Tarot Wayfarer project: Is this actual Tarot Magic?

JackofWands

Marcus gets most mention because he is a Marmite person. You love him or you hate him. (Or, like me, you meet him from time to time and tell him quite bluntly but nicely how much he annoys you and how you wish he'd stoppit, but you carry on recognising, in all fairness, that he is not actually the devil incarnate !)

This is the most beautiful description of any human being I have ever read in my life.
 

gregory

Crumbs - thanks ! It was only the truth as seen by the Me :D
 

ravenest

The whole Tarot Wayfarer thing is, if memory serves, tied up with the Tarosophy Tarot Association. As a group for professional readers, they do some good stuff, but I personally have always been turned off by the sensationalistic glitz-n-glam that Tarosophy brings to the table. There's a bit of a cult of personality around Marcus Katz, and they keep pulling publicity stunts like this that frankly make no sense to me.

I agree .
 

ravenest

I think their most recent one was a huge fuss they made about finding all kinds of 'secrets' about the Rider deck.

:) Indeed , and something claimed here by a well know tarotist as well ..... but when I tried to get them to cough up, it was only to be revealed by attending one of their 'pay to get in' sessions. It was actually BS , and has never been 'revealed' to date ... to the best of my knowledge.

people need to realise that 'professionals' will 'market' (advertise, tell 'little fibs' exaggerate etc etc )... just like every other person does, to try and get the market and the money.

It was supposed to be a really special book, and it turned out to be actually a pretty poor production. There does tend to be a lot of handwaving before anything they do.
I bought some spray on wipe off shower stall cleaner once ...... nope ! had to scrub the goddamn stuff out ! :D


But that said I think they are a reasonable organization, and I suppose extra publicity is not the worst thing. I suspect a lot of this is intended to be humorous, I mean this sending things back in time notion, well that's just silly.

yes ... either that , or as some call it , a scam or outright lie .


The is an anime series about this called Stein's Gate. They may have borrowed the idea from that.

'Borrowed' thats a nice way to put it ;) - obviously the raven is not impressed with their uses of tarot ....
 

cirom

Ok folks before all the assumptions, guessworks and character analysis goes off in various directions. I assumed I'd have to post this on AT at some point, and when I read comments like "scam" and "outright lies", I think it might as well be now.

The Wayfarer Arkartia Project

May 1st will be the launch of the Wayfarer Kickstarter project. I have been asked by several people what exactly is it and what is my involvement in it.

As to what it is, that will be explained more fully once the launch is official, because its a lot….. As to my involvement and why, well that is more personal. Why would i invest what is now well over 1000 hours of work on a project that is ultimately a risk, who’s success is dependent on a far from guaranteed funding response, when i could instead have dedicated the same amount of time to other projects far safer and guaranteed to provide some return?

Why would I be involved (albeit indirectly) with a Kickstarter campaign when i have always avoided such fund raising schemes in the past, preferring instead to fully fund my own projects, using my own money to both produce and publish and then on completion let the cards fall as they may (pun intended)

The answer to that is one of scale and goes back over 10 years. When I was working on my original Tarot of Dreams and follow up Legacy of the Divine Tarot deck. In each case I tried to stretch the boundaries of tarot, not just the imagery itself, but how people might use it and interact with it. Along wth hired technical help I developed my own proprietary reading software which was provided on a companion CD. I also developed a web site where i planned to have various sections that would offer readings, cards of the day, learning material etc etc. I had all the designs ready for home page and various sub pages, buttons, and various known figures in the tarot community willing to contribute content. It was all themed around the discovery of an artifact that served as a portal to a long lost world of tarot. The one that constituted my Gateway companion book story to the Legacy deck. This was summarized in the promotional video posted on Youtube back in 2009. Unfortunately the project i envisioned was beyond the technology of the time and i personally didn’t have the expertise. You have to consider that this was in the early stages of smartphones, apps, Facebook etc. So regrettably I had to abandon my ideas.

But the concept of access to new worlds, past present or future via the discovery of hidden books, journals, artifacts, portals etc is hardly unique in literature and storytelling and a narrative thats lends itself particularly well to the vagueness of tarot history. So when the concept of the Wayfarer project and the world of Arkartia was initially explained and i was invited to consider participating, i was immediately intrigued……again.

The scope of the project as it was presented was reminiscent of what i had imaged many years before, but so much more. Now the technology did exist and indeed was now far far more. With world wide interaction between members, features such as augmented reality, it had the potential to be everything i had imagined and beyond. Not a game, or gimmick or yet another online tarot community, but an actual environment where members can contribute to and in turn have access to the contribution of others. Where spreads, readings and interpretations could be experienced and shared in multiple forms both on line and overlayed onto real world physical environments and locations.

A project of this magnitude requires several essential ingredients,. Comprehensive understanding of tarot (obviously), along with a core base following and recognition within the community, access to extensive knowledge and resources that can be incorporated into the content. sophisticated technical know how, software programming, cloud storage, interactivity etc. which the Tarot Association is well equipped to provide, plus graphic imagery and design to hopefully project the professionalism of the overall project, and finally the financial base to make to all happen.

