The devil's picture book and tautology fetishism: A response to Sosteric et al. regarding the tarot and decolonial futures
Yvan Greenberg
Anthropology of Consciousness March 1, 2024 DOI: 10.1111/anoc.12225 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Commentary Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Key points | Argues that Sosteric et al.'s critique misrepresents the original article's proposal and wrongly rules out tarot-based imaginal research as a decolonizing methodology, and contends that the critique itself is underpinned by modern/colonial assumptions. |
Abstract
AbstractA recent Letter to the Editor inAnthropology of Consciousness, by Sosteric, Ratkovic, and Sosteric, is positioned as a critique of my article “Imaginal Research for Unlearning Mastery: Divination With Tarot as a Decolonizing Methodology.” The letter posits that the esoteric tarot is a repository of colonial ideological propaganda, and because of that, it cannot and should not be used as a tool for decolonial practices. However, the letter is misleading in its implications that what I have proposed in my article cannot be a methodology for decolonizing mental models, and includes statements about my position which are incorrect. This response clarifies and expands on ideas from my article—both about the tarot and also about the carceral mental models my article attempts to address—in part by highlighting the modern/colonial underpinnings of Sosteric et al.'s critique.