Ivana Drobek

I’m Ivana, and apart from Tarot, my heart belongs to travelling.

I bought my first deck in my early twenties, while studying law in Würzburg/Germany. On the one hand, I was absolutely fascinated, but also completely overwhelmed. 78 cards, multiple meanings, the possibility of reading them in reverse, complex spreads, countless symbols – *phew!*

The cards quickly ended up in a drawer. I’d take them out from time to time, tried again, and then put them back.

My personal Tarot breakthrough came a few years ago when I started to trust my intuition. Today, I love the clear messages the cards offer me.

Now, Tarot is a part of my daily life and my business. I guide others in finding a personal and intuitive connection to the cards, so they too can dive in this ancient wisdom.

For me, Tarot isn’t a way to predict the future – it’s a map and compass on the path to self-discovery.

You can find out more about me and my Tarot journey at ivanadrobek.com. (German only)

I travelled to Egypt for the first time in 1989. This ancient culture has fascinated me for ages, but standing in front of the pyramids, listening to the birds in the morning in the Karnak temple or gliding along the Nile in a felucca was something really special.

That first journey holds a special place in my heart for many reasons.

I met Bobbie at Café Fishawi in Cairo, the oldest and probably most famous café in the heart of Khan El-Khalili, the legendary souq. She inspired and encouraged me to continue travelling to the Orient, but also to Asia, Central and South America, Australia and New Zealand.

And, evne more important, she left me her notes from the Tarot archives of Tarcania..

Tarot and Egypt

One of the many legends about Tarot is that it originated in Egypt. According to this tale, Tarot cards are said to be a remnant of the ancient Egyptian “Book of Thoth” – a collection of wisdom teachings attributed to the God Thoth, who was worshipped as the God of writing, magic, and wisdom.

According to this legend, the Tarot cards were originally intended as visual representations of these ancient teachings, allowing the initiates to preserve and pass on the knowledge of the Egyptian priestly caste. This became particularly urgent when the civilisation faced a critical turning point thousands of years ago – the imminent collapse of its society and the loss of its vast, generationally accumulated knowledge.

As the story goes, the sages of the land gathered to discuss how best to preserve this precious heritage.

One early idea was to carve the knowledge into the walls of the pyramids, using signs and symbols. However, this approach was quickly dismissed, as even the mightiest structures are not immune to the ravages of time and could not guarantee the eternal preservation of this wisdom.

Another proposal was to entrust the knowledge to the ten wisest minds of the time, allowing them to pass it down through generations. But this too was rejected, as the sages feared that even the wisest among them could be fallible, their judgement clouded or their memories failing over time.

Finally, the sages came to the conclusion that the playful nature of humans might prove a more enduring vessel for their legacy. They chose to encode the full spectrum of their knowledge and wisdom in a series of images, transforming them into playing cards. These cards were then entrusted to the people, in the hope that, through games and the passage of time, humanity might unconsciously become the keepers and transmitters of this invaluable knowledge.

Tarcania is my art project where I mix facts and fiction. I bring in some of myself, my Tarot path and my travels, but a lot is also fictional.

Let me take you into my magic world of Tarcania….