Stuart Kaplan is a leading authority on tarot card symbolism, and is the founder and Chairman of U.S. Games Systems Inc., the leading publisher of tarot decks and tarot-related books and games. Mr Kaplan has been involved with Tarot since 1968 and his researches since then into tarot began first as a hobby and then turned into a business. Stuart Kaplan has an extensive private collection of tarot decks and books, including original artwork by Pamela Colman Smith; some of this will be available to see in the Pamela Colman Smith Commemorative Set, due for publication in May 2009 by US Games Systems Inc.

Stuart Kaplan was kind enough to be interviewed by email, as part of the appreciation of the art and work of "Pixie," Pamela Colman Smith, whose Rider Waite/Smith deck was first issued a hundred years ago this year.

Malcolm Muckle
Many thanks for giving this interview - I really hope that others will be as excited as I'm sure I will be when I see the "new" material concerning "Pixie," Pamela Colman Smith that is being made more easily available. It's been 100 yrs since the Rider-Waite/Smith deck was first issued, so it's wonderful that this Commemorative Set is coming out, to celebrate her work both inside and outside of Tarot. I know you've had this project in mind for quite a while; how long has it been from inception to fruition?

Stuart Kaplan
The idea for a Pamela Colman Smith Commemorative Set has been under consideration since 2007. The final plan to move ahead came after we reviewed the original art and material in my personal library and we came to the conclusion that many people probably would like to see the material. We wanted to honor Pamela for her extraordinary talent, especially her designs and paintings of a non-tarot nature.

Malcolm Muckle
To me Pixie's art was both direct and full of emotional content; I'm quite often struck by what I add to a painting or drawing when I view one of her non-Tarot works. There seems to be so much unsaid, an inferred depth that is very appealing. In her Tarot artwork, this depth of emotion seems to have been replaced by symbolism. Would you agree?

Stuart Kaplan
Pamela’s art offers perspective on many levels. Some of her tarot card illustrations are whimsical, other cards are very iconographic. I find the III of Cups to be whimsical, as is the II of Pentacle. By contrast, powerful images with strong symbolism include the V of Pentacles and the X of Swords. [See this page, RW/S deck option for images]. Looking at these two cards, the reader instantly feels the emotion intended by the artist.

Malcolm Muckle
PCS lost her mother at a very early age, and Ellen Terry seemed to have been in loco matris. As you know, Ellen was an amazing person who balanced a brilliant career as an actress with her responsibilities as a full-time mother to 11 children (whom I think were raised at home rather than at school), estate-owner, etc. and who was reputedly the second richest woman in the land (after Queen Victoria!). Quite an achievement for such an energetic free thinker! Would you say that Ellen and the theatre were the major influence in the artistic life of PCS?

Stuart Kaplan
Pamela was influenced by many different events and circumstances in her life. Theater scenes were certainly powerful. Her time with the famed actress Ellen Terry proved pivotal in her life. Her ability to paint interpretations of music from Bach, Debussy and other composers was a strong influence. She moved around a lot, initially with her parents, and she was exposed to different cultures. Certainly, the influence of the Secret Order of the Golden Dawn, along with Arthur Edward Waite, the Yeats brothers, [ref. W B Yeats] and other luminaries she met, all contributed to her knowledge and ultimate expression in her work.

Malcolm Muckle
Another major influence on her art were the Japanese prints that her father acquired; her own art reflects the draughtsmanship, style, presentation and simple/subtle colouring inherent in Japanese prints; to my mind the nearest PCS came to developing her own style was in the Music Paintings, which she painted and drew while listening to music. What would you class as PCS's own individual style?

Stuart Kaplan
Pamela had a unique art style that was fluid and expressionistic. The figures in her oil paintings often seemed to float majestically. She had a way of capturing the emotion of a person in the scene she was painting.

Malcolm Muckle
The mystical side of PCS seems almost hereditary, given her previous generations' interest in the spiritual philosophy of Swedenborg; this must surely have been enhanced by her contact with W. B. Yeats (a member of a reading group of Swedenborg's works) with whom I gather she felt a close affinity despite their age difference. Yet her own beliefs eventually turned to Catholicism - maybe under Waite's influence. Did PCS produce much artistic work after that?

