Today we put up all the bits and pieces missing on our spaces to get ready for the exhibition! I went all the way to Camberwell the other day to pick up my wooden cards and they look amazing! Here you can see all the pictures of how my space looks!

After fixing up the whole space i went with one of the teachers to sainsburys to pick up things that we would place on the exhibitions bar! Since the other student that was supposed to help with the bar wasnt there i went alone and tried to do the best job possible! We picked up some white wine some juice, a couple of crisps packets and some coke. After coming back i started fixing up the bar and placing some bowls with crisps and some tin trays to place the cupcakes upon. Then when i made sure everything was ready and set i went back home real fast and changed! After coming back to the gallery i awaited the exhibition to start and it was really fun to watch people, friends and relatives, coming in to see our work! Some people tho that were students of the school and didnt even go to the gallery tried to steal some of the cupcakes and that were my work as the bar inspector came in handy~ Overall it was great and had so much fun with the exhibition! Everyone did an amazing job fixing up their things and getting ready!

Here is also a video of everyone showing off their projects! Hope you enjoy!

 

And thats all, that was the final blog entry for the exhibition. We are officially done with the show and we are really proud of it! Hope you people enjoyed it as much as we did! Thanks for reading!

So after two days of working to fix and paint the plinths its finally the day were we will start putting up our work! Sadly for my work the laser cut wooden cards arent done yet…. But on the bright side my business cards are, the poster and the tarot cards that i had requested to be printed 11 times each were! I placed all cards and separated them into 11 decks and in order. 10 decks i separated into 10 lovely boxes that i had ordered so i could give them away in the exhibition days! The last deck of tarot cards i kept for myself as i wanted to stick them on a sketchbook together with the original cards and create a handcrafted book with the descriptions of the original thoth tarot deck and the descriptions of my recreated olympian tarot deck! I did help with some more plinths today as the student who didnt come in the two previous days showed up and i also went outside with a friend to bring sticky tapes and other things needed for the exhibition!

Here is another video to enjoy!

 

Personal Project Work:

Today i went out and bought the sketchbook to start working on it and placed all the tarot cards in their decks and in order. Here are some images:

Also another thing that i worked on today was a small animation that i placed on the mac screen that i requested! This can be seen here:

 

 

 

And finally my own show reel with all my personal work!

 

And thats all for today! Tomorrow is the day of the exhibition! I will be working on the final touches in the morning and then get ready for the exhibition at the evening! See you all there!

Today we had more plinths to paint! Mostly double coating and such but we painted most of them! Today we also worked on painting some of the extra walls that we had to put up to separate the spaces each one of us picked. Another thing that i had to do is talk with the head teacher for our exhibition and find out how much money we are able to spend for the bar for the show and what we can get. I was told that we had 50 pounds to spend and i had to make a list of things that we will have at the exhibition. A friend of mine who is also a student that will present in the exhibition told me that her mother will be making cupcakes for the show and i agreed with the lovely idea! I started a list with all the peoples names for the payment for those cupcakes!

Here is also a vlog of todays day that we worked on!

 

 

Personal Project Work:

For todays personal project work i worked on my business card and other marketing material to have them printed! You can find all the files that i worked on including an invoice and a letter head here!

 

Off to the next day!

Finally the week that we will work on the exhibition has started! Today we started clearing up the space a bit and started bringing in the plinths. What i did today was to go outside in a big container that we have at uni with all the plinths and help everyone to pick the number and size of plinths that they want. It was a lot of hard and messy work as i had to go in the container and carry all the heavy plinths outside and inside the gallery for everyone. I did have a lot of help but i was glad that i helped some people carry and pick their plinths. After bringing them back to the gallery we had to sand them and make them smooth and then paint them. I carried my plinths outside and started sanding them, after bringing them inside i helped other people sand as one of the students had 8 plinths for himself! Finishing up the plinths was a lot of work so we went out with friends and had a break to eat something before carrying out the rest of the work. When coming back we started painting the plinths. because i had to paint only two plinths for myself i helped others too! Sadly one of the students didnt come in and he didnt have any plinths picked or sanded and painted in that matter…. so i knew that tomorrow will be a hard day as i have to carry plinths and help the other person who kinda holds us behind with not coming in today…….

Two students from our class shoot a vlog with everyone working for the first day so here is it for you to enjoy and see all out work!

 

Personal Project Work:

Today i got the first email for the wooden cut cards back with the first batch! And i believe they look incredible!

