Thank you for your Feedback! Title Only Remains Title Only & Keyword Placement
about 2 years ago – Sun, Oct 09, 2022 at 06:09:21 PM

Onwards to the Everlasting Day

By Our Work we are Changed.

Text & Keyword Placement, Kabbalah & Title-Only

Following all the fantastic and useful feedback, I can confirm that the titles and keywords for the keyword deck will now run along the top of each card, and the same for the pip cards - not along the side.
It was closer than I thought in the end, but the majority went for the top placement, which I kind of like too, so that's all good! No cricked necks peering at sideways keywords!
With regard to the Kabbalah phrases, there will be no Kabbalah on the pip cards, just the scenic cards of the keyword deck, and that will be placed sideways - to indicate that it is an option and not as immediate as the keywords.
The title-only deck will remain titles-only, throughout the scenic and pip cards.
I did want to discuss whether other options might be of interest, as some folk raised it, and I'm glad we did - again, it was closer than I expected, but the majority did go for title-only being not only fine, but exactly what they wanted - nothing textual (other than the title) to direct how they read the image or the card. That's good and fine - and finalises the decisions about the titles, keywords and kabbalah text on the cards!

Thank you to everyone who discussed it and gave their feedback on the Kickstarter comments! It was so useful and I read every single comment - and counted votes!

Next Stage
Once I have the next test prints back to me (with the double tin!) I will settle on the font size and precise position of text. I have ordered a new test print and discussed it with the printers, they are printing as we speak - hopefully will be with me within two weeks!

The pips are illustrated just enough to remind you of the meaning if you need it, otherwise they can be used with numerology, intuition, or with any Tarot de Marseille reading style. I will cover this in the accompanying video course!
Please consider making a pledge if you have not already done so, and sharing the campaign through your own socials - even once or twice can make a world of difference!

Your feedback and support is helping us make this beginners deck a complete package of learning, as it already includes a 4-week video course, printed guide, and much more!
Only two weeks remain in the campaign and we have our next stretch goal at 888 backers!

The Worker is Hidden in the Workshop.

Marcus.

How to Link the Cards with Keywords
about 2 years ago – Wed, Oct 05, 2022 at 11:07:32 PM

The Holy Grail

I dreamt last night that my younger brother and I were looking for the Holy Grail. We had parked our car on the long open driveway of a country manor hall and were walking down a path by the side of the woods. We came to the co-ordinates we had been given and found ourselves at a non-descript boulder sticking up from the ground by the side of the path. I was asking the Lord of the place if we could dig there, but he was arguing that it would be troublesome and there was nothing unusual about the location to suggest something of such importance was buried there. My brother looked at us both and said, "We must look for the Grail in the common place, for that is where He hath hidden it." Upon which I awoke.

I have kept a journal of dreams since I was about 15, and my dreams - as perhaps yours - often respond to my work with tarot. Over the last few days I have been trying to "find the holy grail" of the Cups pips cards, which I am still trying to get right to what I see in my own mind. 

In the meantime, I wanted to tell you about the innovative use of keywords in the keyword deck - and ask everyone a question about the pips cards in the Minors.

Linking the Cards with Keywords

One important thing about the keyword deck is that the keywords are being carefully selected and not just cut and paste or made up out of nowhere. I want to ensure that beginners and experienced readers alike can use the words in a variety of ways, if they are using the keyword deck.

The words themselves are chosen from a blend of the Golden Dawn Book T, A. E. Waite, S. L. McGregor Mathers (and Eliphas Levi), my own experience and study over forty years, and Tarot Flip, my co-authored book with Tali Goodwin, where we distilled the actual keywords and themes from hundreds of tarot readers themselves, drawing on tens of thousands of hours of real readings.

Most importantly, they are written to be linked together in a string, hence the hypens between each word. This helps address the most common challenge presented to me over the years from hundreds (if not thousands) of new readers - "how do I link the cards?"

So when you are using the keyword deck, you will be able to lay the cards in an overlapping manner, and reel off the combined string of keywords from one card and the next, building up a general sense of the overall reading. If the "smoosh" of keywords read together gives you an uneasy and negative feeling, it tells you that if you read the cards positively, there might be some utility in having another look. In effect, I want the cards to speak for themselves as well as your own interpretation.

This allows beginners to have a nice set of training wheels until you trust your own interpretations, without being too prescriptive - and more importantly, teaching you right from your first reading - the feeling of reading cards together rather than one at a time.

