Design my Tarot Deck

I’ve changed things around quite a bit. There are five suits – hearts, swords, clouds, stars, and stones – and the Major Arcana is completely redone. I chose images that were of more personal value to me. There are 17 Major cards, plus a “zero” and ten in each suit for a total of 68.

I’m thinking of designing a deck that is personal to me; in other words, it may not have the typical composition of the average tarot deck.

I like the idea of decks of cards as an informational tool. They are like flags in that they have meanings beyond their simple images; they are also like books in which the pages can be rearranged. I think it would be an interesting exercise to create a set of cards which I can use for divinatory or, more likely, contemplative purposes. Something with symbolism that is personal to me, or perhaps resonates more strongly with me.

Of course, knowing me, I’d then use such a deck to play whist.

Unfortunately this is more of a plug than anything, but I drew The Eternal Dream Tarot over the course of two years. The last few months were more or less redrawing some of the less developed ideas. Like the Fool, I simply dove in to the symbolism and ideology. Probably why I ended up being a Philosophy grad. Anyway, the plug part: you can download The Eternal Dream Tarot for free (if you have a free Flickr account) at my blog www.codefreespirit.com or find them directly at flickr by searching for codefreespirit. (Add: or you can just click on my profile and follow my flickr images to my flickr account.)

I started this years ago, before tarot symbolism began to really permeate my day to day living. The images I have saved for them… don’t have the proper significance anymore. I want to make something personally relevant. Better if it can be universally understood.

If only I had artistic ability worth mentioning…

I’ve been fascinated with the Tarot for more than twenty years. At the same time I’ve developed skills with digital imaging software, including some 3D software. I’ve been avoiding combining the two for years – and decided last month to begin creating my own deck. My goal is to build the deck from images that I build and present in groups – and possibly offer the images as artwork for sale.