There’s a card to symbolise nostalgia in the Tarot; the Six of Cups. In the Quantum Tarot, we portrayed this card through the concept of distant galaxies magnified through the gravitational lens of a large star cluster.

The gravitational fields of such clusters are so great that light from distant galaxies is bent and magnified as it passes through them. As a result, the galaxy appears larger and nearer through our telescopes than it actually is. Because light can only travel at a finite speed, the further out into the Universe you look, the further back in time you appear to be seeing into. The light reaching us from distant galaxies today started its journey millions of years ago after all so the further out we see, the younger the Universe appears to become.

On our card, we symbolise this by showing the face of a middle aged man staring back into his own childhood, represented by the ghostly image of a child’s face. The gravitational lens of a large star cluster allows us to study distant galaxies in a way that would be otherwise impossible and sometimes, little things in life can act as a gravitational lens onto our own past, just as I’ve discovered this week.

This may seem strange and rather silly, but my own gravitational lens came along in the unlikely form of a Sade CD. I was in my late teens when Sade Adu appeared on the music scene in the UK and hearing her dark velvet voice and her sultry, jazz inspired music again took me right back to those times with an immediacy that caught me off guard.

Nostalgia like this has a flavour all of its own to the point where it almost becomes a self contained sensory experience. Sade is the most beautiful and elegant of women and the sound of her voice immediately evoked visions of her performing live on television to an enraptured audience of teenagers like myself. How strange the memories that begin to flood back from the sound of a simple CD.

I can remember the saxophonist in her band who was so handsome and desirable to a seventeen year old gay teenager. Furthermore, I can remember staring into the TV screen and watching Sade and her band, bathed in the red studio lighting as they performed their debut single, the lady herself wearing a black suit of uncommon sophistication, despite the characteristic shoulder pads so typical of the era.

I remember our old television, with its mahogany finish cabinet and ultra sonic remote control, the height of innovation for the Eighties. Stranger still, if I look away from the television in my mind’s eye, I can see our old black and yellow carpet with the orange rug in the centre of the room. I can also see our white walls with the orange sunset seascape hanging above the gas fire.

Will the memories remain so vivid once the CD has ended? Who knows? Even if they don’t, I have only to switch the stereo system back on to gaze again into my own personal gravitational lens.

Chris.

Chris Butler.

Illustrator for the Quantum Tarot. Published by Kunati Books.

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Sad though some people may find this, I’ve found myself in literary heaven this week, having received a set of ten Agatha Christie paperbacks from my parents.

Good reading can have a deleterious effect on the work of a freelancer like myself. When I should be working, I find myself reading. I then spend the evening making up for my lamentable lack of effort during the day but I can testify to being enriched on a literary level if nothing else.

The great Queen of Crime may not be considered anywhere near the pinnacle of English literature by the academics but even they must admit the sales figures speak for themselves. Her books have sold over a billion copies in the English language and another billion copies in over a hundred different foreign languages. She’s the most widely published author of all time and she’s only outsold by Shakespeare and the Bible. The thought of the royalties cheques from this lot makes me go weak at the knees.

Love her or hate her, Agatha Christie is an ingrained part of our literary heritage. I’ve read many of her books and I never tire of her inventive genius, let alone her panache in creating the most tongue in cheek eccentrics in her main characters. Eighty Six books and short story collections, 19 plays (one of which is the longest running production in history), and a publishing career that lasted well over fifty years. How can you top that?

Some of my fondest memories come from school trips to see Christie plays at the theatre or watching the many film and television adaptations of her works. I wallowed in the BBC productions of the 1980’s where the late Joan Hickson gave definitive performances as Miss Marple*. In recent years, the same character has been resurrected in a new set of adaptations where Geraldine McEwan portrays the spinster detective with fruity eccentricity.

There’s something so very English about Jane Marple and her village friends, especially when you know full well within ten minutes of sitting down in front of the TV, one of Miss Marple’s genteel village ladies will dash in with ‘gung ho’ gusto and proclaim breathlessly,

“Oh Jane, I’ve just witnessed a murder!!”.

One of Britain’s better known actresses added a witty postscript in a recent production. Having delivered a similarly predictable line she put on a beaming smile and added ,

“It’s frightfully exciting isn’t it?”, in the purest Queen’s English of course.

To sum up, my reading lust means I’ll be working a late shift. I should have been writing this blog, my classical music blog and working on a magazine cover illustration this afternoon. Instead, I’ve been re-reading ‘Death on the Nile’ and I’ve started reading ‘The Hollow’ as well.

Whether or not Agatha Christie constitutes great literature, I don’t care. She was certainly a genius and there are times in life like today where a certain amount of escapism is required to relieve the tension and re-charge the batteries. There are few things better than her unique brand of ‘whodunnit?’ for such days of escape. Thankfully, a billion or so other people seem to be in agreement!

