Life & Death of Peter Sellars - Which deck was that?

Thread originally posted on the Aeclectic Tarot Forum on 14 Dec 2004, and now archived in the Forum Library.

Lemniscus	14 Dec 2004
I watched "The Life and Death of Peter Sellars" last night. At one point, Sellars consults a fortune-teller named Maurice Woodruff. He doesn't do a Tarot reading, but Woodruff has a spread on the table while they are talking. Does anyone know what deck was used in the film?

souljourney	14 Dec 2004
This sounds like some twisted quiz question that would be on a TV game show. I love it! OH, and I have no idea of the answer. SJ

Lemniscus	14 Dec 2004
Several years ago, an episode of "Sex and the City" featured a Tarot card reader using a striking black and white deck. I later discovered that it was the Light and Dark Tarot. I'd love to have that deck. The one on the Peter Sellars movie was in color and appeared to be Art Neuveaux-inspired. It was a beautiful deck, from what I could tell. It's probably not accurate for the period, which was late Sixties/early Seventies.

truelighth	14 Dec 2004
It could be the Tarot of Frown Strong that was featured. I am not sure, because this is a majors only and was published in 1978. But I do know that Peter Sellers himself was a follower of the author of the deck: Leo Armin, a kind of guru. So maybe they used the deck of Leo or the designs in the film.

Lemniscus	14 Dec 2004
I think it might have been the Aquarian Tarot. I looked at the full deck on tarot.com and it looks like the right deck.

Lemniscus	14 Dec 2004
Turns out the Aquarian Tarot was published in 1970. Maurice Woodruff was at the height of his popularity in 1969 when his book "The Secrets of Foretelling Your Own Future" was published. This book is featured briefly in the movie and is Peter Sellars' introduction to Woodruff. If Sellars had finished reading the book in 1970, then by the time they met, Woodruff could have had a newly published Aquarian deck. Since the movie portrays him as a bit of a charlatan, it's in-character for him to have the newest deck on display, but not actually use it.

The Life & Death of Peter Sellars - Which deck was that? thread was originally posted on 14 Dec 2004 in the Tarot Decks board, and is now archived in the Forum Library. Read the active threads in Tarot Decks, or read more archived threads.