Leo62

I thought it would be easier to start a new thread for discussion of the Quantum Tarot deck, to save confusion with the previous thread which covered the Adam McLean majors-only version and other developments over the past few months.

I guess most people here won’t know what I’m talking about, so I’ll start again at the beginning

Almost two years ago, Chris Butler (The 78th Fool) and I began work on a new science- themed tarot deck, the Quantum Tarot.

My concept for the deck was to use the structure of the tarot as a way of making accessible the exciting but very complex ideas of 20th and 21st century physics. Einstein’s theories of relativity, quantum theory, string theory; these ideas have changed our whole way of perceiving the world, but are little understood by the average person.

The inspiration for the deck was a book that explained these ideas beautifully and simply in a way that even I could understand - The Elegant Universe by Brian Greene. I wanted to open up this strange and magical world to others in a new way, and tarot seemed the perfect vehicle.

Chris and I began to develop the deck in Photoshop, using as a foundation images from the Hubble Telescope and NASA space probes. We posted the results in the Deck Creation Forum here on AT, along with my evolving interpretations, and received a lot of encouragement from the community.

Having completed the deck in the summer of 2006, we’ve found it a long and rocky road to publication. Adam McLean produced a wonderful limited edition of the majors last year, but finding a mainstream publisher for the full deck has proved an arduous task.

At last, we seem to have found the perfect partner; Kunati, a Canadian-based independent publisher. We have just signed a contract to publish the full deck commercially in Autumn 2008.

This will be part of Kunati’s first foray into tarot, having established themselves as an innovative, forward-looking publisher of fiction.

A big thank-you to everyone here on AT who remembers the heady days of this deck’s creation and who supported us along the way.

We have recently completed a thorough revision of the deck in preparation for publication, and I’ll be posting some images and excerpts from the book as we lead up to the release date.

In the meantime, you can see the preliminary cover art and a slideshow of images (by following the link to Quantum Tarot) at Chris’s new website: http://www.butlerart.co.uk/

__________________
listen:there's a hell
of a good universe next door;let's go
ee cummings

Lee

Congratulations to you and Chris! This is a deck that definitely deserved to be published.

-- Lee

Leo62

Thanks Lee

Here's a revised and updated version of the Knight of Wands, featuring the face of someone you might just recognise

Attached Images

wands_12_knight.jpg (49.3 KB, 222 views)

__________________
listen:there's a hell
of a good universe next door;let's go
ee cummings

Leo62

By way of explanation: The Court Cards in the Quantum feature either constellations or planets of the solar system. The Knight of Wands is Mars. We've tried to steer clear of astrological interpretations and focus on the physical attributes of the planet itself. The background image for the Knight is from the recent NASA Mars Rover mission.

Where possible, we've tried to use faces of people from the tarot world in the courts - many are people from AT who have kindly lent their likeness to the deck

__________________
listen:there's a hell
of a good universe next door;let's go
ee cummings

Lee

LOL!

Sidhe-Ra

I am so very very very pleased and excited for you both- and for me, to finally be able to own this unique and stunning deck!

Huge blessings to you,

Em xx

__________________
"Emily Carding is mad-woman-visionary-artist of the first order. If this were the 13th century, she would be the old lady that lived on the outskirts of the village who might be seen dancing about the ancient stones by moonlight in her underwear...

Ari Berk"

Leo62

Thanks Sidhe-Ra

Perhaps you'd like a preview of our new Empress

Attached Images

majors_03_empress.jpg (31.5 KB, 172 views)

__________________
listen:there's a hell
of a good universe next door;let's go
ee cummings

Sidhe-Ra

Oh, wow! It's lovely- thank you!

What an honour

And strangely appropiate, considering that there's been a lot of talk about more babies round these parts recently...

Love,

Em xxx

__________________
"Emily Carding is mad-woman-visionary-artist of the first order. If this were the 13th century, she would be the old lady that lived on the outskirts of the village who might be seen dancing about the ancient stones by moonlight in her underwear...

Ari Berk"

Leo62

Ooh well...glad to be of service then!

Funny how being on a particular card can spill over into your life - I was very narked with Chris when he put me on the 8 of Swords in his Greylight deck...

__________________
listen:there's a hell
of a good universe next door;let's go
ee cummings