Throwback Monday – Arcana 2021 is coming up!

I have always had a thing for tarot cards. Not so much to rely on them as a kind of super-natural prophecy but for their rich imagery. They idea of combining so many symbols in each card that it engages your subconcious is intriguing. The human mind sees in them what it wants to see, and thereby you learn what truly moves you these days, no fooling yourself.

I was therefore delighted when I was asked to participate in last year’s Arcana, a Munich art project which draws inspiration from Tarot cards.

Each year it features a select group of artists and writers from around the world. Due to Covid, Arcana will once more be an online only event this year. The show will start on October 20th at www.arcanamuc.art! Also in 2021, a card from the Major Arcana will be drawn and given to each participant as a starting point for their visual/written response or interpretation of that card. You can see our last year’s show here.

In 2020, my card was The Fool. A very intriguing card as the Fool might be seen as the true master of life or as missing its point entirely, both is probably true at the same time.

For this Throwback Monday, here comes my poem of 2020 again and for those who missed last year’s exhibition:

The Fool

By Ella Voss

 

It is Carnival, who are you? A clown.

And underneath? A lover.

 

And the clown beats and competes,

He hustles and conquers to reach

New havens of wisdom.

To prove his worth, to stand out

Against that fearsome assault of time.

 

Struggling hard, to find his name

On road signs, posters, and songs,

In an eulogy held on TV.

So worthy and standing out

from that abysmal ocean of time.

 

And as we falter, we strive to be

A mother, father, a spouse, and brilliant friend.

As no man is an island

And the wolf that wins  is the wolf we feed.

No man is the wolf that wins.

 

There is a parade, who are you? A pilgrim, a raver, a fetish queen, a sinner bearing a cross, and sometimes, a Mickey Mouse.

And underneath? A lover.

 

And when my belly is empty, and the sky is grey

Take me to church and let me exchange

a wonder for a wisdom,

so that I can stand the wheel of fortune spiral

against the windmills of my mind.

 

Then let us go feed the wolves

And love in the dark

as much as we can.

For the wolf that wins

is that fearsome assault of time.

 

It is Halloween, who are you? A zombie.

And underneath? A dead man’s lover.