Tarot / The Prototype has arrived!
Hello again everyone, another update on my Tarot deck project, what I have been calling the Sigil Arcanum Tarot, or the Nigredo Tarot (Maybe you can help me pick a name?) I ordered a prototype to be printed on demand from a site called The Game Crafter. They did a decent job, but most of the cards appear to be shifted to the left, and so the designs become off-center. It also turned out a bit darker than I was hoping, but I'll fix that.
Other than that, the deck shuffles well, it reads very well, and it's already finding its position in my life. I did a reading for the deck.
Q: Who are you?
A: 9 of Fire
I take this to mean that it is the almost fulfilled manifestation of a creative endeavor. That project of course would be my exertion of will (fire) into creating this deck from my imagination. This is the 9, not the 10. We are not quite through the forest, and there is still some learning to do before the project is complete.
Q: What is your purpose?
A: XIII - Death
A lot of people are nervous about this card, or afraid of it, but I take it to be a good thing. The process of death is inevitable, and brings concluded / perfect things back into essential material. Decomposition, perhaps; Solve. This is the first step in the Alchemical Process, the Nigredo. To represent this on the card, I have included a reversed (and slightly altered) image of the sun, a black sun, if you will. The word Nigredo literally means black, and it is followed in the process by the Albedo (White / Rebirth), the Citrinitas (Yellow or Gold / Aging and Learning), and the Rubedo (Red, the Completion).
This deck is sort of a personal milestone in my life. I was originally going to get a particular tattoo, but I can't afford it, so I ended up having to cancel the appointment. Instead, this came along in my life. The idea is in essence my approach to a Tarot of the Nigredo, an all black, slightly darker approach to the Hermetic principles and Alchemical ideas in the Thoth and Waite decks. It felt appropriate, and perhaps I'll want to do some kind of all white deck to complement it, but for now I'm just focusing on realizing this project. Remember, we're at the 9, but soon the 10 will come.
Very cool! I have my own internal deck in my head but haven't manifested a physical version of it yet. For now I just use an existing deck as a physical proxy for my internal deck. I've followed you on here and looking forward to more of your posts.
Thanks Jeremy! It's always a fun experience to bring an idea to life. It can be really difficult, but it's quite satisfying. I can't wait to see your deck when you're ready!
Hooray! It looks great. I like the name 'Sigil Arcanum Tarot'. I can't wait to own a deck, I was instantly taken with the designs as soon as I saw them. The symbols speak of intrigue and mystery, which is appealing and compliments the art of the tarot itself.
(A white version would be awesome too - people could collect both!)
Also, its pretty brave to ask your deck 'Who are you?' What if it had said 'the devil'?! :p
Thanks for your interest! I can't wait until it's available for you. I'm glad you like the designs, and that you see the mystery and the appeal with them. I agree, a white version would be really cool, I'd also like to see a yellow version and a red version (probably both with ornate paintings in each color), to finish the Magnum Opus.
I prefer arcanum tarot name rather than the other one ^_^
Thanks for the input! It's probably going to end up being the official name.
Nice work, man. They look great. I love the texture on the cards. I bet they feel good.
They do, they shuffle really well. They're a bit thinner than I'd like for the final product though.