Tabula Mundi Tarot: formerly Tarot "M"

daphne

Regarding the Tarot "M", what you have until now is excellent art and excellent ideas. I think it is a pity not to continue with the deck. Who told it has to be all the same medium? Rosetta is a such wonderful proof of intermingled mediums! You have a sort of inner genius to harmonize cards made in different mediums to make a balanced and perfect coordinated organism like a deck is.

I do hope you will pursue with Tarot "M" 78 tarot deck. Maybe you can include some oil painted cards. Try it, see how you like it and if you are really in love with the oil-medium, go on and do all the minors in oil. I am convinced they will be gorgeous.

Later on, if you what to go for another deck, you can change, do the majors in oils and the minors in the medium you paint now or who knows, another one you`ll discover you love.

I love your art and your ideas. You are such a prolific and gifted artist!! In an ideal world I`d be a millionaire and I`d commission all your decks, so you won`t have to go for a consuming daily job but using your time to bring beauty into the world.
 

frac_ture

Hi, Babalon. I wanted to weigh in here, as I think your new deck is coming out phenomenally well, and while I totally understand how something like "artistic fatigue" can set in for various reasons, I have no trouble saying that if we can assume the rest of the deck will come out as well as these first half-dozen cards, I will be ordering one!

Some general thoughts:

I think your artwork is really growing visibly, even since the Rosetta. Maybe it's the fact that you're now working on a larger scale and then reducing the images, as opposed to just creating them at card-size, or maybe you've just learned a lot and really honed your skills, but these images look even more sharp and accomplished to me, without sacrificing any of the terrific color work that I think was such a big part of why people were drawn to the Rosetta. I also like the modern vibe in most of the cards that updates them without crushing their traditional meanings, and I love the innovations you're lavishing upon each of them -- it's fantastic that you're not just falling back on tried and true images here ("Okay, Emperor...guy on a throne, maybe ram horns, check...next!").

Some specifics.

I love the new Hierophant. This card and the Emperor are probably my least favorites overall in many decks and just on the conceptual level (I think I may have a quiet dislike for male authority figures...), but so far, both cards in this series are very, very appealing to me, and especially the Hierophant. I get a sort of "Wisdom is the key that unlocks doors" vibe from the image, and I also feel that the pillars create a link with the High Priestess card -- I know that such a link is appropriate, but as I was first learning Tarot, it took me way longer to get that those two cards are connected than it took me to grasp the Empress/Emperor connection, which always seems more overt.

Speaking of, I like this Empress -- she feels more modern than usual to me, although I'm not sure exactly which elements make me say that (it's not as obvious as in, say, the Magus card...). When I first saw this Empress, I, too, mistakenly thought I was looking at a shield in the lower left, but I almost immediately understood what was going on. I guess maybe adding the Venus symbol to the smaller version of the shot would help to keep people from failing to see what the blow-up in the corner represents...? And I personally don't mind that the Empress and Emperor aren't more alike, or that all of the characters aren't the same sizes in their cards as each other.

I do think -- and this is an observation more than a criticism, as I don't believe you've ever stated your intent on this point -- the level of "modern-ness" kind of fluctuates from one card to the next. The Fool and the Magus have very modernizing elements, the Empress and the Emperor seem somewhat modern to me, and the High Priestess and the Hierophant are a lot more timeless to me than the others, without any clear modern elements. None of this is to say this is "bad" or "wrong," either...I'm just saying that after the Fool and the Magus, I think I was prepared to play spot-the-modern-reference in every card, but maybe that was never your intent, which is more than cool. My own assumptions are my problem...;)

Anyway, I think the deck is beautiful so far, and having just looked at the cards again, I'm even going to say that pound for pound, I think the Hierophant is my favorite of the bunch to date -- and I never say that about a deck! So...just one individual's opinion, but I think it's really excellent work so far, and I'd be on board to snap this up if you keep going!
 

Babalon Jones

Thanks daphne, desertrat, masa, fracture for your recent comments and everyone for your encouragement; it comes at a good time! Believe me I want to finish this, and I intend to. I guess it is just that I want to do so many things artistically, they are all screaming to be done and it hurts to not give them all their due NOW (lol), so I was hoping to gain some clarity as to how to proceed, and I think I am getting there now or closer to it thanks to you guys!

Also wanted to respond to frac_ture's comment

Hi, Babalon. I wanted to weigh in here, as I think your new deck is coming out phenomenally well, and while I totally understand how something like "artistic fatigue" can set in for various reasons, I have no trouble saying that if we can assume the rest of the deck will come out as well as these first half-dozen cards, I will be ordering one!

Some general thoughts:

I think your artwork is really growing visibly, even since the Rosetta. Maybe it's the fact that you're now working on a larger scale and then reducing the images, as opposed to just creating them at card-size, or maybe you've just learned a lot and really honed your skills, but these images look even more sharp and accomplished to me, without sacrificing any of the terrific color work that I think was such a big part of why people were drawn to the Rosetta. I also like the modern vibe in most of the cards that updates them without crushing their traditional meanings, and I love the innovations you're lavishing upon each of them -- it's fantastic that you're not just falling back on tried and true images here ("Okay, Emperor...guy on a throne, maybe ram horns, check...next!").

