Just ordered my personal deck :)

GlitterNova

I finally silenced that little urge in the back of my mind and created a personal deck! To start at the beginning: A while ago I had decided that it would be a useful exercise to create a list of card meaning keywords for each of the minor arcana that made sense to me. Some of the RWS images (and therefore meanings) have bugged me for a while, so I wanted to create a system that 'rectified' what I didn't like (I hope that doesn't sound pretentious, it's not meant to be). I decided to go back to basics and study tarot numerology for help understanding the progression of energy through the minors. This ended up being a breakthrough for my personal understanding of the minor arcana. After studying the numerology, I was able to create a list of keywords not only for each card but for each number (5s, 4s, etc) that really made the flow of energy through the minors become much more clear to me. Some of them were very similar to the standard RWS meanings while others weren't, but overall this wasn't a problem because they just seemed so, well, clear.

So, of course I had to make a personal deck :) Disclaimer: I am an occasional pixel-artist of the most amateur degree, but I knew I couldn't create the art that I would want for this deck. The idea of using public domain fine art was very enticing, but I knew it would be a huge pain to source all of the images online from various sites. Luckily, a Google search led me to the Getty Open Content Program. Basically the Getty Museum has made available HD pictures of thousands of pieces of art it own, all free-use and copyright-free, in one easy-to-search website. One thing lead to another...and before I knew it it was 5 am and I had a list of 82* lucky images (out of literally hundreds I looked at) for a deck! Throw in some simple card formatting and TheGamecrafter and "The Tarot of New Clarity" is on its way to me!

(*I included 0s in the suits so the card total ended up being 82)

The art ranges from Egyptian pottery to medieval manuscripts to baroque portraits to early 20th century photography, but I kept the formatting very simple so I think it all works together.

Some of my favorite cards: (these include 'trim zone', the outside black border will be smaller on the printed cards).

The Lovers http://i.imgur.com/y2AK5YL.jpg
Strength http://i.imgur.com/GeeEMOb.jpg
Judgement http://i.imgur.com/h74MEDT.jpg
0 of Coins http://i.imgur.com/coMTi4e.jpg (that's a 19th century photograph of the moon's surface!)
9 of Coins http://i.imgur.com/CMtRdpg.jpg
5 of Cups http://i.imgur.com/7YOeTUq.jpg
7 of Cups http://i.imgur.com/VRxTVa2.jpg
9 of Swords http://i.imgur.com/6Hb007Q.jpg
Knight of Swords http://i.imgur.com/I0dhRh9.jpg (Nadar!)
Queen of Swords http://i.imgur.com/rmKpF3T.jpg
10 of Wands http://i.imgur.com/Q1XqpTU.jpg
Backs http://i.imgur.com/WQyotCP.png

I haven't ordered a prototype deck or anything so I'm trying to keep my expectations rational about the fact that I still don't have any idea what the actual cards will look like. It's really hard not to be excited though! :)

Let me know if you'd like to see any specific cards or the website image URL to any specific piece of art on the cards :)
 

gypsy white bear

that's quite something

i cant wait to look thru all cards

will you have final touchs on it?
or it will be that way?

you are so AMAZING :3
 

cardwitch

This is so cool!! That Lovers card is just gorgeous. I've always wanted to make my own deck. One of these days...

Edit: That '0' card thing is a really great idea!
 

GlitterNova

Edit: That '0' card thing is a really great idea!

Thanks! The idea of 0 cards came about fairly early when I was working out the card meanings, and they (hopefully) fit very seamlessly into the deck. They are the 'lack of, leading to the anticipation of' the suit. They allowed me to basically 'free up' the 10s and have them become something closer to what I wanted, which was the embodiment of 'dissemination/circulation'. For example, the traditional 10 of Swords is integrated into the new 0 of Swords (keyword 'darkness') and the new 10 of Swords is 'Magnum Opus' (the ultimate dissemination of knowledge). And, hey, if I ever sell this deck through Gamecrafter and someone doesn't like the 0s, they're free to toss 'em :D
 

GlitterNova

that's quite something

i cant wait to look thru all cards

will you have final touchs on it?
or it will be that way?

you are so AMAZING :3

Thank you!

I'm not sure if I'll add anything else to the cards. Depending on how they look in person, I might shrink the text and maybe add a plain border. I just don't want anything that distracts from the images. One issue with using all different kinds of artwork is that a fancy border that works on one card might not work on another. It all just depends on if the cards look too 'plain' in person.

