One of my hobbies is Tarot. Being a perfectionist, it was difficult for me to find a deck that I found ideal in every respect. So in August of 2009 I decided to collect images to create my own custom deck.
Upon completing the project (or at least coming to a stopping place), I found that I wanted to show people the results of my work. However, since I don't have the rights to the vast majority of the images I used, I can't distribute the deck. I can, however, provide links to the images, which is what I've done here. The deck follows the Rider-Waite tradition. Enjoy.
Contents
The Trumps
The Wands
The Cups
The Swords
The Pentacles
The Trumps
0. The Fool. A dandelion seed starting out on its journey nicely parallels the Fool's journey, I thought.
1. The Magician. I had a tough time with the Magician. Finally I just picked an image that I liked without reference to any symbolism.
2. The High Priestess. The High Priestess is a wise woman, a keeper of secrets. This owl woman is perfect.
3. The Empress. Nurturing Earth mother. Yep.
4. The Emperor. I associate this card with the astrological sign Aries. Hence the flaming goat.
5. The Heirophant. Another card I don't really connect with, so I went with something that roughly followed the traditional imagery and looked cool.
6. The Lovers. One of the reasons I started this project was an objection to the use of nudity on card art; I find it distracting. So I was very pleased to find this image. Non-traditional, no nudity, moving and deeply symbolic imagery. I'm not even bothered by the biblical overtones in this case.
7. The Chariot. A big part of the Chariot is about harnessing disparate forces and getting them to work together. I like how this image conveys that.
8. Strength. Typically, Strength shows a maiden restraining a lion. I like this image way better.
9. The Hermit. The classic hermit is the old robed guy at the top of the mountain holding up a lantern. You know, that whole Led Zeppelin deal. This image conveys the sense of retreat and reflection that the card calls for and has the advantage of not reminding me of 70s rock.
10. Wheel of Fortune. Could also be called Wheel of Destiny. At least that way there are no game show overtones. I figured, what sort of wheel better reflects the concept of destiny than a ship's wheel?
11. Justice. Not a lot of creative wiggle room with justice, so I went with the most interesting take I could find on the concept of a woman with scales.
12. The Hanged Man. The Hanged Man is suspended, powerless, and chooses to surrender rather than fight. Usually it's a guy hanging upside-down from a tree. How I got to an angelic rabbit on an umbilical cord is no longer quite clear to me.
13. Death. Usually the book that comes with the deck will tell you that Death isn't really about death; it's about transition. If that's the case, why do the cards typically show a black-robed, faceless figure with a scythe? I think it's stupid, so I chose a picture of a door instead.
14. Temperance. Temperance is about mixing stuff up to create new stuff and bridge gaps. I figured a mermaid (walking the line between earth and sea) mixing stuff up in a bowl fit the bill pretty well.
15. The Devil. The Devil is what you make of him. He will inevitably live up to your expectations. I like how this piece conveys the Devil as he is and how he seems. This artist, whose handle is "Skeevy," did about half of a tarot deck, and I used a number of her pieces.
16. The Tower. The tower is one of my favorite cards and symbolizes cataclysmic disaster. Rather than going for a tower being struck by lightning, as is customary, I went with an artist's rendition of the most cataclysmic disaster in the known universe: the supernova.
17. The Star. My first choice for the Star art was this, which is so perfect that I can barely believe it. To my great sorrow, it's too dark to look good in print. So I went with a more standard woman and stars image.
18. The Moon. A lot of decks go for the whole vaginal-imagery/mysterious-female theme with this card. I didn't want that for my moon. So it's a cat under the moon. Next.
19. The Sun. The sun is boring. I like lions.
20. Judgement. I'm not sure anymore how I settled on ouroboros for the Judgement card. Something about cyclical rebirth and that sort of thing.
21. The World. For the World, it was important to me that the illustration somehow reflect that the world, ultimately, is a product of our own perception. Hence the eye. The World also signifies all elements existing in balance. The ring of elemental symbols around the eye worked out nicely.
The Wands
Ace of Wands. The wands are the suit of fire. A wand is a stick. It could be said that a flower is a kind of stick. And if the flower is fiery, well...
2 of Wands. 2 of Wands traditionally shows a guy holding a globe in one hand with a stick in the other and another stick alongside. My favorite part of the picture has always been the globe, so that was my focus.
3 of Wands. Three of wands is about being on the lookout, so the observatory seemed like a good fit.
4 of Wands. Traditionally, 4 of Wands is about celebrations and such. But it's also about new possibilities and freedom, and the hot air balloons work for me. And it's a really cool picture.
5 of Wands. The conflict card calls for a conflict image. 5 wands, 5 digits on a fist. I liked the symmetry.
6 of Wands. Victory.
7 of Wands. Taking a stand against imposing odds. Drawing a line in the sand. This little pissant cat just spoke to me.
8 of Wands. I don't much care for 8 of Wands. In keeping with the traditional theme, I just went for a picture that suggested frenetic activity with a fiery motif. Next.
9 of Wands. Like the 8, 9 of wands isn't a card that interests me. Woman with sticks. Next.
10 of Wands. 10 of Wands is a great card. I actually wanted to keep the figure carrying the bundle of sticks which is the traditional imagery. But I couldn't find a satisfying example of that. So instead I went with the card's meaning of oppression and carrying the weight of the world on your shoulders.
