Create My Own Tarot Deck? Why Would I Want to Do That?

Major Tom

Take a look into any given tarot card for long enough and you will eventually see yourself in the card looking back out at you. A rash statement some might say. Yet, what is the tarot? Some have called it a book and I have no argument with that. Some have called it the Key to the Mystery of the Universe and I won’t argue with that either. :) Still others call it the key to the riddle of us and I would wholeheartedly agree with that view. })

There have been a number of secret organisations that have required their members to colour their own decks, sometimes to very specific instructions. The BOTA http://www.bota.org has published their own version of the tarot with the instructions provided by Paul Foster Case. Interestingly enough the concentration of the instructions is upon the major arcana. ;)

Going to this length at least imprints the cards into your imagination. As we’ve learned from the Comparative Tarot method http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ComparativeTarot/ as you study cards from various decks you begin to see different examples in your mind’s eye whenever you confront a single example of any given card. Colouring a card will guarantee that card is one that comes to the mind’s eye.

How much more would you expect from creating your own version of the card?

One of the effects reported by many deck creators is the very act of creating a card brings that card’s energy to life, into the very life of the creator. Whoa! Scary or what? :eek: http://www.tarotforum.net/showthread.php?s=&threadid=17953

To create a card honestly is to actually confront a card, the energy of the card. This is a reason why I would say creating a tarot deck is a great way to learn tarot. To look you honestly in the eye and say, “Yep, that’s me.” }) I promise if you do this you will come away from the experience with a greater understanding and acceptance of yourself.

*Shameless plug * To read about learning tarot by creating your own deck, you’ll need to buy a copy of the Tarot Lovers’ Calendar 2004. })

Creating your own deck can take as long as you want it to. I’ve been working on my deck for just about 3 years now. I know I’ll finish it. ;)

Creating your own deck is about you. Chances are though that what touches you is quite likely to touch someone else. ;)

I welcome all thoughts especially from among those who’ve created a card (better still, a deck) themselves. :D
 

HudsonGray

I don't know about going through (living) the energy of each card as it was made, for me. I had pencil sketches being worked on in multiples at any one time. They started out as ideas - little scribbles in ballpoint on scratch paper, then some reference photos usually off the internet or from magazines for details (paws, faces, masks, ear carriage), and a lot of pencil roughs going all at the same time. When I'd get to do the 'official' penciling before inking, I'd lay out all the images I needed for it on the table & get down to doing the final pencil work at night, and maybe get 2 or 3 cards blocked in & detailed, then put them to the side for 2 or 3 days & come back at them with the rapidograph pen after letting my mind get a rest from them. This way I could see if I did like the final design or needed to change it some more.

If I was doing oils, acrylics or even color pencil, I think the process would have been very different, as the media is handled differently and the cards would probably be tackled one at a time.
 

Astra

I have this theory about spiritual journeys, that effectively says if you decide to go on one, you're going to be on the wrong path. It may give you new insights and ideas, and may even change your life (although lives tend to change anyway), but it won't be the one you need most.

If, on the other hand, you tell the universe to take you where you need to go (and yes, you can flinch when you say it), then you will be taken on a journey you'd never have dreamed possible.

Be that as it may, I originally decided to do a deck because I wanted to get really, really good with the software packages that I had, and 78 cards looked like a long enough row to hoe that I'd end up using every feature available. (Still lots of features left untouched, too, but it worked pretty well.)

And it got me here, to Aeclectic, and new people to talk to, and the publishing/marketing process is likely to generate more new stuff I'll have to learn to handle, and more good people to communicate with. And more ideas about what to try next, and...
 

rota

I'm kinda with Astra on this one. I've made a couple of decks, and I somewhat blush to say that the original impetus for both of them was not to create a tarot deck.
The first one, the Ator Tarot, grew out of a series of animated cartoons I was making. The second one, the International Icon Tarot, grew out of the art I was generating for an ad campaign.
Don't tell anybody.
 

Major Tom

HudsonGray said:
I don't know about going through (living) the energy of each card as it was made, for me.

I don't want to detract in anyway from what has been a remarkably well-documented, yet extraordinary journey for you. Your deck is a remarkable achievement that deserves popularity. :)

Doesn't your version of the card appear in your mind's eye as you look at another version from another deck?

When you set out to make your deck weren't you thinking about a product to sell - at least to Ferret owners? Thus, perhaps the deck wasn't really about you?

I bet you'll be able to sell every copy you print.
 

Major Tom

Astra said:
I have this theory about spiritual journeys, that effectively says if you decide to go on one, you're going to be on the wrong path. It may give you new insights and ideas, and may even change your life (although lives tend to change anyway), but it won't be the one you need most.)

