Do you have any Tarot decks or books that don’t speak to you anymore, or that never did in the first place? Or maybe you have some duplicates you don’t know what to do with.
If you’d like to take those old decks and books and turn them into new ones, take a look at Donnaleigh de LaRrose’s Free Tarot Exchange.
There’s no buying or selling in the exchange forum, it’s just that – an exchange.
Post what you have that you’d like to trade, as well as your dream list of what you’d like in exchange. You just might find the perfect match.
I’ve obviously gone crafting crazy this past week. This is the second post in just two days about Tarot crafts.
On Wednesday, I wrote about making your own deck using pictures from magazines. Today I’m talking about making a magnet Tarot with flat-bottom clear glass beads.
Leisa ReFalo was the first to inspire me to combine glass beads with Tarot. I saw some that she’d done a couple of years back at BATS and just loved them.
Then last month on Beyond Worlds, we had a Tarot Tip from Linette Voller on how to make Tarot weights using the same technique. After the show I ordered supplies.
Of course I ordered the wrong thing. The beads I ended up with were much bigger than I’d intended, but at least the magnets were strong enough to hold them.
I shrunk down pictures from the Rider Waite Smith deck and put each on a coloured background using Photoshop. Then I printed out the tiny pictures and cut them all out to fit the glass beads.
I used Diamond glaze to glue the picture to the glass, and added an extra backing of white paper so that the magnets wouldn’t show through the image.
Now that they’re done, I’m glad I got the wrong size bead. Each one is big enough to show the whole card, but still small enough to be adorable.
They can be used for readings, ritual, or just to stick on your fridge.
The whole process is kind of addictive. Once I started shrinking down Tarot images, I began thinking of all the other types of pictures I could shrink down and glue to glass.
The possibilities are endless. I’ll be making more.
If you’re looking for something to craft over the holidays, why not try making yourself a personal Tarot deck.
There are so many ways to do it. You can draw your own images, use photos from your own collection, or stock images from the net.
You can take a box of art cards and organize them into a Major Arcana, or you can try what I’m doing now, a magazine collage deck.
All you need is a pile of magazines and access to a scanner. Any magazines you have on hand will do, as long as they have a wide enough variety of images.
I chose tabloids because they’ve got good pictures, and embarrassingly enough, I had a number of them around.
In most cases, the Major cards are the easiest to find, but depending on the type of magazines you’re using, some archetypes might be more common than others.
In the tabloids, there are plenty of High Priestesses, Empresses, Lovers, and Fools. But it’s harder to find examples of Judgment or the Hierophant. They’re all in there though, you just have to look.
I scanned all my pictures into the computer, and then chopped them up in Photoshop. I added titles and the odd symbol from the Rider Waite Smith deck, and played around with the background colours.
So far, I’ve got rough drafts of eighteen of the twenty-two Majors, and a lot of raw material for the Court Cards and many of the Minors. And my deck has a name – it’s The Tabloid Tarot.
The cards I’ve posted here are first drafts and will definitely change. But as soon as I get all the majors to at least this stage, I’ll be printing out a practice copy and throwing some spreads.
Not only can you see the exhibition there, you can also get yourself a copy of the 78 card special issue deck printed up as a catalog to the show.
Curated by Stacy Engman, this project brought together an amazing collection of artists – true icons of contemporary art and design, from Karl Lagerfeld and Christian Louboutin, to Yoshitomo Nara and Vivienne Westwood.
You can see the full list of artists at the KLÜP site, and it’s impressive.
I’ve already sent my messengers to New York to get me a copy. I hope they succeed in their quest. But it’s available on line as well for those who can’t get there in person.
It’s a little more expensive than your average deck, but it’s sure to sell out soon. Don’t wait too long if you’re interested in getting one.
It doesn’t happen every day that this many renowned artists get together on one project. That they got together over Tarot is truly remarkable. I just love it.
Look at the video below for an excellent Tarot message for December, courtesy of Hay House and The Kitchen Tarot.
In the Kitchen Tarot, the Chariot card is the Rolling Pin. I’d never considered such an association before, but I think it’s pretty great.
The Chariot has traditionally represented steadfast warrior-like energy, and an ability to persevere and achieve success through hard-work and personal integrity.
The rolling pin might not be a warrior, but it’s long been depicted as a handy go-to weapon for women.
More importantly though, it’s used to roll through the bumps and lumps present in any project worth working on.
#7 The Chariot
It’s a strait-forward instrument, just a roller and some handles, but it’s the basic tool for creating everything from the hardiest of breads to the most delicate of pastries.