Page of Wands. The courts don't really thrill me. For the pages, I just went with cutesy pictures of people/things holding the suit emblems. This piece is from the Wombat Tarot, of which six cards were completed. You can find a lot of incomplete tarot decks out there.
Knight of Wands. For the knights, I went with elementals of the appropriate types. For wands, it's a fire elemental.
Queen of Wands. Standard seated woman with suit emblem. Nothing fancy. Like I said, the courts don't really excite me.
King of Wands. Pretty standard king, except for some reason he's a monkey. I don't know what it means.
The Cups
Ace of Cups. I thought this image was so perfect that I paid 50 bucks to liberate it from a stock photo place. Cups is the water suit, and here is a cup being shaped into being by water. It's brilliant, I tell you.
2 of Cups. This card is about working together. A disembodied toast fits the bill nicely, I thought.
3 of Cups. 3 of Cups is about celebration, and cups are about water. So what better represents a celebration of water than a fountain? I like how the three bowls of the fountain could be interpreted to be the three cups.
4 of Cups. Bog standard illustration. I couldn't think of anything else to do with this card. On my card, I cut off the text at the top of the illustration.
5 of Cups. Another card by Skeevy. Well-rendered, simple interpretation of the traditional imagery.
6 of Cups. This card's theme is nostalgia. Hence the kids hanging out idyllically.
7 of Cups. Flights of fancy. Head in the clouds. Indecision. I was not able to refind this image; I think it may have been taken down. So I am hosting it.
8 of Cups. Another piece by Skeevy. Interesting and effective take on the traditional imagery.
9 of Cups. Skeevy again. Fortunately she only did the majors, the cups, and a few swords, or there'd probably be a lot more of her work in the deck.
10 of Cups. Another piece from the Phantomwise Tarot, which for the most part I'm not fond of. But 10 of Cups is all about the home and family, and what better representative of family-making than rabbits?
Page of Cups. Young person with suit emblem. Check.
Knight of Cups. Water elemental. Check.
Queen of Cups. Seated woman with suit emblem. Courtesy of our friend Skeevy.
King of Cups. Hey, a departure from traditional imagery. I liked the idea of a frog for the king of cups, the water suit.
The Swords
Ace of Swords. Yep, it's a sword. And there's only one of them. Okay, let's move on.
2 of Swords. Courtesy of Skeevy.
3 of Swords. Skeevy produced my absolute favorite 3 of Swords I've ever seen, bar none.
4 of Swords. This card is all about retreat and meditation, so the Buddha is a natural fit. I had a hell of a time finding an image I liked, though. Finally I ended up with this one. It's a silhouette, so the intrusive realism of a photo is eliminated. And the sky figures heavily; this is good because the element of the swords suit is air.
5 of Swords. This card is about failure, defeat, humiliation, that sort of thing. I found this image to be a perfect fit.
6 of Swords. This is the last of the Skeevy pieces. Another bold and satisfying interpretation of the traditional imagery.
7 of Swords. The thief. Bog standard imagery, but striking and well-done, I thought.
8 of Swords. This is the deck's one concession to nudity. It works to convey the perceived helplessness of the situation.
9 of Swords. The despair card. I like that the art conveys mood without conveying gender.
10 of Swords. My favorite card in the tarot. I don't mean it's my favorite card in this deck; I mean it's my favorite card in the tarot in general. I think that says something about me. Nothing much special here, just the typical image of a person pierced by ten swords. I like that one of the blades goes through the victim's hand.
Page of Swords. The other card I used from the incomplete Wombat Tarot. It's really too bad she didn't do a full set of the Pages; I'd have used all of them.
Knight of Swords. The air elemental.
Queen of Swords. Seated woman with suit emblem. Next.
King of Swords. Well, he's not sitting down, but I like the picture, so...
The Pentacles
Ace of Pentacles. The element of the pentacles is earth, and so for the ace I thought a seasonal, earth-themed pentacle fit the bill.
2 of Pentacles. Pretty standard stuff here.
3 of Pentacles. 3 of Pentacles is about working together, so I chose a picture of gears.
4 of Pentacles. Greed. The miser. The love of money.
5 of Pentacles. I'm pretty pleased with my choice on this one. The traditional imagery shows beggars outside a church window, but the card is about going through hardship. I thought the plant pushing through concrete was a cool way to convey that.
6 of Pentacles. 6 of Pentacles is all about balance and give-and-take. The yin yang is a no-brainer.
7 of Pentacles. Pretty standard imagery here, but in a unique style. I used this same artist for the Page of Pentacles as well.
8 of Pentacles. This is some stock photo I found somewhere or another. The card is about dedication and learning a new task. A baby working on a sand castle will suffice.
9 of Pentacles. This card usually shows a woman in a private garden. But to me, the card is about retreating to a pleasant, private world, and that means books.
10 of Pentacles. This card represents material abundance. Natch, I went with a horn of plenty.
Page of Pentacles. Young person with suit emblem. Next.
Knight of Pentacles. The earth elemental. Isn't he cute?
Queen of Pentacles. Seated woman with suit emblem. Next.
King of Pentacles. The King of Pentacles is a steady, stabalizing influence. Given the earth affiliation, it made sense to me that he should be a Green Man.
