AKRON
H.R. GIGER TAROT
H.R. Giger’s “Baphomet” The Spell IV, 1977, Work No. 331, 2.40m × 4.20m
Laid out in the style of a triptych, the work has three panels that represent the various spheres of creation. To the right of Baphomet (and to the left of the viewer) is “Paradise.” Its luminous spheres are embodied by the bright, upright pentagram. To his left is “Hell,” symbolized by the dark inverse pentagram. Baphomet himself, in the center, represents the human plane of existence, the “reality” in which polarities intersect, engage in conflict, or counterbalance each other. This concept is depicted by the two interwoven pentagrams, which express the connection between the microcosm and the macrocosm. The symbolic and allegorical references of the portrayed figures refer to the realm of death and rebirth.
List of Paintings
The 22 illustrations opposite the card motifs (pen and ink and airbrush) were originally prepared by H.R. Giger as a cycle of illustrations to the mystical phantasmagoria in the original edition (‘Oracle of the Underworld’).
EVERGREEN is an imprint of TASCHEN GmbH
© 2000 TASCHEN GmbH
Hohenzollernring 53, D–50672 Köln
© 2000 Akron & H.R. Giger
All rights reserved
The original edition was published with the title of Baphomet in 1992 by Urania AG, Neuhausen/Switzerland.
Publisher: Akron/H.R. Giger
Overall layout: Akron
Cover design: H.R. Giger
Translated by Yvonne Chapman, Phil Goddard, David Hefford, Monique Simmer and Simon Wiles and edited by Christine M. Grimm in association with First Edition Translations Ltd, Cambridge, UK
ISBN 978-3-9053-7289-2
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CONTENTS
VIIThe Five-Ray Spread (The Path of Decision)
VIIIThe Nine-Ray Spread (The Relationship Game)
IXThe Ten-Ray Spread (The Celtic Cross)