Some specifics.

I love the new Hierophant. This card and the Emperor are probably my least favorites overall in many decks and just on the conceptual level (I think I may have a quiet dislike for male authority figures...), but so far, both cards in this series are very, very appealing to me, and especially the Hierophant. I get a sort of "Wisdom is the key that unlocks doors" vibe from the image, and I also feel that the pillars create a link with the High Priestess card -- I know that such a link is appropriate, but as I was first learning Tarot, it took me way longer to get that those two cards are connected than it took me to grasp the Empress/Emperor connection, which always seems more overt.

Speaking of, I like this Empress -- she feels more modern than usual to me, although I'm not sure exactly which elements make me say that (it's not as obvious as in, say, the Magus card...). When I first saw this Empress, I, too, mistakenly thought I was looking at a shield in the lower left, but I almost immediately understood what was going on. I guess maybe adding the Venus symbol to the smaller version of the shot would help to keep people from failing to see what the blow-up in the corner represents...? And I personally don't mind that the Empress and Emperor aren't more alike, or that all of the characters aren't the same sizes in their cards as each other.

I do think -- and this is an observation more than a criticism, as I don't believe you've ever stated your intent on this point -- the level of "modern-ness" kind of fluctuates from one card to the next. The Fool and the Magus have very modernizing elements, the Empress and the Emperor seem somewhat modern to me, and the High Priestess and the Hierophant are a lot more timeless to me than the others, without any clear modern elements. None of this is to say this is "bad" or "wrong," either...I'm just saying that after the Fool and the Magus, I think I was prepared to play spot-the-modern-reference in every card, but maybe that was never your intent, which is more than cool. My own assumptions are my problem...;)

Anyway, I think the deck is beautiful so far, and having just looked at the cards again, I'm even going to say that pound for pound, I think the Hierophant is my favorite of the bunch to date -- and I never say that about a deck! So...just one individual's opinion, but I think it's really excellent work so far, and I'd be on board to snap this up if you keep going!

You are right in that I too think my skills may have gotten better - I even saw that making the Rosetta in that the cards I did towards the end I liked way more than the ones at the beginning. As they say, you gotta put in your 10,000 hours and all that! But it also has to be said that much of it is working larger - it is just so much easier! So much so that I now kick and laugh at myself for ever being dumb enough to do them card sized in the Rosetta - I mean who does that, it is kind of dumb in retrospect! It was such a breath-holding concentration practice, at least maybe in that way it was good. Well that is how I have always learned, by making mistakes, lol! Shows my stubbornness, as I realized that it was a mistake partway through but there was no way in hell I was going to start over, so I doggedly went at it. A testament to the power of the juxtaposition of laziness and Will!

I had to smile at your aversion to authority figures as I was born with that same disease, nearly fatal at times lol. Which maybe is why in both decks I tried to make them dudes I might actually like instead. Also it irks me that everyone tends to dislike the Hierophant as he is my birth card. He's a teacher, and connects the above to the below, there has got to be a way to like that if you ask me!

I totally btw get why some people saw the shield in the Empress at first now that you mention it, as the major decks all seem to depict her with one in that corner of the card, and it is rather shield shaped. But that was not intentional, so I actually consider it a cool synchronicity arising perhaps out of my subconscious picture of her from the Thoth and RWS.

About your question/comment about the fluctuation of the "modern factor" that is true. I don't have a "theme" per se for this deck; it isn't like I am setting out to make them look modern. I'm just letting them come through as my own interps as they want to, and whether I like it or not I am incarnated now, and so in this life the wierd otherworldliness of occult symbolism that I was born very attracted to sometimes is finding a way to express itself combined with modern factors. Slightly. Which I let happen when it feels right. And when not, I don't try to push it.

So my thoughts as far as changes I will investigate making based on the comments so far:

I *may* carefully and transparently with a wash darken the Hierophants skin ever so slightly, not much though as he really is a lighter skinned Tibetan as you can see in his photo.

Also think I will think about adding the Venus glyph to the small door on the Empress' heart to make it more obvious that the larger one is an exploded diagram. I didn't at first as the Fibonacci spiral actually intersects that point on the door so I thought it might muddy the image and not be recognizable. So doing it in this case may not be helpful, but I will check it out and see.

I may also see if I can make her facial expression not as severe. Not sure about that, as I like her face and don't want to ruin it and also really resonated with Laura Borealis' comment that she saw her as fierce, powerful and unrelenting like a lioness with cubs. That is how I have always seen the Empress on some level, thus the comment "nature, red in tooth and claw"

thanks again for your comments, they have helped a lot. I meant to start an oil painting today but instead I washed floors. (Haha, believe it or not as a Sagittarius with Aqua rising wasting precious day off time cleaning was a HUGE milestone) What the hell it was Easter and the floor has had its annual resurrection. *cue hallelujah!* :angel: })
 

Mallah

I think the Priestess, and the Hierophant, if they were to appear to us, would be "untouched by the times"...the Hierophant because of tradition, and the Priestess because of her...well, untouched, probably virginal, aloof-ness. So I think it's totally appropriate that they might not look as "mod" as the others!

