You can download these printable 2.5″ x 3.0″ divinity blessing cards. High-res 500 dpi JPGs to follow.
The first set is Buddhist: Maitreya, bodhisattva of loving-kindness and Kuan Yin, bodhisattva of mercy and compassion.
Kemetic Divinity Blessing Card
The second set is Kemetic: Thoth (Dhwty or Tehuti), the Egyptian god of knowledge and writing, and Isis (Ese or Ast), goddess of magic.
Then I’ll chat a bit about deck packing favors, for the prospective indie deck creators who might be interested in my notes and commentary on the matter.
Click on the above image if you want to download the high-res JPG file. This is going to be a 2″ x 3.5″ magnet that will accompany each SKT III deck purchase. They’re produced by the same company I ordered the 2″ x 2″ magnets from, for those who remember the First and Vitruvian Edition packaging.
I test-printed several copies of the Book of Maps galleys from Lulu to review formatting, images, etc., and in all those copies, the cover art came out fine. However, due to how dangerously close to the edges of the book I go with the ornate floral border design, in some copies that people are ordering, the gold margin part gets cut off. Sigh.
Here’s a BEFORE cover design preview. The pink part (the bleed) is where the cuts are made. The shaded in pale green part on the front and back covers are the margins, but in theory all of it should still show. It’s just a cautionary note that you’re getting pretty darn close to the bleed.
And here is the high-res 300 dpi 5 MB printable and free downloadable JPG image file for the BEFORE cover art:
click on image to download
You can click on that image file to download and save it. If you’ve ordered the Premium Package, then as you know, your order of the digital e-book (in PDF form) means you also have a limited personal license to print physical copies of the book for your own private uses.
Later today, tomorrow, or Friday, if you pre-ordered the premium package for the SKT: Revelation, then the e-mail for the Book of Maps will be in your inbox shortly.
I apologize for the delay. In a previous status update I said I’d get it to you in the first two weeks of May, but regrettably, that didn’t happen. Life got in the way. =)
If you do not receive it, first make sure to check every single e-mail inbox for the addresses you might have given to us. Second, make sure to check the Social or Promotions tab in Gmail or your spam folder. Our communication might’ve gotten caught up in there. If truly a glitch has happened and you did not get the e-mail, please reach out to abelldelivers@gmail.com.
Comparing the First Edition, Vitruvian, earlier prototype (came out darker than I wanted), and most recent uncut proofs
Above, bottom row of cards right to left: The Lovers card from the black & white First Edition, the Vitruvian Edition, one of the earlier test prints (see how it came out too dark?), skip over The Chariot, and way on the left-most side bottom row is The Lovers card from the latest printed color proofs (in sheets).
Here are the color proofs of the cards in uncut sheets. Top row: Justice, Hanged Man, Death. Bottom row: Magician, High Priestess, Empress. (Using standard tarot titles for your convenience of reference, rather than referring to them by their SKT titles.)
Pictured: 2019 Vitruvian Edition box and gilding with forthcoming 2021 Book of Maps
While all of us are waiting on production, I thought I’d take this time to talk about gilding, and why I decided to once again go with gold edging for the third edition. The Revelation Edition decks will have the same gilding applied that both the First and the Vitruvian editions had.
Pictured: 2019 Vitruvian Edition box and gilding with forthcoming 2021 Book of Maps
Y’all… I do have my ear to the ground of the tarot community and I almost always agree with the general circulating sentiments du jour. Gilding is a controversial matter (said lightly, tongue in cheek of course). It irks some people, and I get it. When it’s that crusty, glittery gilding that’s coarse, I totes agree. Bleh.
I printed out a physical copy of the Book of Maps just to make sure everything is as it should be, before releasing it to those who ordered the premium package. I am so in love with how this cover art came out.
After finishing the graphic design on my computer, I wasn’t 100% sure I was loving it. Maybe it’s too yellow? (I was hoping it’d look more gold.) But the dominant-gold with floral-green accents was the color symbolism I wanted to go for, with that pearlescent pattern for the background.
We got the digital proofs in from our printing company, but I’m going to have to make alignment adjustments and re-submit. So, in other words, delay.
The red lines you see in these digital proofs shared here are where the cards will be cut, so everything inside the red lines are what you’ll see on the actual card. There is about 10 pixels (that’s 0.169 cm or 0.0665 inches) too much around the perimeter, more than I had wanted on the card faces and about 18 pixels (that’s 0.305 cm or 0.1201 inches) too much around the perimeter of the card backs.
The test print samples I got done myself with a print-on-demand service cut the margins exactly where I wanted, so sadly, I thought I was good to go. But I’m not. The way my actual printing company cuts the cards or gives the margin specifications is a little different. Which is totally normal. Which is why we do these digital proofs first before physical samples are printed.
SKT Revelation Production Status Update: Short Version
We’ve sent the down payment to our printing company and commenced the production process, but–
First we’re doing a test print for the final confirmation of color, the packaging, and also to see how the coloring looks with the selected cardstock and finish, which we estimate to take about 2 weeks to complete, and–
After hundreds of drafts and flip flopping between different options, I’ve finally selected a card back design.
SKT Revelation Production Status Update: Long Rambling Version
Let’s talk about what a Journey (*dies*) creating the card back design for this third edition deck was!
Crowley’s Book of Thoth assigns zodiacal domains to the Kings (Thoth Knights), Queens, and Knights (Thoth Princes). Each rulership begins at 21° and ends at 20°.
So, for example, the Queen of Swords begins her reign at 21° Virgo and ends at 20° Libra. At 21° Libra, the Knight (Thoth Prince) rules until 20° Scorpio.
It’ll be fun to superimpose this over your birth chart to see which court cards rule over your natal planets and personal sensitive points.
