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Bad stuff happens. We can't deny it.

I had a discussion with another Tarot reader recently who insisted that every card was positive and none of them should be read negatively. Even the Tower card. And reversals? Forget it. Since the human imagination is limitless I can envision a pathway to taking that approach, but it doesn't strike me as either realistic or healthy. Pretending that negativity doesn't exist by refusing to recognize it, in fact by forcing only positivity on Tarot readings, strikes me as fakery. Positive forces are balanced against negative forces, a foundational concept of eastern harmony. Focusing only on positivity seems wildly out of balance. Personally, I'm willing to let honesty rule the reading, releasing my intuition to feel negativity or positivity as presented by the cards. It's not my purpose to impose intentional outcomes through my conscious will. That honest approach to intuition makes the reading free of intentionality and willfulness, thus releasing me from moral issues about any messaged negativity rebounding. I suspect my views are in the minority. My friend's positive-only approach may be more extreme, but most of the Tarot readers I've met seem to focus strongly, at least, on positive readings and shy from negatives. What say you? Always focus on the positive, or just let the cards lead where they may?

I almost titled this entry as "Rethinking my idea," regarding what I wrote about in my previous entry, but the truth is I'm scrapping it. I think the concept of organizing a deck with each suit representing the life of a historical figure can work, but this morning I realized that there is an aspect of each person I wanted to represent that I don't want to glorify, and it would be pretty impossible to leave it out since they are well-known historical figures from ancient times. Plus, there's the question of how to depict the Majors if I went that route. So, I will have to find a different theme or perspective for my deck. In the meantime, I really should get to work on another tarot-related creative project I've had in the back of my mind (not a deck). I came up with that idea a few months ago but haven't done anything with it yet, purely due to my usual habit of procrastinating. Onward!

Thank you, @JoyousGirl ! I should have explained my idea better. Each suit in the Minors would represent one particular person who lived in a certain time and place in history. So, Swords = Person A, Cups = Person B, and so on. The court cards will be easy, as those would depict the main person and the powerful or important people in their lives, and then the other cards would have other people, places, and events that took place. The reason I am stumped about how to do the Majors is because all these historical figures lived in different parts of the world and in different eras. So I am not sure (yet) how to make it all fit together cohesively. But I have time to work on it!

Thank you, @Raggydoll !

One suggestion (and maybe you’re already doing this) is to do test cards without committing to a full project. I’ve done lots of test cards in various styles, media and card sizes. I’ve also scanned and even test printed some to see what they would look like. If you want to eventually have your deck printed, it’s nice to learn more about how different papers, different pencils and colors (etc) work as a finished product. And it gets you going, which helps to give further ideas and inspiration! (If you don’t want to invest the money in printing test cards professionally, then you can print them with a home printer. It works great too). Best of luck with everything, and don’t feel pressured to show us your artwork, it’s nice just to read your thoughts on the process!

I have been wanting to create a tarot deck for ages. Every now and then, ideas come to me for the artwork on specific cards. I haven't done anything with these ideas yet, mostly because I want the deck to be cohesive and I was having problems visualizing how to connect the ideas I have for specific cards to each other. I was also thinking I need some sort of theme. I know that's not necessary, but I think it's cool when a tarot deck conveys a specific perspective. There are so many decks with really interesting or unusual themes/perspectives out there. Obviously, some work better than others, and some are very silly. I don't want mine to be silly. I want my theme to add something of value to anyone using the deck. For the longest time, however, I had a hard time coming up with any kind of theme that would be meaningful to me (and to others), and that I could execute well. BUT NOW I've come up with a theme that I can get excited about. I will have to do some research to see if there are any similar decks out there already, and I will also need to do some historical research and figure out who/what gets assigned to which tarot cards. See, the inspiration for my idea came from reading about actual historical figures. There are two historical novels I read recently, which are really fiction but heavily based on the lives of real people whose stories are amazing and inspiring. And those novels got me thinking. I could incorporate certain elements of their lives into tarot. Plus I would love to draw the clothing they wore, the types of buildings they lived in, and so on. While making notes on my ideas, I came up with four prominent historical figures and matched them up with the tarot suits. That made me see that this idea could work! And not in a cheesy or hokey way. The tricky part is the Majors. Do I have elements of each of these figures throughout the majors? Do I assign another historical figure to the Majors? Or do I create the Majors in sort of a generic way? I'm not sure "generic" is the right word, but I just mean less thematic, I guess. I'll just need to ponder this further and see what my imagination comes up with. Once I have the ideas for the theme and artwork solidified, then I will have to look into how to get the deck published. ===== I just want to acknowledge that some folks here were expecting to see images of my artwork in this "Art Blog." I should have been clear when I created it, that it's mostly where I want to work out ideas and talk to myself about them. That's not to say that I won't post any pictures of my art, though. I'm just not feeling ready to do that quite yet. Thanks for understanding!

