How do we make sense of uncertainties in a pandemic? How do we keep engaged and in touch with one other given physical distance? The Viral Oracle is a half divinatory, half psychoanalytic, and full-on fun set of Tarot-inspired cards aimed at reinforcing social bonds in the midst of a physically distant pandemic response. The twenty-two cards of “Major Arcana” archive the early days of COVID-19 in the United States. Promoting a sense of play during the uncertainty of a pandemic, The Viral Oracle aims to facilitate intimate conversations among friends and family, making sense of pandemic pasts, presents, and futures. Magic powers not included.
The Viral Oracle was developed as part of my graduate fellowship at the Penn Program for Environmental Humanities.
