It’s Spooky Season, bitches, and Christina Ricci is serving us a dose of mysticism. On October 8, Christina debuted her own tarot deck and guide, called Cat Full of Spiders. Christina, who is leaning into her reputation as the Xennial “goth” queen (Gen X, you guys have Winona Ryder, we get to claim Christina!), designed the cards with the help of her husband, Mark Hampton, and California artist Felipe Flores, as well as the “wisdom” of tarot expert Minerva Siegel. The deck, which has 78 cards and comes with a guidebook to explain each card, is supposed to be a “surrealist dive” into Christina’s “cinematic subconscious.” To celebrate the tarot’s launch, Christina gave People an exclusive interview to talk about her inspiration behind her love of tarot, her acting legacy, and why she wanted put out her own deck.
She feels lucky to play such awesome women: “I just feel like I kind of lucked out,” Ricci tells PEOPLE exclusively when asked about her experience portraying such unique roles. “I was lucky as a young person at that time [with] where our culture was to play really interesting roles, interesting young girls and then interesting women.”
On her new tarot deck: Launching on Oct. 8, just in time for the spookiest season of the year, Cat Full of Spiders is a “surrealist dive” into Ricci’s “cinematic subconscious,” featuring 78 cards and a specially curated guidebook explaining each tarot card. It also includes fun, simple tarot spreads for beginners who want to experiment with an easy reading.
Magic is real: Although the Yellowjackets’ star first discovered tarot cards on the set of Now and Then — when her character (Roberta) visits a psychic with her friends — her relationship with mysticism goes much deeper. “My perspective on pretty much all things mystical is that there is real magic in the world. Most of it is sort of grounded and nature-based,” she says. “I think all of the magic that comes from something like tarot has a lot to do with the person asking the questions.”
What the tarot means to her: “Tarot for me feels like an incredible instrument to use your self-knowledge, self-reflection capabilities [and] your intuition,” Ricci says. “You come as yourself with your full journey behind you, all the things you’ve collected in your life emotionally and experientially.”
’You exist in the context of all in which you live,’ etc: “The way you interpret the card in relation to your question has everything to do with who you are and all of your experiences — all the spiders that you’ve swallowed,” she says. Ricci’s ability to intertwine such creative and profound metaphors with mystical elements showcases not just her creativity but her deep understanding of the human experience.
Her tarot deck reflects herself: “The minor arcana are all younger versions of me because all of those things have come from my subconscious and have all been expressions of some version of myself. That’s why there are a lot of little nods and references to characters I’ve played.”
The importance of the individual: “This idea also speaks to what I want to do as a humanitarian [which is] pointing out to people that each individual is so much more than what you see in front of them. The depths of our minds, our subconscious, are so incredible and so rich, and just the idea that this sort of theme reinforces the importance of the individual over the group.”
She’s a true Aquarius: “I do feel like I’m a good match for an Aquarius,” Ricci says when asked if she resonates with her zodiac sign. “I care a lot about humanity, but more at the level of individuals. I have some passions and themes in my life that have a lot to do with my interest in humanity.”
A highly intellectual Air sign, Aquarius is governed by revolutionary Uranus, the planet of rebellion, individual freedom and unexpected change. Everything from the intriguing roles Ricci has portrayed to her innate connection with the supernatural goes hand-in-hand with Aquarius’ unique essence. “I don’t really fit into any kind of stereotype and I very much do things my own way, and it totally makes sense to me, [even when] other people think it’s crazy,” she adds.
This is awesome! I love that Christina is doing something like this, and not some quick money grab that’s not authentic to her own self. I’m also a very firm believer that there is “real magic” in this world, and I’m not talking about the kind where you pull a rabbit out of a hat. I think there are too many stories from every different belief system to deny that there isn’t something else out there. Anyway, I’m also an Aquarius (different years, but my birthday is four days before hers), so she had me at that! That said, I’m really intrigued by her cards. I do not have any extensive experience in tarot reading, but on a whim last year, I bought a deck from Barnes & Noble. I read the instructions and watched a few videos, but I am still a little confused about all of it, so if anyone has any tips, I’d love to hear them.
Oh, and I absolutely love that Christina mentions that she got her tarot start while filming Now and Then. That movie, which I rewatched a year or so ago and it *totally* holds up, is a huge part of my own personal coming-of-age story, too. I mean, what Elder Millennial doesn’t remember where they were when they first saw that Christina/Devon Sawa kiss scene? And yes, the exact same can also be said of their Casper scene. Bah, both of those movies gave me some magical awakenings, if you know what I mean.
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