Memento Mori

The Memento Mori Tarot is a complete 78-card deck, encompassing both the Major and Minor Arcana, created by artist Arkestar. The deck is characterized by its "guro aesthetic," a style often associated with grotesque or dark themes, suggesting a focus on mortality, decay, and the macabre. This thematic choice positions the deck as a unique offering for those drawn to darker, more introspective, or unconventional approaches to tarot.

Launched successfully on Kickstarter in 2020, the campaign raised $31,544 from 437 backers, indicating a strong interest in its distinctive style. The deck is presented in a magnetic box, suggesting a premium packaging choice for protection and display. While specific details about the card stock or finish are not provided in the main campaign story, the inclusion of silkscreen prints as reward tiers points to the artist's background in printmaking and a commitment to high-quality artistic production.

The Memento Mori Tarot is designed for readers who appreciate a tarot experience that delves into the shadow aspects of existence, offering a tool for deep reflection on life, death, and transformation. Its guro aesthetic is likely to translate into imagery that is provocative and thought-provoking, moving beyond traditional, gentler tarot interpretations to explore the raw and often unsettling truths of the human condition.

This deck is ideal for experienced tarot readers and collectors who are specifically drawn to dark, gothic, or macabre aesthetics. It will appeal to those interested in exploring themes of death, transformation, and the shadow self through their tarot practice. Readers who appreciate unique, artist-driven decks that challenge conventional beauty standards and delve into more intense subject matter will find this deck compelling.

The Memento Mori Tarot was created by Arkestar, an artist whose background includes producing limited edition silkscreen prints. The successful funding of the deck on Kickstarter in 2020, raising over $31,000, demonstrates a significant interest in Arkestar's unique artistic vision and the "guro aesthetic" applied to a tarot system.