Hexen 2.0 Tarot - art and social critique in 78 cards
Most tarot cards offer comfort, direction or answers. This deck asks questions. Hexen 2.0 Tarot is an artwork by Suzanne Treister that uses the structure of the tarot system to do something quite different: think critically about power, technology and the structures that shape our society.
It was created between 2009 and 2011 as part of a larger multimedia project. Treister links the 78 traditional tarot archetypes to historical figures and scientific concepts. Norbert Wiener, Timothy Leary, cybernetics, surveillance: names and ideas that rarely appear in a tarot deck.
What you see on the cards
The visual language is abstract and makes connections you have to reconstruct yourself. The drawings are not meant to be beautiful in any traditional sense. They function as diagrams, as visual notes for an argument.
Each card refers to a historical figure, a scientific movement or a philosophical position. That makes the deck effectively a coded history lesson about technology and control. The 16-page information booklet offers brief context, but no fixed meanings.
The colours are subdued. Lots of grey, ochre, muted tones. The cards feel like archival documents.
How you use this deck
Hexen 2.0 does not lend itself to quick answers or daily one-card pulls about what the day will bring. It works as a reflection tool for those wondering how our technological culture was formed, and by whom.
You can use it for what Treister herself calls a 'system spread': draw a card and research the figure or concept on it. Read up on what that person did, where their ideas led, what the unintended consequences were. Use the deck to draw connections between past and future.
That takes time. This is not a passive oracle.
Draw one card per week and read up on the historical context. The cards work better as research questions than as answers.
About Suzanne Treister
Suzanne Treister is a British artist whose work revolves around visualising networks, power and hidden histories. She brings together vast amounts of information in visual diagrams that you often encounter in museums, not in a card box.
Hexen 2.0 is one of her best-known projects. It consists not only of this tarot deck, but also videos, installations and research documentation. The deck is the most accessible form, but it remains art, not a service.
Specifications
- Number of cards: 78 (Major and Minor Arcana)
- Card size: 70 × 120 mm
- Language: multilingual, including English
- Guidebook: 16-page information booklet
- Publisher: Lo Scarabeo
- ISBN: 9788865275344
- Card quality: sturdy, flexible cardstock
- Author and artist: Suzanne Treister
Questions we often get
Can you use this deck if you have no knowledge of cybernetics or surveillance?
Yes, but you will get more out of the deck if you are willing to look up context. The cards give you starting points, not complete stories. That requires an interest in history and technology.
Does this deck work for traditional tarot spreads like the Celtic Cross?
You can use the structure, but the answers will be conceptual and indirect. This deck does not give 'yes' or 'no'. It gives perspectives and historical parallels. That suits open questions better than specific predictions.