A Question or Two

With that in mind, I have two questions which I would be happy to hear from you in the comments below this update, as I finalise the positions, font, size, etc. of the keywords for the keyword deck. You can answer either or both questions no matter whether you are going to be using a keyword deck or not - your thoughts will really help me find the "Holy Grail" of keywords!

Question 1

Do you have a preference between the position of the keywords - I am considering placing them on top or along the side as below. I have no particular preference as yet, the top placement (1A) gives less room for the words on top of the design, but looks cleaner and connects the words with the card title. The side placement (1B) is visually more out of the way and allows nice stacking to read the string of combined cards.

The card at the back right would be titled NINE CUPS at the top, it is presently a draft awaiting the title and is from the scenic deck, just being used here for illustrative purposes regarding the keywords.

Question 2

This is for the PIP cards of the Title-Only deck. A few people have liked the Kabbalah references, and asked if they could be included on the Title-Only deck pip cards. That is to say, they are not considering these as "key words" but more as titles. However, there is a sense that the Kabbalah reference will give some interpretative meaning to the card, and as such, is labelling it with a sort-of-keyword. What do you think - keep it really titles only (2A), or have the Kabbalah reference as a supplementary title (2B)?

Liber 777

Thank you for any thoughts you may have on those placements, the best thing about Kickstarter is that we can not only crowd-fund but to some extent we can crowd-design, ensuring more of us get the most considered magical artefact as possible.

We are just 31 backers away this morning from our next stretch goal of a unique booklet on reversals. That's seven extra rewards for this deck that would not have been possible without Crowd-Funding.

I know it is a stretch, and we are now approaching the plateau of the project, where it is even more important that news of it gets shared beyond our own social circles and is repeated.  They reckon that it is actually four repeats that is the optimum for someone to think, "hey, I've seen that before, it looks interesting" and then follow the mention. I know I don't like spam, but I do like being reminded of something that could actually be of interest to me! It's a fine line, of course.

So ... if I could ask you again to consider pledging if you have not yet done so - and to kindly share the Kickstarter link across groups (subject to their posting guidelines) or to your own contacts, as you feel comfortable, that would be fantastic. The earlier pledges are in, the better idea I have of interest.

And it really only takes a few to reach out to more across the crowd which brings us enough interest to offer more for everyone. I would like to personally thank you if you have already shared!

As ever, many thanks for all your kind encouragement and discussion about the deck, it is a pleasure to be working with you to make it manifest and get it into our hands! 

I am presently waiting on an order of a test print of cards and the tin, and a stitch-bound booklet which may be possible as an upgrade to the fold-out pamphlet. 

I will let you know when they arrive, which could be a couple of weeks.

Anyhow, if you can kindly let me know in the comments if you have any thoughts about Q1 and Q2, even if just to respond with your answers as "A & A" or "A & B", "B & B" or even "Not bothered either way!"  that would be super-helpful and interesting!

Again, thank you and thank you! 

May we all find our Holy Grail in the Common Place,

Marcus.

Seventh Stretch Goal Revealed - A Book of Reversals
about 2 years ago – Tue, Oct 04, 2022 at 04:24:39 AM

777

Seventh Stretch Goal - THE BOOK OF REVERSALS

I cannot thank you all enough for being with me on this journey, it has really made my work feel truly seen - and I intend to honour and return your support with my own, by providing as much bang for your buck as is possible - and realistic - to deliver!

So, if we can reach our next stretch goal of 777 backers, I will provide all backers with a bonus set of learning material, particularly for beginners, but also of use to experienced readers who would like a new way of looking at their cards.

This is The Book of Reversals, a short but powerful way of learning and using reversed cards. It uses a method Tali Goodwin and I drafted originally for Secrets of the Waite-Smith Tarot (Llewellyn, 2015) but was not included as that book was already packed with other material.

It requires a slight re-write, but nothing major, and will be sent as a PDF once the main video classes have been delivered. The cover is only a conceptual draft at this stage!

The Book of Reversals includes (re)verse-like lines for reversals in the deck, but is unique and innovative in dealing with the reversals first by Number and Suit. You will learn how to easily recall only 14 (10 numbers and 4 suits) reversed keywords or phrases and then apply them to any Minor Arcana, before learning the reversals for the Courts and Majors.

This approach is fitting for our 777 numerological goal and my wish for this deck to be accompanied by our Tarosophy teaching methods for everyone. It will work with any deck, although the PDF will contain additional ways of using specifically the Tarot of Everlasting Day deck.

