One Must Imagine Sisyphus Happy
about 2 years ago – Wed, Oct 12, 2022 at 10:27:43 AM

The Myth of Sisyphus

The Philosopher Albert Camus, in his 1942 essay, Le mythe de Sisyphe, concludes that when we accept even the most absurd of situations as being true - because we are present in them - we can live in a manner that transcends hope and reason, even meaning, for this acceptance turns what might be considered our fate into our destiny - a purpose for being.

Camus concludes, referring to the myth of Sisyphus, fated to push a boulder up a mountain for eternity, only to have it continually roll back down again in an endless cycle, that "one must imagine Sisyphus happy."

This myth - and the statement by Camus - can be found in our Wheel of Fortune card of the Everlasting Day Tarot. I have changed the name of the card (but not too much) to the Wheel of Destiny in line with this sentiment. I wanted beginners to have more agency in the card description, and perhaps consider with experienced readers as to how we think about "fortune".

The Wheel is not merely fortune but how we interact with it.

It is the wheel of time, and what we do with our time - do we fall to the slightest chance or take hold of the merest of opportunities? Do we defy a downturn by looking up and meeting the challenge, or do we become too complacent when life lifts us up through no agency of our own?

In truth, we are always one side of the boulder or another - always on the Wheel, no matter what way we feel it is revolving.

So our Wheel card shows an apparently motionless Wheel, almost at the summit of a great peak - such as the mountain of initiation. Has even the bearer of the wheel become ossified and part of the construct themselves? What function does it now serve, here on the way?

The Wheel of Destiny card in the Tarot of Everlasting Day signifies all the usual meanings of the Atu and more - it can be interpreted as a moment of stillness found in perpetual motion - a moment when we decide what we are going to do.

It is for good reason that A. E. Waite said the symbolism of the card should concentrate on "stability amidst movement." The Sphinx in his card sits directly on the Wheel, yet is not moved by it - rather than on a pedestal, as if separated from the mechanism of time itself. This is the riddle.

I trust you are well in this present moment, and as the Wheel moves onwards, I encourage you to take what appears fated and consider it your destiny - grab the wheel with both hands, whichever way it appears to be going.

Campaign News

Just a brief note today to say that whilst work progresses on tidying up the cards, I am also presently in conversation with an alternate printer for the deck than the one originally selected for the proof.

As the campaign has now gone over 1,000% funded to the original minimum goal, we may need a printer who can also handle global distribution of the increased number of decks.

The printing company in discussion is the same as handled the highly succesful Alleyman's Tarot distribution, a Kickstarter campaign that raised over one million dollars, and which involved breaking down and re-packing lots of different components for the massive fulfilment process.

Whilst they may be able to offer some additional benefits, including part-US-based distribution, it might delay us a little whilst I have a test deck printed and then assess all the various quotes and factors before making a final decision.

It may not be a noticeable process, but I wanted to give you the earliest heads-up in case I decide that we can do even better with the whole package post-campaign and it is worth the change. I will keep you in the loop as we enter the closing week or so of the campaign.

The Worker is Hidden in the Workshop.

Marcus.

Sunday Tempering
about 2 years ago – Mon, Oct 10, 2022 at 06:15:43 AM

This post is for backers only. Please visit Kickstarter.com and log in to read.

Reveal of Pip Card Cups
about 2 years ago – Mon, Oct 10, 2022 at 03:42:18 AM

Pip Cups

Hi,

By our Work we are Changed.

Firstly, thank you for your continued support and engagement as we begin our slow shuffle across the Kickstarter mid-range plateau. Every step, every share, every backer counts at this stage, so please do continue to share - and thank you for reading the updates as we make this journey together.

As the Tarot of Everlasting Day deck is - as far as I know - the only tarot deck to offer a 'swappable' pip and scenic version of all the forty Minor Arcana, it has taken some time to get the pips right in terms of design.

I wanted to ensure they were parallel to both the Tarot de Marseille style of pips, but also had some elements similar to the Thoth semi-pip/semi-scenic design.

That is, that they would just be cups or coins, etc., but have some element of design to their background and layout. One that would provide insight but not get in the way of reading them as you wanted.

For some reason, the pips of the Cups were the hardest of all four suits to get right. 

