With the recent popularity of TheWolfWithin's playing card community project, and with someone suggesting that it might be fun to do a tarot deck, I have a suggestion for a topic. If it's cool with Wolf (I don't want to stand in the way if he has another cool project planned), I wonder if folks might be interested in an "Ancient Mythology" theme for a Tarot deck ... you know, like Egyptian, Roman, Grecian, Babylonian (etc) Gods and Goddesses, or scenes that depict stories from ancient mythology. The possibilities are endless. Wolf, whatcha think? Denise

I like the idea, especially given the orions of the Tarot in mythology. Shouldn't be stepping on toes - nothing says we cant have two projects going at once. Er... mix and match themes, or do they all have to be one theme?

"I am a good person now and it feels... well, pretty much the same as I felt before (except that the headaches have gone away now that I'm not wearing control top pantyhose on my head anymore)"

• Monkeysmell

Love mythology but don't know anything aout tarot cards really

Can probably do a quick metacrawler search and find more info than you needed or wanted to know. ;]

"I am a good person now and it feels... well, pretty much the same as I felt before (except that the headaches have gone away now that I'm not wearing control top pantyhose on my head anymore)"

• Monkeysmell

Ironbear ... I suppose we can mix and match, seeing as there is a lot of overlap from one culture to another. As another alternative, we can make each "suit" a different culture? Ghost ... tarot cards are similar to regular playing cards (which actually were a spinoff of tarot cards). Instead of hearts, spades, clubs, and diamonds, you have cups, wands, pentacles, and swords. Each of the number/suit combinations signify a different idea or concept, which makes tarot cards sort of fun and creative. There are also 22 major "arcana" that embody a specific trait or fate. If folks are interested in this project I can hunt down a few URLs that summarize the symbologies of each card. Denise

I wonder if Lorraine still has any of her tarot card images in the gallery. She did some wonderful ones last year. Diane

Attached Link: http://michele.readers.com/

This looks to be a good place to start for Tarot resources. I'll admit I'm a beginner myself ... I don't know how to read the decks, I've just collected a few because I love the artwork in them. 8-) Denise

Cool... that could work for me April. I just never know what mythology will appeal to my muse for an image, and a lot depends on what props and outfits I have...

"I am a good person now and it feels... well, pretty much the same as I felt before (except that the headaches have gone away now that I'm not wearing control top pantyhose on my head anymore)"

• Monkeysmell

Sorry... DMTyler, not April. I was just reading april's response on the other thread and got confrused. ;]

"I am a good person now and it feels... well, pretty much the same as I felt before (except that the headaches have gone away now that I'm not wearing control top pantyhose on my head anymore)"

• Monkeysmell

Call me Dee, or Deecey (got that last one from Syyd ). Lots more informal than dmtyler . I'm working up a web page for my site, that will outline the cards and interpretations, based on the Waite deck. I'll post the link here when I get it done. Stay tuned. 8-) I'm thinking Wands would be cool for Egyptian gods (since they were really into magical type stuff); Swords might be good for the Roman gods; Cups good for Grecian gods; and how about Druid/Celtic gods for the Pentacles? The Arcana can be a combination of all mythologies. Sound cool? Anyone want to volunteer for the borders while I work up some pages to keep track of these? I think once folks see what these cards can represent, it will REALLY get some ideas flowing. 8-) Denise

Ko... no problem, Dee. ;] I have a cat people deck, and a native american deck in my library shelf... mostly just because they're SO elegant looking. Tarot cards can be among the most beautiful artwork around if they're done well. I'm going to "dibs" the lovers and rejuvenation from the major arcana, once someone designs borders. I'd like the borders with a version on a photoshop layer if possible, so that it can be pasted over a render. I'm a traditionalist - I like to cheat in photoshop. ;]

"I am a good person now and it feels... well, pretty much the same as I felt before (except that the headaches have gone away now that I'm not wearing control top pantyhose on my head anymore)"

• Monkeysmell

Rejuvenation ... just want to verify where that falls. It LOOKS like it might be the card that is traditionally known as "Judgement". According to the book I have, the Judgement card represents change of position, renewal, outcome, decision, etc. The various names of these cards are confusing, so if a card has been known by another name I'll list that as well so that folks can choose the one they want to use for that particular card. 8-) In any case, that and the Lovers are yours. 8-) Denise

Yeah... I believe that you're right, but hort of looking into a guide I couldn't swear to it... Problem is, unlike a Crowley deck, neither of my two decks are standard. I picked them for looks rather than traditionalism, and I've gotten used to their conventions. Hrmmm... if they're a lot of non std decks out there that could raise a lot of these questions.

