The Mercurial Travel Tarot

Chris Richford

I'm currently finishing work on my own deck. I've called it Mercurial because of the element's alchemical significance and connection to change and to the subconscious; two things which the tarot has helped me actualize on many occasions. It’s a travel tarot firstly because its small, the cards are 5x8cm, and secondly because, hay, we're all on a journey of some kind even if we're currently in an armchair or face down in the woods..

Actually to be perfectly honest there’s another reason it’s small. So I would actually finish it! I’ve started many different decks over the years, the largest and most elaborate of which I only completed the first 9 of the major arcana. If you’re interested you can see those on my DA gallery here - http://epstein.deviantart.com/gallery/9517701/Tarot

So a few months ago I cut these little cards and started drawing on them, this time starting with the minor, and I found the scale forced me to be concise and being concise forced me to reconsider the imagery.

From the start I knew I wanted to re-imagine the suits and transform the court cards into something more primal. I knew labelling would have to be concise to save maximum space for the image. In my larger scale deck I’d used the Hebrew letters on the Major cards and loved the way they looked so I decided to use just them on the minor cards as well and actually keep them free of English numbers. I’d love to know what you all think about that! I also used alchemical symbols on the court cards in order to keep them completely free of words. They are pure geometry: mantras or mandalas for each of the elements, though when I was composing them I imagined them as lenses through which to view the element of each suit.

Anyway I’ve now finished the minor cards. I’ll be finishing the major over the next few weeks and I’ll post them here as I do. I would love to hear what this community thinks about my deck and the choices I’ve made while creating it, positive and negative! I know I’ve made something I will really enjoy using but I understand it’s not for everyone.. there’s no colour for a start!

These are the scans of the four suits
Wood ~ http://epstein.deviantart.com/art/Wood-Suit-for-the-Mercurial-Travel-Tarot-541571113
Metal ~ http://epstein.deviantart.com/art/Metal-Suit-for-the-Mercurial-Travel-Tarot-541768393
Stone ~ http://epstein.deviantart.com/art/Stone-Suit-for-the-Mercurial-Travel-Tarot-542455175
Water ~ http://epstein.deviantart.com/art/Water-Suit-for-the-Mercurial-Travel-Tarot-542861178
 

Rhapsodin

You've numbered the Hermit IV. Was there some reason?
 

Debra

Hey, congratulations on making your own deck. Small cards are cool! I don't read Hebrew so this aspect is not for me. I love the 9 of stones picnic!
 

OnePotato

Nice work!
Congrats!