The Wild Unknown Tarot - black corners on some cards

Sulis

Some of the images in this deck have small black corners almost as if the cards are pictures that have been put into an old fashioned photograph album.

I've gone through the deck to see if there is any rhyme or reason to this.
The cards that have these black corners are:
Majors
The Hierophant V
Justice VIII
Temperance XIV
Judgement XX

And The Chariot VII (which has red corners)

Swords
III Swords
IV Swords
V Swords
VII Swords
Son of Swords

Wands
V Wands

Cups
VII Cups
Daughter of Cups
Son of Cups

Pentacles
II Pentacles

I can't see any reason why these cards have black corners to be honest and I think it's mainly to do with the way the background cross-hatching has been drawn on each image..
With The Chariot VII though the red corners do make me think of strength and I like that, I think it goes well with the image.
These corners remind me a little of the way some of the cards in the RWS deck look as if they take place on a stage because the characters are standing on a straight line.. It's almost as if the image is removed from reality in some way and these do look as if they are in an album of some sort.. Not sure of the significance of that though.

Any more thoughts?
 

Pixna

Thank you for starting this thread, Sulis. I'm also baffled about the connection (if any) the cards with the black corners have. I wish I had some further insights on them, but I don't right now. I'm hoping others will weigh in and help us connect the dots (or lines, or corners).
 

Sagefire

I too noticed this oddity, but didn't think much of it until you made this thread, Sulis. Thanks for compiling a list on which cards they appeared, it made formulating an opinion much easier!! I think symbolically we must look at what a "frame" means. I never really thought about a frame as a symbol before but now that I think about it, it is. (It could be my current design class rearing its head too!!) To me, a frame says stability, structure and emphasis. This absolutely could mean something....but looking at the cards that possess these frames I can't say I see any sort of pattern. Perhaps we are analyzing something that was merely a graphical filler. Since some of the corners are altered with color it leads me to believe if they were meaningless then the artist herself attempted to add meaning to them. I'm not sure what to make of it, but perhaps my ramblings can aid someone else's!! :D
 

sevenfires

Blackened Corners - meaning?

I've noticed that some of the cards have the corners blackened, kind of framing the image. I know the line work in this deck conveys meaning, whether the lines are horizontal, vertical, radiating, etc. But I can't figure out the significance of the blackened corners. Thoughts? I'll list the cards that have them below.

The Hierophant, Justice, Temperance, Judgement, 5 of Wands, 7 of Cups, Daughter of Cups, Son of Cups, 3 of Swords, 4 of Swords, 5 of Swords, 7 of Swords, Son of Swords, 2 of Pentacles, and 3 of Pentacles

Also, The Chariot has red corners.
 

allifai

I've noticed that some of the cards have the corners blackened, kind of framing the image. I know the line work in this deck conveys meaning, whether the lines are horizontal, vertical, radiating, etc. But I can't figure out the significance of the blackened corners. Thoughts? I'll list the cards that have them below.

The Hierophant, Justice, Temperance, Judgement, 5 of Wands, 7 of Cups, Daughter of Cups, Son of Cups, 3 of Swords, 4 of Swords, 5 of Swords, 7 of Swords, Son of Swords, 2 of Pentacles, and 3 of Pentacles

Also, The Chariot has red corners.

I noticed the same thing, sevenfires.

I am no expert at this deck, but I have read the handbook a few times cover to cover. I don't remember reading about the corners having any special significance in the booklet. Here are a few of my interpretations (aside from thinking of them plainly as tools the artist employed to balance the image of the card.)

1) Corners=cornered
and in my thoughts the meaning of the card could be "fixed" instead of "fluid". Example, things one can't change or things one has no control over.

2) If doing a multiple card reading, they could be seen as arrows pointing to their connecting cards.
Example: if you draw the 3 of pentacles, which has black bottom corners, they would point to cards below them in the spread; if no cards below, then, out into The Wild Unknown :)
IF they are arrows, then the meaning of the card could be elucidated in the context of your spread, as if there were something more to explore. You could try drawing a card for each arrow corner, using an oracle deck, or a crystal.

I don't know if I have been clear or if this helps. I would love to hear other uses/interpretations!