"I am a good person now and it feels... well, pretty much the same as I felt before (except that the headaches have gone away now that I'm not wearing control top pantyhose on my head anymore)"

• Monkeysmell

Yup which is why I'm putting the page together ... if there are any tarot experts out there, we want you Denise

Can I call "dibs" on "The World" and "The Fool"? LOL! I would like to do those two...if you guys don't mind.:o)

Okay .. and anything Celtic I want!! Grins

I like the Idea, count me in

i think it's a beautiful thing ;) and perhaps, for a Tarot, things might have to be a bit more standardized.........not so much as to stifle creativity, but enough to have a touch more uniformity given the nature of the Tarot.....and ummmmmmm.........if i may..........i'd like to be a complete jerk and lay claim to the Death card ;)

Maybe if the Rider-Waite deck was used as a standard to rally about? some decks swap the MA cards about numerically.. which does alter the readings 8 ) Most every one playing with Tarot have used a rider deck at least once. and the symbolism was simplifiyed a bit as well. unless you really want to use the Hermetic 8 ) I kinda like the princess cards... Cheers

Glad to hear this is a hearty go from all! 8-D Will be done with the Arcana descriptions soon and will post the URL as soon as I upload it. Have made note of the latest requests and will add them to the list. Ghost, I'll do the descriptions for the Pentacle cards (Celtic) next so that you can make your picks if you don't see anything you like in the Arcana. 8-) Denise

That sounds like an excellent idea, and I'd be anxious to have a part in it as well. There should be steps to be taken to make sure that there is some reasonable correspondence to the meanings of the original cards, even if the usage of symbols varies. I can help define some aspects of individual cards, but only in between commissions (i.e. when time permits). Also keep in mind that sources can vary on interpretations -- there are no "right" ones, but using cumulative sources will give you a clearer idea. So no nit-picky arguing, just concerns raised when something is wildly out of context. And since everyone would want to do Major Arcana, I'd think it should be such that no one can do more than one of the Major Arcana. Leave room for people. There's only 21 of those. The royal cards might need to be divvied up, too. Something else to agree upon would be the specific royals. Some decks have Princess, Prince, Queen and King, some have Knight, Prince, Queen and King, etc. I suspect that we'd want at least 2 female royals, so the former would be better. I'd like to try the Queen of Cups, personally.

Hm. A thought. There are some consistencies between Arcana. For instance, the Fool (#0) appears later as the Hanged Man (#12), the Lovers (#6) appear on the Devil's card (#15)... do we want the people doing these cards to network re: the look of these characters to keep them sort of consistent?

Attached Link: http://www.deesden.com/tarot/index.html

Chas, thanks for your input! I'm about to post a list of attributes for the Arcana, and will move on to the pentacles next. I'd appreciate your comments (and those of anyone else who can help us sort this through). I visualize one heck of an awesome deck being made here. 8-) For those who have selected two of the arcana, which do you prefer so that we can make room for others? The pages at the link posted here will be uploaded very shortly, barring link boo boos Denise

I'll have to look at my deck and think about which of the two I want most out of those. Hrmmm...

"I am a good person now and it feels... well, pretty much the same as I felt before (except that the headaches have gone away now that I'm not wearing control top pantyhose on my head anymore)"

• Monkeysmell

Hm. I'd thought TheWolfWithin had chosen the Devil -- I see I was wrong. I want that one! (Pwetty pwease...?) :D

I will take "The World", someone else can have The Fool. LOL! I already have an idea I am sketching out. I hope that there will not be too many limitations on what we can do. :o "The World" on my deck is XXI. I would have to get out my books to remember what the actual description is and unfortunately....they are in my daughter's room and she's sleeping. I would rather not wake her to get it. LOL! I was planning on basing mine on some old Tarot Cards that were my great-grandmother's. I have to admit....I should know more about them considering the deck is very old. LOL!

Heya Wizz! waves up the thread You gonna work up a tarot render for this? Hrmmm... some mystical or ornamental celtci borders could work... if they're not too heavily celtic, they shouldn't clash with the other mythologies.

"I am a good person now and it feels... well, pretty much the same as I felt before (except that the headaches have gone away now that I'm not wearing control top pantyhose on my head anymore)"

• Monkeysmell

I'm not too worried on the limitations. I figure if I do a sharp render and it doesn't quite fit, I can always post it - just not include it in the tarot project.

"I am a good person now and it feels... well, pretty much the same as I felt before (except that the headaches have gone away now that I'm not wearing control top pantyhose on my head anymore)"

• Monkeysmell

LOL! Good point Ironbear! I am really inspired by this idea!

Weeee!!! Another project to do. Some more late night poser fun. :-) Hmmm... looking at Denise's site, I'll take the Tower. Well, time to do some late night research.

