The Migraineur’s Tarot

My favorite niche art genre is migraine art. This is created either to represent the experience of a migraine, or perhaps created while having an attack. They tend to feature sharp angles, harsh lines, eyes being stabbed, and technicolor auras.

I chose to combine this genre with my interest in tarot and the tradition of patron saints.

It began with my favorite migraine artist of history, Hildegard von Bingen, a Doctor of the church. The High Priestess tarot card symbolizes inner knowledge and divine intuition. Hildegard’s symptoms were interpreted as divine communication. This image is based on two of her paintings: herself, receiving heavenly messages, and an abstract with a blue background and bursting yellow flowers.

While Frida Kahlo was not technically a patron saint, she is undeniably an icon of both art and perseverance through illness. I chose her for this project because of her profound experience with chronic illness and her focus on the authentic self. The Two Fridas represent the relationship between her Mexican and European identities. In tarot, The Lovers evokes choice and connection, it symbolizes the union of mind and heart in alignment. I also chose the dual portrait in the context of illness for the way pain can separate You from a Faulty Body.

In addition to being a patron saint of Paris and against strife, St. Denis is invoked in cases of cluster headaches. Perhaps this is in concert with his representations of carrying his own head following decapitation. The Magician in tarot is associated with resourcefulness, concentration, and manifestation; all useful in surviving a migraine attack or cluster headaches.

St. Teresa of Avila was a Spanish nun and mystic and the first female Doctor of the Church. In addition to being patron to Spanish catholic writers and lace makers, she is invoked in cases of headache and backache. In tarot, The Heirophant is associated with tradition, ritual, and seeking guidance from mentors.