Veronica Ciancarini, also known as Vespertiliu, was born on Christmas Day in 1993, spoiling the family’s Christmas Eve dinner. In 2019, she graduated in Set Design from the Academy of Fine Arts in Rome. Passionate about all things gothic and spooky, she shares her passions through her art and on social media platforms. She has worked with several Italian publishers such as Panini Comics, Lo Scarabeo, and Mondadori. Since 2023, she has been teaching art at the Pencil Art School and collaborates with the independent publisher Ragdoll - Fumetti Somposti. Her upcoming graphic novel, “Cadaveri Squisiti” (Exquisite Corpses), will be released this autumn, debuting at Lucca Comics & Games, published by Ragdoll - Fumetti Scomposti.
07/10/2025, 19:36 - Finbarre: Welcome to Tarot DMs Veronica! Thank you for chatting to me on this chilly autumnal evening, I may be typing a little more slowly than usual thanks to an enormous tray of my wife’s homemade lasagne (so I am more pasta than man at the moment). Where in the world are you typing from today?
07/10/2025, 19:37 - Vespertiliu: Hello dear! Thank you for having me! I’m typing from Italy right now! I’m very jealous of your lasagna belly
07/10/2025, 19:39 - Finbarre: It was scrumptious, I must confess. Right, as you know we’re in the middle of DEVIL SEASON on Tarot DMs so your first card is going to be based on that theme. Before we get there, am I right in thinking you like things dark and spooky?
07/10/2025, 19:39 - Finbarre: (I type, looking at your bat emojis by your name there)
07/10/2025, 19:39 - Vespertiliu: I love things dark and spooky! You are absolutely correct
07/10/2025, 19:41 - Finbarre: You’ll be in fabulous company with most of the folks reading this then. How does your dalliance with darkness inspire your creativity out of interest, is it with art or music or another way you express yourself?
07/10/2025, 19:44 - Vespertiliu: I get inspired by art and I create art from that. It could be visual art but also music! Many times I’ve been listening to phantom of the opera, Jekyll and Hyde, Dracula or other spooky musicals while creating my illustrations! At the same time I could spend hours going through art books about Edward Gorey, Gustave Doré, Leonora Carrington, Leonor Fini, Remedios Varo (the list goes on). I especially feel pulled towards art about witchcraft or occult creatures! The more gothic the better!
07/10/2025, 19:45 - Vespertiliu: To tell the truth it also gets involved in the way I dress, picking outfits that are on the same spectrum
07/10/2025, 19:46 - Vespertiliu: But I as a person am way less spooky actually ahahah
07/10/2025, 19:48 - Finbarre: Gorey? Doré? You’re speaking my language here! I recently bought myself a book called The West Wing by Edward Gorey about ten seconds after it being recommended on an excellent Substack called Dr King’s Curiosities - https://rebekahkingwriter.substack.com/ (great for all things goth and gruesome!)
07/10/2025, 19:49 - Finbarre: I imagine in Italy you have to go easy on the black though otherwise you would melt!
07/10/2025, 19:49 - Vespertiliu: Oh Goddess! I’ll need to check this! Thank you!
07/10/2025, 19:49 - Vespertiliu: In summer it’s a nightmare
07/10/2025, 19:50 - Vespertiliu: Right now it’s already pretty chilly! So I got back to dressing like a witch. But this last couple of summers where almost unbearable!
07/10/2025, 19:50 - Vespertiliu: Thankfully I live by the sea
07/10/2025, 19:50 - Vespertiliu: So at least I can go swim!
07/10/2025, 19:52 - Finbarre: Here is a quick peek at the cards we are using today - they’re The Modern Witch Tarot by Lisa Sterle https://www.lisasterle.com/mwt
07/10/2025, 19:52 - Finbarre:
07/10/2025, 19:52 - Vespertiliu: Beautiful deck!
07/10/2025, 19:54 - Finbarre: ... and there is yours! One thing I like with this one is the emphasis that is placed on the chains - they are loose; they could be removed. This card suggests a powerful force at play, or raw energy.
07/10/2025, 19:54 - Finbarre: So my question for you is...
07/10/2025, 19:55 - Finbarre: Which temptations do you wrestle with? How do they inform or challenge your artwork?
