Jody Barton’s Rotten Tarot Kickstarter campaign caught my eye immediately with its surreal and eclectic art style. I knew right from the start this isn’t your typical deck of cards. Reading the campaign page, it’s very apparent that the Rotten Tarot is a bold reimagining of tarot, the project that blends humor, philosophy, and a deep exploration of humanity’s ever-evolving sense of self. In a world where tradition often dictates the rules of divination, Barton has turned those rules inside out, creating a deck that’s as much about transformation as it is about connecting with the divine.
I was most intrigued by the inspiration behind the deck. At the heart of Rotten Tarot lies the theme of “rot”—a metaphor for decay and regeneration. “The old must rot, and from that rot, new life must spring. Rot isn’t death; it’s the great power of life transforming,” Barton explains. The deck seeks to reflect the shifts in human consciousness over the past century, what Barton calls “The Century of the Self.”
Traditional tarot archetypes are steeped in a medieval and romantic voice, but Barton felt it was time for an update. “The world has grown, and the human self is undergoing a revolution. I wanted to make a deck that accounts for this development of the self.”
For Barton, creating new archetypes meant casting a wide net, pulling inspiration from sources as diverse as cognitive biases, Jungian philosophy, horror films, graphic novels, and even trash TV. “It’s my feeling that ALL human culture is equal and ALL magic. It is all a quest for knowledge.”
This eclectic approach resulted in cards like Gut Feelings and Endless Crows, which are both evocative and unconventional. “The names and images resonate with people—recognizable yet unusual,” Barton shares.
Balancing the comic with the profound comes naturally to Barton. “The Cosmic Joke is all the teaching you need!” Humor plays a pivotal role in the deck, not only as a tool to engage but also as a way to challenge “the sensible” and disrupt restrictive norms. “A laugh is a scream by another name,” Barton muses.
This balance of light and dark is evident throughout the deck, inviting users to explore not only the metaphoric and symbolic landscape of their lives but also the absurdities and wonders of the human condition.
One of the more radical aspects of Rotten Tarot is its collaborative approach to readings. Barton critiques the traditional power structure in divination, where the reader often assumes a position of authority over the subject. “The real force that divines is the universe. The diviner and subject of the reading are collaborators to open the conversation,” Barton emphasizes. This dynamic fosters respect and awe for the “divine otherness” rather than exploiting it.
As an illustrator who has worked on campaigns for Greenpeace and Florence & The Machine, Barton often felt their artistic instincts clashed with commercial constraints. “I’m an artist forced to climb inside an advert,” Barton says. But with tarot, everything clicked. “It is the absolute perfect place where my obsessions can spread out.”
The Rotten Tarot guidebook is as much a part of the experience as the cards themselves. Barton approached the writing with the precision of a stand-up comic, reading drafts aloud, editing relentlessly, and refining the text based on audience reactions. “The key to good writing is editing. Edit until you go mad,” Barton advises.
At the time of writing, the campaign has already amassed 50 backers and more than halfway to its goal. For those considering their own creative Kickstarter projects, Barton’s advice is simple: test and collaborate. “Test your project relentlessly on people and account for their opinions. There’s no guarantee of success, but if you can learn to collaborate with an audience, I think that helps.”
For Barton, the most rewarding part of creating Rotten Tarot has been witnessing how the cards inspire unusual and profound conversations. “Seeing people’s reactions and talking at length about how the cards dig up thoughts about our journey through the modern capitalistic world is the best bit.”
With Rotten Tarot, Jody Barton invites us into a world where rot isn’t the end, but the fertile beginning of something entirely new. If you’re as obsessed as I am with him, visit his website or keep up with his projects on Instagram. The Rotten Tarot is still available to back through Kickstarter.
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