I would love to take part...we have the Lord of the Rings Tarot deck here at home, if any of you haven't seen that one I suggest you take a look, I love the images in it! The only difference is the pentacles are replaced with Coins(at least it's the only obvious difference to me since I'm not really a Tarot expert either:))...anyway, if it's available I would love to do the Empress and possibly maybe one card from the Pentacles suit(if it's okay and they aren't all taken)...anyway, let me know if it's okay and I can at least start on a scene or something...:)

As far as a border design, I wouldnt' know what to suggest but maybe something kinda neutral like a black or gold border that won't take away from the images inside the frame may work..:)

hugs to all lynde

All descriptions are up at the site. I'm going through the list now to update who's got what so far. If I have any questions I'll post them. If you want to sign up for a card, please keep the posts all in one place (this thread). I'll check it frequently and update the list on the site as time permits. I'm SO psyched that you're all up for this ... the idea started spinning during the first card project and I've been sitting on it for a while. 8-) Thanks everyone 8-) Denise

hrmmmmm...... if the dual female royals are needed then you'd want to go with the Hermetic deck.. as that's the one with the princess.. I'll try to dig them out of the container to ensure the numerological and face good luck with all the astrological/alchemical symbols 8 ) I suggested teh Rider -Waite as that's one deck mostpeople are familiar with.. just watch any horror flick with a deck in it.. especially the Witchcraft series.. CHeers dinnae know Bear..I'm still trying to determine which deck's being used? R-W, Hermetic, the one with the collection of consonants (from I believe france) who's name escapes me at teh moment...

um, I changed my mind. I'll go for Justice.

If it makes it easier I can remove the princess cards and just go with the standard R/W deck. One thing I liked about the book source I had was that it gave attributes as presented by several different decks (Golden Dawn, Waite, Crowley, Case, and other derivations thereof). I know I have the standard Rider/Waite book around here somewhere as well ... but for now, I'll remove the references to the Princess cards. So please no one pick those. 8-) Back to change the pages again. OK szeven, you're on for Justice. And lynde, let me know what pentacle you'd like. 8-) Denise

no No dee. I"m quite fond of the hermetic my self 8 ) I just require a "standard" deck to work with... doesn't mattre which one.... just so tis consistant... as I'm sur eyou know.. not all the numbers of the major arcana match from deck to deck 8 ) Cheers love... no worrys

thats a nice compilation of info in such a short time dee :) i'd like to do 6 of cups. "Lord of Pleasure", happiness, pleasure, beginning of steady gain :) i'll work on this one a bit longer than the pinup card... the descriptions are just delicious :) a plain gold border would be my suggestion. or one border for each of the 5 suits? all plain, just different colours? whatever :)

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a sweet disorder in the dress kindles in clothes a wantoness,
do more bewitch me than when art is too precise in every part

Wizzard ... with your nick, it makes sense that you like the hermetic. ;-) OK, we'll go with the Princesses as well (dang, now I have to put them back in! LOLOLOL). As long as we're going with them, I'll take the Princess of Cups (with Cancer/Pisces rising, I simply HAVE to take a water woman ). April, I'm a writer, I type REAL fast. You're on for 6 of cups. Dee Denise

Wizzard, if you know of a URL offhand that would post pictures and descriptions of a widely-used Hermetic deck that we can all refer to, that would be cool. Would save us all from asking a lot of questions . You'll also notice that I didn't assign numbers to the arcana yet for just that reason! ROFL Dee

I'll go through my links 8 ) I'll post as soon as I find it

here's a few mostly rider-waite though... 8 http://www.thetarot.atfreeweb.com/ http://www.astroamerica.com/t-sacre.html http://www.wild-moon.com/passions/tarot.htm#review http://homes.acmecity.com/charmed/journey/255/pix/373.htm Some have walk through with pictures and interpretations.. some are sales placse unfortunately.. I just hit the metaphysical links in my favs.. 8 ) Cheers

After browsing through my Cat deck again... [damn, those cards are beautiful] I think I'll take the Temperance card, or Justice - whatever she is in the deck we're using. I'm going to leave the Amerind deck out of consideration, even though it's the one I use most often. It's symbology is extremely myth specific, and almost takes a bit of shamans or dreamwalker traing to interpret sometimes. They are elegant cards though... Whatever I do, it'll probably be eclectic anyway...

"I am a good person now and it feels... well, pretty much the same as I felt before (except that the headaches have gone away now that I'm not wearing control top pantyhose on my head anymore)"

• Monkeysmell

Thanks for the links, Wizzard! I also found a picture of "The High Priestess" card from a deck called "The Ancient Egyptian Tarot." This is along the lines of the stuff I was thinking that would be perfect for Poser people. 8-) (the link was http://www.mythographica.demon.co.uk/Ancient%20Egyptian%20Tarot/aet/aet_c_highpriestess.htm) It's not a real big image, but it will give folks some ideas ... and I gave a background a shot but I must be too tired to be creative. So I'm out for the night. 8-) Dee

any time Dee 8 ) heh..I would have done bettre if I wa sat home with the complete link list 8 ) rest well pleasant dreams

Hrmm... Temperance and Justice are not one and the same... this deck has both. Er... sorry, rejuvenation and judgement. Typing in my sleep again. ;] Rejuvenation is the one I settled on, whatever she is in other decks...

