Hyperallergic’s Art Tarotscope for the Summer Solstice
Amid global turmoil and rising temperatures, I’ve seen creative friends hitting periods of stagnancy. What will help us return to a flow state?
Hyperallergic’s tarotscope series is a combination of tarot with astrology, a reading for the collective readership combined with cards for the major astrological signs, grouped by their elemental associations. These are developed by AX Mina, a Hyperallergic contributor and producer for Five and Nine, a podcast about magic, work, and economic justice. These tarotscopes have a special focus on the arts and creative practice, for each solstice and equinox, to mark the turning of the seasons.
I spent my Juneteenth and Summer Solstice weekend at the Mermaid Parade in Coney Island, watching thousands of people gather for the simple purpose of dressing up as mermaids, mermen, merpeople, and other aquatic creatures, both real and imagined. My favorite moment was watching the “Keith Herrings” saunter by, dressed up like fish in the style of the seminal street artist.
This season’s tarotscope is read using the Mixed Signals Tarot, designed by artist M Eilo, on the tarot platform Moonlight. The cards were drawn on the longest day of the year, the peak of the summer solstice in the Northern Hemisphere, in this sixth month of the Wheel of Fortune Year (in the tarot system) and the fifth of the Horse Year (in East and Southeast Asian lunar systems).
For this solstice, we read with the “Getting Unstuck” spread, one I chose from Moonlight’s selection because I’ve seen a number of creative friends hitting periods of stagnancy. The first card represents a Blocker that we, as a collective Hyperallergic readership, have been struggling with and that presents a communal challenge. As with any collective reading, this should be understood metaphorically. Take what works and leave the rest behind.
The second card is the Spark, something akin to the moment of joy when I saw the Keith Herrings and remembered all the many ways artists have held us through dark and challenging times, such as the AIDS crisis, which Haring himself so powerfully addressed.
And we start with an inquiry: What will help us return to a flow state as we enter a season of unseasonable heat and ongoing global turmoil?