07/10/2025, 19:58 - Vespertiliu: So, I actually had to draw a new Devil card for myself, to keep it in my journal and have it as a reminder to not fall into temptation! This might sound very superficial but my main struggle nowadays is my attachment to my phone… I love physical media, I make traditional art, I love museums, and yet, I find myself indulging in infinite scrolling. My personal chain… and yes, it is a loose chain, for I could easily put my phone away and create or do other things to fill my soul! But there’s a reason why they are called temptations, right?
07/10/2025, 19:58 - Vespertiliu: So I find the Devil to be a comforting tough-love kind of card
07/10/2025, 19:59 - Vespertiliu: It tells you “you are your own demon”
07/10/2025, 19:59 - Vespertiliu: But that also gives you power
07/10/2025, 19:59 - Vespertiliu: It reminds you of that power
07/10/2025, 20:01 - Finbarre: Is it an archetype or theme that runs through your work? I know you’re fond of winged characters from the glimpse I have had so far. Stark, eldritch and a trifle demonic!
07/10/2025, 20:03 - Vespertiliu: Actually no, the demon-like look is reminiscent of my love for bats actually! But I love “monsters”, I find them to be misunderstood creatures. Human monsters have nothing to do with the occult creatures of the darkness. Human monsters are the real ones.
07/10/2025, 20:05 - Finbarre: Your comment about having your attention enslaved by a mobile phone hit hard as I have tried my very best to make mine less interesting: grey background, featureless icons, stripped of social media and games. It was doing that... that eventually had me wanting to write and create more, find my way to Substack and then to your page!
07/10/2025, 20:07 - Vespertiliu: That’s so nice! I too have a setting to put my phone in black and white! It helps! And I too have switched to being more present on Substack to run away from the other social media apps!
07/10/2025, 20:07 - Finbarre: Could you share a glimpse of a project that you’re working that is making work for your idle hands? It would be great to see how you’re channeling that energy.
07/10/2025, 20:09 - Vespertiliu: So, I am currently working on an illustrated book for a publisher so I can’t show you anything from that unfortunately. But yesterday I had to make a couple of sketches for a bookmark to go with my new graphic novel! I think I can show you that!
07/10/2025, 20:09 - Finbarre: Very much yes!
07/10/2025, 20:09 - Vespertiliu:
07/10/2025, 20:11 - Finbarre: Oh, now that IS interesting and I’ll tell you why very shortly. Are these spooky doodles that came to you, or details from a larger picture you’re working on?
07/10/2025, 20:13 - Vespertiliu: Those are elements I’ve used to create a bookmark design to promote my upcoming graphic novel! I used a picture from a graveyard in Edinburgh that I took last March (a life changing trip) and I added the skull and the girl-bat head, since they are the two main characters of the graphic novel! For the coffin I looked up antique ones online and then designed this on my own.
07/10/2025, 20:13 - Vespertiliu:
07/10/2025, 20:13 - Vespertiliu: This was my inspiration
07/10/2025, 20:15 - Vespertiliu: Can’t show you the final bookmark design yet, it’s still top secret until the comic book comes out ;)
07/10/2025, 20:17 - Finbarre: Oh, Edinburgh is a *magnificent* city! I went on one of those walking tours inside the city walls where I was told that people lived in there in “wynds” - a dense overcrowded urban environment of narrow streets and alleyways. It was the kind of place where your goosebumps get goosebumps. A very evocative place indeed. Thank you for sharing the photo of that beautiful stonework too!
07/10/2025, 20:17 - Vespertiliu: My pleasure!
07/10/2025, 20:18 - Vespertiliu: That city gave me so much in terms of inspiration! I love her.
07/10/2025, 20:18 - Finbarre: We’re up to your second card, and this is the one that is selected randomly. I’ll shuffle the deck - all you need to do is type “stop” and I’ll take a picture of the one you have chosen
07/10/2025, 20:18 - Vespertiliu: …………
07/10/2025, 20:18 - Vespertiliu: Stop!
07/10/2025, 20:19 - Vespertiliu: (Maybe I went too soon ahahha)
07/10/2025, 20:19 - Finbarre:
07/10/2025, 20:19 - Finbarre: You got a good one!
07/10/2025, 20:19 - Vespertiliu: My gurl
07/10/2025, 20:20 - Vespertiliu: I’ve pulled her also on my monthly reading for the end of September
07/10/2025, 20:21 - Finbarre: Self-sufficiency, accomplishment, and independence. Confidence, grace and possibly the enjoyment of luxury from careful planning. Possibly the a that you deserve more chocolate in your life.