13 cards still to go!

See you tomorrow!

Starting off with the exhibition we had to assign roles to everyone. We had the show reel team, the website team, the marketing team and then the team i chose to be in, the gallery designer and helper team! I was teamed up with another student and we were given the task of assigning the gallery space, fixing it up, be responsible of the bar and then putting the whole exhibition together! It was a really fun and kinda tiring job to do but i did enjoy it a lot! We had to split the work in two, i am in charge of gathering all the technological equipment that the other students needed and give in a list to our teacher to have everything ready for the exhibition. The other student is in charge of gathering the plinths needed for the exhibition and if there are any plinths that had to be created and designed. After assigning the things that we needed to do for the exhibition i went downstairs with the teacher to see the gallery space and make a diagram of how the space will be assigned. I had in mind all the other students’ projects and assigned the spaces based on that factor. After doing so we went upstairs and were told to start creating lists and things needed for the exhibition as next week we will start working in the gallery space to put everything together

 

Personal Project work:

This week i gathered all the sketches that i created for my tarot cards which are these:

Another thing that i did is gather all the linearts of all the cards and double the thickness of the lines to send them to the laser cut company so i can have all the cards individually laser cut into wood and have them displayed on my part of the show! Pictures of all the cards laser cut in wood will be displayed in the next weeks blog!

Another thing that i designed this week was the background of the Olympian Tarot cards which is this one~

I decided to go with the same border as the tarot cards themselves and add a helmet in the middle as a stencil which represents ancient greek culture.

The last thing that i designed this week was the poster that i will have printed for the show to display the name of my project which is this one:

 

More on the next blog!

 

The Moon XVIII

Universal Meaning: The Fool learns to deal with illusion, deception, obscurity, lack of clarity, hidden forces, basic instincts, moodiness, cycles, intuition, melancholy, mental unrest, and the repressed contents of the personal unconscious. Astrologers associate the Moon Trump with the imaginative psychic, impressionable, gullible and mystical Pisces, the Fishes.

Thoth Tarot Breakdown: There is no doubt about it, this is a spooky card. It represents the light that darkness creates, It is the light that illuminates your dreams- and your nightmares. The moonlight of Atu XVIII is that which illuminates the phantasmagoric nightmares of all of us who cannot acknowledge the dark horrors of our fears. The Moon card shows a path through and beyond this nightmare, but it is not an easy path and the myths of all ages and cultures prove that his journey though the poisoned darkness is an obligatory chapter in every hero’s quest.

This path is guarded by Tabu. She is uncleanliness and sorcery. Upon the hills are the black towers of nameless mystery, of horror and of fear. All prejudice, all superstition, dead tradition and ancestral loathing, all combine to darken her face before the eyes of men. It needs unconquerable courage to begin to tread this path.

The path runs between two towers guarded by twin figures of the Egyptian god Anubis, god of embalming and guardian of cities of the dead. Poison blood drips from the dying Moon. The creature walking out of the water at the bottom of the card represents the scarab beetle, symbolic of the Egyptian god Kephra who is the god of the Sun at midnight.

Character used and Backstory:  For this card i decided not to use gods or goddesses to represent it. Instead i used ancient greek deities knows as the Oneiroi. The Oneiroi were various gods and demigods that ruled over dreams, nightmares and oneiromantic symbols. According to Hesiod, they were the sons of Nyx and the brothers of Hypnos (sleep), Thanatos (Death), Geras (Old Age), the Moirai, and other beings all produced via parthenogenesis. The Oneiroi when appearing in front of people took the form of animals and they were the guides in the dreams and nightmares they produced for people to see.

Reason that this character was used: The card itself talks about the dreams and nightmares of people. It gives away a spooky feeling. I thought that the best way to show off this card is by recreating it with the sole deities of dreams and nightmares itself. Holding each a lantern that shows off the path of the dream or nightmare that they created.

Changes i made to be closer to the character i used: Instead of the two figures that represent Anubis, i drew two anthropomorphic animals holding the lanterns to show the transformation of the Oneiroi into animals in the dreams and nightmares they create. On their feet i drew the animal each figure represents. In the place of the scarab i chose to draw once again the Queen of the Night flower blooming underneath them, showing where they came from (that being from their own mother Nyx the goddess of the night) I kept all the color schemes and also i recreated the two black towers with two simple black mountains to show a scenery that can be seen or created into dreams.