I know....BJ you TOTALLY meant to do that, huh?
 

frac_ture

But it also has to be said that much of it is working larger - it is just so much easier! So much so that I now kick and laugh at myself for ever being dumb enough to do them card sized in the Rosetta - I mean who does that, it is kind of dumb in retrospect! It was such a breath-holding concentration practice, at least maybe in that way it was good. Well that is how I have always learned, by making mistakes, lol! Shows my stubbornness, as I realized that it was a mistake partway through but there was no way in hell I was going to start over, so I doggedly went at it. A testament to the power of the juxtaposition of laziness and Will!

Well, for whatever it's worth now, I think it helped give the deck a unique feel, and people certainly responded favorably to it! And like you said, ya lived and ya learned...;) The next deck will probably go a lot faster now for you having gone through the process you did with the Rosetta.


I had to smile at your aversion to authority figures as I was born with that same disease, nearly fatal at times lol. Which maybe is why in both decks I tried to make them dudes I might actually like instead. Also it irks me that everyone tends to dislike the Hierophant as he is my birth card. He's a teacher, and connects the above to the below, there has got to be a way to like that if you ask me!

This is just me personally, but I think that when I first started to really explore Tarot, the Hierophant struck me as less about "Teacher Writ Large," and more about "The Catholic Church" for various reasons. I'm not a Catholic, so the card actually made me feel judged and preached at, even though I readily admit that this was all various pieces of baggage (or entire sets of luggage...) I was bringing to the party all on my own. I don't know if that's what other people are feeling when they react negatively to the Hierophant or not. I do really like your latest version of him, though! I think it defuses everything I just mentioned above, while still bringing forth all of the positive aspects and the "Teacher" element.


About your question/comment about the fluctuation of the "modern factor" that is true. I don't have a "theme" per se for this deck; it isn't like I am setting out to make them look modern. I'm just letting them come through as my own interps as they want to, and whether I like it or not I am incarnated now, and so in this life the wierd otherworldliness of occult symbolism that I was born very attracted to sometimes is finding a way to express itself combined with modern factors. Slightly. Which I let happen when it feels right. And when not, I don't try to push it.

I totally understand that, and like I said, it was yet another bit of business I was dropping into my own responses. I'm a big one for pattern recognition, to the point that I sometimes unconsciously try to infer patterns that aren't necessarily there...in this case: my bad!


I may also see if I can make her facial expression not as severe. Not sure about that, as I like her face and don't want to ruin it and also really resonated with Laura Borealis' comment that she saw her as fierce, powerful and unrelenting like a lioness with cubs. That is how I have always seen the Empress on some level, thus the comment "nature, red in tooth and claw"

I cast my vote for leaving the Empress as she is. I'm on board with the take that you and laura_borealis are putting forth here.
 

VGimlet

I am chiming in here, because I also hope you are able to do 78 cards. Although as a writer (not published, but still a writer) I totally understand about the 5 million projects waiting in the wings even as you work on this one, LOL.

I actually put the tarot M on my wanted list right away, just for the Fool alone. I don't really have any critiques about the art. :p

I also like the Hierophant. He is never my favorite (raised in a non-religious family) but I like your take on him.
 

Babalon Jones

watch the honey drip, can't keep away...

http://www.rosettatarot.com/Tarot_M_-_in_progress.html

Scroll down to the bottom, to see the latest card posted, The Lovers.

(To read a short mention of the resent astrological events that to me very much were in synch with this card, go to the link for the blog.)

I wasn't going to post more cards yet, but changed my mind as I wanted to share this one and see what people think. I hope it serves to strengthen the ties between the Empress and the Emperor.

Also have started the minors, and am doing something a little different with them and working in oils too. But keeping them under wraps for now anyway. When I have more done I'll post a few.

I've decided that I need to spend more time on art if I am going to complete these for my (self-imposed) deadline of 1st Q 2013. Lately it has been all about getting the garden in, and watered, and weeded...But now that it is mostly planted, I'll be going at it with renewed vigor.
 

Bluefeet

It's great to see that the structure of the deck starts building up now, this is going to be another great reading deck coming after Rosetta!
 

Mallah

I LOVE THIS!!!!

Your natural sensitivities to the cards are awesome...and I love the way you are bringing in unique symbolism!!!!!

1Q2013 huh????
 

MoonGypsy

Oh my gosh; this deck is going to be so stunning and deeply meaningful...
i adore the Empress!!! :thumbsup: She is so powerful! Please don't change her expression! She is the "All Protective Mother"...not namby pamby!