An Almost Marseilles Deck !

[Sophie]

Oh, you've kept the smarties, I'm so glad

I just did a reading with that card alone, in the Marseille reading circle here, and I rather like the guy summersaulting on his hands rather than falling - so that's what I miss in your card: you have both figures falling. But it's a great card, anyway.

Oh - I like the simplicity of Le Pendu.

 

[The 78th Fool]

That's a really interesting take on the Tower - I never thought of the other man somersaulting, I always saw it as one man falling in front and one from behind. Something to think about.

That aside, I always say that you can't get through life's little crises without smarties !!

Just completed the World card - attached below.

Chris. xx

 

[The 78th Fool]

And also Judgement. My favourite so far. xx

 

[Little Baron]

And also Judgement. My favourite so far. xx

Me too! That's powerful. Love it.

LB

 

[Rosanne]

What's with the almost Marseilles? I really like these cards and they will bring many to TdM. I like the tree/bird on the Star! Clever and professional update to an old dream. My only hope that they will be larger rather than smaller. ~Rosanne

 

[Tesseljoan]

I like your take on the Marseille a lot! Very interesting deck indeed. Judgement is fantastic, and I like that you added the table to the Bateleur, and yet made it your own.

 

[The 78th Fool]

What's with the almost Marseilles?

This is my 'get out' clause ! I'm saying 'almost' so that when I depart from the original here and there, then no one will be surprised. My pip cards certainly won't have all the swirls and flowers in the right places!! Despite this I do intend to keep to the symmetry and arrangement of pips on the original Marseilles pattern.

Chris. xx

 

[Major Tom]

I like these a lot Chris.

I do wonder why the Star maiden is wearing a dress? I think the tree and bird are essential. The danger with updating designs is that 'updating' tends to mean 'simplifying' and symbolism is usually lost.

I look forward to seeing what you do with the pips.

 

[The 78th Fool]

Hi Tom,

Sophie asked the same question about the Star. Here's part of the post where I explained about the clothed figure:

Sophie - Thanks for the detailed feedback. Just to answer a couple of your questions; the points you made shine a spotlight on the approach I'm taking. If the term 'Almost Marseille' deck wasn't so unwieldly, then that's what i'd call the deck !!! I'm only following the Marseilles symbolism loosely, or as much as it suits my own ideas. In the case of the Moon card I didn't change much but with the Star I wanted a clothed figure like on the earlier Visconti cards. the Star always means hope to me, as well as truth. Truth is well served by nakedness (sometimes, anyway !) but I like the idea of hope always involving a certain amount of speculation and mystery. Hence the clothing.

What I want to achieve here is not neccessarily a Marseille deck per se, rather it's a tribute to the visual feel of the Marseilles decks I saw when I first came to the Tarot in my teens. I don't think my style of work would lend itself very well to an exact re-production. I think the end result will be more akin to a Swiss 1JJ or a Soprafino but with very strong colour overtones from a Grimaud. The basic visual style will be there and much of the traditional symbolism but also a lot of twists and variations and, of course, a much more modern feel. Hope this helps.

Chris. xx

 

[Sophie]

I like that Judgement card, Chris

Le Monde seems a bit ...unfinished??? I can't put my finger on it - sorry, I'm not a designer. All the symbolism is there, so it must be something to do with the design.