As goes divination, so goes the nation! The Pictorial Key to the Republican Tarot graphically & satirically slices American history. Educators, please note this fact-packed but accessible teaching tool. For soothsayers, the refigured Major Arcana & the four suites (updated as bushes, pineapples, arms, & coins) of the complete tarot are pictured & interpreted in the light (or more accurately, the murk) of Republicana. Molly Ivins would have had lots of laughs reviewing this. – from Liz Helenchild, Mendocino, CA

In this time when the American people have become so used to being bamboozled, hornswoggled and otherwise flat out lied to by the Republican Party that they almost seem to enjoy it there comes a book that explains (or at least gives a good hint) at what and who is behind it all. This book is “The Pictorial Key to the Republican Tarot.”

How did the political right convince the average American that the conservatives represent the people when in fact the opposite is true? By lying, of course. It’s quite simple. If you want to clear-cut the National Forest pass the “Healthy Forest Act" and go get it. If you want to stop the terrorists in the badlands of Pakistan invade Iraq and tell everyone that our kind of terrorism is different from the nasty terrorists' kind of terrorism. How is it that the Knave of Bushes... has managed to kill more Americans in five years of war than were killed in the World Trade Center and that this coincidence is never mentioned?

...If you want to meditate on this and much more “The Pictorial Key to the Republican Tarot” is a good place to start. Even if all you read is the history of the Republican Party you will have learned something and that is good, so go buy it right now.

Robert Pardun, author of Prairie Radical, Los Gatos, CA; Mar. 26, 2008 e/mail

The Republican TAROT is brilliant and funny!"
-- Paul Buhle, senior lecturer, American Civilization Department, Brown University, Providence, RI; Mar 20, 2008 e-mail


"The Republican Tarot is mind-grabbing, masterfully updating the old tarot cards; a must read."
-- Penny Schoner, peace & justice activist, San Francisco CA; Mar 18, 2008 e-mail

Ain't those Republicans just a hoot! Well, Miz Wizard has captured them in all their, shall we say, zaniness. The book is delicious satire with lots of enlightening Republicana tossed in. It's as offbeat and delightful as is its author.

Thorne Dreyer / The Rag Blog,
http://theragblog.blogspot.com/2008/04

When Mariann Wizard first began mentioning her book in the works, I didn’t think I would ever find much impetus to acquire and read it. I’m not superstitious and don’t particularly believe in divination, I disdain Republicans, and I read enough political crap as it is. But Mariann thought better of my notion and sent a copy of her book to me with heartfelt good wishes for my enjoyment. Read this book to learn something you never knew about a Republican (e.g., Dick Nixon was a cousin of the exiled King of Albania). Or read this book to divine the future (e.g., Mariann devotes an entire chapter to 'The Art of Tarot Divination,' where she reminds us that it is as much about patter as it is about patterns).

"Or best by far, read this book for a good laugh. For example, she writes 'While I do not think that there is a pathology dedicated to politics, about various public extravagances no one can question their derangement, and if anyone does, you have only to show him or her this present volume to set aside all doubt.' That just about covers it!

"Only a marvelously talented writer could describe Abraham Lincoln this way: 'While the words "simple backwoods lawyer" follow his name as the words "poop in the woods" follow a bear, Lincoln was a successful railroad lawyer and a sophisticated philosopher.'

"Mariann has chosen carefully in assigning the various Republican players to the roles in the Tarot deck. For example, she has selected Dick Nixon to play 'Death.' How appropriate for someone who did his best to kill off the presidency itself. The Emperor could be none other than Ronald Reagan, for who else did so much in the early stages to bring down the Empire? As she writes, '... the sun shines brightly on-screen ... allud[ing] to Reagan’s notoriously sunny outlook on problems (homelessness, joblessness, international ridicule) endured by ordinary Americans,' a benign version of Caligula at his best.

"The Bush family is bestowed an entire Lesser Arcana Suite of its own, with natural roles being given to George, Sr. as the Player, Barbara as the Lady, George, Jr. as the Knave, and Jeb and Neil as the Varlets. As Mariann writes of the Varlets, 'their bland, featureless, sunny surroundings reflect the essential rootlessness of a family which lived in 17 different cities and 29 houses as they were growing up.' But I’m giving away the story.

"I guarantee two things if you read the Republican Tarot: you’ll learn more than you ever wanted to know about major 20th century Republican players and you’ll laugh a hell of a lot more than you could possibly anticipate. Do yourself a favor: buy this book and enjoy every second of it. Then, one evening when you’re asking yourself what you should be doing, it will strike you that you have never divined your future from Mariann Wizard’s Republican Tarot, and your time will be filled with laughter, excitement, and good cheer."

by Richard Jehn, The Rag Blog, http://theragblog.blogspot.com/2008/04/

This incredibly clever book documents the foibles of the politics of our time in a way that no history book will ever. Presented in the format of a spoof tarot card deck, Wizard has brewed up a most amuzing concoction in her hilarious take on some of the most unforgettable characters, scandals, scams, and general politics of modern times.
Contrary to popular belief, politics & religion make a very witty mix in this wonderful satire.
So what does it mean when I draw the Watergate card? Well, luckily it is in the reversed position (upside down)and means "Events now left behind. Separating the wheat from the chaff. Survival of the fittest. New directions."
Hopefully, our future holds fewer Republicans in general...