07/10/2025, 20:22 - Vespertiliu: Fun fact: I can’t have chocolate! It’s not an allergy (I think, we never checked actually) but I can’t have it, it gives me stomach aches and headaches
07/10/2025, 20:22 - Vespertiliu: I feel this card message is “you did enough”
07/10/2025, 20:22 - Vespertiliu: Which is quite fitting since I often struggle to give myself the time and grace to rest
07/10/2025, 20:23 - Vespertiliu: This is another nice reminder
07/10/2025, 20:24 - Finbarre: If this card was a question it would be... got it. How does your craft give you comfort?
07/10/2025, 20:24 - Vespertiliu: It connects me to my childhood self
07/10/2025, 20:24 - Vespertiliu: Whatever I’m creating
07/10/2025, 20:25 - Vespertiliu: Could it be the most serious piece of art ever
07/10/2025, 20:25 - Vespertiliu: But as long as I’m being authentic and free in my creativity, adulthood disappears
07/10/2025, 20:25 - Vespertiliu: with all its problems and responsibilities
07/10/2025, 20:25 - Vespertiliu: I go back to a time where I could create for the joy of it
07/10/2025, 20:26 - Vespertiliu: That is the greatest blessing I get from my craft
07/10/2025, 20:27 - Finbarre: Is there a piece in particular you have created that still makes you glow like that?
07/10/2025, 20:28 - Vespertiliu: Not a piece in particular, but my character Vespertiliu (with whom I share my art-name)
07/10/2025, 20:28 - Vespertiliu: Whenever I feel lost, I can just draw her
07/10/2025, 20:28 - Vespertiliu: And I feel less lonely
07/10/2025, 20:29 - Vespertiliu: I come back to myself
07/10/2025, 20:29 - Finbarre: Conjuring up that sense of innocence and self with a flourish of your pen, that’s a power spell! Could you share a picture of her?
07/10/2025, 20:30 - Vespertiliu: Sure!
07/10/2025, 20:30 - Vespertiliu:
07/10/2025, 20:31 - Vespertiliu: I particularly love her in this one
07/10/2025, 20:31 - Finbarre: SHE IS ADORABLE!
07/10/2025, 20:31 - Vespertiliu: Thank you! 🦇🦇🦇🦇
07/10/2025, 20:31 - Vespertiliu: My whole tarot deck is centered around her
07/10/2025, 20:31 - Vespertiliu: That’s why it’s called Vespertarot
07/10/2025, 20:32 - Vespertiliu:
07/10/2025, 20:34 - Finbarre: If anyone is reading this and thinking what I am right now “Where do I get this?” (then “When do I get paid?” and “How many tarot decks is too many?”). Do you have a link folks can follow to buy their own?
07/10/2025, 20:35 - Vespertiliu: Ahahah! sure! Just a second
07/10/2025, 20:36 - Vespertiliu: https://www.loscarabeo.com/products/vespertarot?_pos=1&_sid=553b9f43f&_ss=r
so, on my publisher’s website they are actually out of stock right now
07/10/2025, 20:36 - Vespertiliu: however
07/10/2025, 20:36 - Vespertiliu: https://www.amazon.com/dp/8865279249?ref=cm_sw_r_ffobk_cp_ud_dp_TZG9Y0ES1AEANT8EXD5K&ref_=cm_sw_r_ffobk_cp_ud_dp_TZG9Y0ES1AEANT8EXD5K&social_share=cm_sw_r_ffobk_cp_ud_dp_TZG9Y0ES1AEANT8EXD5K&bestFormat=true
they are also on Amazon
07/10/2025, 20:37 - Vespertiliu: but if you prefer to support local bookstores/metaphysical shops, I’m pretty sure you can order the deck everywhere :)
07/10/2025, 20:38 - Vespertiliu: Just ask for Vespertarot deck by Veronica Ciancarini, published by Lo Scarabeo
07/10/2025, 20:39 - Finbarre: (I was momentarily distracted looking through the example cards, this is such a joyous deck!)
07/10/2025, 20:39 - Vespertiliu: Thank you so much!
07/10/2025, 20:40 - Finbarre: Now, I’m going to have to change the tone a little. We’re now at the last card, one that was left for you by my previous guest: Lane Smith (author of Seventy-Eight Acts of Liberation: Tarot to Transform Our World).
