Back in the first term, Uri suggested that if you’re ever stuck during the ideation process, Tarot cards could help you find a way through. I decided to make an SCA Tarot deck and assigned each mentor to a particular card. Hopefully they can help students out of a bind. 

In no particular order. 

The Fool / Marc Lewis 

Card Meaning 

Upright: innocence, new beginnings, free spirit Reversed: recklessness, taken advantage of, inconsideration 

Why

Replace innocence with playful child and we have marc. A free spirit for sure and the initiator of new beginnings cohort after cohort.

The Magician / Ian

Card Meaning

Upright: willpower, desire, creation, manifestation Reversed: trickery, illusions, out of touch

Why 

Anyone who has sat with Ian will know he is the master magician

The High Priestess / Caroline

Card Meaning

Upright: intuitive, unconscious, inner voice Reversed: lack of center, lost inner voice, repressed feelings

Why

Caroline’s masterclasses are all about tapping into things we notice unconsciously and when you go to her for feedback you’d wish she was your inner voice.

The Empress / Max, Louise, Shannon, Marcia

Card Meaning

Upright: motherhood, fertility, nature Reversed: dependence, smothering, emptiness, nosiness

Why

Keeping the school functioning, they look after this mad group and are the true empresses of the school.

The Emperor / Rob

Card Meaning

Upright: authority, structure, control, fatherhood Reversed: tyranny, rigidity, coldness

Why

Keeping us in-line with his classes on folder organisation and the tricks of the trade. Also definitely the school’s father figure.

The Hierophant / Pete

Card Meaning

Upright: tradition, conformity, morality, ethics Reversed: rebellion, subversiveness, new approaches

Why

This one has to be reversed. Pete’s passion for burning conformity has made us all little pyromaniacs.

The Lovers / Alex M

Card Meaning

Upright: partnerships, duality, union Reversed: loss of balance, one-sidedness, disharmony

Why

The queen of resilience and understanding emotion, she blesses us with her wisdom of what it takes to make a successful partnership every time we meet.

The Chariot / Uri 

Card Meaning

Upright: direction, control, willpower Reversed: lack of control, lack of direction, aggression

Why

Uri gives the whole class direction, showing us which way to go.

Strength / Gary

Card Meaning

Upright: contemplation, search for truth, inner guidance Reversed: loneliness, isolation, lost your way

Why

A mentor meeting with Gary will have you circling back to the beginning truth of an idea and start dissecting it.

Wheel of Fortune / Chris 

Card Meaning

Upright: change, cycles, inevitable fate Reversed: no control, clinging to control, bad luck

Why

To understand how the industry has changed and where it might be going both good and bad, Chris is your man.

Justice / Mr Cee. 

Card Meaning

Upright: cause and effect, clarity, truth Reversed: dishonesty, unaccountability, unfairness

Why

As the in house comedy teacher, Mr Cee. Calls it how he sees it, looking for an honest take, go see Mr Cee.

The Hanged Man / SCA students

Card Meaning

Upright: sacrifice, release, martyrdom Reversed: stalling, needless sacrifice, fear of sacrifice

Why

Martyrs for the ad industry

Death / Toufic

Card Meaning

Upright: end of cycle, beginnings, change, metamorphosis Reversed: fear of change, holding on, stagnation, decay

Why

Although the name for this one is a bit intense Toufic is only associated with all the good this card brings. All about change and finding new beginnings, Toufic has traveled the world and constantly adapts to the needs of any situation. To learn the possibilities of what this job can bring, Toufic is the mentor for you.

Temperance / Mike

Card Meaning

Upright: middle path, patience, finding meaning Reversed: extremes, excess, lack of balance

Why

When you stray too far into an idea, losing track of where it came from and why you liked it, Mike helps you find your way back.

The Tower / WIPs

Card Meaning

Upright: sudden upheaval, broken pride, disaster Reversed: disaster avoided, delayed disaster, fear of suffering

Why

Nothing like a Tuesday morning WIP to set the tone of despair for the week

The Star / Thiago

Card Meaning

Upright: hope, faith, rejuvenation Reversed: faithlessness, discouragement, insecurity

Why

If you hit the creative wall or find yourself down a canyon, Thiago’s knowledge and talent pulls you through.

The Moon / Deanna

Card Meaning

Upright: unconscious, illusions, intuition Reversed: confusion, fear, misinterpretation

Why

Deanna as the resident poet in her masterclasses helps tap into intuition, embracing reality and confronting illusions.

The Sun / Richard

Card Meaning

Upright: joy, success, celebration, positivity Reversed: negativity, depression, sadness 

Why

Richard is always a beam of happiness and he is all about self-recognition for hard work, even when not appreciated by others.

Judgment / Alan

Card Meaning

Upright: reflection, reckoning, awakening Reversed: lack of self-awareness, doubt, self-loathing

Why

Giving excellent guidance Alan helps in the awakening of an idea. His feedback can be brutal at times but always offers moments to reflect and go to better places.

The World / Alexandra T.

Card Meaning

Upright: fulfillment, harmony, completion Reversed: incompletion, no closure

Why

A master of art direction, Alexandra creates harmony in any image she touches and won’t stop, even when others might see the job as done.

@mills_millsel