That's a remarkably cynical viewpoint if I can make that observation without giving offense. Spiritual journeys are personal, thus the choice is entirely the individual's.

Astra said:
Be that as it may, I originally decided to do a deck because I wanted to get really, really good with the software packages that I had, and 78 cards looked like a long enough row to hoe that I'd end up using every feature available. (Still lots of features left untouched, too, but it worked pretty well.)

Just as with my friend HudsonGray's deck, I don't want to take anything away from your remarkable achievement. But, I'll ask you the same questions. Don't you see your version of your card in your mind's eye?

You were creating a deck to appeal to a mass market weren't you or at least to learn software? So, was your deck really about you?

Astra said:
And it got me here, to Aeclectic,

I'm certainly glad you joined. :) Have you thought about self-publishing?
 

Major Tom

rota said:
I've made a couple of decks, and I somewhat blush to say that the original impetus for both of them was not to create a tarot deck.

The first one, the Ator Tarot, grew out of a series of animated cartoons I was making. The second one, the International Icon Tarot, grew out of the art I was generating for an ad campaign.
Don't tell anybody.

:laugh: :laugh: :laugh: My friend this speaks for itself.

Perhaps you'd consider creating a deck for you?
 

baba-prague

Oh - this is such a hard question to answer! Great question in fact.

Well, I think I have a long answer and a short one, so for now here is the short one.

I began to create a tarot deck because I felt partly that rationally it was a good idea (i.e. we have the skills, we are in Prague with wonderful material around us, we want a medium to show the kind of "magic-realist" style we are developing in our little studio) but also because emotionally, I just felt compelled to. Part of the reason I am in Prague is because of a reading I did with some Oracle cards two/three years back. Somehow it foretold exactly what would happen - and made me convinced I had to come and live here. Part of the acknowledgement of that was to make a tarot deck - sort of in some way a "thank-you" for the good advice and directions that I think I got from this city.

I just asked Alex and to quote what he said:

"Most of all because I am interested in symbolism and history. It is exciting to take things you see every day and combine them to make something with a new symbolic meaning"

So - that's the concise answer from both of us!

I love this thread - and hope more deck designers join in.
 

Ironwing

Three years ago, a friend asked me when I was going to draw a Tarot deck. I hadn't used Tarot for years, and creating my own deck didn't appeal. But the theme for the deck came to me a few months later, with ideas for all the cards. I wanted a deck that was connected with nature and creativity, something I could use with my shamanic work. So it was very personal right from the beginning - such an intense project could not be otherwise, although I hope a few other people will enjoy it also. I also knew from the start that if I wanted it published, I'd have to do it myself.

I drew whichever card I felt like working on, so the energy of the cards quickly entered my life - I began to "live" each card as I worked on it. Once I recognized this, I sometimes chose cards based what I felt was appropriate at that time. I also applied the strength I gained in drawing the pip cards to the energy-intensive Majors. When I began to draw the court cards ("Spirit Guides"), the project became much more intense. A couple of months ago I began to see an energy exchange between the project and a couple of people in my life who connect strongly with the deck. The images began to reflect my relationships, and the people began to see themselves (not just me) in some of the cards. I believe this is a natural process and shows that the deck will be useful to somebody besides myself...but to protect the project as a whole, I decided to withdraw and finish the deck more or less in seclusion (though I still add cards to the website as they're finished). This week I am returning to the project after a few weeks of illness, so I'm eager to get back to work.

Lorena/Ironwing
 

Astra

Major Tom said:
That's a remarkably cynical viewpoint if I can make that observation without giving offense. Spiritual journeys are personal, thus the choice is entirely the individual's.
Actually, I don't feel cynical about it at all. The journeys I've watched that have had the most impact, including mine, are the ones where the person has looked around and realized they were in the middle of one, then decided to paddle with the current and see what comes next. It's mostly about being able to relinquish control to some extent, to see the things you couldn't have gone looking for because you didn't know about them.

Just as with my friend HudsonGray's deck, I don't want to take anything away from your remarkable achievement. But, I'll ask you the same questions. Don't you see your version of your card in your mind's eye?

You were creating a deck to appeal to a mass market weren't you or at least to learn software? So, was your deck really about you?
Of course, and of course. True creative efforts are always mirrors for the self - what else? What I was trying to point out was that, whatever reasons I thought I was doing it for, if I judge by end results, what it did was pull me back into the tarot community, and set me down with a thump where it seems I needed to be. I'm looking forward to see what else will happen as I focus on trying to make a buck.

I'm certainly glad you joined. :) Have you thought about self-publishing?
Umm. Yes, but not if I don't have to. The last thing I want to do is to be tied down with all the minutiae of sales, distribution, inventory, shipping, handling, tax forms, etc.. If I can find someone else who already has the setup, well, that's what they take their cut for.