Children of Dune: Reverend Mother's Tarot Deck

Thread originally posted on the Aeclectic Tarot Forum on 17 Mar 2003, and now archived in the Forum Library.

Khatruman	17 Mar 2003
Has anyone here seen the first part of SciFi Channel's production of Children of Dune last night? The Reverend Mother of the Bene Gesserit, locked in a cage reminscent of Hannibal Lecter's in Silence of the Lambs sat at her desk doing tarot readings!!! Her deck seemed to be made of some type of gold metallic substance, or so I got the impression by how they clinked when she lay them down. Also, they were octogonal and she lay them interlocked as if a puzzle. The images were etched into the surface, not painted, so they were outlines of images. The first time they showed a close up of her cards, it looked as if she were laying down either the Hermit, or the Heirophant. I am assuming the Hermit since robed figures, especially of Muad Dib, were prevalent. Towards the end, in a montage of several incidents occuring, they showed her again laying down the cards. This time they showed her laying down what was clearly the Two of Swords, the blindfolded woman crossing two swords over her chest. This happens just before her throat is cut. It is interesting that in this futuristic vision, a far distant future, it is the Rider Waite images that survive..*L*... I am sure Diana and jmd would make a case for Marseilles images...:D If you missed this, SciFi channel is rebroadcasting the first part of Children of Dune at 7 pm tonight (Monday 3/17), so anyone in the US can catch this. Peace!

Umbrae	17 Mar 2003
The deck was based on the WCs deck. The 5 of Cups was the giveaway for the artwork. I want one.

RedWood	17 Mar 2003
Oh man..I got rid of cable months and months ago..I only miss it when that type of stuff is on..I am a BIG fan of Dune and the books... I want one too.

Silverlotus	17 Mar 2003
It's not playing in Canada until April. :( I look foward to seeing the deck though. The Dune Tarot in the books always interested me. The attempt in the (non-cannon) Dune Encyclopedia was disappointing, as was the one on the internet that was dicussed here earlier.

Rhiannon	17 Mar 2003
I saw it and loved it! I was wondering when someone was going to say something. I saw the 2 of Swords, 5 of Cups and Ace of Swords when I was watching... I kept trying to tell what more of them were, but was having a hard time. I loved the shape and the fact that they were metallic. Very interesting. I want one too! Do you think we can convince someone to start selling us metal decks? R })

Ravenswing	17 Mar 2003
how about that-- the cards were hexagonal, not octagonal. weird thing is the deck i'm designing is hexagonal-- it'll tile just like you saw... the cards i've done so far are in tarot decks > in progress: tarot of the four worlds. but it's not metallic... fly well raven

Faerie Lin	18 Mar 2003
Alot of the costumes are being auctioned off on eBay right now. Wonder how much this tarot would go for it it was put up also (wooo!). I wonder if its a complete deck or just the cards shown. I may just have to get the DVD one day, cut way back on cable channels recently. I wish I could see a clip of these metallic cards, sounds beautiful! I am torturing myself just wondering about these cards... I want some metallic cards that "clink" too!

Ravenswing	18 Mar 2003
When my wife caught these scenes, she thought the cards to be ceramic... anybody out there make tiles??? fly well raven an after thought: how about getting a set of white ceremic tiles and painting them?? what was the deck they were based on??? hmmmm

Trogon	18 Mar 2003
Quote: Originally posted by Ravenswing how about getting a set of white ceremic tiles and painting them?? what was the deck they were based on??? hmmmm A Tarot deck on ceramic tiles? Interesting... most ceramic tiles (the smaller ones) are approximately 1/4 inch thick... so 78 cards... that would give you a deck which was almost 20 inches thick. Might be a tiny bit difficult to shuffle..... :D

aqua9air	18 Mar 2003
:( sad... have to wait another month to watch it Dune and Dune tarot i think i have to get one if the Dune tarot came out. :)

Khatruman	18 Mar 2003
Quote: Originally posted by Ravenswing what was the deck they were based on??? hmmmm First off, apologies for getting the shape wrong. They were indeed hectagonal not octogonal. I am a language specialist and not quickly observant in a mathematical sense :D. I watched the rebroadcast last night at 7pm of part one. The clink was definitely metallic, the "cards" were shiny and golden in appearance, with the images seemingly etched in black. I discerned for sure the Ace of Swords, the Five of Cups, and the Two of Swords from the Rider Waite imagery. Now, these were all minor arcana, so could we say that they were more clearly Pamela Coleman Smith images since she more or less designed the imagery on the minors without the direct assignments of Waite as on the Majors? It seems that the filmmakers researched enough for at least a passing knowledge of tarot, in that the Reverend Mother has been taken prisoner when she first is seen drawing the Five of Cups, which, using Joan Bunning's key phrases, can signify: "letting go of a hope giving up the win experiencing a setback being defeated having a possession taken away saying good-bye" Also, the image of the cloaked figure standing in a desert-like environment with a stream running by fits in well prophetically with the story: Muad dib the hooded figure who brings the waters to the desert, but who is also responsible for her defeat. Before she is assassinated by Muad dib's troops, she draws the Two of Swords which can signify: "refusing to look at facts pretending everything's fine ignoring the warning signs closing your eyes to what's going on avoiding an unpleasantness choosing not to know" The Bene Gesserit have prophetic vision and she attempted to overthrow Muad dib's rule, ignoring her own inevitable defeat, and even having ignored the significance of her draw of the Five of Cups. It is appropos that she closes her eyes as the assassin enters to kill her. I can't wait til the DVD comes out, so that I can freeze frame and catch a glimpse of the other cards shown here.

HudsonGray	18 Mar 2003
I wonder if a potterer can do up a set with metallic glazes? If worse comes to worse, why not make your own out of fimo clay (or cernit or one of the other polymer clays you can bake), cut the shape, impress the design, bake & paint it with metallic paints or with Rub & Buff? They won't 'clink' but you can have your own set (just like you can make runes too). Unless you do luck out & find that set on ebay somewhere.

Icestorm	22 Mar 2003
Omg, I never would have suspected there are so many dune-fans in this forum. I find it quite comical that you all want that metallic tarot, from what you've described, Its just the rider-waite on metal sheets huh? Know you a local blacksmith? Actually metal cards could be a great novelty... im surprised no one else has thought of it.

The Children of Dune: Reverend Mother's Tarot Deck thread was originally posted on 17 Mar 2003 in the Talking Tarot board, and is now archived in the Forum Library. Read the active threads in Talking Tarot, or read more archived threads.