H. R. Giger - H. R. GIGER TAROT

H.R. GIGER TAROT

H.R. Giger’s “Baphomet” The Spell IV, 1977, Work No. 331, 2.40m × 4.20m

Laid out in the style of a triptych, the work has three panels that represent the various spheres of creation. To the right of Baphomet (and to the left of the viewer) is “Paradise.” Its luminous spheres are embodied by the bright, upright pentagram. To his left is “Hell,” symbolized by the dark inverse pentagram. Baphomet himself, in the center, represents the human plane of existence, the “reality” in which polarities intersect, engage in conflict, or counterbalance each other. This concept is depicted by the two interwoven pentagrams, which express the connection between the microcosm and the macrocosm. The symbolic and allegorical references of the portrayed figures refer to the realm of death and rebirth.

The 22 illustrations opposite the card motifs (pen and ink and airbrush) were originally prepared by H.R. Giger as a cycle of illustrations to the mystical phantasmagoria in the original edition (‘Oracle of the Underworld’).

EVERGREEN is an imprint of TASCHEN GmbH

© 2000 TASCHEN GmbH

Hohenzollernring 53, D–50672 Köln

© 2000 Akron & H.R. Giger

All rights reserved

The original edition was published with the title of Baphomet in 1992 by Urania AG, Neuhausen/Switzerland.

Publisher: Akron/H.R. Giger

Overall layout: Akron

Cover design: H.R. Giger

Translated by Yvonne Chapman, Phil Goddard, David Hefford, Monique Simmer and Simon Wiles and edited by Christine M. Grimm in association with First Edition Translations Ltd, Cambridge, UK

ISBN 978-3-9053-7289-2

Château St. Germain

CH-1663 Gruyères

Tel:++41(0)26 921 22 00

Fax:++41(0)26 921 22 11

http://www.hrgiger.com

Cover

Title AKRON H.R. GIGER TAROT

List of Paintings List of Paintings The 22 illustrations opposite the card motifs (pen and ink and airbrush) were originally prepared by H.R. Giger as a cycle of illustrations to the mystical phantasmagoria in the original edition (‘Oracle of the Underworld’).

Copyright EVERGREEN is an imprint of TASCHEN GmbH © 2000 TASCHEN GmbH Hohenzollernring 53, D–50672 Köln © 2000 Akron & H.R. Giger All rights reserved The original edition was published with the title of Baphomet in 1992 by Urania AG, Neuhausen/Switzerland. Publisher: Akron/H.R. Giger Overall layout: Akron Cover design: H.R. Giger Translated by Yvonne Chapman, Phil Goddard, David Hefford, Monique Simmer and Simon Wiles and edited by Christine M. Grimm in association with First Edition Translations Ltd, Cambridge, UK ISBN 978-3-9053-7289-2 Château St. Germain CH-1663 Gruyères Tel:++41(0)26 921 22 00 Fax:++41(0)26 921 22 11 http://www.hrgiger.com

Warning Warning This is not a tarot book in the usual sense. It has not been written for people who seek the truth without questioning themselves or who hide behind the mask of the “positive.” Nor is it for those who are addicted to the quest for enlightenment, believing that they have long overcome the darkness within themselves and only looking for (and finding!) it in others. As the ultimate “shadow tarot,” the cards and book provide a panoramic view of the psychological and mental underworld. They reveal that true darkness lies in repressing the shadow – by “striving for the light.” The search for enlightenment is actually like an addiction: The drug that enslaves us is the shadow itself! So this book is intended for people who first want to discover why they should seek the truth before they try to find this truth.

Preface

Introduction

The Spread Systems

IBaphomet

IIThe Green Angel

IIIThe Mirror of the Soul

IVThe Big Bang

VMephisto’s Hammer

VIThe Norns’ Wheel

VIIThe Five-Ray Spread (The Path of Decision)

VIIIThe Nine-Ray Spread (The Relationship Game)

IXThe Ten-Ray Spread (The Celtic Cross)

The Tarot Meditation

The 22 Major Arcana

0The Fool

IThe Magician

IIThe High Priestess

IIIThe Empress

IVThe Emperor

VThe Hierophant

VIThe Lovers

VIIThe Chariot

VIIIStrength

IXThe Hermit

XThe Wheel of Fortune

XIJustice

XIIThe Hanged Woman

XIIIDeath

XIVAlchemy

XVThe Devil

XVIThe Tower

XVIIThe Star

XVIIIThe Moon

XIXThe Sun

XXJudgement

XXIThe Universe

About the Authors

Endnotes

This is not a tarot book in the usual sense. It has not been written for people who seek the truth without questioning themselves or who hide behind the mask of the “positive.” Nor is it for those who are addicted to the quest for enlightenment, believing that they have long overcome the darkness within themselves and only looking for (and finding!) it in others. As the ultimate “shadow tarot,” the cards and book provide a panoramic view of the psychological and mental underworld. They reveal that true darkness lies in repressing the shadow – by “striving for the light.” The search for enlightenment is actually like an addiction: The drug that enslaves us is the shadow itself! So this book is intended for people who first want to discover why they should seek the truth before they try to find this truth.

After completion of The Crowley Tarot (© 1995 by U. S. Games Systems, Inc., Stamford), I felt both relieved and frustrated. I was relieved at having finished such a voluminous and well-researched book. Yet, I was dissatisfied because the book could not delve deeply enough into the mechanisms of the emotional depths if it was to remain salable. It suddenly occurred to me that, instead of helping people understand themselves, the marketing of esoteric texts as guides to self-realization serves to create varying degrees of identification with commercial models of self-realization. The pattern is always the same: People are encouraged to suppress their own evil and project it on to others, to hide the shadow in themselves either by denying it completely or at least giving it another name. I thought it was strange that today’s seekers of the truth go to self-realization workshops where they are given crash courses in the same divine plan that they found completely ridiculous when these were taught to them in religion classes. On the other hand, it could hardly be in humanity’s collective interest for people to find answers to life’s ultimate questions and redeem their souls. Once they are redeemed, they would stop spending their money on “models of self-realization.” At the very least, this would jeopardize the entire financial basis of human development.