The Ship Builder in the Harbour
over 1 year ago – Wed, Oct 19, 2022 at 05:03:39 AM

Port Outward, Starboard Home

By our Work we are Changed.

As we approach the final three days of the campaign, I am writing to you to say thank you.

Thank you for being interested in this deck, thank you for accepting the concept and discussing the layout options, thank you for pledging to make this possible, thank you for sharing to make it awesome.

Thank you.

I was working today on the Three of Wands - yet another card where A. E. Waite had snuck in the Golden Dawn Book T title phrase into his Pictorial Key text; established strength.

In honour of Pamela Colman Smith and her connection with the old port town of Winchelsea (see Secrets of the Waite-Smith Tarot by Marcus Katz & Tali Goodwin), I wanted to emphasis the ship-building design of this card.

So I placed our ship-builder in the midst of the harbour, front and centre, with the ships being built and worked upon. The Three of Wands is a fantastic card, but it is still at the beginning of the adventure.

The Three gives it the structure and understanding of Binah, the third Sephirah on the Tree of Life, applied in the world of the Wands, corresponding to Atziluth, 'emanation' or expansion.

It can be a powerful beginning, but one that risks exploding, blowing out of proportion - such as a disagreement of views in the initial stages of a relationship that eventually cracks the whole thing open at some later time.

It is a card where power must be managed, considered, and staged out, risks must be taken but also mitigated, and perhaps even a Plan C must be constructed to go with Plan B and Plan A.

In the spirit of this card, I thank you again for being here and helping us build this deck (ship, deck, geddit?!) and I am really looking forward to us setting sail on this adventure, which is only just beginning.

Thank you.

The Worker is Hidden in the Harbour.

Marcus.

The Sun of an Everlasting Day & AMA Session TONIGHT
over 1 year ago – Wed, Oct 19, 2022 at 04:38:24 AM

The Sun of an Everlasting Day

"His palace bright

Bastion'd with pyramids of glowing gold,

And touch'd with shade of bronzed obelisks,

Glar'd a blood-red through all its thousand courts,

Arches, and domes, and fiery galleries;

And all its curtains of Aurorian clouds

Flush'd angerly: while sometimes eagle's wings,

Unseen before by Gods or wondering men,

Darken'd the place; and neighing steeds were heard,

Not heard before by Gods or wondering men."

- from Hyperion, John Keats.

The Sun card image for the Tarot of Everlasting Day is based on the beautiful poem, Hyperion, by John Keats (1795 - 1821), specifically the section describing the palace of the majestic sun-god.

In a reading the card reminds us not only the outpouring of light and growth symbolised by the sun, but also that one day follows another, and in that context, change is inevitable.

With this draft animation of the card, I wanted to wish you a happy Sunday and give this offering of light to whatever darkness you face now or in the future.

AMA Ask Me Anything Session

I would like to remind you of your open invitation to a free "ask me anything" session which will be later today on Sunday 16th October, 2022 live at 9:00pm UK time (4:00pm ET) in our Facebook group, Tarot Professionals.

This will be a great opportunity when we can talk about tarot cards, cartomancy, divination, western esotericism, magick and more - and you can ask me anything!

999 at the end of the day?

We are so close to the bonkers stretch goal reward of the Tarot Speakeasy, should we reach 999 backers before the campaign closes in 6 days.

In fact, we are just 34 pledges away from crossing that epic finish line, which - when we started - was not even considered as a remote possibility.

The project was originally based on interesting just 100 people, enough to place a minimum order. So, thank you again from the bottom of my heart - you have made so much more possible.

Please do continue to share and mention the deck, particularly in these remaining few days, and we could cross that line together in the end! Thank you!

The Worker is Hidden in the Workshop.

Marcus.

How The Universe Works and other Questions
over 1 year ago – Wed, Oct 19, 2022 at 04:28:43 AM

How Does the Universe Work?

By our Work we are Changed.

Thank you for everyone who attended the AMA (Ask Me Anything) video yesterday, it was great to hang out and talk about the deck, tarot, and western esotericism in general.

We also answered the question, "how does tarot work" by discussing how the universe works as a holographic construct - so we really did talk about quite a lot!

I have made the 90-minute video recording available to everyone, outside of Facebook, here on this link. I discuss the importance of correspondence, what I've learnt about A.I., the way I think tarot actually works - and the universe - and the most effective secret of magical power. 

Thanks to the brilliant questions, we really did cover quite a range of subjects! If you are interested in going further into our work, I also mentioned Several Signposts to the Mysteries as a guide.

Again, thank you to everyone who joined us in the live room, it was a pleasure to meet you!

999 Bonkers Stretch Goal

With five days now remaining, we are only 22 backers short of our final absolutely bonkers goal of 999 backers which will unlock the 4-day Tarot Speakeasy sessions for every backer!

