Baraha ng Pilipino: Brenda Fajardo’s Tarot Card Series

Abstract

The Tarot pack has been associated with various legends and beliefs and has been widely used for divination because of its symbolism and uncertain origin. It is made up of 78 cards which consist of 22 Major Arcana cards and 56 Minor Arcana cards. The cards were used for entertainment purposes, gambling, as well as divination. Many artists attempted to produce their own Tarot cards. One artist who attempted to do so is Brenda Fajardo, who created an artwork based on the Marseille Tarot deck. Fajardo incorporated the Tarot with the Philippine history as seen in her work Baraha ng Pilipino. The cards were retrieved from the archives of Singapore Art Museum. Only the Major arcana cards were analyzed and each image of the cards included in the Baraha ng Pilipino was compared with Marseille Tarot deck and the each panel of the Baraha ng Pilipino was analyzed. The study focused on the journey of the soul through the cards and development of the individual and collective Filipino psyche. Brenda Fajardo’s Baraha ng Pilipino served as a pathway to identify the Filipino individual and collective self. Through the cards, the soul travels from Ang Gaga to the Ang Mundo wherein one becomes self-actualized. Recommendations included are study of other artworks made by the artist, Brenda Fajardo, and the minor arcana included in her artwork.