 

 

The Sun XIX

Universal Meaning: The Fool is born again in the dazzling radiance of the sun. He feels invigorated, goal-oriented and full of zest and optimism. He has gained a respect for his inner child and has the courage to express his true self. His conscious planning and individual effort are now rewarded with success. Astrologers assign the Sun Trump to the Masculine, dynamic and energetic sun, the source of energy in our solar system.

Thoth Tarot Breakdown: Heru-ra-ha is a unique name for the two opposite and equal forms of the Egyptian god Horus. Hoor-pa-kraat is the passive, innocent, god of silence and infinite potential, often portrayed as a baby curled in the fetal position, pressing his thumb or forefinger to his lips. Ra-Hoor-Khut is the active, violent, hawk-headed avenger of the gods. Combined under the one name Heru-ra-Ha, they are the divine expression of the passive/active dynamics of the element Spirit.

The twin babies in the Fool card, and the children and the bride and groom in the Lovers are earlier tarot incarnations of the two dancing children we find in the Sun card. They represent the male and female eternally young, shameless and innocent, They are dancing in the light and yet they dwell upon the earth. They represent the next stage which is to be attained by mankind in which complete freedom is alike the cause and the result of the new access of solar energy upon the earth.

Character used and Backstory:  For this card i chose two gods instead of one, Helios on the left and Apollo on the right, the two gods that are said to be the gods of Sun and Light.

Helios(left) is the god and personification of the Sun in Greek mythology. He is the son of the Titan Hyperion and the Titaness Theia also known as Euryphaessa and brother of the goddesses Selene, the Moon, and Eos the dawn. Helios was described as a handsome young man crowned with the shining aureole of the Sun, who drove the chariot of the sun across the sky each day to earth-circling Oceanys and through the world-ocean returned to the East at night. His chariot is golden drawn by steeds made of fire.

Apollo(right) has been variously recognized as a god of music, truth and prophecy, healing, the sun and light, plague, poetry and more.Apollo was an oracular god, the prophetic deity of the Delphic Oracle.Medicine and healing are associated with Apollo, whether through the god himself or mediated through his son Asclepius, yet Apollo was also seen as a god who could bring ill-health and deadly plague.

 

 

Reason that this character was used: There were two figures on the card representing the sun, that is why i chose Helios the personification of the sun and Apollo the one said to be god of sun and light. They both are sun themselves and fit perfectly with the whole theme of it. They are the two sides of the sun with one being a personification and the other being a god of the sun himself.

Changes i made to be closer to the character i used: I drew both Helios and Apollo in their respective outfits and sides. On the left side instead of the zodiac signs i placed the four fiery steeds of Helios Pyrois, Aeos, Aethon and Phlegon who all have names that associate with fire and his golden chariot. On the right side instead again for the Zodiac signs i placed five things that Apollo is known for, them being music, poetry, medicine, plague and the sun and light. I kept all the colors to show the deeper meaning of this card.

 

 

Judgement XX

Universal Meaning: The Fool is now able to hear the trumpet of the Judgement card sounding the call of the Self to spiritual rebirth and the healing of the psyche to resurrection. Astrologers associate the Judgement card with the transforming planet Pluto, god of the underworld.

Thoth Tarot Breakdown: Crowley saw this event as a magical changing of the guard that was foreshadowed symbolically by one of the regular seasonal ceremonies of the Golden Dawn. Every six months, the ritual officers of that order were ceremonially promoted one chair up, and new secret passwords were issued. In that ritual, the officer who had formerly served as second-in-command was installed to serve as Hierophant for the next six months.

Horus is the god of force and fire, and his ascension as Lord of The New Aeon spiritually destroys the old world by fire. It only looks like the end of the world to those of us who cannot accept the possibility that old spiritual points of view can ever be replaced by new ones.

Nuit, the goddess of the night sky and infinite space arches her body over the entire top section of the stele. Directly beneath her heart is a winged solar disk that The Book of the Law refers to as the god Habit. The Goddess Nuit, her body filled with starts, her breasts alive with the milk of whirling galaxies, forms a beautiful blue omega as she bends in ecstasy around an immense egg containing the seated image of Ra-Hoor-Khuit. He holds the phoenix wand in his right hand. His left hand is empty. Standing as a transparent essence before him is his twin, Hoor-pa-kraat, his finger at his lips in the sign of silence. His head is shaven and crowned with two Uraeus serpents. The God Habit, pictures as the winged solar disk, is nearly camouflaged by the entire scene.

