A playing card is a piece of specially prepared card stock, heavy paper, thin cardboard, plastic-coated paper, cotton-paper blend, or thin plastic that is marked with distinguishing motifs. Often the front (face) and back of each card has a finish to make handling easier. They are most commonly used for playing card games, and are also used in magic tricks, cardistry, card throwing, and card houses; cards may also be collected. Playing cards are typically palm-sized for convenient handling, and usually are sold together in a set as a deck of cards or pack of cards.
Tarot is a pack of playing cards, used from at least the mid-15th century in various parts of Europe to play card games such as Tarocchini. From their Italian roots, tarot-playing cards spread to most of Europe, evolving into a family of games that includes German Grosstarok and modern games such as French Tarot and Austrian Königrufen. In the late 18th century French occultists made elaborate, but unsubstantiated, claims about their history and meaning, leading to the emergence of custom decks for use in divination via tarot card reading and cartomancy. Thus, there are two distinct types of tarot packs in circulation: those used for card games and those used for divination. However, some older patterns, such as the Tarot de Marseille, originally intended for playing card games, are occasionally used for cartomancy.
The Rider–Waite Tarot is a widely popular deck for tarot card reading, first published by the Rider Company in 1909, based on the instructions of academic and mystic A. E. Waite and illustrated by Pamela Colman Smith, both members of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn. Also known as the Waite–Smith, Rider–Waite–Smith, or Rider Tarot, the deck has been published in numerous editions and inspired a wide array of variants and imitations. Estimates suggest over 100 million copies of the deck circulate across 20 countries.
Pamela Colman Smith, nicknamed "Pixie", was a British artist, illustrator, writer, publisher, and occultist. She is best-known for illustrating the Rider–Waite tarot deck for Arthur Edward Waite. This tarot deck became the standard among tarot card readers, and remains the most widely used today. Smith also illustrated over 20 books, wrote two collections of Jamaican folklore, edited two magazines, and ran the Green Sheaf Press, a small press focused on women writers.
Neneh Mariann Karlsson ; born 10 March 1964), better known as Neneh Cherry, is a Swedish singer, songwriter, rapper, occasional disc jockey, and broadcaster. Her musical career started in London in the early 1980s, where she performed in a number of punk and post-punk bands in her youth, including the Slits and Rip Rig + Panic.
Luis Royo is a Spanish artist. He is best known for his fantasy illustrations published in numerous art books, magazines such as Heavy Metal and various other media including book and music CD covers, video games and Tarot cards.
Peter Edward Clarke, known professionally as Budgie, is an English drummer best known for his work in Siouxsie and the Banshees. He is also the co-founder of the Creatures.
The Chariot (VII) is the seventh trump or Major Arcana card in most traditional tarot decks. It is used in game playing as well as in divination.
Rachel Grace Pollack was an American science fiction author, comic book writer, and expert on divinatory tarot.
Miquita Billie Alexandra Oliver is a British television presenter and radio personality. With Simon Amstell, she co-hosted Channel 4's Popworld from 2001 to 2006. She went on to present on T4 from 2006 to 2010, as well as having her own show, The Month With Miquita, on 4Music. Oliver has also worked in radio, hosting shows on BBC Radio 1 and BBC Radio 1Xtra. In April/May 2015, she took part in a four-part series, 24 Hours in the Past, as herself.
Ryan Bowersock, better known by his stage name Reanimator, is an alternative hip hop producer from Wisconsin operating out of Chicago, Illinois.
"The Bitter Suite" is the twelfth episode of the third season of the American-New Zealand fantasy adventure series Xena: Warrior Princess, and the 58th episode overall. Originally aired on syndication on February 2, 1998, the episode, a musical, was written by Chris Manheim and Steven L. Sears and directed by Oley Sassone.
Tarot card reading is a form of cartomancy whereby practitioners use tarot cards to purportedly gain insight into the past, present or future. They formulate a question, then draw cards to interpret them for this end. A traditional tarot deck consists of 78 cards, which can be split into two groups, the Major Arcana and Minor Arcana. French-suited playing cards can also be used; as can any card system with suits assigned to identifiable elements.
Aunia Marie Kahn is an American contemporary painter, photographer, curator, and entrepreneur. She was born and raised in Detroit, Michigan, and currently lives in Boise, Idaho. She is also the owner of the Poetic Tiger Gallery the founder of Rise Visible.
David Palumbo is an American illustrator and fine artist.
Fashion Beast is a 2012 ten issue limited series and screenplay by Alan Moore, Malcolm McLaren, and Antony Johnston. The series is an adaptation of a 1980s script that Moore wrote based upon the fairy tale Beauty and the Beast.
Nefarious: Merchant of Souls is a 2011 American documentary film about modern human trafficking, specifically sexual slavery. Presented from a Christian worldview, Nefarious covers human trafficking in the United States, Western and Eastern Europe, and Southeast Asia, alternating interviews with re-enactments. Victims of trafficking talk about having been the objects of physical abuse and attempted murder. Several former prostitutes talk about their conversion to Christianity, escape from sexual oppression, and subsequent education or marriage. The film ends with the assertion that only Jesus can completely heal people from the horrors of sexual slavery.
The Fool is one of the 78 cards in a tarot deck. In tarot card reading, it is one of the 22 Major Arcana, sometimes numbered as 0 or XXII. However, in decks designed for playing traditional tarot card games, it is typically unnumbered, as it is not one of the 21 trump cards and instead serves a unique purpose by itself.
"We Don't Need Another Hero (Thunderdome)" is a song written by Graham Lyle and Terry Britten. It was recorded by American singer Tina Turner for the soundtrack album to the 1985 film Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome, which starred Mel Gibson and Turner. On the heels of Turner's multiplatinum album Private Dancer (1984), the song was released as a 7-inch single, an extended version was released as a 12-inch single and on the film's soundtrack album. In the United Kingdom, a shaped picture disc was also issued. The power ballad received a Golden Globe Award nomination for Best Original Song and a Grammy Award nomination for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance. As songwriters, Lyle and Britten received the Ivor Novello Award for Best Song Musically and Lyrically.