"I am a good person now and it feels... well, pretty much the same as I felt before (except that the headaches have gone away now that I'm not wearing control top pantyhose on my head anymore)"

• Monkeysmell

Hello gang i want to do this as myth+magic is such an inspiring subject. i dont know what card i want so has any one got a suggestion, how about instead of each of us picking our own card let dmtyler choose one for each of us based on the style of each individual artist and there own individual style. just a thought

ooh.. co-operation combined with a challenge 8 ) I like that Idea dolly... maybbe a dual choice for each? one based on they're talents one opposite? maybe even a collaboration twixt artists.. and some are really good with backgrounds as others are with figures.... hrmmmmm....... :::wanders off mumbling::: oh the possibilities...

yer that sounds even better one for what your good at,and one for what you aint good at,an experiment ,and a lesson all rolled into one this is going to be a lot of fun

A compromise... we each pick one from the Arcana that we like, and Dee picks one for us from the minor arcana. She can probaly hit out galleries and make an accurate guess at which ones our style would find difficult... Some how Wizzard, I keep seeing you with the Magician, or High Priest card... ;]

"I am a good person now and it feels... well, pretty much the same as I felt before (except that the headaches have gone away now that I'm not wearing control top pantyhose on my head anymore)"

• Monkeysmell

or death? I"ll let Dee choose.. as with my time referant.. shrug I just have to know which deck tis decided on.. or. maybe a twin deck? hrmmm... mixed deck? hrmmm.. so many possibilities... and with dolly's idea.. 8 )

Duh... oh yes.. we'll also need teh dimensions spelled out... heighth width final type thing... keep it all the same size? CHeers

Whichever it is, lets us make it a full deck. Way too many people playing without one in some parts. ;]

"I am a good person now and it feels... well, pretty much the same as I felt before (except that the headaches have gone away now that I'm not wearing control top pantyhose on my head anymore)"

• Monkeysmell

i agree why dont we just do some quick renders of some borders for a start post em here and then we all vote to wich ones should be used that way nobody`s nose gets put out of joint what do you think

Hrmmm... excellent job on the web page, DM. Very sharp, and fast too. ;]

"I am a good person now and it feels... well, pretty much the same as I felt before (except that the headaches have gone away now that I'm not wearing control top pantyhose on my head anymore)"

• Monkeysmell

Oooh....I missed alot. Serves me right for sleeping. LOL! I like Dolly's idea about us being slapped with something that goes against our talents...with me that would be....EVERYTHING. LOL! Actually....my weakest point is scenery and backgrounds. Yep...I suck at them...so I usually skip them. I still take "The World" though...if Dee wants me to do a minor arcana too...that's fine.:o) BTW: How long do we have to turn out this image? Is there a time limit?

ive just had a look and i love the celtic, and the shakespear ones i would love to do the six of orbs one

Hmm. (Another one of those). Do we want to put a cup, sword, wand and pentacle in the free stuff so that the ones used in the suits are consistent? Also, with the mythological theme of the cards, will there be any room for anachronisms? I would think that at least the royals (because they represent various "Gods") could have the occasional time-misplaced item at their disposal, provided those items add to the symbology of the card. Not something as outlandish as an electronic item or such, of course. Part of my thinking is that if a character is sitting on a stool, the person rendering it may not be able to find an antique or particularily Grecian stool, but something that can pass. Lastly, with the Queen of Cups, the interpretations I'm familiar with denote more of a peaceful, cool, placid and sometimes even icy figure. The dreamy aspect is there, of course, but it is neither positive nor negative. For example, she could at once be envisioning wonderful things while in repose, and/or she could be dreaming her life away and closed to reality. This sort of fits with what you have, but "coquettish" is a little different from what I'm accustomed to (I always thought she was supposed to be a little cold, i.e. the icy state of water). Let me know if anyone disagrees there, before I start.

Right do you think this is ok for say the pagon or what ever . its only a quicky but it might look alright with the designs in them tell us what you think

LOVE THE IDEA! I am Pagan BTW and I am VERY familiar with the Tarot as I use I alot. What I was wondering was is there nudity involved or is that up to the artist? The Rider-Waite is a standardized deck and it take imagery from all mythologies. I have several decks, but my favourite is The Dragon Traot. Nothing but dragons! Love it. Anyway, I would also like to get a "standard" border done.Dolly's is great but I would have thought for a little more pizzaz (as he thinks furoiusly). Unfortunately, there are so many different decks of Tarot it is difficult to pin down just one "style". I will think of something. BTW, where are we going to post all of these pictures? In the galleries? I think that is where the playing cards are. Love those too! I will go to Dee's site and see what is taken already. Tankred.