Thank you! 🥰

I've said this before @Raggydoll , but I love the style of that deck you made. Even the card backs are just right.

I have some books on antique German and Swiss playing cards, and I referenced several different decks for this project. I picked my favorite depictions for all the cards, and I made sure that every card had clear symbolism. The coloring is not 100% original, I picked a color scheme that I loved and used it throughout. And the back design is of a later date, but I loved it so much that I had to use it.

You made this? I love it! What were your sources?

I really like the earliest German and Swiss decks, and I once made my own version based on multiple antique german decks. It was a super fun project, and it makes me smile whenever I use it 😁

Yes! I have a few German suited playing card decks. One card I particularly like attached. The Lo Scarabeo deck has similarly illustrated images. Unfortunately, when I went back to the shop where I had seen it two days ago, the deck had sold.

It’s a German suited deck, so it can be read just like other German playing cards. You should be able to find keywords for German suits if you do an online search.

Does anyone own this deck? It’s actually a playing card deck from the 1880s and not medieval but very pretty. I’d like opinions on card stock quality and if anyone has read with it, maybe as a cartomancy deck? Lo Scarabeo S.r.l.Medieval Fortune Telling CardsUn antico mazzo di carte da gioco e per la divinazione, illustrato con scene di vita medievale. Ogni seme rappresenta un tema diverso – relazioni amorose, caccia, commercio, guerra – per offrire una v

@Rachelcat You might try looking at the animal symbolism another way. With Lenormand, for example, the Snake is in a similar position- falseness etc. and the Fox likewise. If you trace the symbolism back to pre-Christian times, you’ll get different meanings. I have found the deck adjusts its language to these new readings if you are sincere.

Hi there! I saw your other post, desktop and google (chrome, I assume.) Go ahead and try it in an incognito window. You possibly have a plugin that might be conflicting. Please give that a shot and report back for further troubleshooting! :)

I am sorry you are having problems joining us SallyHill Are you using a phone or tablet or desktop browser to join? What browser are you using? Could you try a different browser or device if that one is not getting you through the security check for bots trying to join us We will get you in here 😀

Context of the reading is everything, I think you can get a lot from one card. However it depends on what you are reading on, if it's a really complicated or confusing situation, then you need quite a lot of cards. One card for a really complex situation isn't going to work well but then I see videos online of people doing 40 cards, and then clarifying them over the top, I turn off after the 5th card! I think working out the right spread and the right amount of cards for the reading is a real readers skill and something we get better at with our readings and experience.

I am having the exact same issue from my computer. I am using Google.

I am trying to sign up, but I keep getting an error message about the security question, and i cannot find a way to contact a moderator. Would appreciate some help!

grins Okay, okay, gotcha! 😄 I don't think the fewer and fewer cards is a new trend, back in the day I already thought "way too many cards, we can condense that" (and, anecdote, I once did a 1.5 hour live sessions based on one card - way back when...) Yes, three cards I think is still reasonable, and more if within a specific spread, but I am not one to just put 11, 15 or more cards down just because... that to me relies too much on the key words, but then again, I am an artwork reader rather than LWB...