And of course, it rolls, like all good Chariots do.
The rest of the Kitchen Tarot looks just as fun. It’s a Majors only deck created by Susan Shie, with a guidebook by Dennis Fairchild.
Shie quilted each of the cards using a character she developed in 1998 called St. Quilta the Comforter.
St. Quilta is based on her mother, a nurse who studied natural healing, and obviously is the Queen of the Kitchen Tarot.
The deck is adorable, and the message of the Rolling Pin is excellent.
Keep rolling on through December and bake up something sweet.
I posted about the book a while back while it was still in production. It explores the story behind the 23 Tarot images Waite commissioned stained-glass artist J.B. Trinick to create.
There are over 80 colour and black and white plates in the book, commentary on the images, biographies of the main players, and a peek into Waite’s mystical system for spiritual development.
Only 250 copies of this first edition will be made, so it’s kind of special. I decided to treat myself to an early Christmas present and ordered one. I can barely wait to see it.
Hopefully it’ll be published in a mass-market form soon as well. And what I’m really hoping for is a printing of the deck itself.
It’s been out of print for a while, so this new edition is a welcome treat for those who didn’t get a chance to get one before.
Mahony and Ukolov are the creators of many gorgeous decks, almost all of which are out of print. People snap them up as soon as they leave the presses.
They’ve made the Bohemian Gothic Tarot, the Victorian Romantic, the Fantastic Menagerie, the Fairytale, and the Tarot of Prague.
The only one still available, at least for today, is their very pretty oracle deck, the Victorian Flower Oracle.
The Bohemian Cats should be ready by the end of the month. They’re taking pre-orders at Baba Studio now.
I’ve ordered one, and can’t wait till it arrives.
I’m going to try it out with my cat Carl. He’s complained in the past that my decks were too humancentric. I think he’s going to like this one.
But Arthur Waite’s decision to use descriptive pictures throughout the minor arcana made it easy for even first time users to do a reading. And to begin to understand the philosophy buried within the cards.
The RWS deck, accompanied by Waite’s Pictorial Key to the Tarot, opened Tarot up to everyone, not just those who were members of secret magical societies.
I think Waite was interested in much more than just ‘peering into the future’ as this piece seems to suggest, but it’s interesting nonetheless.
Through their deck, Arthur Waite and artist Pamela Colman Smith made an enormous contribution to Tarot. They really changed everything.
There’s a new Tarot book out this month by Dr. Roopa Patel called Experiencing Tarot: A Book of True Stories and Healing. From the looks of it though, it’s only available in India right now through Harper Collins.
Patel, an astrologer and Tarotologist, is perhaps the first Indian to write about Tarot for the Indian audience. She’s been doing it since 1995, through newspaper columns, magazine articles, TV, and the internet.
When she started with Tarot, there wasn’t a lot of research material available in India. And apparently there’s still not. To fill the gap, and clear up some of the misinformation surrounding the cards, Patel has stepped in to write her own book.
She takes a rational approach to her topic, looking at Tarot’s history, how it works, and how it connects to other new age sciences. It’s important to her that people understand how the cards can be used for both spiritual growth and alternative healing.
Illustrations by master miniaturists Amrit and Rabindra Singh, are an added bonus to Patel’s book.
The Singh Twins, soon to be honoured by Queen Elizabeth with the Member of the Order of British Empire, created the 22 original major arcana cards pictured in the book.
They said they didn’t know much about Tarot before this project, having connected it with the occult. But after researching, and actually working on the cards, they discovered they liked them and might even take Tarot forward into their next exhibition.
They’re thinking of using contemporary figures from show business and politics to highlight concepts in the cards. I really hope they do, I bet it would be amazing.
And I wish I knew where I could get a copy of the commemorative deck made to accompany the release of Experiencing Tarot. I’m going to try to hunt it down.
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Here’s an interview with the Singh Twins from 2009, shot and edited by Joe Eshwar.
Of course, Tarot is entertaining enough without it, but using your favourite deck with The Tarot Game can add a whole new level to the magic.
Jude Alexander, who I was lucky enough to meet this year at BATS, designed the game.
She’s a tarot adept, teacher, and game enthusiast with a degree in Theatre Arts, and years of experience guiding transformational play for individuals and women’s groups.
By combining Tarot with storytelling, and the fun of a board game, she’s created a whole new way to enjoy the cards.
Players throw the dice and make their way around a spiraling snake, pulling cards and answering questions as they go.
The game comes with over 100 questions and a 78 card key word starter deck for Tarot beginners. Experience isn’t necessary, just a desire to play.
