Star Trek Tarot
4 min read
Coming from Telekiad is the first item in its newly-licensed product line, Star Trek: Tarot. Plus: Baum answers questions about Star Trek Tarot.
Star Trek Tarot is “the culmination of years of research and collaboration. Star Trek Tarot carefully matches the seventy-eight ancient Tarot cards one-to-one with the seventy-eight classic Star Trek episodes that aired during the show’s initial run, and represents the originally-unaired Star Trek pilot episode on two bonus cards.
“Tarot experts have helped to hone the deck’s entire design, to honor each card’s centuries of layered meanings and its many traditional and modern associations. Professional artists have created original Star Trek images and graphics for each card in a style that is a respectful of every episode’s chosen scene and appropriate for a Tarot deck. Professional card printers ensure the highest casino-quality cards.
Star Trek Tarot has three different packages. All three contain the same eighty cards, with progressively more additional features:
- Star Trek Tarot – $29.95
- Star Trek Tarot With Tutorial – all eighty cards plus a one-hundred-and-twenty page tutorial – $39.95
- Star Trek Tarot Limited Edition – eighty plastic cards, hardcover tutorial, custom box – $59.95
“Also available is the first follow-up product, a Tarot mini-deck representing Star Trek: The Animated Series. It is available in two packages, both with the same twenty-two cards:
- Star Trek Tarot – The Animated Series – complete twenty-two card mini-deck – $19.95
- Star Trek Tarot – The Animated Series Limited Edition – twenty-two all plastic cards – $29.95
“Star Trek Tarot Limited Edition and Star Trek Tarot The Animated Series Limited Edition will be manufactured in only a single run of 1,701 numbered units. Customers ordering both together will receive identical limited-edition ID numbers for both.”
To pre-order Star Trek Tarot, head to the link located here.
Creator Mark “Adam” Baum is a first-generation Trek fan, and was one of the attendees at the 1976 New York City Star Trek convention. Baum is a career software engineer.
How long have you been a fan of Star Trek? “Are you kidding? Since September 8, 1966. As a kid, I watched every episode when it first aired. I was thrilled when the local station started showing it again in afternoon reruns a few years later, five days a week. Star Trek became a regular part of my weekday after-school schedule, from middle school into high school. Star Trek‘s optimistic view of the future dovetailed with the amazing tech advancements of the day, from the space program to computers, and played a big part in my pursuing computer science into a professional career. In college, I worked on a computer system with high-res flat plasma touchscreens, public forums, email and live chat — in 1978! Decades before the modern internet era. It was like living in the future world of Star Trek.”
What led you to create a Star Trek Tarot deck? “I have friends in many different social circles, including some who are Tarot readers. I didn’t know much about the Tarot myself at first, no more than most people in the general public I suppose, just its appearance as a vaguely mystical item in the occasional movie or TV show. When I learned that serious Tarot practitioners sometimes create their own personalized decks, I thought it would be fun to create a handmade deck that I could give to friends as a gift. I had a light bulb idea: to create a Tarot deck that matched the seventy-eight Tarot cards one-to-one with the original seventy-eight aired Star Trek episodes. It’s a deck that I wanted. And, to my surprise, an idea that as far as I could tell nobody else had thought of.”
Friends wanted Baum to make decks for them. They “all wanted to know where I had bought the decks,” said Baum; “so they could buy more for themselves and their friends. They convinced me to turn my fan deck into a licensed product that could sell for real. Easier said than done! When we found a way to approach the studio for a product license, they loved the unique concept of a Star Trek Tarot deck.”
So the sets are all made and ready to go, and then along comes COVID-19. “We had hoped to premiere our Star Trek Tarot at the big fan conventions this summer,” said Baum. “But after COVID arrived in the spring, one by one all the summer conventions were cancelled or rescheduled. We are now taking pre-orders online, and planning to premiere our Star Trek Tarot in person at the Star Trek Las Vegas convention currently scheduled for early December.”
Are there any follow-up plans now that Star Trek Tarot has been completed? “The Tarot deck is structured with four suits like a playing-card deck, to which has been added a set of twenty-two unsuited Arcana cards with special meanings. We’ve already created a Tarot ‘deck’ matching the Arcana cards one-to-one with the twenty-two episodes of the 1970s Filmation Star Trek: The Animated Series. Another wonderful fit.
“Of course, we’re already being asked when we will have Tarot decks ready for other Star Trek shows. We’re looking into new deck designs, but we ask fans to be patient. Like you, we would also love follow-up decks to be made available quickly. But we don’t want our decks to become just more collectables. We want to continue to ensure that every card matching deeply honors the Tarot aspects in its Star Trek episode and vice versa.”
About The Author
