Yale Psychologist Recreates A New Tarot Card World
For Charles “Andy” Morgan III, it’s all in the cards.
Tarot cards to be be exact, and his mastering over the decades of the symbols of what began as an ancient playing game has inspired him to create a modern way of interpreting what they have to say to us.
But Morgan found the traditional cards needed updating from their intimidating and archaic illustrations. So he tapped into his art background and created his own playful design that he hopes will be more engaging for contemporary players.
“It all began gradually. During the pandemic, I'd take my coffee, and I would just sit and start to draw,” said Morgan during a coffee interview in downtown New Haven. Remembering some stream-of-conscious “doodling” art exercises, a different kind of symbolic illustration began to emerge. Over time, he had a pack of 78 pen-on-ink tarot cards, all united by a fanciful-yet-elegant style that also contained interpretive symbols. These new set of cards and their accompanying books, which he self-manufactured and published, are now part of the tarot card collection at Yale’s Beinecke Rare Books and Manuscript Library in New Haven, some of which go back to the 15th century.
Think of the cards like a Rorschach test — psychological assessments that uses ink-blots to evaluate personality characteristics and emotional functioning — with himself as “facilitator,” said Morgan who lives in New Haven.
Morgan’s background in psychology makes him an especially expert guide into the world of symbols and the unconscious. With a background in forensic psychology and expertise on psychopathy, Morgan is a national security professor at the University of New Haven. He is a researcher with the National Center for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and has also worked for the U.S. Special Operations Command, the Marine Corps Special Operations Command and the C.I.A, according to his bio. He is also an associate clinical professor of psychiatry at the Yale School of Medicine.
Morgan also brings his tarot skills to the stage with intimate live presentations, such as upcoming shows scheduled for New Haven’s Lyric Hall this month and next and at The Ordinary cocktail bar in September.
“I think the biggest misconception is that people think that tarot cards and readings are something that is outside of themselves,” he said.
But it’s not otherworldly or divine. The cards don’t speak to the subject so much as the subject speaks to the cards, he said, despite the stereotype that the cards act as oracles.
The need for people to see themselves in symbols go back centuries, he said, whether it’s looking at tea leaves, palms, or the stars. Tarot cards — with the illustrated design in which people are most familiar — began in the 15th century. “In the beginning it was a game for the one-percenters,” he said. Only much later did it enter the mainstream and into the fortune-telling realm.
There’s no trick or predictive force in the cards, he said. “The beauty of the cards is they force you to consider something. They play inside your head with what's happening in your life.”
Does it take a special skill to be a tarot guide?
“I’d love to say anybody can be a tarot card reader,” he said, “but I think it's a bit like art where it’s natural for some people and more of a challenge for others.”
Morgan hopes people will embrace the playful nature of the cards, hearkening back to its origins. He sees tarot as an ancient variation of many popular games now that deal with the psychologies of the participants such as Coup, Medium and Trash Talk.
Matt Fantastic, co-owner of Elm City Games agrees. “There’s a very strong through-line from tarot to these contemporary games of intuitive thought. Tarot is more popular than ever and we sell a ton of at the shop.”
Of course, any talk of tarot cards inevitably brings up the “death” card, classically depicted as a black-shrouded figure holding an imposing sickle.
“That freaks people out,” Morgan said, smiling. But he explained its meaning is not literal, but symbolic of ‘transitioning,’ “which could mean many things. The death card is actually one of the more exciting cards. It's meaning is similar to ‘harvest’ or ‘turnover.’ It’s really dynamic — and quite fun.
But it’s not about Morgan telling his subjects what the cards mean specifically to them. “I tell people when they’re mixing the cards to focus on one big question they might have on their minds.”
After the subjects shuffles the card, they lay down the cards, and with Morgan they map out a story narrative — one card leading to the next — that could relate to that big question. “Without knowing the person’s question, I would ask as we interpret the cards, ‘Does this make sense to you?’ Inevitably, they say ‘Yes.’”
Morgan’s tarot shows at The Parlor at Lyric Hall, 827 Whalley Ave. in the Westville section of New Haven will be held on July 28 and Aug. 9. lyrichallnewhaven.com There will also be a fall show at the Lyric with a to be determined date. Tickets can be reserved at lachesis3@mac.com.
Morgan will also have a matinee and evening show at The Ordinary, 990 Chapel St. in New Haven on Sept. 21. Watch Ordinary website for ticket information. Ordinarynewhaven.com.