Here are some more card images:

Queen of Wands http://i.imgur.com/L8AOxlP.jpg (I knew I had to use this image as soon as I saw it, but it took a while to figure out which card)
5 of Wands http://i.imgur.com/vaDlXWK.jpg
6 of Wands http://i.imgur.com/ljOLum4.jpg
4 of Swords http://i.imgur.com/83MJyXh.jpg
The Tower http://i.imgur.com/MWP9N7w.jpg (this ended up being a very personal card. As soon as I saw the painting I thought 'Tower!' even though it doesn't resemble the traditional Tower at all, and I'm not religious either. Go figure! I'm just happy I got to include something by El Greco)
 

gypsy white bear

Thank you!

I'm not sure if I'll add anything else to the cards. Depending on how they look in person, I might shrink the text and maybe add a plain border. I just don't want anything that distracts from the images. One issue with using all different kinds of artwork is that a fancy border that works on one card might not work on another. It all just depends on if the cards look too 'plain' in person.

Here are some more card images:

Queen of Wands http://i.imgur.com/L8AOxlP.jpg (I knew I had to use this image as soon as I saw it, but it took a while to figure out which card)
5 of Wands http://i.imgur.com/vaDlXWK.jpg
6 of Wands http://i.imgur.com/ljOLum4.jpg
4 of Swords http://i.imgur.com/83MJyXh.jpg
The Tower http://i.imgur.com/MWP9N7w.jpg (this ended up being a very personal card. As soon as I saw the painting I thought 'Tower!' even though it doesn't resemble the traditional Tower at all, and I'm not religious either. Go figure! I'm just happy I got to include something by El Greco)

ooooh, i love the tower
so much, and 5wands

these are quite a lot of food for my thoughts
i've already thought of a lot of other keywords i could work with your deck

althought some of those is hard to read but overall, it somehow talks to me :)
 

earthair

Love it! I would buy it if available for purchase. This is exactly the kind of thoughtful and yet analytical art approach which keeps tarot fresh for me :eek:)
 

GlitterNova

I'd be lying if I said I wasn't considering making a little Gamecrafter shop for it once I receive and am happy with the cards. All in all the deck would be around $25 which would include a box, but the LWB would be available as a free download (to keep the price down). Tbh I'm not particularly concerned with profits just because I didn't actually create the artwork.

The only issue I can think of is the possibility that the Getty attribution would need to be on *every card* instead of just on the box and LWB. If that was the case it would be a pain, aesthetically speaking. I need to do more investigation on that.
 

cardwitch

Thanks! The idea of 0 cards came about fairly early when I was working out the card meanings, and they (hopefully) fit very seamlessly into the deck. They are the 'lack of, leading to the anticipation of' the suit. They allowed me to basically 'free up' the 10s and have them become something closer to what I wanted, which was the embodiment of 'dissemination/circulation'. For example, the traditional 10 of Swords is integrated into the new 0 of Swords (keyword 'darkness') and the new 10 of Swords is 'Magnum Opus' (the ultimate dissemination of knowledge). And, hey, if I ever sell this deck through Gamecrafter and someone doesn't like the 0s, they're free to toss 'em :D

Awesome! I love how you've got your own system going on here. The use of 0 in your deck makes me think of the Japanese concept of "mu" (or "nothingness" or "void"), a lack of substance which almost becomes substance in and of itself. Can't wait to see more of your deck (or, even better, hear more about the ideas that motivated your selection of images). I find your system intriguing :D

I'd be lying if I said I wasn't considering making a little Gamecrafter shop for it once I receive and am happy with the cards. All in all the deck would be around $25 which would include a box, but the LWB would be available as a free download (to keep the price down). Tbh I'm not particularly concerned with profits just because I didn't actually create the artwork.

The only issue I can think of is the possibility that the Getty attribution would need to be on *every card* instead of just on the box and LWB. If that was the case it would be a pain, aesthetically speaking. I need to do more investigation on that.

Ooh, interesting. I'm completely broke at the moment (Christmas and all...), but I would add this deck to my wishlist if it was available. If I didn't like the borders (presuming that's where the attribution is), I'd just trim 'em :D
 

GlitterNova

Can't wait to see more of your deck (or, even better, hear more about the ideas that motivated your selection of images). I find your system intriguing :D

If you're interested, here's a link to all of the Minor Arcana card keywords and simple numerological meanings I came up with (the deck's cheat sheet!):
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Hot_CAQyHi1LiH3CYyIn-vHS4nCyG2wzdE_xB3F4jYA/edit?usp=sharing
(Ignore the fact that it uses elemental associations instead of card suits, it's standard fire=wands/swords=air)

My main goal with those keywords and meanings was to create a system where the flow of energy was clear both vertically (from 0s to 10s) and horizontally (all of the cards of a certain number). I know nothing about Astrology or Kabbalah so I've found it can be difficult in traditional decks to understand the flow of energy between/through the suits if approached from just a numerological point of view. My hope is that this deck creates a clear flow of energy between the cards even to the beginner (like myself!).