With just these few days left, today would be a great day to share the link to the Kickstarter campaign and together we can gather just those 22 backers and finish with a triumphant flourish!

Here is the Two of Wands from the scenic minor cards to set us on our way for these final days. The main keyword for this card is dominion.

It is one of the Minor Arcana where we clearly see how A. E. Waite "borrowed" his inspiration and meanings from the Golden Dawn Book T. The Golden Dawn called this card DOMINION and Waite hides this title in his text:

"The design gives one suggestion; here is a lord overlooking his dominion and alternately contemplating a globe; it looks like the malady, the mortification, the sadness of Alexander amidst the grandeur of this world's wealth."

It is also a card where I have kept pretty much to the design of Pamela Colman Smith, although drawing on my experience in readings over the decades, I opted for the globe to weigh upon the figure rather than  it being held in the hands of the person. In this way I think it better depicts the way in which our ambitions can weigh upon us with consequences and responsibilities.

Tomorrow I will share another animated card - for backers only this time - as we enter the final few days of the campaign. Again, I would ask you to help by sharing the campaign today, it may just take us over the finish line with a bit of breath left in our bodies!

The Worker is Hidden in the Workshop.

Marcus.

Incredible News! Stretch Goal Nine UNLOCKED!
over 1 year ago – Wed, Oct 19, 2022 at 04:28:39 AM

Tarot Speakeasy

Well, we did it. You did it.

We went through 999 backers overnight here in the UK, and unlocked the Tarot Speakeasy.

That will be a four-day online tarot event for you, should we continue to stay above (or even better, surpass) that number, and we will try and make it a wonderful experience!

Thank you, thank you and thank you again.

It means the world to me, so I animated the World card to say another thank you!

Using the World card in a Reading

The World is a card that means to me "synthesis", a bringing together of all things.

In a reading I sometimes see this card as prompting me to look at other significant cards in the spread and combine them together into one word. 

I sometimes muse out loud, "Is there a word that means ... X, Y & Z ... something like ..." and allow the client to provide their own word.

So, for example, "Hm. Now I'm looking at, say, these three cards [Eight of Wands, Wheel of Fortune, Knight of Pentacles] and the World card, is there a word that means something like a rapid ... er ... turning ... in a long-standing situation ...?"

Often, the client will complete the unfinished sentece with their own word, or metaphor, such as:

"- like a revolution?"

And then we can work with that metaphor, replying:

"Oh yes! Like a revolution. Like in a country. What side would you be on? What happens in a revolution?"

And we are then naturally and easily sliding the card reading into another symbolic metaphor during which the client will be unconsciously drawing upon, sorting, and re-arranging their own inner landscape.

We will be covering these powerful methods of the Tarosophy approach to tarot during our 4-week classes and also, now, in our 4-day Tarot Speakeasy!

1111 Stretch Goal

As suggested by our Facebook group, we are offering a nice surprise bonus stretch goal at the next numerically significant number of backers, which will be 1,111 backers.

I have an idea in mind, which will hopefully be a nice thank-you reward for you, so I just need to design a couple of graphics to announce it, and will do so in a later update today.

Again, thank you so very much, 

The Worker is Hidden in the Workshop.

Marcus.

Tenth & Final Bonus Stretch Goal: Two Mystery Book Reveals
over 1 year ago – Wed, Oct 19, 2022 at 04:28:34 AM

TWO BOOKS OF DIVERSE MYSTERIES

Tenth Stretch Goal: Two Book Reveals with exclusive introductions.

By our Work we are Changed.

As a personal thank you to everyone who has backed this deck, if we do reach our next magical number of 1,111 backers, for a 10th little special reward thank you, we will send all backers the title & cover of our next two books plus the FIRST FULL CHAPTER at least a month or so ahead of their respective general announcements.

The first book is a revised version of The Magister Vol. I, co-authored by Marcus Katz & Charlotte Louise, exploring the history & teachings of the Western Esoteric Initiatory System. Whilst this has been previously published, it has been extensively re-worked and re-ordered to provide a comprehensive introduction to the Western Mysteries. Further volumes will follow in this 10-volume series.

The second book is an as-yet unannounced book whose general theme is tarot and spirituality, although it deals with a very specifc subject. Tali Goodwin has been researching and writing this title for over a year and it will be co-authored by Marcus Katz for publication early in 2023. It relates closely to the production of this present deck, and our previous research and books, which will be revealed in more detail at that time!

All backers will be sent the full title, cover design and first chapter of both titles a good time ahead of their announcement and later release, with a personally written introduction and overview by the authors only provided to backers of this deck.

This is not a major stretch goal, but more by way of a personal thank you for your support and an insight into our work in the future. Thank you!

If you can share this campaign link in your personal and group socials, newsletters, blogs or other channels, that would be great!

The Worker is Hidden in the Workshop.

Marcus.