TAROT CARDS

Jenifer Kalamian

Philosophy

“In 1996 I went to the Renaissance Faire and had my tarot read. The reader was dressed like an Egyptian goddess and everything she said was spot on.” So began Jenifer Kalamian’s journey into the history and meaning of tarot cards. 

The Enchanted Tarot, her first deck, was designed by artist Amy Zerner and her husband Monte Farber using layered scraps of fabric, lace, and printed ephemera. Kalamian “loved the…design and the positivity” but found the intricate cards difficult to read. “They just didn't ‘speak’ to me,” she explained. “Later, a friend did a reading for me on her Daughters of the Moon tarot deck…I was able to pick up messages right away from her cards. I went out that day and bought my own Daughters of the Moon deck.” 

Designed by Ffiona Morgan in 1984, the circular cards and diverse female archetypes of the Daughters of the Moon envision “cycles of energies…unlike the dualities and oppositions of traditional tarot.” “Working with this deck,” wrote feminist scholar Merlin Stone, “…evolves our trust in our own intuitive judgement and the truth of it.” “I used that deck exclusively for about 10 years” said Kalamian.  

When her eldest son and his friends became curious about the cards, however, Jenifer bought a new deck: Healing with the Fairies. “The messages are very simple,” she explained; “the fairies appeal to the innocence of children, and while some parents might have issues with tarot readings in particular for kids, fairies don't seem to evoke the same fear.”

“Two years ago, I separated from my husband of 25-years. I found myself very introspective and with some time on my hands. I pulled out my old Enchanted Tarot and just set out to learn each card…After a few months I was able to pull out deeper messages...I still love the whimsical note of each card.” 

Last year, for her fiftieth birthday, Jenifer was gifted the Tattoo Tarot. “The Queen of Swords is my absolute favorite card of all my decks. She is looking directly at the reader, no shyness or shame. She speaks her mind and battles for the truth to be known.”

“Maybe as a philosophy professor I identify with this message more than anything else...plus in this version of the Queen of Swords, she just looks like a badass, and don't we all need a little badass to have our backs once in a while?”