I’ve been trying to summon the motivation to resume my reconstructed Etteilla Tarot project. Funny… the card I resume on is the Four of Swords, which perfectly captures how I’ve been feeling.
Here are varying drafts of my illustration for the Etteilla Four of Swords. My art process begins with sketches by hand that I then scan in, clean up, and digitally color. I also separate out each feature in the composition as its own layer, so I can move around the pieces, resize, etc.
Líng Tú 靈圖, or spirit maps, are oft referenced in the Taoist Canons (道藏經). They’re a recurring feature in the Canons that have always intrigued me, and how the term “Líng Tú” is used in the scriptures.
So that’s the topic for video #6 in this series.
Let’s summarize the three classifications of spirit maps: (1) maps of spirit realms for the purposes of astral journeying or spiritual cultivation, (2) enshrining divinities or creating thresholds for which communication between the physical and spirit realms can take place, and (3) Fu, which are talismanic edicts or petitions to regulate spirit forces in a way that will influence physical forces.
Digital proofs are here. Next step would be physical proofs to be mailed to us for final review, but there are a few details that need tweaking.
Continue reading “SKT Revelation 2nd Printing: Status Update”
Everyone from all corners and interest groups have been buzzing over AI art, or at least this is most certainly the case in my world.
Here are some from the online hamlets I lurk in: Juli, Heather, and Sarah chat about AI Art here. Here’s Ethony’s take, “Are AI Art Tarot Decks Immoral or Genius?” Will and Kate touch on AI created tarot decks in this discussion. Goliath, the creator of the El Goliath Tarot, weighs in as well. I’m really loving Chaweon Koo’s perspective in this article, “Will You Burn the AI Like You Burned the Witch?”
If I tried to list out all the impactful video discussions on AI art I’ve been loving, it would just go on and on, so I won’t link to the more popular takes from artists themselves. Plus, you can find them via any quick keyword search on YouTube.
I’ve been quite verbose myself when it comes to sharing my thoughts and commentary on AI art. See below hyperlinks to three past blog posts. As an assist I’ve outlined bullet point lists of subtopics each blog post covers.
But I thought I might add a candid video chat, too. =)
Continue reading “AI Art Controversy: The Libran Perspective =)”
Here’s the box design for the second print run of the Revelation deck that I’ve decided to go with. Thank you, everyone, for your input in the previous post and on Facebook!
I posted the poll on here yesterday at 3 pm and closed it to count the results this morning at 6:30 am. There were only 74 votes total. Option B (the new one, with no SKT or brand identifiers on the box) won with 56.75% of the votes (total of 42) while Option A, which is this one you see here, received 43.25% of the votes (total 32), so very, very close!
I was going to go with the majority vote, but J raised a good point. The total number of input is too low compared to the total number of people who pre-ordered the second printing, so it’s not actually going to be an accurate gauge of what the pre-order people want.
Also, said J, the people who would be able to jump in and vote in less than 24 hours on a blog post I didn’t even publicize or my Friends-only Facebook share are people who already have a copy of the deck and who are already really used to my Stuff, so they don’t need brand identifiers on a box cover.
But, he said, since he’s the one doing intake of all pre-orders, he knows that most of the second print run pre-orders are new people. So it wouldn’t be fair to totally change the box design from the first printing when the whole point of the second printing is for people who didn’t get the first to still snag a copy.
Meanwhile, most of the people voting (according to him) are names he recognizes as people who’ve ordered other stuff from us. They can’t speak for the people who have never even heard of me and are buying the SKT for the first time.
And then I was like, dang. Good point.
This blog post is going to be a walk-through of the box design. Since I took out the Book of Maps chapter on the card back and box design, I’m going to put that info here on the blog and point people here in the delivery e-mail you’ll be receiving.
Continue reading “SKT Revelation 2nd Printing: Final Box Design”
If you pre-ordered the 2nd printing of the Spirit Keeper’s Tarot: Revelation, then your input is requested. And… so sorry… I need it, like, in the next 24 hours because I’m about to submit to the factory and start the production process.
UPDATE: Visit here to see the final proofs for the second print run box design.
This is a crash course on the Wu Xing 五行, Five Dynamic Movements, though you’ll often see it called the Five Elements of East Asian metaphysics.
1/30/2023 Erratum Update: A few of the correspondence rows in the Metal and Earth columns got flip-flopped in the subsequent reference chart. If you downloaded the table before 1/30/2023, please delete it and re-download the rectified version. ❤
I say “East Asian” here because it’s not limited to any one culture, ethnic group, or nationality, not to mention the concept itself is much older than modern-day borders.
I’ll start by saying it’s gimmicky to claim a list of “the most auspicious” hexagrams in the I Ching. The Book of Changes doesn’t work like that. Not to mention as the sequential lines move through the Changes, line 1 up to line 6, different points of that movement of change can indicate different turns and degrees of auspices.
And so while I Ching practitioners wouldn’t necessarily say there are “good” vs. “bad” hexagrams, in moments of fun, sure, everybody’s got their own shortlist of favorite hexagrams.
Here are my top six.
Continue reading “List of the Most Auspicious I Ching Hexagrams”
We got behind schedule in terms of when to place our purchase order with the manufacturer. And as some of you already know, Lunar New Year is basically an entire blackout month of no production. That means if you don’t start something until after the Lunar New Year, you’re effectively now one month behind schedule.
My plan was to place our order and at least get the uncut sheet samples in hand before Lunar New Year, and then production would happen, and then we’d be on target for March and April mail-out delivery.
However, now it’s more likely April to May mail-out delivery of your pre-ordered decks.
The Penumbra Tarot by Australian artist Eris Elizabeth and Ethony is an enchanting and multifaceted deck that is both a perfect gift for a beginner and a versatile professional reading deck that seasoned readers will love.
This is an RWS based deck while the color palette is reminiscent of Lady Frieda Harris’s art in the Thoth, with more naturalist human representations than the Thoth.
Continue reading “The Penumbra Tarot by Eris Elizabeth and Ethony”
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