Thoth Tarot 1943

Lady Frieda Harris made this Thoth Tarot card, with what looks like gouache or tempera, and she's laid down the paint with such care. You can almost feel the artist's breath as she coaxes those translucent layers into being. Look at the watery bits flowing from the fish-like creatures into the bowls. See how she makes the light shimmer as it cascades down? It's like she's not just painting water, but also the very essence of life and renewal. The colours are so gentle, soft peach, watery yellow and green, that the forms feel somehow permeable, like they are in a constant state of flux. It makes me think of Hilma af Klint, another visionary artist working with the occult, and her paintings about the spiritual world. Harris invites us to see beyond the surface, into the hidden currents that shape our lives.