Posts Tagged with The Attic Halloween Tarot

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Another Grimoire Page for Lydia

Madam Lydia Wilhelmina's Tarot of Monsters, the Macabre and Autumn Scenes -Grimoire

So! As I’ve stated earlier, I gave my Lydia Tarot a soft launch a week back. I wanted to post the sale Sept 13th, a date very important to me because of my mother, and to give the campaign as much of an autumn timeline leading up to Halloween as I could. In doing this I decided to go a bit light on the whole promoting thing; mostly because at that time I was only starting to get my prototypes for the deck and packaging. To my surprise the deck funded within two days. I backed for a smaller amount to start, but to put it in perspective? I campaigned for my Isidore Tarot’s Second Edition, one of my more popular decks, and I think I asked for a grand and got that after half a month of hard promoting. Then to get my stretch goal I had to get obnoxious. So I’m happy this one picked up a bit quicker and surprised honestly.

The deck I finished just barely before I launched the campaign. Now I’m working on the full color companion book that I wanted to be akin to a grimoire. There is so much more in there than just card explanations. I’m also working on my stretch goal rewards and some of the big (who will actually grab this?!) perks. That all aside, I really just want to take a moment to talk about the grimoire.

I love this book! I’m not only creating a digital version of the book, I’m creating the actual book of shadows. My hubby, long ago, crafted this incredible wooden book form that can house an actual book. So I’m printing off my grimoire pages as I finish them, on really nice, aged paper and adding them to it. Tea staining, more pressed/dried flowers, personal items. I have my sketches and my mementos going into it. It’s just for me, this living copy, and it’s affecting how I design the tarot’s book pages too. It’s a nice way to be starting autumn out.

I carry a small grudge against being denied my autumn last year. Then I sat down with my gent and looked over all the stuff we did last year even with my mangled body, which included flying to Boston and getting a chance to visit with my dad and see Mrs. Obama speak, and realized we haven’t actually slowed down much at all for awhile now. Finishing up this deck is like a cherry on top of that Sundae.

Anyhoo! Cuz I love the bad word anyhoo. This is a sample from the grimoire that I’m working on. I will try to keep up with my normal entries for the site (now that traffic as gone wonderfully up) and not be completely and obnoxiously promoting my deck. But you will be seeing a lot more samples from this current project now that I’ve left soft launch phase. 🙂

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Lydia Coins for Sunday

EDIT: It is Tuesday and I’m looking at all the merch I have planned for this and all the reserve-a-deck requests, remind me list, and other things. This might be a tad bigger of a re-launch than I was planning. So I’m working on my best options here. More to come.

Tuesday will be the start of pre-ordering for my Lydia deck. I’ll also be adding some giveaways to my instagram accounts. That means I’m a little on the hectic busy side here but I think I’m keeping it all reasonably ordered. That might be a very different story in a few days. In the meantime, a few samples of the coins.

Madam Lydia Wilhelmina's Tarot of Monsters, the Macabre and Autumn Scenes

Madam Lydia Wilhelminas Tarot of Monsters, the Macabre and Autumn Scenes - Three of Coins Madam Lydia Wilhelminas Tarot of Monsters, the Macabre and Autumn Scenes - Four of Coins Madam Lydia Wilhelminas Tarot of Monsters, the Macabre and Autumn Scenes - Eight of Coins Madam Lydia Wilhelminas Tarot of Monsters, the Macabre and Autumn Scenes - Nine of Coins

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The Lydia Tarot Swords

I’ve given this deck the nickname The Lydia Tarot to make the title a little less of a mouthful. This mostly comes in handy when my typo-happy fingers are trying to put all of that name into an instragram update on my phone. I think my thumbs just get a giggle out of making me look like I’m drunk texting all the time. That aside, samples of the full cups suit can be found on this deck’s page, link below. Previews of the swords suit are now going up. As for the deck itself and when it will be available again, pre-ordering for the deck will take place throughout September with delivery to begin mid October so first adopters can have it for Halloween. This is the plan for the moment. It might change if I can’t get some of the swords (the last cards I’m finishing up) to stop being so cranky. They’re giving me creation pains. I figured I would start previewing them before the other two suits so I can psyche my brain into embracing the idea of deadline. The wands and pentacles will have previews up as September progresses. So here are those first swords previews. 🙂

Madam Lydia Wilhelmina's Tarot of Monsters, the Macabre and Autumn Scenes

Madam Lydia Wilhelmina's Tarot of Monsters, the Macabre and Autumn Scenes - Three of Swords Madam Lydia Wilhelmina's Tarot of Monsters, the Macabre and Autumn Scenes - Five of Swords Madam Lydia Wilhelmina's Tarot of Monsters, the Macabre and Autumn Scenes - Nine of Swords Madam Lydia Wilhelmina's Tarot of Monsters, the Macabre and Autumn Scenes - Ten of Swords
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Madam Lydia Wilhelmina’s Tarot of Monsters, the Macabre, and Autumn Scenes Updates

As I organize my next new deck launch, I’ve gotten a few emails asking me about the status of my (such a long name darn me!) Madam Lydia Wilhelmina’s Tarot of Monsters, the Macabre, and Autumn Scenes, which has been patiently awaiting the completion of its minor arcana. Well I am slowly working away at the other suits. The cups suit is complete so I’ve started adding a few samples to the deck’s page and will do so here and there as I finish up the next suit.