The reality is such that I firmly believe this has the potential to be a distinct departure from any other on line tarot community based entity. It will take the concept of a tarot community to a significant next level and provide a unique overall experience. One that no individual, not even a major tarot publisher could match. Its simply too big, too complex, and too expensive to put together. In other words this was too exciting an idea and creative opportunity to just be left as yet another abandoned dream. This time it hopefully it could happen and i wanted to be a part of making it so.

As for all the marketing, showmanship and other aspects that have people pointing their fingers at in a questionable manner, Of course there is all of this, but it's intended to tease, not mislead. Keep some perspective please. It's not like the Lion, the witch and the wardrobe was written or sponsored by Ikea in the hope that people believed wardrobes were actually gateways to magical words. In a few days the launch will be public, and there will be more explanation provided along with some promotional videos I've produced, both for the pleasure of producing them, and yeah, to encourage participation. Like many other tarot related projects, a target funding goal will be set, but if not reached, pledges will be refunded. So wait for Sunday if you are curious, then check it out, if it's not for you, then so be it, if it is, then that would be great, as a lot of work has gone into it and it will require a lot more.
But meanwhile here is a small hint at some of its optional features.
https://youtu.be/U6I3t5_yqzM
 

gregory

people need to realise that 'professionals' will 'market' (advertise, tell 'little fibs' exaggerate etc etc )... just like every other person does, to try and get the market and the money.
<snip>
yes ... either that , or as some call it , a scam or outright lie .
<snip>
'Borrowed' thats a nice way to put it ;) - obviously the raven is not impressed with their uses of tarot ....
Look - Marcus drives me nuts at times. But he isn't a cheat; he is a bit of a snake oil salesman in a way - with the massive difference that you do get the snake oil. I have never paid for anything from him that I didn't receive. (Sure the publisher for the Waite book made a mess of it; that has happened to other here too - but the images and info were there.) I've been to all sorts of presentations in this life where you only got to hear something if you were there (including one of his, where we did indeed, and we also heard from some excellent speakers, members of this forum yet !) It's perfectly legit. Why have an event if you are going to put all the stuff in the papers anyway ? He hasn't done one single thing that someone else here hasn't also done, whether you like him or not.

I can't see that inventing a tarot world where people can wander around, meet others etc - a sort of virtual reality - which is what it sounds like - is plagiarising anything. There are so MANY virtual worlds out there. Why pick on this to castigate, just because it's an idea of Marcus' ?

It isn't a scam; it's a project - one that I don't happen to be interested in, as virtual worlds leave me cold - but I think for those as likes them, it is exciting; I am not aware of another dealing with tarot, so people who like tarot and don't want to play medieval knight games, or on line wars etc might very well find it valuable.

And of course people making stuff will advertise and market it. How else do they make a living ? Are you going after the ad breaks on TV next ? If I see another ad for a payday loan I will spit - but....

And one other thing. Ciro may be over sensitive and all the other personal insults some people (including me, on the over-sensitive bit :D - we have had some rows, I can tell you...) have leveled at him here. But he is as honest as the day is long, and his digital art is complex and stunning. Second to none, I'd say. And if Marcus offers him the chance to use that art in a new and interesting way, why wouldn't he go for it - especially given the history of his own work that he has posted here. Whatever else, we know this thing will look amazing.

Disclaimer: Yes, I like Ciro, a lot - but I don't speak up for anyone - even for my nearest and dearest - if they are into crap. (If you had heard some of what I recently said of my own daughter...) He isn't, here.

No-one has to back this. If you don't like it, for heaven's sake don't. But don't diss it in principle, just because Marcus is involved. There is EXTREMELY HEAVY marketing on this very forum by some members - and fair enough. Promotion is essential in this world. Sad but true.
 

Beanfeasa

As for all the marketing, showmanship and other aspects that have people pointing their fingers at in a questionable manner, Of course there is all of this, but it's intended to tease, not mislead. Keep some perspective please. It's not like the Lion, the witch and the wardrobe was written or sponsored by Ikea in the hope that people believed wardrobes were actually gateways to magical words.
https://youtu.be/U6I3t5_yqzM

I actually think this hilarious,
years ago, Clarkes released an advertising campaign were the little girl had a pair of shoes that transported her to a magical fantasy world, I really wanted those shoes, not because I thought I was going on an adventure but because they were white and had a key in the soles. I was 6/7 years of age and understood how advertising worked.

How is this so controversial? I feel for you Ciro, I really do, it must be so infuriating.
 

gregory

Goodness... Following up ALL the links about this I have just realised that it was all actually trailed at the event of theirs I went to, way back when. (2012). I suddenly realise why I had the chance to take a strange photo of Ric Minetti with a key stuck to his face. :cool5:

That's CLEVER marketing - where you can actually see where it started so long afterwards, but don't get it at the time! :bugeyed:. It also shows just how LONG ago it started - so to those who think it "copies" something since then - nup !
 

Farzon

That's CLEVER marketing - where you can actually see where it started so long afterwards, but don't get it at the time! :bugeyed:. It also shows just how LONG ago it started - so to those who think it "copies" something since then - nup !

Oh yes it is... I work in marketing myself. I don't know yet if Arkartia is something for me, but boy do I wish I was in a project like this! It's really ingenious!
 

Alta

Promotion is essential in this world. Sad but true.
I agree with this, and my earlier comments were meant very lightly. It is marketing but so what?

This is clearly a complex and interesting project and I am watching with interest.