Stuart Kaplan
Pamela enjoyed some initial exposure in a series of Broad Sheets published in 1902, and The Green Sheaf editions released in 1903. Her star appeared to be rising in 1907 when Alfred Stieglitz exhibited her work in his Gallery 291 in New York City, and she received positive reviews. In 1909 she drew the designs for the Rider-Waite Tarot deck for very little money. She also illustrated several books, and tried publishing ventures, but by 1915 her artistic efforts seem to have faded. It is hard to say whether her decision to convert to Catholicism led to her diminished artist interests. More likely, the fact that her efforts did not prove financially successful played a greater part in her decision to try to earn a livelihood elsewhere.

Malcolm Muckle
In reviewing what I know and have read about Pixie, I can't help but be struck by a sense of sadness at her life; she seemed to have such extraordinary gifts, and yet her life seemed to have gone into reverse after about 1908/9 with her art undergoing enhanced inappreciation, if I can put it that way, despite the superb artistic reviews she had received earlier in New York. There was almost a long, slow retreat from the world and from people. Why do you think that was?

Stuart Kaplan
I believe that after her exciting life with Ellen Terry, Pamela was very lonely. Her poem, Alone, is a sad commentary to her feelings of inadequacy and lack of recognition. In 1914 she gave away her personal Visitors Book with the sad inscription inside the back cover stating that she didn’t like people any more. She withdrew because people did not appreciate her. She didn’t really fit into the British life as we imagine it. She would sit on the floor before a group of her friends and tell Jamaican stories. She was very esoteric in her life style. She would hold soirees with intimate friends, and sit on the floor, etc. Otherwise, thanks very much for the opportunity to share my thoughts with you and your readers.

Malcolm Muckle
In common with many people who have had a childhood in more than one country, PCS seems to have experienced a sense of dislocation from ordinary life. Was art a way of assuaging this?

Stuart Kaplan
Actually, I think for a while Pamela thrived in her unusual life style. She would hold soirees with intimate friends, and sit on the floor, and was, for a short period of time, the center of attraction for a small group who found her different, childlike, amusing, talented, but it all eventually faded. For a time, art was a escape, a way for her to express herself, but it could not carry her into a happy life.

Malcolm Muckle
Looking at the - one can only use the word "famous" - Rider-Waite/Smith Tarot deck, how much of the design came from PCS and how much from Waite; was PCS left alone to do the "pips"?

Stuart Kaplan
Much has been made of the influence of Arthur Edward Waite in Pamela’s renderings of the 78 card tarot deck. The fact is, as illustrated in the chapter on Pamela Colman Smith in Volume III of The Encyclopedia of Tarot, I show several cards that clearly bear a strong resemblance to the Sola-Busca pack originally prepared in the fifteen century. I believe Pamela drew in large measure upon her own vision and interpretations, and there were certainly outside influence from people such as Waite.

Malcolm Muckle
Within her artwork, it seems that there's more than sufficient material for a complete alternative "PCS Tarot" deck; for example, "From Water" [1905] as illustrated in your " Encylopedia of Tarot, Vol III" longs to become the "Queen of Cups". Is it a possibility that we'll see a "PCS Tarot" deck emerge from under the shadow of the Rider deck?

Stuart Kaplan
No. I would not attempt to trample on Pamela’s work. It stands alone and should be her signal achievement. U. S. Games Systems has published several color variation of her designs in response to the requests of tarot collectors. Otherwise, the Rider-Waite remains as Pamela envisioned it.

Malcolm Muckle
Since the original RW/S deck was issued, there's been significant evolution and change in psychology, spirituality, east-west crossover philosophies, and related fields - as well as in education.... in fact the whole context is radically different. Do you think the RW/S deck is limited in its ability to encompass these changes? You have studied Tarot extensively - is the symbolism within the RW/S deck sufficient to fully embrace modern times? If so, does this partially account for its popularity?

Stuart Kaplan
The symbolism is universal and eternal. Sometimes the card titles of the Major Arcana might be rigid if interpreted too literally. We have witnessed other tarot decks evolve with their own unique titles to encompass current times and social interests. A few that come to mind are the Goddess Tarot, Native American Tarot, Motherpeace Tarot, Medicine Woman Tarot and Lord of the Rings Tarot. I am sure there are many more.

Malcolm Muckle
Do you see Tarot cards as magical in their workings? Or is that a quality of the person using them?

Stuart Kaplan
Tarot cards are an unbound book. Shuffle the cards and there is a new story that is revealed. The person reading the cards brings their own, unique interpretation to each reading of an individual card and the cards in combination. There is a an aura of mysticism coupled with fascination that surrounds the images on the cards, and the fact that they have been in existence for over five centuries adds to the allure.

Malcolm Muckle
Do you think it possible for another deck to come along and have a similar impact in modern times as the RW/S deck has had over the last 100yrs? If so, what direction/s might you expect it to explore?

