In the Science Tarot, Joseph Campbell's Hero's Journey is adapted to tell each suit's unique story from Ace to Ten. You can follow your own personal Hero's Journey through the myths and archetypes represented in these science stories.
Major Arcana as Science Stories
Powerful
stories offer helpful stepping stones to each of us:
shared experiences, moments of transformation and familiar characters. Each
Major Arcana card invites us to find our own story within the realm of science.
"[Tell science stories] about nature that are
true and complex ...
but still have the power to enthrall, to excite,
to remind people there is a deep beauty,
a many levelled beauty in the world."
- Robert Krulwich, with Radiolab
Wands as Creation
We begin our journey with
the stars, where the elements that form planets and generate life are
manufactured. Through astronomy
and cosmology, we explore our human impulses to survive and create.
Icon: Bunsen Burner
"The cosmos is also within us,
We are made of star stuff."
- Carl Sagan
Pentacles as Exchange
Elements created in the
stars now interact, forming molecules, planets and organisms. Through the fields of geology and
chemistry, we explore our own interactions with the world around us.
Icon: Magnifying Glass
"We are all connected:
To each other, biologically
To the earth, chemically
To the rest of the universe atomically."
- Neil deGrasse Tyson
Swords as Observation
From matter
emerges consciousness, which divides the world into observer and observed. Through physics, math and the
scientific method, we explore our own power to shape the world.
Icon: Scalpel
"There's real poetry in the real world,
Science is the poetry of reality."
- Richard Dawkins
Cups as Integration
The stories of science and
human experience lead us back into the world again, not simply as observer but
as participant. Through biology
and ecology with the scientific method, we explore the realm of human emotions
and relationships.
Icon: Beaker
"The whole is more
than the sum of its parts."
- Aristotle
Face Cards as Scientist Portraits
Each face card profiles a different scientist along their particular life path.
Each is linked to a symbolic neurotransmitter (shown in parenthesis)
inspired by biological anthropologist Helen Fisher's work on personality types.
Explorer as Page (Dopamine): A seeker whose initial curiosity about the world opens a gateway to scientific inquiry.
Innovator as Knight (Serotonin): The devoted researcher whose persistence and invention reveal new insights.
Storyteller as Queen (Oxytocin): The negotiator whose intelligence and empathy welcome others into scientific discovery.
Visionary as King (Testosterone): The director who drives scientific study forward into new territory with vision and hope.