Freddy66seven Posted August 16, 2024 Report Posted August 16, 2024 I have been studying, working with, writing about and designing Tarot decks for a couple of decades. The Tarot forms an unbroken chain to the 15th century, Italian Renaissance. The Visconti-Sforza Tarocchi, from 1450, is the earliest 78 card, 5 suited deck we know about, (the fifth suit being the 22 Trumps, or picture cards). These decks were originally designed for games, and the earliest evidence of their use for cartomancy, (fortune telling) is 1750. It was not until the end of the 18th, beginning of the 19th centuries that Hermetic Mystery Schools like The Golden Dawn, BOTA (Builders Of The Adytum), The A.: A.: and OTO (Ordo Templis Orientis) merged Tarot with Western Qabalah, Ceremonial Magick, Hebrew letters, Astrology, Alchemy, Egyptology, Pagan pantheons, colors, and much more. Ever since the first Visconti-Sforza Tarot in 1450, there has never been a time when Tarot Decks were not being made. The meanings, divinitory uses and executions of this 15th century art form have done nothing but flower, and its themes have been interpreted, and reinterpreted and snowballed into a series of archetypes which also serve as a shorthand for a profound and lengthy discourse on (Hu)Man and the Universe he inhabits. The MicroCosm and the MacroCosm. As Above, So Below. I look forward to having a Little that I can teach about Tarot and make Major Arcana coloring books for. You can make your own Tarot coloring books for your Littles also. All of those 18th/19 century occult schools I mentioned above still exist in some form. BOTA sells a download of the blank artwork for the Major Arcana for $5. You can make endless high quality coloring/painting books for your Littles with these. https://storebota.org/products/major-arcana-tarot-key-images-for-download Below is my Shakedown Tarot, which was a limited run of Major Arcana Decks I did for the Dead and Company Summer Tour in 2023. It is based on the Rider Waite Tarot. It just so happened that the band played 22 venues in 2024, so rather than card titles I allocated a venue to each card and made it a memorial deck for the last year of tour. It was accompanied by a legend with proper card titles, divinatory meanings, and spread to use with the cards. I wish I could post some more pics here, but there is no space. If you have any questions of would like to chat about Tarot, or Hermeticism, hit me up! Freddy66seven 1 2
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