One thing I’m doing with the minors is avoiding just making cards with pips on them. I’m using the Rider Waite Smith deck as a frame of reference to create my dark scenes. It’s been challenging but rather fun honestly. Like with these two first examples below: I had my reference cards but wanted to keep with the autumn and spooky themes of the deck. So with the ace of cups the theme was Thing elopes and has some lil things. I’m a huge Addams Family fan (shocker I know) and thought who would make a better floating hand? 🙂 The two of cups I titled The Newly Dead with the Long Living. The couple on the card represent two lovers separated only by the thin veil of death. The man has lived a long time and now alone misses his love, but she is always right there beside him with a caring smile on her lips, just waiting for him to join her again. They hold the cups they once exchanged with one another in life.

Madam Lydia Wilhelmina's Tarot of Monsters, the Macabre and Autumn Scenes Madam Lydia Wilhelmina's Tarot of Monsters, the Macabre and Autumn Scenes

So the deck is moving right along as I find a moment to add a new card. And yes, I still plan to offer it for Halloween. It’ll be a soft launch most likely, given how much time I will be needing for my new oracle deck. But I do have some rather wicked planning for the packaging. I’ve already ordered samples for it. Much better than the original this time around. I’m excited about it. 🙂

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Card of the Day: The Tarot’s Empress

Attic Cartomancy - Card of the Day - The Attic Halloween Tarots Empress Card

The one thing I didn’t mention in my Emperor card of the day post was how I always view that card as representing my gent. He is the sun to my moon. I remember reading once that Aries is related to the Emperor card as Taurus is related to the Empress card. This is he and I respectively, though I have since learned it kind of depends on who you ask about sun signs and their related tarot cards. The point being, when I do these cards in my decks I think of he and I. So much so that he’s actually the model for my Sepia Stains Emperor card. So I find it interesting to get the Empress card the day after the other.

If the Emperor is the father of the tarot the Empress is its mother. She represents fertility, beauty and expression through creativity. She represents how I look upon the world. I see the beauty in nature, the beauty in creation, and just how incredible our world is when we take a good look at it. I think after having gone through all that fuss of the first major holiday in my home, the days after felt like a moment to take a breath and smile; to look around me and see how beautiful my world is and how that beauty tries to present itself in all that I do. I hope it does at least.

That said, the Empress card here is from my Attic Halloween Tarot. The appearance of this Empress may seem to contradict a few of those thoughts and I’m not sure if my explanation behind it will help that any. The card is also titled The Immortal Masquerade and pictures a once beautiful woman who has lived many years and puts her beauty back on in the form of a mask before she goes back into the world. She’s surrounded by beautiful things, but also reminders that beauty is fleeting. Her eyes are bright though and she has learned a thing or two over her many years. What you see might be cracking but what lay beneath is eternal. When I made the card I played Berlin’s Masquerade over and over. Lyrically it’s a bit of a strange melancholy song, but the melody is upbeat and it just makes me happy, just as the Empress card makes me happy. The strange lass looking over the card is my Lizzy Borden Living Dead Doll (why yes, I am the keeper of strange things) and she was helping me with some product photography and just had to throw herself into the mix.

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Card of the Day: The Tarot’s Chariot

Attic Cartomancy - Card of the Day - The Chariot from the Attic Halloween Mini Tarot

Now that my mini decks have arrived I decided to see how my own Attic Halloween Tarot’s mini deck felt. It was a little slow going because I had a solid ten minutes of squealing It’s so cute and tiny! Once I got that out of the way, I gave it a shuffle and the first card I pulled from it was the Chariot.

With my Halloween deck there is no symbolism offered within the card’s artwork. Each card presents a scene, like you’re peaking your head through a window and for a moment catching something you were not meant to see. In this respect I consider the cards more of a meditation through traditional tarot card meanings. The Chariot card, in general, is a triumphant card. It’s about winning the battle and what you’ve learned from fighting the battle itself. It is about feeling your full self confidence when taking on a challenge and meeting that challenge head on strong and confident. There is also a quite literal meaning to it as it pertains to traveling. It might be a time to hop in your chariot and hit the road.

When I was designing this hidden scene for my deck the mummy came to mind. I don’t know why. I just saw this classic painting of a woman who has battled up and out of the tomb and now sits in a pleasant scene with her wrappings coming off. In front of her are the spoils of that fight and the travels she has taken since winning it. I thought it fit the Chariot.

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My Decks: The Attic Halloween Tarot

Attic Cartomancy - The Attic Halloween Tarot - The Hanged Man Attic Cartomancy - The Attic Halloween Tarot - The Devil Attic Cartomancy - The Attic Halloween Tarot - The Fool Attic Cartomancy - The Attic Halloween Tarot - Death
It’s Halloween! And Halloween seems like the best time to take a look at my Attic Halloween Tarot. This is another collage art style deck that focuses on only the major arcana. I took classic paintings and tore them apart, jigsaw puzzled them back together, and threw in a little digital air-brushing to smooth all the new parts together. The end result is my classical take on old movie monsters like the mummy, the invisible man, the bride of Frankenstein, and even a new character of my own: The bride of the Headless Horseman as my Fool card. There are autumn themes, secret masquerades, and of course the macabre.

I’m a huge fan of collage style art. When I was a kid I used to cut up magazines to make collages. I liked taking something familiar and changing it into something very different. Using classic paintings for this deck kept that familiarity even while making it something quite unfamiliar. If you get the itch to work with collage just keep in mind that all of your materials need to be in the public domain. This is (if I do say so myself) a very pretty deck thanks to the incredible talents of the reference artists. You can see the entire deck here.