The Binding of Isaac

The Binding of Isaac is a 2D top-down rougelike (randomly-generated, if this is your first time seeing the term) video game, developed by Edmund McMillen (of Super Meat Boy fame) and Florian Himsl, where the player controls Isaac as he attempts to escape his murderous mother. The game is influenced by the older Legend of Zelda games, with a similar playstyle and presentation, and is inspired by the biblical story of the same name, with a generous amount of liberties taken .

What makes the Binding of Isaac of interest to us is that the game is steeped in symbolism, much of it related to dark, mature themes, yet much of it is open to interpretation. The themes in this game run the gamut, ranging from religion and the occult (in both positive and negative lights) to child abuse, gender confusion, abortion, innocence, drug use, and even suicide. Once again, I’m going to assume that you have at least a working knowledge of the game’s story. To properly analyze the cards, one should have at least a working knowledge of the game’s story and themes, so the following recap will contain SPOILERS. If you don’t want the story ruined, skip the next paragraph. In fact, it would be in your best interests if you go play the game at least a little bit ( There’s a free demo HERE (https://www.newgrounds.com/portal/view/581168))  before you proceed much further into this blog, as I will be talking about most of the game’s content in one way or another.

The game opens with “a voice from above” telling Isaac’s mother that Isaac is corrupt with sin, to which she responds by taking away everything he owns (including his clothes) and locking him in his room to keep him from the evils of the world. The voice, still doubting Mom’s devotion to Him, then tells Mom to sacrifice Isaac. When Isaac sees his mom coming with a butcher’s knife (through a crack in the door), he frantically searches his room for a way to escape, finding a trapdoor leading into the basement. With no other way out and Mom at the door, Isaac leaps into the darkness below. This part of the story is told through a series of drawings Isaac has drawn while locked in his room, which is both an important point in the story and a clue to the game’s intended symbolism. If you’re familiar with the story of Abraham and Isaac from the Bible then you’ll probably think this ends the same way, but that’s where things stop being so clear. The first time through the game, the player is treated to more of Isaac’s drawing, this time showing that as Mom closes in for the kill, she is stopped at the last minute by a bit of divine intervention. As Isaac happily puts his newest picture on the wall (one of Isaac standing on his defeated mother), his bedroom door is slammed open, revealing Mom holding a knife for real. From there, each time a player beats the game, they’re treated to a new ending (up to 13 different endings), with the last few endings reveling Isaac’s view of himself as a sinner, his possible suicide, and some Polaroids hinting at what happened to his father and sister.

While that’s all well and good (and we will most likely be referencing and going in depth with these  plot points as we get to them), a massive amount of the symbolism in the game, and on the tarot cards, comes from the myriad items that Isaac finds on his journey through the basement and beyond. The items come from multiple sources, including Christianity (both holy and unholy items), various occult sources (including an in-game deck of Major Arcana tarots), other video games, drug references, abortion, and child abuse. Edmund Mcmillen himself has stated that many of the items were influenced by his Christian upbringing, and he has even blogged this article (http://www.twinfinite.net/2012/10/01/big-sloppy-slomper-chompers/) as being ““By far the most mind blowingly accurate break down of the over arching meaning behind the binding of isaacs ending.” High praise indeed. The article, in a nutshell, talks about the overarching theme in Mcmillen’s games, that of a lonely, abused child seeking an escape from this world into the world of fantasy, and TBOI is no different.  The majority of the game takes place in Isaac’s imagination, with all of the monsters, items, and characters (save for Isaac and Mom) merely being different aspects of Isaac’s troubled mind. Nearly everything that Isaac dreams up has some kind of dark twist to it. For example, some of the enemies would be nightmare inducing if they weren’t drawn so cute, and items such as the wooden spoon clearly show that Isaac has seen, and may be familiar with, physical abuse.

One very important element I want to mention here is the other playable characters. First of all, they are ALL Isaac in wigs and make-up, even the girls, Magdalene (called Maggy from here on out) and Eve, and what they represent is up for interpretation and will probably determine how you read the cards. 

Tarot

Tarot, like all forms of symbolism, is deeply personal. Everyone that looks at the cards will be drawn to different symbols and will interpret the card differently. For example, an iron chain could mean imprisonment to one person, but someone who just got into a fight with their best friend could be reminded of the unbreakable bonds of friendship.  Each and every card can be interpreted in the context of finances, spirit, health, creativity, and nearly any other situation that may drive you to seek the council of the cards, so it’s essential that you keep an open mind as you view a card. 

Table of Contents

Here's a list of all of the cards in the deck, along with any other pages.