So we can reach our next goal of 777 together, please continue to share the campaign in groups (according to their posting guidelines) and personal socials, as I am sure there are many beginners who might like this lifetime opportunity to pick up a new deck and learn tarot once and for all - now with reversals!

Again, with all my personal thanks for your support, encouragement, messages and sharing of the campaign, it is really appreciated beyond measure.

May a full deck of possibilities be yours,

Marcus

Instant Reward UNLOCKED - Self-Portrait of A.I. Certificate Card
about 2 years ago – Mon, Oct 03, 2022 at 09:01:24 PM

What does A.I. Look Like?

As a special surprise reward for everyone who has asked, for all backers, and especially for collectors, each deck will now come with a numbered and signed certificate of authenticity card.

I wanted to do something unique or special for this card, rather than a plain numbered card, so I waited a bit for inspiration and then it came to me!

Your certification card will uniquely feature an image of how the A.I. sees itself as an artist.

I first asked it to imagine a self-portrait of itself. I then photoshopped and ran the best result (of many almost similar images) through another A.I. system that infers real-life facial features from portraits or blurred images, etc.

Now we can meet our artist for the deck, the machine intelligence, who appears styled upon Leonardo Da Vinci and Dante. This is the face of the Artifical Mind which has been teaching me to dream differently as much as I have taught it about tarot.

Thank you to everyone who has suggested this card, and for Simon Magus who pointed out the similarity to Dante - and Dorothy who asked how the cards will be numbered - more on that soon!

Our 777 Stretch Goal will be announced shortly! 

Again, with all my thanks for your kind comments and sharing across the many tarot communities - please do continue to let people know if you haven't seen this shared in a particular group or channel, and together we can make even more rewards available for everyone!

May a full deck of possibilities be yours,

Marcus

Sixth Stretch Goal UNLOCKED - An Arkartian Fable
about 2 years ago – Mon, Oct 03, 2022 at 01:32:55 AM

666

We did it! In just one day - again - we reached our 6th stretch goal, which means we will include An Arkartian Fable with the deck rewards, which are growing literally by the day.

And even better, we get to set a 777 stretch goal, as numerology has naturally dictated where we put these goals. Whilst I decide on the reward for that goal, here is a sneak peek of the Three of Swords, in pip and scenic versions, both from the keyword deck.

Blades

In one of the design decisions I have taken with this deck, the pip Sword cards will be called "blades". This is for a number of reasons, the main one being I love the Google mistranslate of 'cards' from Spanish to 'blades', as in "the seventy-eight blades of the tarot deck". This reminds me that each card can cut to the truth.

Another reason is that in the pips, I want the meaning to be clearly obvious, so reducing the swords to "blades" in their images is also cutting to the chase without any ornament or flashy backdrop, etc.

A third reason is in my conversations with A.I., it kept telling me that what I actually wanted was blades and steel and razors and edges, not swords. So, the Machine said so and I listened.

Hopefully, the designs impart a visceral sense of the meaning and potential interpretations for even an absolute beginner, whether the pip or scenic version.

Keywords

Marisa Dinis asked an interesting question this morning in our Facebook Group, Tarot Professionals, wondering about the choice of keywords and also why there was a slight difference between pip and scenic versions of the same card. She kindly said I could share her question and my answer in this update, which was as follows:

I'm still experimenting with the keywords, placement, etc. but they are all from the same sources, such as A. E. Waite's published writing - and unpublished in the case of some of the Majors, Book T of the Golden Dawn, and my own experience and teaching methods over the last 40 years, refined (hopefully) into the fewest possible words with the most application to actual readings. And there may be slight differences in the keywords for the pips and scenic Minors, as the pips are also being calibrated against cartomantic meanings we covered in 'Tarot Time Traveller', our book (co-author Tali Goodwin) on the history of cartomancy and tarot. As a teaching artefact, considering NLP & Ericksonian Language Patterns, the slight difference or 'dissonance' sets up a 'cascade' in the mind as it automatically tries to find connections, producing even more meanings and variations unique to the reader and drawing from their own unconscious.

Next Stretch Goal & Production Test

What will follow if we reach 777 backers? Watch out for the next update as we approach the noontime of the Everlasting Day! In the meantime, I am today ordering a sample of the double-tin and 130 cards, to check where the text is being positioned on the final cards, and to ensure they do indeed fit in the tin.

Any questions, do put them here, or ask in our Tarot Professionals Facebook Group, I'm happy to answer and help!

Again, with all my sincere thanks and gratitude, your support and encouragement means more to me than I can really say,

Marcus