Tarot Deck Creation Group - Themes

kayne

It's great to see there is so much interest!

One thing to think about when starting your own tarot deck is, "What is the theme going to be?"

You might make your theme really loose like, Images that appeal to me and combine various themes and ideas to reflect your interpretation of the cards.

However, creating your own deck is a really interesting way to not only learn about tarot but also learn more about your theme! Trying to apply the theme "Soccor ball brands of the World" to all the cards can be difficult but this sparks the most creative expressions! You might like to choose a theme that leaves room for all the interpretations...

So - theme ideas? What theme do you feel reflects your personality and interests? What would you like to base a tarot deck on? By sharing our ideas we may be able to spark new ideas for others and help you further develop your own...
 

Temperance413

Themes

I love nature and the balance of things in life. The tides, the moon phases, I think are all so relevant and connected. If I created a tarot deck I would use balance in nature for a theme.
So many have been done, but there are still more ideas out there.......
 

.dc

not sure yet...

it's hard to decide on one theme. i know that i gravitate towards the darker decks and i have been getting into the idea of a photoshopped collage deck and stuff. then again, a words deck (like mateo and i discussed in another thread) sounds kewl too... or the more expensive style: a Rubber Stamped style deck.

i've come up with lists of what i would want the minor arcana to be. Some of my suggestions are:

dragonfly = wands
pens = swords (pens are always mightier *gryn*)
lizards = cups
words = coins

but as far as an overall theme... not one for me yet. althought the thought of a powerpuff girls deck... now there's a good idea. =)

blessed be,
.dc
 

Liliana

OOOOh, Powerpuff girls deck, can Him be the Devil? (I love Him hehe)

Boring and Stodgy as it sounds, I want to doa Christian Tarot deck. Im not pleased really with any currently available I want to associate each Major with a person, place, or event from the Bible, and the minors probably with a Bible verse. But I also want to retain a lot of Rider Waite symbolism, some of the Christian decks dont have enough symbolism for my tastes. I already have a good number of the majors associated in my head, but Im not artisitic enough to draw it :)
 

Kiama

I would like to do a Shakespearian deck. The ones already done, I think could've been done better. Maybe also a deck that sings to you! Y'know, a song for eah card, and each card has a little switch, which you can press to hear the song. The song would be relevant to the meanings of the ard, of course!

How about a children's TV characters theme? Anyone remember 'Trapdoor'? Well, the Devil would be the loud shouting master guy down the trap door, that we never see, but who keeps Burt (?) chained to the chores all day... And the Fool would be Andy Pandy, Uncle Bulgaria from the Wombles would be the High Priest, and that camping guy from the Moomins could be the Hermit. I've just realised that hardly anyone will understand what the hell I'm going on about here...

Kiama
 

truthsayer

i'd like to do one on universal archetypes. tarotbear suggested i do one on my deep interest in greek mythology but i'm not sure that greek mythology quite covers everything. my brain definitely marches to the beat of a different drummer so there's no telling if anyone will understand where my ideas are coming from or going. but i will know and if i'm not looking for publication that's the important thing. i also enjoy creating my own art.

kiama, it seems like on the old forum we had a thread where someone else was talking about doing a musical deck. it's a really cool idea. i wish someone would do one. would that mean that each card represents a different note so a reading would be like a piece of music? a harmonic reading would be more positive than one would a lot of sour notes? would the fool be middle C?

i'd like to see a well-done shakespearian deck done. i know the author of the one i have put about 4 years into it but i really can't relate to some of her choices. some plays have more cards than plays i thought would have been better choices. what about the sonnets? she probably chose plays she related to most. including the globe theater somehow would be interesting.
 

Liliana

Well I know craft stores sell little button things that play music when you press them. Often I see them sandwiched between 2 pieces of plastic canvasas an ornament, ifi had a REALLY long time I could make a plastic canvas deck with an appropriate song, probably majors only lol

Ive always wanted to see a completely holographic deck, i bet it would look cool

Also,weird person that I am, have seen all these rectangular, round, even square decks, Ive always wanted to do a a triangle shaped deck. The triangle is a powerful shape, and also the number 3 is a powerful number. I might even put 3 different images, upright, reversed, and neutral. God only knows when Id do it lol
 

.dc

oohers.. .a holographic that's kewl.

as far as mediums go... i thought about doing a Business Card deck. you know gathering 78 business cards from companies i know or have been apart of and assigning them to a position in the deck.

of course, that would be a HIGHLY personal deck. only one of a kind. =)
with the thought of my ex-employer as the TOWER.

blessed be,
.dc
 

Major Tom

kayne said:
It's great to see there is so much interest!

You might make your theme really loose like, Images that appeal to me and combine various themes and ideas to reflect your interpretation of the cards.

By sharing our ideas we may be able to spark new ideas for others and help you further develop your own...

Firstly, I want to echo Kayne - the real point behind creating your own deck - it to create something that speaks to YOU and something that teaches you about yourself. My advice here is 'don't even think about publication in the early stages'. If you create something that speaks to you - other people will be interested...

Everyone has come up with some great themes!

Temperance - The Balance of Nature is a really good theme and there's images of nature in abundance - it's just a matter of pulling them together to start your deck...

.DC - Great ideas! Why not combine your suit ideas with the rubber stamp as the medium? A Powerpuff Girls deck could be a cut & paste collage... I also like the business card idea - you could doodle additional images straight on the cards....

Liliana - I agree with you that many Christian themed decks leave something to be desired... There's so many saints cards that you might try cut & paste collage.... Christian images are very easy to come by....

Kiama - Love the idea of a musical tarot! Not sure how you'd go about it....Liliana's suggestion about the buttons might be the way to go. You could certainly start collecting tunes. :) I also agree a Shakespearian tarot is a good idea - I wonder if you could combine the two?

Truthsayer - Universal archtypes is what it's all about - I think Tarotbear's suggestion make sense - why not give it a go?

It really is great to see so much interest!
 

kayne

Wow - and some people think there are no original ideas left in the world! I love them all!

I think a triangular deck is a really interesting idea Liliana! As for rubber stamps, .dc, it doesn't have to be expensive. You can make really excellent designs using normal erasers and by cutting into them with lino-cutting tools. I made a fish stamp once that turned up on nearly everything I did for a while!

Great ideas all!!! Keep them coming :)