what about this for the egyption theme just another quickey they are only suggestions mind tell me what you think

Oh goody, while I sleep everyone dreams up the tarot idea...I want to play too!...I have done some tarot images and I would like to do some more stuff...you know rather than get too detailed in the mythology thing, maybe the idea could focus around a series much like the playing card ideas....that is focusing on just figures.. such as was done in the Aquarian deck; ...as far as the basic configuration of the cards for those who don't know there are 21 majors, 4 suits or minors ace through 10, 4 sets of 4 court cards.(court sets vary as to the 4 cards...king queen princess/page knight)....since there are basically three general systems, Rider-Waite, Thoth or Golden Dawn, French (Waite or Papus)...why not allow all of the variations to come into play that would increase the number of cards people could choose from.... I will do Hermit to start...this will be fun

What about this for the Back of the Decks? *S* Verdie

very nice it would look lovely

I could make it a tad fancier, if you like it. Dolly I LOVE that FIRST Border that you made, might like to try that out myself for some! Verdie of Dreamspinner

Hey Liz has that Dragon Deck and it's GREAT!!! She also has and Egyptian Deck, but we are rather disappointed in it. Verdie of Dreamspinner

i dont even know what the cards are im waiting for dee to see what we are doing as its her idea

I would like to join in, as well. I am not sure who has taken what card from what deck, however. BTW...I love that first background, Dolly. Guess I'm gonna have to dust off Bryce for this challenge.

thanks poppie if you want it email me and il send it you ricky.dolly@ntlworld.com

Thanks...I did.

Okay...so that didn't work. I like the first two, actually. My email is Poppibird 1@cs.com Thank you.

Right im still waiting and i want to know what the cards are and what one we are going to do please someone fill me in on the cards

WOW!!! ROFL I just woke up (told you I was tired!!!) and sorry the messages backed up so much. Let me go through and make up a list of volunteers. I'll see if I can shake out a plan. Dolly I like that first border very much ... has a real mystical feel to it! The "twin deck" concept is sort of cool ... that way people can use the deck that they prefer. How about the R/W deck for the standard deck, and the Golden Dawn for the Hermetic? (Crowley might be a bit too racy ... hehehe). I'll update the Web pages to reflect the particulars and the descriptions involved for each deck, along with the appropriate numbers. Ironbear ... hmmmm ... my only other guess on "Rejuvenation" is that it might relate to the Wheel of Fortune? Or, better yet, can you send me a list of the Major Arcana from that deck of yours and I'll see if I can figure it out? 8-) Chas - go with the queen concept you are familiar with. I'll address the rest in a bit!!!! Dee

Can i do the Page of Pentacles? if not I guess I would like the 10 of pentacles instead if it's available..:)

hugs to all lynde

Just to confirm the list of participants so far, before I start making some assignments ... So far, I count in the following: AprilYSH, Chas, myself, Dolly, Dreamspinner, Ghostofmacbeth, Ironbear, Lalverson, Lorraine, Lynde, Morris, Nikitacreed, Picnic, Poppi, Szeven, Tankred, TheWolfWithin, and Wizard. That's 18 folks so far who will each get a Major and Minor Arcana card (stay tuned for the assignments). That means there are only a few Major Arcanas left after the assignments, so newer folks may need to go with one or two of the Minor arcana. If I've left anyone out of the list, speak now or forever hold your peace 8-) Dee

Attached Link: http://www.renderosity.com/viewed.ez?galleryid=54248&Start=1&Sectionid=0&Form.Search=dreamspinner

Verdie ... In going through your gallery, I found an image that you posted that I think REALLY fits the mood of a tarot deck. The Crystal Ball image, given the mystical colors and feel of the image, seems absolutely perfect for the card backs (in my opinion!) ... I've posted the link here so that folks can take a peek. How about if we use a similar color scheme for the card borders? As for final size, seems many tarot decks go with 2-3/4" by 4-3/4", which works out to 413 x 713 pixels when printed out at 150 DPI. Let's go with that 8-) Denise

i agree that would look exellent as the backof the cards so what do you suggest for the border as we all have to have the same oh and have you chose the cards for each individual

You could use 5 different border designs, one for each of the suits, and one for the Major arcana. :) I am interested in the project, and would be happy to model the 4 basic props (Swords, Wands/Staves, Pentacles/Coins, and Cups) for the project. -Trav

