The TAROT in DAVID LYNCH ART FILMS

 The Tarot Connection to David Lynch Films

MULHOLLAND DRIVE (2001) is a cerebral, haunting neo-noir masterpiece that continues to captivate audiences with its surreal layers and profound psychological depth. Beneath its enigmatic surface lies a rich tapestry of archetypes — and few are as revealing as those found in the Tarot.

THE MOON — Illusion, Dreams, and the Subconscious.

In Tarot, The Moon represents illusion, dreams, and the hidden realms of the subconscious — themes that pulse through Lynch’s entire body of work. In Mulholland Drive, Naomi Watts portrays Betty, who is also Diane, a woman spiraling into a dreamscape after a traumatic car accident. Her mind constructs an alternate reality where she is a rising Hollywood star, masking the pain of rejection and loss. This descent into fantasy exposes the darker undercurrents of Hollywood ambition and fractured identity. Lynch’s cinematic lens becomes a portal into the subconscious, where truth is obscured and desire reshapes reality.

THE TOWER — Upheaval and the Collapse of Illusion

The Tower card signifies sudden upheaval, revelation, and the destruction of false constructs. Betty/Diane’s dream begins to unravel when she confronts the painful truth: the director she loves casts another actress in the role she covets. Her carefully built illusion collapses, revealing the raw emotional core of obsession, jealousy, and heartbreak. The Tower’s energy permeates this moment — a psychic earthquake that shatters her fantasy and forces her to face the consequences

THE ELEPHANT MAN (1980)

STRENGTH – Inner Power, Compassion, and Grace in Adversity

Joseph Merrick embodies the archetype of Strength, not through brute force, but through quiet resilience and profound dignity. His life is a testament to the power of compassion—both given and received. Like the woman taming the lion in the Tarot card, Merrick softens the harshness of the world with gentleness, endurance, and emotional courage. His strength is spiritual, not physical, and it radiates from the soul outward.

JUSTICE – Truth, Fairness, and the Quest for Dignity

The film is a mirror held up to society’s treatment of the marginalized. Justice in Tarot is not just about law—it’s about moral clarity and the reckoning of truth. Merrick’s journey demands that we confront our biases, our voyeurism, and our capacity for cruelty. The scales of Justice tip toward empathy as the film reveals the beauty of the human spirit beneath the surface. It asks: What does it mean to be truly human? And who gets to decide?

The Elephant Man as Archetype

Merrick is the wounded sage, the sacred outsider, the soul wrapped in shadow. His story echoes the Hanged Man—suspended between worlds, misunderstood, yet spiritually awakened.

He is also the Star, a beacon of hope and purity in a world that has forgotten how to see.

BLUE VELVET (1986) – Tarot Archetypes Unveiled

David Lynch’s Blue Velvet peels back the manicured lawn of suburban America to expose the writhing roots beneath. Through Jeffrey’s descent into voyeurism and Dorothy’s (Isabella Rossellini) haunting vulnerability, the film becomes a surreal initiation into the shadow self.

DEATH – The End of Innocence, The Birth of Awareness

Jeffrey’s discovery of the severed ear is a symbolic rupture—a portal into the unknown. The Death card doesn’t signify literal death, but a profound transformation. His journey from naive college student to someone who confronts the grotesque truths of human nature mirrors the card’s archetype: shedding illusions, crossing thresholds, and awakening to complexity.

THE DEVIL – Temptation, Obsession, and the Shadow

Frank Booth, played with terrifying intensity by Dennis Hopper, embodies the Devil card’s darkest aspects: addiction, control, and sadistic desire. But the Devil isn’t just external—it’s the part of Jeffrey that is drawn to danger, to watching, to participating. The card forces us to ask: what part of ourselves is complicit in the spectacle of suffering?

THE MOON – Illusion, Mystery, and the Unconscious

The Moon represents the film’s dreamlike atmosphere and the blurred line between reality and fantasy. Dorothy’s world is drenched in ambiguity, and the Moon’s light distorts as much as it reveals. It’s the card of secrets, of things half-seen, of emotional tides that pull us under.

ERASERHEAD (1977)

David Lynch’s first film, produced on a $100,000.00 Budget!  An enigmatic surrealist Horror containing the seeds of his fascination with the unspoken language of cinema and the bizarre, dark, and unfamiliar. Familiar themes are common in David Lynch’s Complex Narratives, such as Death, The Devil, The Moon, and the Tower.

THE HERMIT – symbolizing the introspection and isolation of a spiritual journey guided by an inner light. In the film, this light is represented by the lady in the radiator. Henry Spencer, played by Jack Nance, unexpectantly becomes a father from a vicarious encounter. The woman moves in and gives birth to a lizard-like monster. Henry is petrified of the responsibility of becoming a parent. He feels isolated and alienated from the industrial urban wilderness of his time. He is a solitary wanderer. Henry withdraws from the overwhelming world around him. He turns away from the noise of society to find his inner truth.

