The Tarot Garden Offers 22 Days of Winter Gifts

by Klaus Bereznyak

During December, avatars have the opportunity to grab some unique souvenirs of the fascinating Tarot Garden on LEA17 before it closes.

The Tarot Garden on LEA17 is a virtual analog of Niki de Saint Phalle’s sculpture garden in real-life Tuscany, created by SecondHand Tutti. Since its opening back in August 2018 (covered by Newser reporter Gemma Cleanslate), a full program of events has been offered on the sim, from concerts to lectures and competitions.

Finally, starting on the 1st of December, gifts can be collected from each of the 22 sculptures, representing the Major Arcana of the Tarot. Each gift is available for 24 hours, and it is a final opportunity to discover and explore the wonderful details of the garden. It's a hunt, if you will. All the gifts are wrapped and tied up with a bow, and relatively easy to find if you can locate the sculpture. There is also a Christmas gift from Tutti available throughout the event.

A map and visual guide is on display at the landing point but you will need to go on foot to find the location. Even having visited the sim a few times, it has shown me parts I had not noticed before and a little challenge is presented by the fact that some of the sculptures are hidden by others; for instance, the Chariot is inside the Empress.

The gifts are original pieces by Tutti, each having some relation to the archetype they represent. Some are sculptures to rez on your land and others are avatars to wear. In sequence, the gift for each day in December is as follows:

1st    The Fool
2nd    The Magician
3rd    The High Priestess
4th    The Empress
5th    The Emperor
6th    The Hierophant
7th    The Choice
8th    The Chariot
9th    Justice
10th    The Hermit
11th    The Wheel of Fortune
12th    Strength
13th    The Hanged Man
14th    Death
15th    Temperance
16th    The Devil
17th    The Tower
18th    The Star
19th    The Moon
20th    The Sun
21st    Judgement
22nd    The World

I have been delighted with the chance to have some beautiful things to keep so that the memory of this remarkable project can keep on giving.

Surl: http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/LEA17/13/244/21

Klaus Bereznyak

The Tarot Garden

By Gemma Cleanslate

The visiting artists are opening their sims at LEA for the season. I took a trip to visit the Tarot Garden installation of Secondhandtutti. What an amazing creation! Working with her team the land has been transformed to echo “  Niki de Saint Phalle’s esoteric sculpture garden based on the Tarot cards, located in Tuscany, Italy. This project started in the late seventies and ended when Niki passed away in 2002. “

 There is a long walk in the region to visit all the figures and structures made in mosaic form. This is very different art, transformative, and lots of fun. If you use or know Tarot this will be of great interest to you . I went to the web to read about the original artist Niki who seems to have had a very tortured life from her earliest childhood years but was very beautiful and very talented.

The Grand Opening of the sim was held on August 11. I missed the opening sorry to say but did get over to talk with tutti at the end. She was thanking Venus Adored for the particle display that brought her to tears with the beauty.

She spoke about her fascination with Niki and her art and her attachment to it all. “As an artist who does original and also transformative art, I found this project to be a walk on the mystical, for you see, I found myself talking to Niki as I made each build. No no not "talking" to her, but communing with her in the sense of, 'Why did you put that there Niki?'   'Why did you use that symbol Niki?'   'What did that mean to you Niki?' Niki said two invaluable things that I have held close to me as an artist.  The first was about her Tarot Garden. She said that it was her 'destiny to make a place where people can come and be happy: a garden of joy.' This motivated me to manifest her garden of joy into our virtual worlds on my own, while acknowledging the source but also putting it into a new dimension. “

 There will be events all month and on into the fall . Join the group to receive notice of events . One can go for a lecture, or a walking guided tour that will be held each Monday at 11:30 am SL time during August. There is a mini hunt going on to find Nomi and take a picture with her. Begin your visit here. http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/LEA17/13/244/21 


Gemma Cleanslate