2015 - so, WHAT DO YOU WANT ?

[seven stars]

I came into this thread VERY late, and I want to say I ADORE the jewelry images!! I think the pieces pop out more on the blue fabric (well, I love blue anyway, but any strong color would be just as good). But I can see where the variety of boxes makes for more interest. If you do go with the boxes, please have a nice fabric background in each; the white cotton doesn't show the pieces up very well. And would the framework of the box interfere with whatever words/symbols you want to add, like numbers or card equivalents?

And I love those b&w sketches. Please do continue.

Good luck with your taxes, btw. I haven't done ours yet either.

I JUST yesterday put BOTH editions on the website - there's a special, too so please check it out! www.tarotbyseven.com - it's in poker size, bridge size, and mini in both versions, and there are 12 cardbacks to choose from, and matching 3 card reading mat & matching journals.

 

[greatdane]

The Mats are amazing

The Purple Rose TAROT accents the Lilac Twilights Lenormands well (since they are bigger than most Lenormand size decks).

I have the tan one that has the Vintage German cards on it on Seven's site. Since I use the VG's A LOT, I always use that mat with them because it is such a great match.

What a wonderful presentation the mats make for ONE to THREE Card Spreads!

 

[Aster Breo]

Sorry I'm late to this thread.

I just wanted to say that I LOVE LOVE LOVE your handdrawn images that you've posted here (clover, rider, dog, anchor, etc.). I like the vintage jewelry deck a lot, but I ADORE the handdrawn ones.

I know this is not how everyone feels, but I don't really like the traditional Lenormand images. I just don't connect with the art. The biggest problem for me are the people cards. I have problems connecting to the historic dress and style, I guess. I prefer more "timeless" people images.

Other things I've had issues with in various decks:
* people appearing on cards that aren't Man, Woman, Child, or Rider (like in the Art Nouveau deck, for example) -- it's confusing
* historic landmarks used for Tower (like the Eiffel Tower or the Leaning Tower of Pisa) -- I have other associations for those structures and they get tangled up with the traditional Lenormand meanings
* too much clutter -- that's a common complaint

I like the art in decks like the Zingdoodle (Rootweaver), Minute (Chronata), Vibrant Night (Beth Seilonen -- except for her people, which read much too comically for me), Moonshadow (AlyZen -- but I don't love her people, either, they're too modern; and those cards are almost too cluttered), and Zen (Jeri Totten -- but I don't like using those statues for Man and Woman because those images have other associations for me). I also like Alone's Vision (Desert Rose), except for the people and Tower cards, and Old School (Desert Rose), except for the people.

That said, I really LOVE your art. It has the right mix of contemporary and traditional, with some whimsy thrown in but not so much that it's childish or cartoonish.

I really hope you stick with it and finish this deck. It'll be worth the wait. I'll definitely buy it. :-D

 

[seven stars]

Aster thanks so much for that feedback. I guess I really should look at those decks you mentioned - I have to say, I really don't look at enough of other people's work - I get an idea in my head & just run with it, & sometimes, chances are, there's probably someone else out there who's already done what I'm thinking only even better. There are some freaking amazing artists out there.

I've done a few more of the doodle deck but I still have I think like 29 left to go. I just carry the sketchbook with me everywhere & now & then I doodle in it when I have some spare time. I've doodled at pool tournaments, coffee shops, even at a party (ok it was a weird party, I didn't want to socialize). I started working on the house but I don't know if it's really the house I want so, that one may get a re-do. The sketchbook is out in the car right now or I'd take a pic of it.

I was playing around with a few ideas for gothy mats but I think I need to fine tune these a little, or something....these are pix I took at the Union Cemetary in Kansas City earlier in the month - I'm not sure whether to make them with the boxes for the 3 cards or leave them without.

 

[Aster Breo]

I thought of one more thing I wanted to say: extra cards. Besides extra people (and I'm with whoever suggested the multiple children card, the family card, and multiethnic approaches to the people), I think there should be a card that clearly represents sex. Neither the Lily nor the Whip really work for me. I can't be alone in that. ;-)

I do really like your doodle style. I don't mind being patient -- I wouldn't want to rush your creative process -- but I'm glad to hear you're still working in it. :-D

 

[seven stars]

I thought of one more thing I wanted to say: extra cards. Besides extra people (and I'm with whoever suggested the multiple children card, the family card, and multiethnic approaches to the people), I think there should be a card that clearly represents sex. Neither the Lily nor the Whip really work for me. I can't be alone in that. ;-)

I do really like your doodle style. I don't mind being patient -- I wouldn't want to rush your creative process -- but I'm glad to hear you're still working in it. :-D

hmm sex. A volcano? In Tarot sometimes it's the tower hahaha....what else could represent sex.....

 

[Village Witch]

...I think there should be a card that clearly represents sex. Neither the Lily nor the Whip really work for me. I can't be alone in that. ;-)

My thoughts are that with Lenormand, no one card clearly represents any one thing. Other than the male and female cards. No one card is read in and of itself. Therefore, it makes no sense to me to designate one card to represent sex.

In the Under the Roses Lenormand, the Whip card depicts a dominatrix, which to my mind clearly represents sex. What card then would represent things of a repetitive nature, arguments, physical activity, abuse, etc?

 

[seven stars]

My thoughts are that with Lenormand, no one card clearly represents any one thing. Other than the male and female cards. No one card is read in and of itself. Therefore, it makes no sense to me to designate one card to represent sex.

In the Under the Roses Lenormand, the Whip card depicts a dominatrix, which to my mind clearly represents sex. What card then would represent things of a repetitive nature, arguments, physical activity, abuse, etc?

What would you think about a chain - for "connection" or hanging in together, linking up, that sort of thing.....that could even represent a repetitive nature.

For physical activity.....I'm thinking that would fit in with the ocean. Which, also has to do with things that run deep, cycles, force, etc.

Abuse.....wouldn't that be with the whip?

 

[Aster Breo]

My thoughts are that with Lenormand, no one card clearly represents any one thing. Other than the male and female cards. No one card is read in and of itself. Therefore, it makes no sense to me to designate one card to represent sex.

My bad. I didn't mean to imply a limited, literal interpretation of sex. I meant the whole conceptual area of physical intimacy and relationships based on physical intimacy (actual, potential, fantasized, etc.).

The Whip is often read as sex because of the association with repetitive action, but, let's face it, for many of us, it carries connotations of a particular kind of sex. And those overtones are not applicable to every physical relationship (maybe not to most -- depends on what the specific people are into). By the same token, sex and romance are not necessarily linked, nor are sex and love, or even sex and friendship.

I can certainly see how someone else might disagree with me on this. Many readers don't like extra cards of any kind. And that's fine.

I agree that individual cards aren't read in a vacuum, and that the combinations are what give the nuance. For me, though, I think I'd get more clarity from a deck that included a card that represents physical relationships (read broadly) separate from romantic, friend, familial, or business relationships.

Your mileage may vary, of course. ;-)

 

[Aster Breo]

In the Under the Roses Lenormand, the Whip card depicts a dominatrix, which to my mind clearly represents sex. What card then would represent things of a repetitive nature, arguments, physical activity, abuse, etc?

This is exactly the problem I have with the Whip as sex: the idea of a dominatrix is appropriate for only some sexual relationships. It doesn't fit other sexual relationships at all.

I'm fine with reading the Whip as arguments, conflicts, punishment, repetitive action, even physical exertion (like workouts or manual labor). It does have a somewhat negative feel in those readings, and that's part of the problem I have with it representing sex, which I only see as negative in abusive or exploitive situations.

But none of those things reads clearly to me as physical intimacy.