THE REVERSED FOOL – Henry starts his journey into the unknown as a naïve and reckless man, unwilling to see the truth. His thoughts and actions at times mirror The DEVIL.

Who must you become, when you are put in charge of another’s life?

Eraserhead is a descent into the shadow realm of the psyche—where the grotesque and the sacred blur. Henry’s journey through a surreal industrial wasteland. The film’s ambient dread, distorted time, and symbolic creatures (the baby, the Lady in the Radiator) evoke a liminal space where reality dissolves and intuition reigns.

Visual Symbolism:

•       The deformed baby as a manifestation of repressed fear and existential anxiety.

•       The Lady in the Radiator as a lunar priestess offering escape through death or transcendence.

•       The constant hum and mechanical ambiance as the Moon’s fog—obscuring clarity, amplifying inner noise.

Narrative Seed: A man trapped in a decaying cityscape confronts his own monstrous creation. Each night, he dreams of a woman who sings of peace beyond suffering.

As the moon waxes, he begins to unravel—until he chooses to embrace the unknown and dissolve into light.

WILD AT HEART (1990)

David Lynch’s Wild at Heart burns like a fever dream of outlaw romance—raw, unruly, and incandescent with desire. Winner of the Palme d’Or at Cannes, the film is a volatile cocktail of Elvis Presley swagger, Southern Gothic surrealism, and mythic Americana. Anchored by the electric performances of Nicolas Cage and Laura Dern, it tells the story of Sailor and Lula—two lovers on the run, bound by a love so fierce it scorches everything in its path.

THE LOVERS

At the heart of Wild at Heart pulses the Tarot’s archetype of The Lovers—not merely a symbol of passion, but of choice, duality, and the sacred tension between fate and free will. Sailor, newly released from prison, and Lula, radiant with longing and defiance, are star-crossed yet soul-bound. Their love is a rebellion against the forces that seek to control them—most notably Lula’s mother, a twisted matriarch who embodies the shadow side of the card: manipulation, fear, and the severing of sacred bonds. As the couple flees across a scorched American landscape, their journey becomes a pilgrimage of eros and chaos, testing the limits of devotion.

THE CHARIOT

Their odyssey is also governed by The Chariot, the Tarot’s emblem of willpower, momentum, and triumph over adversity. The road becomes their crucible, a place where love is forged in fire and steel. Despite the violence that stalks them—hitmen, hallucinations, and the ghosts of past sins—Sailor and Lula press forward, driven by a shared dream of freedom and family. Even when Sailor is pulled back into the underworld of crime and incarceration, Lula’s unwavering love anchors him. Her solitary strength during his absence, giving birth and raising their son, mirrors the Chariot’s call to endure and overcome.

When Sailor is finally released six years later, he hesitates—haunted by the belief that he is unworthy of the life he longs for. But the Tarot reminds us that The Lovers is not just about romance; it is about alignment with one’s higher self. In a moment of grace, Sailor surrenders to love’s redemptive power, proposing to Lula beneath a sky that still burns with the wildness of their hearts.

DUNE (1984) & The Tarot: A Cosmic Convergence

THE EMPEROR

The Emperor’s rigid authority mirrors the imperial power structures of the Dune universe. The Padishah Emperor, the noble houses, and the political machinations around the Spice Melange all echo the card’s themes of control, legacy, and dominion. The Emperor’s throne is built on sand—just like the unstable alliances and betrayals that define Arrakis.

 THE WHEEL OF FORTUNE

The spice must flow—and so must fate. The Wheel turns with the desert winds, shifting fortunes between the Atreides, Harkonnens, and Fremen. The Bene Gesserit’s genetic prophecy and Paul’s emergence as the Kwisatz Haderach embody the card’s cyclical nature, where destiny is both orchestrated and chaotic.

THE HIGH PRIESTESS

She is the veil between worlds—just as the Bene Gesserit are keepers of ancient secrets, intuition, and spiritual power. The High Priestess resonates with the hidden knowledge of the spice, the prescient visions, and the feminine mysticism that permeates the film. She is the whisper beneath the sand, the knowing behind the silence.

As a screenwriter, there is always something new to discover. I have been a meditator for many years, and when I found out that David Lynch meditated every morning, I had to go back and rewatch his films. Meditation balances the left and right side of your brain, allowing the subconscious to emerge. Although David felt that his films could not be discussed because Cinema is a different language, not just words, I was excited to share my thoughts on his surreal and deep dives into human nature.

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