I originally arrived at a set I felt was fine, then a month later ditched the ten cards and started again. I eventually got a new version that was acceptable - and a month later tried to edit them into what I wanted, but just could not be happy with them, so ditched them and started again.

Over several months, I went through three sets of 'finished' pip cards for the Cups, and then recently ditched the entire ten cards and started yet again with a fresh set of eyes - and now I am happy they look as I originally visualised.

Perhaps the Cups, like the feelings they illustrate, will always be the most fluid to fix down.

Here are two of the KEYWORD versions of the Cups in the pip version. 

I trust you can see the blend between the Thoth and the Tarot de Marseille! I want this beginners deck to gently prepare readers for when they come to those decks, if they have not already done so, and when they do, they will have an installed sense of familiarity with their design.

Again, thank you for your backing and support in the campaign, please keep sharing as we are heading into the second half of the Kickstarter, with hopefully enough time to reach our 888 goal and perhaps even something beyond that - thank you!

The Worker is Hidden in the Workshop.

Marcus

Seventh Stretch Goal UNLOCKED - A Guide to Reversals
about 2 years ago – Sun, Oct 09, 2022 at 09:01:33 PM

Amazing Work You.

Er .... wow. So that happened.

We just went through our 7th stretch goal, so every backer will now receive the unique Guide to Reversals included with all our other stretch goals so far - and we are only just approaching half-way through the Kickstarter campaign.

This is utterly unexpected and delightful, and I am going to say as sincerely as text can convey that I thank each and every one of you, for believing in this work and supporting it - totally appreciated!

Card Text Discussion

Also, thank you to each and every one who commented and gave feedback on the two questions I asked yesterday - I read every one of them, and will discuss the results in a following update. 

The Tl;dr is that TITLE ONLY decks will remain title only decks, and KEYWORD decks will have the general keywords up top and any further Kabbalah reference along the side.

7 Stretch Goals Unlocked

In the meantime, here is what is now included for every backer ...

And I now have to decide on an 8th stretch goal, which will be revealed shortly.

It is the power of crowdfunding that what started as a passion project, with a bare minimum order of 100 decks at a price we could afford and not lose money, is fast approaching 1,000 decks with 7 additional rewards for hundreds of people.

I am sure we can do even more.

Please do continue to share the project - if you haven't already, perhaps mention the deck and link to the Kickstarter in a facebook group (subject to their posting guidelines), an Instagram post, or on your own wall, if you are comfortable doing so. Every share counts, particularly if you can kindly ask people to share it onwards - that would really use the power of crowd-connection if we can reach even further!

The Tower of God, Assailed

Whilst I return to the workshop and concoct a reward for a stretch goal of 888 backers - darned numerology will be the death of me - here is the Tower of God/Blasted Tower animation for those who have not yet seen it on the campaign page or in our other socials. Hit up the sound to max for a full experience!

After the Shock, Only Awe. The Tower of God. The Moment After Now. What Happened, Witnessed by All. The Spiritual Hastening. The Reach of the Empyrean. The Limit of Your Ambition. All these Meanings, Made Needless. The Obviousness of It.

And yet again, thank you so much for your very kind engagement and support of this deck, it continues to be an honour to bring it to you.

Many, many thanks,

Marcus

Eighth Stretch Goal REVEALED - Online Readings from the Everlasting Day Deck
about 2 years ago – Sun, Oct 09, 2022 at 06:52:21 PM

888

Stretch Goal 8 (888 Backers): Online Reading System Using the Deck.

As a massive thank you to everyone who is backing the deck, the 8th stretch goal will be a custom-built online tarot reading system using the Tarot of the Everlasting Day, accessible to backers only.

This stretch goal reward will be made available if we manage to reach 888 backers.

You can see a prototype of the system here, or click the image below, which uses a simple three-card spread, only selecting from 3 cards of the whole deck (the Empress, Eight of Wands and the Ace of Pentacles) but also featuring reversals and brief examples of interpretation.

This page is available to everyone at the moment, but the full version, with the whole deck, more spreads, and full interpretations - should we reach 888 backers - will be built and available on a secured page for backers only. So keep sharing, please, and we can do this, with only two weeks remaining to go!

Never be without a reading from this deck, even when you do not have the physical cards with you! And it can be used as a fantastic learning system!

Thank you again and again for your support,

Marcus.