Corrine Kenner's inventive deck combines tasty recipes with traditional Tarot meanings.
Tarot expert Corrine Kenner’s Epicurean Tarot takes the standard Universal Waite deck cards and playfully turns them into apropos desserts, entrees, soups, appetizers and beverages -- “Recipes to Nourish Your Body, Mind and Soul.” Functional and mystical, the deck is also designed in large format, laminated recipe-style cards so that procedures are easy to follow and the messiness of culinary adventures wipes right off. Each set comes in a sturdy upright box, along with an accompanying booklet that explains the meaning behind the recipes in more detail.
The 22 cards of the Major Arcana offer such treats as The High Priestess’s Pomegranate Jelly, The Wheel of Fortune Pizza and Death’s Stuffed Mushrooms (“What could be more fitting for Death’s favorite dish than the perpetual flower of decay, the mushroom?” asks the card itself). The four suits of Swords, Wands, Cups and Pentacles have certain distinctive food elements to their recipes, such as spear-shaped (asparagus, pickles) or diced or skewered dishes for Swords; Wands involve fiery or quickly prepared things, or staff-like bread and cheese sticks; Cups generally draw on their watery nature with seafood dishes, or dreamy offerings like champagne punch or heavenly fudge; while Pentacles recipes involve earthy or round foods such as apples, pancakes, tomatoes or The Knight of Pentacles’ Chocolate Almonds. Then The Magician brings all the elements together in a flash -- like he does in his customary Tarot manner -- whipping up a stir-fry that involves ingredients that are diced and sliced (vegetables), spicy (ginger, tamari), watery (broth or wine), and earthy (meat, garlic, mushrooms, tofu, etc.).
Readings and Finding a Deck
Since The Epicurean Tarot is interactive and involves the gathering of necessary items and then preparing the recipes themselves, it’s not as sedentary to work with as a standard Tarot deck. However, as Ms. Kenner notes, the process of cooking can be therapeutic and reflective and can often provide interesting insights into personal dilemmas. One can use the familiar Celtic Cross reading, or the more culinary Three Card (e.g., Main Course, Side Dish, Dessert) or Cook’s Cross Spreads. Another positive feature of The Epicurean Tarot is its appeal to those who generally shy away from Tarot cards or consider them “the wicked pack” of past times. And that even the pain of romantic heartbreak as represented by the Three of Swords’ piercing blades can be changed into a fondue session, dipping bread or vegetables into the warm, creamy mixture of cheese, wine and garlic and acknowledging that it probably is better to have loved and lost than to have never loved at all -- and that fondue is really delicious.
The Epicurean Tarot is readily available from online booksellers like Amazon.com or Barnesandnoble.com, and the deck’s website offers a few free sample recipes to peruse before you buy. The recipes themselves range from easy to fairly complex, making the deck a nice option for skilled cooks or beginners looking to combine their love of cuisine with a fascination for the Tarot -- or for anyone seeking true “food for thought,“ as the deck‘s creator suggests.
Sources
The Epicurean Tarot -- Corrine Kenner (U.S. Games Systems, Inc., 2001)