Wooooooo hoooooooo!!!!! Way to go, Trav! 8-) You better do at least one card too! 8-) Dolly --- still working on the list. It's not easy doing the pickings here (I'm still going through the galleries to get a feel for people's style). What really MIGHT help, though, is if folks haven't picked a card from the Minor Arcana yet (the A through K cards), at least give a preference whether you'd like Egyptian (Wands), Grecian (Cups), Roman (Swords) or Celtic/Pagan (Pentacles). Thanks much! 8-) Dee

well seeing as im a brit i should go for the pagan if thats ok

Dolly ... assuming it's cool with Verdie that we go with the Crystal Ball (or something similar), you know what might work for the card backs? Instead of making the crytal ball circular, we can make it more elliptical, and scale it so that it fills a little bit more of the center of the card. The character or scene can then be superimposed within that crystal ball area (might be kind of cool .... comments?) Now, perhaps then you can add a slight border around the solid purple area (blacks, golds, silvers, etc) - either a generic one, or one for each culture (Egyptian, Roman, Greek and Pagan?) Sound cool? Denise

correction ... card borders, not card backs. The idea above was for the backgrounds of the cards themselves, I LOVE this Crystal Ball thing (or something similar!) for the card backs. 8-) Denise

sounds ok to me ask verdie then get a pic so we can all have the start

Attached Link: http://www.facade.com/tarot/

For anyone that isn't familiar with the Tarot, or just want to look at some cards, the above site has cool online readings, with a bunch of different decks available. All for free. Dee: Of course I will do a card or two :) -Trav

Here's a kludged card background concept, based on Verdie's Crystal Ball image. Verdie and Dolly, I'll leave the final designs up to you, these are just some ideas to get you started. Final card size will be 413 x 713 ... perhaps make the backs and fronts double size (826 x 1426) and then we can scale them down for the final card postings. 8-) Dee

Folks, this wasn't easy. Please bear in mind that the selections I've made here mean NOTHING personal ... I assigned some of the tougher ones based on images that I've seen posted in the gallery and where I think the artist might fit best overall. If you don't like your assignment, there are still a few Major cards free, or you can select one of the Minor arcana instead. OK, here we go ... The Fool - Picnic (you do nice male characters!) The Magician - Wizzard (for obvious reasons ..hehehe) The High Priestess - that's mine The Empress - lynde The Emperor - Poppi (your Egyptian series was the deciding factor here) The Hierophant - Dreamspinner (your images have that true mystical quality) The Lovers - Ironbear, if we can't figure out where your selection falls, you did request this at one point. I'll keep it reserved for you until we figure this out. The Chariot - tankred (I couldn't find any gallery images for you ???) Strength -GhostOfMacbeth The Hermit - Lorraine The Wheel of Fortune (is this Ironbear's rejuvenation?) Justice - Szeven The Hanged Man - not assigned yet Death - TheWolfWithin Temperance - Lalverson The Devil - Chas The Tower - Dolly The Star - Traveler The Moon - AprilYSH (a challenge for you, but you have some gorgeous watery images, I thought it would fit!) The Sun - Morris Judgement - not assigned yet The World - nikitacreed Go design your ideas Denise

How about "Ars Fortunae" For to the project name? It roughly means the Art of Fortune in Latin.

Sounds good to me!!!!!! 8-) I forgot to mention -- Verdie and Dolly, when you have the card backs and backgrounds worked up, can you post them here? BTW - Traveler has GRACIOUSLY offered to host some pages and files for this project at Morph World - I don't really have an area to set up downloads and stuff. Eventually, we'll move the associated project info from my site over to there to keep it all in the same place. Thanks Trav!!!!! 8-) Dee

I've received a couple of requests in this thread and through email to provide a layered version of the card background image (Photoshop format would probably be best). Traveler will host this file at Morph World so that folks can download it. I guess that means the border, number area, and page name area would have to be on their own layers for sure ... the rest is up for debate ;-) Verdie and Dolly, when you finish the backgrounds/borders can you email them to me or Traveler as well? Thanks! Denise

How is this for a project "Logo"

VERY cool!!! LOVE the font and the colors 8-) Dee

I like it looks good

Uh ... what do we do when a thread starts to get really long and we want to start up another one to continue? I can imagine the size of this page already ;-) Dee

Attached Link: http://morphs.bbay.com/ars/index.html

Ok, The basic pages are up. The props should be ready tonight or tomorrow morning. I will post another message when they are ready :) -Trav

Fabulous! I've updated the link on my original page to point to the new site. 8-) Dee

Ok, finally finished reading this thread s. I own the Egyptian deck that Dee posted way back when and I'm a pagan too so I have a pretty good working knowledge of the Tarot. Anyway, I'd LOVE to join in and if it still isn't taken I'd really like to do the Wheel of Fortune. This card sybolises so much for me. Woohoo, this is such a wonderful idea :) Xena

Okay now that I'm TOTALLY LOST.... I thought you wanted my Crystal Ball pic for the BACK of the Cards. Being of a highly Celtic family background myself I rather like the idea of the Pagan Deck, but also have no idea to be honest what I'm talking about when it comes to Tarot as Liz and Ana read them and I do not. LOL Gonna have to look up the one assigned to me. YIKES!! Might have to get Dolly to help me put mine together as I'm not proficient enough in psp or Paintshop Pro to do all of the required cut and pasting in this. Love your idea with my Crystal Ball pic but I REALLY LIKE Dolly's Border!! Verdie of Dreamspinner, the temporarily lost one.

