arcana of the Fountain Tarot deck are also ephemeral and ghostly. At the same time, Jonathan Saiz managed to fit the characters into a certain context. For example, male silhouettes are visible on the Five of Wands. Each of them holds a staff in their hands. The picture folds into a zigzag or arrowhead. The background is a red-orange sky. The card shows the competition and the spirit of the struggle. But now rivals can live in one person. This is a confrontation of both real people and subpersonalities. On the Three of Cups, the lines are smoother. The author showed three hands holding a glass. It seems as if people are dancing or pouring liquid from one vessel to another. The card is very dynamic, just like Arthur Waite’s. There is grace, flexibility and aesthetics here.
The suits of the Fountain Tarot deck are standard: Wands, Cups, Coins and Swords. For each group, the author used a specific color scheme to emphasize the main meaning. For example, Coins are characterized by a bright, juicy green color. It represents constant growth, financial stability, the taste of life. If the card has heavy energy, then in addition to green, gray-black tones also appear on it. This can be seen on the Five of Coins. But on the Eight of the same suit, the background is a gradient from black to marsh. This is a reference to the difficulties on the way to wealth or mastery. On the Swords, the questioner also sees gray-black shades. Moreover, the court group, on the contrary, is made in white. There is even a rainbow here. The heroes from this group have already learned to control their thoughts, so they are able to keep a balance.
Style and symbolism of the deck
The Fountain Tarot is made in the technique of oil painting. At the same time, the author used muted complex shades. The airiness of the images is achieved thanks to abstraction and authentic colors of the background and the action itself. Each card has a white border, again giving a sense of control. Even the most painful images of the deck can be dissected and sent to the treasury of experience. So, on the Three of Swords, a glass heart with needles stuck into it is shown. Behind, the dark sea rages, and the sky has taken on a gray tint. However, the glass or ice from which the heart is made reflects colors like a soap bubble. It seems as if it will soon break, but then again emerge from the depths of the sea safe and sound.
In the Fountain Tarot deck, the author used light as a kind of beacon indicating the nuances of the image. So, on the Ten of Coins, you can see the radiance over the mountain of pentacles. On the Eight of Swords, on the contrary, a black haze appears above the heroine’s head. Almost all cards have characters. And they are made in the style of hyperrealism. The Fountain Tarot deck shows people of various types and ages. All this allows us to draw parallels with reality. Much attention is paid to postures, attitudes, facial expressions. These moments give hidden meanings, help to find the grain of truth. In the group of Minor Arcana, the names are indicated at the bottom, and in the senior ones – at the top. This solution allows you not to get confused in veiled images. The back of the cards is decorated with an abstraction resembling the refraction of light through the glass of a kaleidoscope.
Interpretation of the Fountain Tarot cards
The interpretation of the Fountain Tarot does not require many years of experience with cards. In the accompanying book, Jason Gruhl discussed in detail all the images, the symbolism of the cards, and also gave advice on practice. As an example, he gave several simple spreads that allow you to understand the language of the deck. The author of the book also offers a daily practice for the fortuneteller – pulling out cards for deep questions. This approach allows not only to get to know the Fountain Tarot more closely, to understand the energy of the deck, but also to see yourself in a different light. The Arcana can really lift the veil of secrecy over issues related to the personality of the querent. However, reading the book is not necessary. You can use the intuitive reading method.
To better understand the Fountain Tarot, you should pay attention to the colors of the deck. So, red will denote the energy of life, the struggle. White symbolizes calmness, balance, internal and external balance. The use of contrasting shades on one image will indicate conflict or harshness. This approach is clearly seen on the Chariot. Here, even the horses themselves look in different directions. The High Priestess wears one piece of cloth white, the other black. Thus, the author of the deck points to the connection of opposites, the comprehension of the secrets of life. But the use of shades similar in warmth, on the contrary, speaks of a calm, balanced energy. This is what happens on the Arcana of the Sun, where the boy frolics on a bright green lawn flooded with golden rays.
What questions is the deck suitable for?
The spreads on the Fountain Tarot are more suitable for researching a personality than the events surrounding it. The cards offer to dive inside, to realize yourself as the creator of your own reality. After all, a person perceives every situation through the prism of feelings and previously laid down beliefs. The Fountain Tarot deck gives a certain key to understanding. A little inner work can take an individual to a completely different level of living. That is why a certain skill is needed to ask the right questions. At the forefront should be the person himself and his capabilities. Somewhere he is able to turn the situation around, otherwise he will have to adapt, accept the circumstances as a kind of lesson for the future.
That is, the Fountain Tarot deck answers questions related to other people. It can give a prediction regarding the outcome of the situation. The Arcana x-rays are passed through personal life, career, human health. But the deck puts special emphasis on personality. At the same time, it perfectly shows inner experiences, thoughts, and the vector of movement. It is necessary to perceive the work with the Tarot as an attempt at introspection. The Arcana will easily reveal old forgotten psychotraumas, but at the same time they will show the way to healing. You can’t call a deck light or dark. Rather, it is neutral. Each will see only his own reflection in sublime images.
Who are the Fountain Tarot cards for?
Fortune-telling on the Fountain Tarot will appeal to people immersed in psychology. Moreover, you can be at the level of an amateur, but at the same time understand what the deck wants to say. The Major Arcana are archetypes through which a person manifests himself. The deck allows you to strengthen the necessary character traits and reduce the manifestation of unwanted ones. Do not ignore the visualization itself. It will appeal to all fans of abstract art, and in particular the work of Jonathan Saiz. The author masterfully combined geometry, elements and a hyper-realistic image of a person. All this can be considered a reference to the works of Da Vinci with his golden ratio. Moreover, the fortuneteller himself acts here as a Vitruvian man.
Still, oddly enough, but the Fountain Tarot is suitable for complete beginners in the world of predictions. The accompanying book gives a lot of information regarding the "base". Jason Gruhl talks about the path of the hero, about the meanings of the court Arcana, about numerology in the context of the Tarot. The major group is divided into three levels – physical, spiritual and ethereal. All this theory allows you to work with the deck in the context of magic. On the cards, you can look at various types of influences, evaluate the energy state of the chakras. The Arcana seems to lead by the hand into an ephemeral world built thanks to human thought. This approach therefore allows you to be confident in yourself and your own practice.