Major Arcana

#0 The Fool #I The Magician #II The High Priestess #III The Empress #IV The Emperor #V The Hierophant #VI The Lovers #VII The Chariot #VIII Justice #IX The Hermit #X Wheel of Fortune

#XI Strength #XII The Hanged Man #XIII Death #XIV Temperance #XV The Devil #XVI The Tower #XVII The Star #XVIII The Moon #XIX The Sun #XX Judgement #XXI The World

Minor Arcana

Suit of Hearts Ace Two Three Four Five Six Seven Eight Nine Ten Page Knight Queen King Suit of Bombs Ace Two Three Four Five Six Seven Eight Nine Ten Page Knight Queen King

Suit of Pennies Ace Two Three Four Five Six Seven Eight Nine Ten Page Knight Queen King Suit of Keys Ace Two Three Four Five Six Seven Eight Nine Ten Page Knight Queen King

Character Pages

Isaac Magdalene Cain Judas

??? Eve Samson

#0: The Fool

Description

The card shows Isaac kneeling in the basement, staring up at the trapdoor he fell through only a moment before. Through the trapdoor, we can see the silhouette of Mom with her knife raised high, and the light from the room shines down on Isaac in an effect similar to the light of God.

In-Game Effect: Teleports player back to the beginning of the current floor

In-Game Description: Where journey begins

Classic Meaning: The Fool is the card of new beginnings and fresh-faced innocence. When the Fool appears in a spread, it typically means that it's a good time to start a new journey, or maybe it's already started. This journey should be seen as the opportunity it is. However, the fool is a young, inexperienced man, and as such, a reversed fool could be warning of reckless behavior or closed-mindedness.  

My Analysis:

Since this is the start of our journey through this deck, it’s only fitting that we start with this card. The Fool is the card of limitless potential, typically appearing to herald the coming of a new journey, be it physical, spiritual, intellectual, or for some other reason.   The Fool is an innocent soul, one who can see the best of any situation, although at times he may be oblivious to the consequences of his actions.  He will happily embark on his travels, eager to find new experiences.

When the Fool appears, it is possible that a choice must be made, and there may not be time to fully consider the choices. In this case, Isaac trusted his instincts and jumped down the trapdoor to escape his mother, knowing full well what Mom intends to do, an act that starts his journey and every playthrough of the game, although he does not know what awaits him in the basement. He realizes too late what he leaving behind, and that if his mother catches him, then the punishment will be great, signifying that the outcome of the journey may not be a happy one. But there is no way back now, and now Isaac will have to trust that fate will be kind to him. On the other hand, the way forward could hold salvation, signified by the God-like light shining down on him. It is also worth noting that The Fool can represent innocence. Since this is the beginning of his journey, Isaac still believes himself to be innocent ,  and that innocence can fuel the faith that keeps him going in his darkest times. This can give him the courage to face what lies ahead, which could very well be worth the risk. The future is unknown, but once one makes the jump, there’s nothing to do but see where the path leads to.

This card can also oftentimes represent the person asking the question, a blank slate that the asker can project themselves onto.  Isaac himself makes an excellent blank slate in this card, with this being one of the only two cards in the deck that show Isaac without items of any sort. As such, Isaac’s presentation on this card represents the potential of his journey.  Just as the items that Isaac encounters oftentimes alter his appearance, so too will upcoming events leave their mark (physically or spiritually) on the card’s reader.  But in both cases, the events will make one stronger.

This card does a terrific job of summing up this deck. While this card is much simpler than the Rider-Waite version (as are many, although not all, of the cards in the deck), it still carries the overall meaning of a journey that may lead to good or ill. This Fool does make more sense if one is familiar with the game, as do most of the cards in this deck, but seeing as how more “official” Tarot decks require a working knowledge of general symbolism, this deck can be a good intro for fans of the game.

Now that the journey has started, let’s see what the first steps into the darkness bring… 

Greetings

Greetings to all

Welcome to TBOI Tarot, A blog dedicated to analyzing The Binding of Isaac (TBOI) Tarot Cards released by Edmund Mcmillen. (see HERE if you don’t know about them: http://edplusdanielle.bigcartel.com/product/binding-of-isaac-tarot-cards-2nd-edition)

With The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth being developed and released in the near future, I wanted to celebrate by going over the recently released TBOI tarot cards. As such, each day I’m going to pick a card from the deck (usually at random), and give an in-depth analysis of the card’s symbols and meanings. If you picked up one of these decks, or aren’t sure if you want one, I welcome you to follow me on this journey.

Edit: When The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth was released in November of 2014, Mcmillen also released a set of Tarot Cards based on his horribly adorable game. At the time, I wanted to celebrate by analyzing the cards, one a day, as my small way of celebrating the game’s release. Unfortunately, life got in the way, and now it’s the beginning of 2018, and I never even got around to posting the handful of reviews I typed back then. Still, I want to analyze them, and I’ve been trying to tie up loose ends and finish my abandoned projects from years past, so at the very least I need to finish this project for personal closure. At least this will be good writing and web design practice.  

Since this is a fairly niche intersection of interests, you can read HERE for an intro to Tarot cards and HERE for an Intro to The Binding of Isaac

As I go over these cards, I’m going to compare them to the Rider-Waite deck (which is one of the most common decks in the United States) and I’m going to give my own interpretations of them. This way, we’ll have a couple of different whys of viewing the cards. Just keep in mind that I may (and probably will) have a different interpretation of the card then you may have. Of course, if you see some other meaning in the card, please let me know in the comments. I would love to know what you think. 

Also, since this is now little more than a personal passion project, I will probably be editing pages quite a bit. I'm kind of looking at it as if this were a short book, so if i obtain some new bit of info or insight, I'll edit the relevant post. 

Let’s get started.