Thans, glad I peeked .. gotta figure out what the strength thing looks like .. thanks

Xena - Glad you're in! Looks like the Wheel of Fortune is for you! Verdie -- Yes, we'll use the original crystal ball (or something similar if you'd rather do something special ) for the backs of the cards. But I thought it would also be cool to modify it slightly so that we could also use it for the front of the card as well. That way there would be a similar look and feel on back and front. That image is absolutely perfect! (The Hierophant, by the way, is associated with divine wisdom, teaching, alliances, intutition, etc ... I have always envisioned him/her as someone who has that perfected "inner knowing of Truth, whatever Truth may be ;-) But if my interpretation is wrong I'm sure someone will pipe up. 8-) If necessary, Traveler or I can work up the layered image based on the stuff that you and Dolly put together. No problem. 8-) Denise

Yes, Eric that is BEAUTIFUL and guess I know who likes BLUE, but it's very elegant looking, almost a flaming diamond look . Thank you for being such a great help!!! Verdie of Dreamspinner

Oh, I see what you mean now and how totally COOL!! LOL Told ya I was LOST. LOL What about my Keeper of Wisdom Poser Figure, as I have several different versions of her? Is she supposed to be like doing anything on the card face? Verdie of Dreamspinner

Well then s on that not....anyone know where I can find a good spoked wheel prop? Obj or 3ds. I'm off to check 3D Cafe now.

In the traditional deck, the Hierophant is displayed as sort of a priestly/pope type character, sitting on a throne. There are two "monk like" characters standing in front of him toward the bottom of the card. Your image is not restricted to that type of character ... as long as it portrays the same sort of idea it's cool 8-) I'm trying to find a link that displays some pics of all these arcana cards. Denise

Ironbear, I have indeed confirmed that the Judgement card is also known as Rejuvenation in some decks. So shall I put you down for that one instead of the Lovers? Dee

Denise .. found a link that has pictures http://www.artoftarot.com/po.htm

I NEED to find a pic of a Hierophant Card so I have some idea of what I'm doing!!! HELP!! Verdie of Dreamspinner

Okay, I would like to use my Keeper of Wisdom figure instead of a man, but have a throne problem because Trav's robe doesn't bend when she's seated. LOL Can I make her a Druidess Prietess with two Druidess attendants, instead? I think it would go with the Pagan feel of it. Verdie of Dreamspinner

Thanks on that link Ghost! (I'm trying to address all these questions as quickly as I can so I appreciate the help!!!) Dreamspinner, your idea sounds cool. I'd probably do the same if I were you. 8-) Dee

Thank You Dee and that's a big help! Now I know what I can do. I was thinking and asked Dolly but haven't heard back from him yet as he may have gone to bed. We both LOVE your idea for my Crystal Ball pic and I was thinking that Dolly could widen that Black border some and put his Pagan Border there for the finished look of the cards and then all we have to do is fill in the Oval Middle with our pics and use the regular Crystal Ball Pic for the Back of the Cards. What do you think of that? Wouldn't this be GREAT if when we finished this project that they could be printed up for sale in the Store?? Verdie of Dreamspinner

That sounds perfect, Verdie 8-) The first border that Dolly did is actually generic enough (because it immediately made me think "Fire, Earth, Air, Water" type of stuff). I think it will work well for the border. I was thinking the same thing, that it would be cool to have them printed up and put in the store. Maybe for a community support sale item? I'd LOVE to buy a set myself! 8-) Dee

Woohoo! I missed alot again! I have to start over. LOL! What I have done so far won't work with that background....but that's okay...I love the background so I will just start over. I love the idea of a community support sale item! I would deifinitely buy one of the decks too! :o)

nikitacreed ... If it saves you the work, what you can do is render out your scene as it is ... then import it as a separate layer into Photoshop (or another program that works with layers). Draw an oval selection slightly smaller than the crystal ball thingy, then feather the selection somewhere around 25-50 pixels or so. Copy that feathered selection into your clipboard and paste over the ellipse. Voila, you have your card. 8-) Dee

If so, better decide that fast. We'll need to determine if we can use our intended props etc. early on (not all can be used in commercial renders). Verdie, the image you desribe sounds great, but it might be more appropriate for the High Priestess (#2, literally the "Keeper of Wisdom" card). The decks usually have 2 female figures (High Priestess and Empress, or whatever names they're given), and 2 male (Emperor and Hierophant, sometimes called the Pope, High Priest, etc.). If the figure was of obscured gender, that could work, and maybe add another element of mystery to the card (although "obscure" sometimes doesn't fit with the card's meaning). Most references are pretty open to interpretation, but I'm not sure if this one might be a little out of context. What do others think? I might try to do a point-form ideas list if people are interested.