Stuart Kaplan
The Rider-Waite Tarot deck tands alone as the preeminent tarot. It is the tarot primer. The Rider-Waite is well established and the foundation, and inspiration, of many subsequent decks that vary in style and medium of different artists. It is the basis of many tarot courses and more books have been published using the RiderWaite images than any other tarot decks combined.

Malcolm Muckle
People seem more ready to explore and develop spirituality for themselves rather than "have it done for them." How much of an aid is Tarot in this? I suppose what I'm asking is "What do you think the Tarot provides for people that they can't find elsewhere?"

Stuart Kaplan
Tarot is a catalyst. In some ways, it is also a creativity tool to allow people to think differently and experience thoughts and ideas they might not otherwise have considered. For some people, tarot allows for serious meditation, others find it fun. I guess it is all in the eyes of the beholder.

Malcolm Muckle
I have to ask - apart from the Visconti-Sforza deck and the Carey Tarot from Strasbourg, what decks would you name as being among your favourites?

Stuart Kaplan
This is like asking me which of my five children (four sons and one daughter) do I like the best. Every deck published by U. S. Games Systems is special to me, otherwise we wouldn’t publish it. One of the decks that I currently enjoy looking through again is Karma Tarot by Birgit Boline Erfurt. There is something magical about the phantasmagoric art. The images are based on life at Christiana, the community of artists and musicians in Copenhagen. This is a deck that comes from the soul of the artist, as do many other decks. There are many other special decks that I truly enjoy. I dare not try to name them for fear of leaving out some.

Malcolm Muckle
If the last century was " Tower times," are you optimistic enough to see this one as " The Star"?

Stuart Kaplan
The world today has many challenges. It would be encouraging to view the future as “The Star.” Right now the world appears to be racing ahead like The Chariot Card, somewhat out of control. Nevertheless, I am always optimistic, so I expect the overall world situation will eventually improve on every level, economic, social and political. Maybe The Star won’t be prominent for another year or two, but it is coming as people learn to adjust to new circumstances. Ted Turner made an interesting comment on one of the television shows recently, and it is very applicable to today’s situation. “When the storm gets too strong, adjust the sails.”

Malcolm Muckle
In the UK, there's a radio program, "Desert Island Discs" where interviewees choose, first, eight record/CD-tracks to keep them company on a desert island - and finally choose their favourite from those eight; which one Tarot card from your extensive collection from which deck would you choose as a real life representative to keep you company? And which book to wile away the hours?

Stuart Kaplan
I was born on April 1, and The Fool card has always been my favorite. I am always interested to step out into new ventures, embrace new ideas, and test the unknown. I also like The Magician card because it suggests creativity. There is no one book I would take with me. I would want to take my entire library of 5000 volumes!

Malcolm Muckle
Are we going to see a Vol. V. of 'The Encyclopedia of Tarot', or has the series been overtaken by exponential growth?"

Stuart Kaplan
The research and source material for Volume V of The Encyclopedia of Tarot has been accumulating for several years, but I have not had time to work on it. The problem is my priorities. In 2007 I started another company, Creative Whack Company which has proven very successful. It produces and sells a unique creativity tool, the Ball of Whacks, comprising 30 rhombic pyramids which contain 180 rare earth magnets. It was our best seller in 2008. We are just releasing the X-Ball with 120 magnets and it promises to be even bigger this year. At U. S Games Systems, we just secured the rights to publishing a 510 card deck featuring each of President Obama’s campaign promises, and the status of each promise can be checked daily on PolitiFact.com. U. S. Games Systems is also publishing The Pamela Colman Smith Centennial Set which includes reproduction of Pamela’s non-tarot artwork from my personal collection. Lastly, I am just putting the final touches on a 400 page novel (fiction) that I have been writing during the past five years that deals with an oil portrait that I own of a woman painted by George Hollingsworth in 1840 and my efforts to discover her identity. The year 2009 promises to be very busy, but there always remains in my mind the next volume to The Encyclopedia of Tarot, and other new and exciting projects that, perhaps, only a Fool, would undertake!

MM
Mr Kaplan, thank you for sharing some of your thoughts about Pixie's art and work with the tarot. I'm hoping a lot more folk will be curious enough to go looking for more material, for example, at the Wisconsin Digital Library^*.

* E.g. The article entitled "The Fairy Faith and Pictured Music of Pamela Colman Smith: by M. Irwin MacDonald," in the "Craftsman, Oct. 1912.

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