Quote taken from the official Agatha Christie web site: www.agathachristie.com

“It was a BBC television series featuring the gentle, sure acting style of Joan Hickson that finally captured the essence of Miss Marple. Hickson's portrayal was an immediate and resounding success. From 1985 to 1992, Hickson filmed all twelve of the Miss Marple novels in a series which was seen in more than 40 countries around the world.

Oddly enough, it was Agatha Christie herself who first detected the glimmers of Hickson's future triumph. The two met on the set of Murder She Said, the 1962 Marple film. In a 1993 interview, Hickson recalled "She said to me, 'Someday I would like you to play my Miss Marple.' I was quite taken aback, as I was young at the time!"

Chris Butler.

Illustrator for the Quantum Tarot. To be published by Kunati Books. September 2008.

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Whenever I’ve completed a Tarot deck in the past I’ve usually vowed I will never do another. Invariably, this resolution soon flies out the window as it seems to have done once again!

Several months ago, I was approached by the publishers of the Tarot Professional’s Appointment Book for 2009 to provide two pieces of card artwork for the publication. The theme would be cards ruled by the element of water so I chose to create new versions of the Moon and the High Priestess. As a result of my work on these pieces, I’ve also been asked to illustrate the cover of the Summer 2009 issue of Tarot World magazine; a challenge I’ll relish.

Sitting before the computer and viewing my completed card artwork, I realised I was really hungry to set my teeth into creating another tarot deck. I also realised that whatever I do from here is likely to be very different to anything I’ve created before. Most of my decks to date have been ‘themed’. I’ve illustrated a physics and astronomy themed deck in the form of the Quantum Tarot and a gay themed deck in the Son Tarot. My Millenaire Tarot de Marseilles is a humorous tribute to the whole Marseilles tradition whilst the Greylight Tarot was an attempt to create a Tarot journal/card deck using black and white images with text annotation.

Not since I created my first deck have I attempted to create a ‘classic’ tarot where the only theme in evidence is the Tarot itself. Whilst I’m very fond of my original deck I feel I’ve come a long way since it was completed, both in my skill as a digital artist and in my understanding of the Tarot.

I don’t know what I’ll call this new project yet. After all, I’ve only completed two images to date. The ideas are coming thick and fast in my head however and once I have a few more images completed I’ll post some of them for display on my web site.

Fair Fortune,

Chris.

Chris Butler.

Illustrator for the Quantum Tarot. To be published by Kunati Books. September 2008.

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Several weeks ago I reached a crossroads regarding my career options. At times like these I often turn to the cards, not only for guidance but also for comfort. I‘ve lived with these images for so long that I find it increasingly re-assuring to lose myself in them, as if they are doorways to another world.

Imagine me then, reaching this important juncture and shuffling my tarot deck. Ten cards, Celtic Cross, Quantum Tarot, Clear questions. No problem, I think. Quite the reverse.

As soon as I laid out the cards I realised they weren’t going to tell me about the questions I’d posed. What was actually in front of me was a ten card spread speaking very loudly about the present state of my personal life and my love life in the past.

Was the Delphic Oracle this infuriating!? The lesson of the day is that any oracle, ancient or modern, is an elusive and mysterious beast. They speak the truth but that doesn’t always mean it will be the truth you want to hear.

When will I ever learn? The best readings always result from an open mind. If you go into a reading, ask questions by all means but don’t always assume that the questions you’re asking will be the ones to be answered. Tarot Cards when shuffled are by their very nature random. You can’t control the unpredictable elements of nature so don’t even try.

Rather than putting your emphasis on specific questions when you come to a reading, place the emphasis on just bringing yourself into that quiet space where you can let the cards speak as they need to. You are bringing your whole self and your whole life. Let the tarot do its work and don’t worry about the rest.

When you turn the cards over you are revealing a pattern of randomly chosen images and symbols. The unpredictability is what catches the psyche off guard and makes our reactions to these images so pointed and telling. Whichever cards move or disturb you the most, chances are these are the ones with the important answers.

Returning to my reading , I asked about my work but it seems that’s not what I need to know about. A raft of personal issues leapt out at me instead so I suppose I must simply listen and accept. I now know how it feels when you enquire about the meaning of life, the Universe and everything and the only answer you get is ‘42’. Frustrating but profound. Enigmatic but honest. The words ‘Get over it’ are coming to mind!

Fair Fortune,

Chris.

Chris Butler.

Illustrator for the Quantum Tarot. To be published by Kunati Books. September 2008.

Pre-order the Quantum Tarot from Amazon