Sigil Arcanum Tarot: A Symbolic Journey

Update! And a few Questions
over 5 years ago – Sat, Apr 13, 2019 at 02:44:59 PM

Hello all you fine folks out there,

We have updated the cover image for the campaign to better reflect what the decks look like, and to compare directly what the Blackout looks like next to the Color version. Please share this with people because I think the image is much better! The black on black card is actually how that looks with the light shining on it, it's not silver or white ink, it is actually clear glossy ink on the matte black cards which give the lines a nice gradient between bright shiny silver and dark black.

I am also going to be making a video in the next few days. I have some ideas for what I'd like to include (things like showing how the black on black interacts in the light, showing off the minors and court cards, etc), but I wanted to know -- What do you want to see in the video? What aspects of the deck would you like me to talk about and demonstrate? I'm open to suggestions!

Thanks a million, and let's keep up the great work!

Taylor

The Journey So Far (Day 2)
over 5 years ago – Fri, Apr 12, 2019 at 04:37:05 PM

Good morning, afternoon or evening all you fine folks! Thank you all for taking the time to back the project, and help it get to where it's at so far! It's 11:00am on Friday morning, and as I write this the project is at about 15% of the total goal! I know it's a high goal, but I'm confident that we can do it!

I wanted to feature one card each day and discuss what it means, so today I've decided to talk about The Magician (also called The Magus).

This card has it all in my opinion. Traditionally the Magician is depicted as a person (the Magician) standing with one arm raised and the other pointing downward, surrounded by or in front of the four tools of Tarot: The wand, the cup, the sword, and the coin or pentacle. The classical depiction also usually features a baton in the Magician's raised hand, and I have added the Sickle in the Magician's other hand to emphasize the relation of this card to the "Magus Mercury" which is found in the top right coin of the Thoth Tarot's 10 of Disks. This symbol actually incorporates Venus, Mercury, Jupiter, Saturn, Mars, The Sun, and even the Moon: All 7 of the classical planets in one glyph. By the way, this is a phenomenal sigil for money magic. There are other significant meanings for this glyph, though I am of no authority to discuss them, that would be the domain of Thelemites and other esoteric scholars. I'm just here to make a Tarot deck.

The reason I chose the Magus Mercury as the core piece of the Magician card is because I have always associated Mercury / Hermes / Thoth with the deliverance of Magic in every form. That threefold messenger of Hermeticism is responsible for all that we call spectacular, from money to email, or flying in a plane, or any other Mercurial things. Magic is everywhere, and this fella seems to be the gatekeeper.

The four symbols above the Magician's head in the Sigil Arcanum's Magician card are the four classical elements, each one representing one of the tools (as each of the tools is associated with its own element: Fire for wands, Water for cups, Air for swords, and Earth for disks or coins). This is to establish right away how the Sigil Arcanum is going to interpret the minors later on, and how each of these elemental symbols will figure into the other Majors yet to come. You will notice the little sigil of Mercury in the card's top right corner; The Magician is the first card in the Sigil Arcanum to feature a house (also called an ATU). The Fool's house is Air and it is found within the card's center, but that's a story for another day.

Thank you all for taking the time to read this little explanation of the Magician, and look forward to hearing about another card tomorrow morning!

A Little Clarification
over 5 years ago – Fri, Apr 12, 2019 at 02:36:41 PM

Hey everyone,

It was brought to my attention that the Pledges aren't quite clear on how the deck choices work, so I wanted to take a minute to talk about how the campaign will work once it is funded. I am using Backerkit to create a reward fulfillment survey that will be sent to you once the campaign ends on May 11th. My goal is to finalize everything after this date and send out the surveys a few days later.

First of all, the survey will ask for your shipping information so that I can get the deck to you, and you will be able to adjust and finalize your pledge amount at that time.

The survey will also feature questions based on what tier you've selected. For instance, if you've chosen to get one copy of the deck you will be able to choose which style you'd like (Full color or Blackout). If you've chosen the tier "And One for a Friend" because you'd like one of each style, that will also be on there (You'll also be able to get 2 color or 2 Blackout).

If you've chosen to get one of the limited edition prints, you will be given the option of which card you'd like. Just as a reminder, these are high quality 6 x 9 glossy black on smooth matte black prints, or full color & "Water color" variations. I will send out more information regarding these posters and including some photos at a later date here on Kickstarter.

If you have chosen the Retailer's reward level, you will be able to specify how many of each style you'd like via the Backerkit survey as well, but if you're already told me, I greatly appreciate it and will keep a note ;)

Last of all, thanks again for all of the tremendous support, and for spreading the word! I know we can do this!

Taylor

To the first 25 people
over 5 years ago – Fri, Apr 12, 2019 at 09:26:56 AM

This post is for backers only. Please visit Kickstarter.com and log in to read.

It's Finally Here!
over 5 years ago – Thu, Apr 11, 2019 at 11:31:31 PM

It's finally here! The launch of the Sigil Arcanum Kickstarter after over a year of pre-production and planning. It's taken everything I've got to get the project ready to this point, but it's been an exciting journey nonetheless.

If you are looking for ways to further support this project, please consider sharing the Kickstarter link with people that you know are interested in Tarot, or even people who are interested in minimalist design and symbolism.

I am confident that together we can make this thing work, and pretty soon everyone who wants a copy will be able to get one! But we can only make it happen together.

Thank you for your time, and happy linking!

Taylor