Chas, that would be terrific, if you have the time. I was hoping that someone would offer some "technical advice" on this. I started reworking a page to list the differences between the R/W and GD decks and got totally confused . Dee

Verdie, I have the High Priestess card, and would be happy to switch to the Hierophant if you want to use your character. I haven't even started on mine, and have an idea for its male counterpart already anyway. 8-) Dee

YIKES this thread is filling fast....I need to know how to get the background image...is it going to be somewhere to download?

I can't seem to find the layered version of the background. Is it up yet?

Cool. My we been busy here. ;] Sorry folks... had to drop out for 12 hrs of zzzzz's - I burned the candle at both ends til I ran out of wick in the middle. No problem... I'll work up a list of the major arcana and post it here. I don't mind the lovers, just means I'll have an excuse to do some morphing on the poser dork. I may work up my 2nd choice just for grins as an alternate card for a non-standard deck. I do agree with whoever siad that - check readme's to see if the props ect allow commercial use of the images done with them, although I have to say... most people including that restriction on use are on pretty shaky ground on enforcing it. Resale or distribution of the item itself is one thing, but the image I do is mine, otherwise my copyright on the image would have no legal meaning.

"I am a good person now and it feels... well, pretty much the same as I felt before (except that the headaches have gone away now that I'm not wearing control top pantyhose on my head anymore)"

• Monkeysmell

Lorraine and Nikitacreed ... Verdie and Dolly will be working on the background together and it will be available at Morph World when it's finished (along with some props for the cups, wands, swords, and pentacles/discs). In fact, if you have anything to contribute (such as Chas's list) that would also be a good place to store it. As far as the thread filling up, let's start a new one now. This page is getting too big . PLEASE MOVE ON TO TAROT DECK, PART II .... Dee

Nah... this thread aint long. It hasn't even hit 500 posts yet. ;]

"I am a good person now and it feels... well, pretty much the same as I felt before (except that the headaches have gone away now that I'm not wearing control top pantyhose on my head anymore)"

• Monkeysmell

Yikes. I just got as far as the Magician. This is going to take more time than I can handle. Are there any specific cards that people would like hints on?

The first couple descriptions (before I take a break): First things first, I don't mean to dictate. I've got an essayist background among other things, so I write sounding "authoritative" out of habit -- I'm just used to persuasive-writing styles. This is advice only, use as you will. There's one little bit of advice I hope everyone will take to heart, though: the best way to create a great card is to aim for a multi-faceted meaning in your image. A tarot card isn't a pile of iconic images slapped together, but uses images, poses, expressions, etc. which can be interpreted in different ways when seen in different contexts. For example, the Fool can seem naive, reckless, childish, ignorant and frivolous; or he could symbolize light-heartedness, innocence, potential or "blessed madness" which can lead to discovery. Every card can have a positive meaning and a negative one (even Death, which is a signifier of change), depending on where it sits in context among the other cards in a reading. Below are some possible card meanings (there may be more than what I've included), followed by a description of what the card often depicts or includes. You can toss almost all of the description away if you want (although in the Major Arcana, you still have to have some semblance of the original characters), if you have another way to convey something with a similar meaning. Incidentally, this leans a little bit toward the Rider-Waite, but doesn't accept any as "authoritative." So there may be conflicts in the eyes of anyone used to any one particular system. I figure if this is a collective project, those conflicts will be inevitable anyway, unless someone were to become heavy-handed about it. Enough blathering. 0 the Fool: As mentioned, he can seem naive, reckless, childish, hasty, ignorant and frivolous; or he could symbolize light-heartedness, innocence, carefree, potential or "blessed madness" which can lead to discovery. He is either a seeker or a bumbler, either undertaking a journey of discovery or stumbling headlong into something. Often shows a young man wandering forward, not paying attention that he is about to step off a cliff. A dog usually nips at his heels to try to warn him, but without response. 1 the Magician: Confidence, seeming mastery. He might be a trickster or genuinely enlightened, but he conveys power wither way. Skill, craftiness, creativity, knowledge and influence. He is usually performing a magical work on a table, involving a wand, cup, sword and pentacle, appearing confident. There's often a lemniscate (sideways figure 8, the infinity symbol) over his head.

OK, here's a thought, since the symbology (and the numbering of the cards) is SO important ... if there are those who are not well versed in the meanings of the cards (like me, hehehehe), post a question (or your idea) here for comment or review before you start. Hopefully, one of the "experts" can give some technical advice. That way we won't have to dump it all on one person (like Chas so graciously offered ;-) Sound fair? 8-) Dee

Attached Link: http://www.renderosity.com/messages.ez?ForumID=12356&Form.ShowMessage=299650

FOR FURTHER DISCUSSION ON THIS TOPIC, MOVE HERE 8-) Dee