07/10/2025, 20:41 - Finbarre: This is why I went “Oh my goodness” at this image you revealed because...
07/10/2025, 20:41 - Vespertiliu: Drumroll please
07/10/2025, 20:41 - Finbarre:
07/10/2025, 20:42 - Vespertiliu: My gurl (again)
07/10/2025, 20:42 - Finbarre: Rather an empty drumroll, more of a clattering of skulls!
07/10/2025, 20:42 - Vespertiliu: I love this card
07/10/2025, 20:42 - Vespertiliu: Another one I had to redraw and put in my journal with the Devil one!
07/10/2025, 20:43 - Finbarre: What is it that draws you to this, the classically Most Dreaded Card?
07/10/2025, 20:44 - Vespertiliu: The message: Transformation comes from rebirth. Something has to die for it to be reborn
07/10/2025, 20:45 - Vespertiliu: I’m going through a transitional period now, and I seek transformations. I am probably already in the midst of it, so that’s why it feels so uncomfortable.
07/10/2025, 20:46 - Finbarre: It is a card that calls for difficult questions so here goes:
07/10/2025, 20:46 - Vespertiliu: Bring it on
07/10/2025, 20:47 - Finbarre: Have you experienced a creative moment when something you once loved no longer fit in your life?
07/10/2025, 20:47 - Vespertiliu: Absolutely
07/10/2025, 20:47 - Vespertiliu: Several times
07/10/2025, 20:47 - Vespertiliu: And I believe that’s the point of growing and living
07/10/2025, 20:48 - Finbarre: Which occasion of this comes immediately to mind, if you’re OK to share?
07/10/2025, 20:49 - Vespertiliu: It happened with theater. I’ve been a musical performer for a few years, but then I realized I was neglecting other aspects of my persona: my art for starters! I still sing and often times I miss doing theatre, but it is a craft that sucks you in! You have to give it a lot, and I have so much more I want to give myself to.
07/10/2025, 20:52 - Finbarre: I am in awe of people who play instruments, or those that can sing. I *adore* listening to music but never had the gift of being able to conjure it up! Although. I do have an ancient piano downstairs and everytime I pass it I remind myself it is never too late to learn
07/10/2025, 20:53 - Vespertiliu: Absolutely! Please give it a chance! You’ll be surprised!
07/10/2025, 20:53 - Finbarre: My neighbours most of all! Alright. Deal.
07/10/2025, 20:53 - Vespertiliu: Do it for the lore
07/10/2025, 20:54 - Finbarre: Do you have a tarot deck to hand with you right now, out of interest?
07/10/2025, 20:54 - Vespertiliu: Omg I have many
07/10/2025, 20:54 - Vespertiliu: Should I pick one apart from mine?
07/10/2025, 20:54 - Vespertiliu: I have a few favorites
07/10/2025, 20:55 - Finbarre: In our last few minutes together I would love for you to pick a card for the next person I speak to. You can do this randomly or intentionally. From whichever deck feels right. Take a picture of it and post it here.
07/10/2025, 20:55 - Vespertiliu: Oh ok! I’ll use mine then!
07/10/2025, 20:56 - Vespertiliu: I’ll shuffle and see what pops out
07/10/2025, 20:56 - Finbarre: NOT THAT ONE
07/10/2025, 20:56 - Vespertiliu:
The VI of Wands popped out
07/10/2025, 20:57 - Vespertiliu: Lol
07/10/2025, 20:57 - Vespertiliu: (Should I do it again with another deck?😂)
07/10/2025, 20:58 - Finbarre: Gosh no. Hearing someone speak about a moment of victory, of riding high and accolades would be marvellous. Good pick!
07/10/2025, 20:59 - Vespertiliu: It was the deck, I only shuffled 🔮
07/10/2025, 21:00 - Finbarre: Veronica, what is the best way for readers of Tarot DMs to follow your work and learn more about your super secret illustrated book too?
07/10/2025, 21:02 - Vespertiliu: They can find me on Substack, Instagram and YouTube as @vespertiliu
07/10/2025, 21:02 - Finbarre: Fabulous and here goes... grazie per la chiacchierata!
07/10/2025, 21:02 - Vespertiliu: Wow! perfetto! Grazie a te!
07/10/2025, 21:02 - Vespertiliu: 🦇♥️