Tarot, Reimagined Through a Gothic Lens
I transformed my garage into a set straight out of a forgotten 1980s gothic film. I started with shiny red fabric as a backdrop, then draped sheer black fabric that caught the glow just enough to give the scene a textured, moody pulse. The whole space felt like an altar waiting to be activated.
The theme was tarot, but not the polished, traditional tarot most people think of. We wanted something raw and witchy, something that felt like pulling a card in a dimly lit room and not knowing if it’ll be a blessing or a warning.
We built the symbolism into the props; we gathered different candles to represent wands, a machete for swords, a small cauldrop for cups, and coins and dollar bills to represent pentacles. Around them, we scattered dried oranges, sage bundles, crystals, and little witchy artifacts that gave the set this lived-in, spell-casting energy. It was ritualistic, but in a way that felt rooted in personal myth, not performance.
Austin committed fully, more than I could’ve asked for. He blacked out his fingers with makeup, giving his hands a distinctly witch-like, otherworldly look. When he stepped in front of the camera, everything clicked. His energy carried the room: dark, confident, and magnetic in a way that pushed the shoot from “styled” into “summoned.” The shoot became a mix of portraiture and storytelling, a visual séance pulling from tarot, goth culture, folklore, and our shared love of the strange.
Shoots like this remind me why I create, because there is power in turning a space as ordinary as a garage into something enchanted. Art doesn’t always need a studio; sometimes it just needs intention, imagination, and someone brave enough to step fully into a character.