Character used and Backstory:  For this card i used Oedipus a mythical Greek King of Thebes.  Oedipus accidentally fulfilled a prophecy that he would end up killing his father and marrying his mother, thereby bringing disaster to his city and family. Oedipus was born to King Laius and Queen Jocasta. Laius wished to thwart a prophecy, so he left Oedipus to die on a mountainside. However, the baby was found by shepherds and raised by King Polybus and Queen Merope as their own. Oedipus learned from the oracle of Delphi of the prophecy that he would end up killing his father and marrying his mother but unaware of his true parentage believe he was fated to murder Polybus and marry Merope, so he left for Thebes. On his way he met an older man and quarreled and Oedipus killed the stranger. Continuing on to Thebes, he found that the king of the city had been recently killed and that the city was at the mercy of the Sphinx. Oedipus answered the monsters riddle correctly, defeating it and winning the throne of the dead king, and the hand in marriage of the king’s widow and unbeknownst to him, his mother Jocasta.

 

Years later, to end a plague on Thebes, Oedipus searched to find who had killed Laius, and discovered that he himself was responsible. Jocasta, upon realizing that she had married both her own son, and her husband’s murderer, hanged herself. Oedipus then seized two pins from her dress and blinded himself with them.

 

Reason that this character was used: The main reason why i chose this card is because the card itself talks about the change of the Aeon. A really good example of change is the change of king, when Oedipus killed his father and took his throne without him knowing what had happened. He changed the whole Aeon by replying to the Sphinx’s riddle. The end of his Aeon shows when his mother hangs herself and he blinds himself with her pins which shows that the throne will go to someone else, thus changing the Aeon.

Changes i made to be closer to the character i used: I made a lot of changes in this card. Firstly i placed the Sphinx whose riddle Oedipus solved at the bottom of the card where the winged disk was placed. I also replaced Nuit with Jocasta who was Oedipus mother and blindfolded her, showing Oedipus’s action to blind himself with her pins that she had on her dress. On top of the throne of course sits Oedipus himself. By drawing him it shows the actions he took and the change of the Aeon with him sitting and claiming the throne for himself. I drew him according to the sculptures that were made for him together with a traditional ancient Greek garment.

 

 

The World XXI

Universal Meaning: The Fool completes the cycle. The circular wreath surrounding the figure on the World Trump symbolizes the completion of the journey, the achievement of the wholeness, the actualization of the Self. Astrologers associate this final card with the planet Saturn, the planet with the outermost orbit of the seven known planets in ancient times, end of the visible solar system, symbol of structure and stability.

Thoth Tarot Breakdown: In the card itself there is consequently a glyph of the completion of the Great Work in its highest sense, exactly as the Atu of the Fool symbolizes its beginning. The Fool is the negative issuing into manifestation; the Universe is that manifestation, its purpose accomplished, ready to return. The twenty cards that lie between these two exhibit the Great Work and its agents in various stages. The image of the Universe in this sense is accordingly that of a maiden the final letter of the Tetragrammaton.

The first and most obvious characteristic of this card is that it comes at the end of all, and is therefore the complement of the Fool. It is attributed to the letter Tau. The two cards together accordingly spell the word Ath, which means Essence. All reality is consequently compromised in the series of which these two letters form the beginning and the end. This beginning was Nothing; the end must therefore be also Nothing, but Nothing in its complete expansion.

Character used and Backstory:  For this card i decided to not only show a demigod but also his journey in becoming one, and that is the story of Hercules and his labours. Hercules was a Roman hero who was famous for his strength and for his numerous far-ranging adventures that led him into becoming a demigod. His adventurous were also known as the Twelve Labours and they go as follows:

1. Slay the Nemean Lion
2. Slay the nine-headed Lernaean Hydra
3. Capture the Golden Hind of Artemis
4. Capture the Erymanthian Boar
5. Clean the Augean Stables in a single day
6. Slay the Stymphalian birds
7. Capture the Cretan Bull
8. Steal the Mares of Diomedes
9. Obtain the girdle of Hippolyta, Queen of the Amazons
10. Obtain the cattle of the monster Geryon
11. Steal the apples of the Hesperides
12. Capture and bring back Cerberus

 

Reason that this character was used: The reason i used Hercules and his labours to represent this card is because this card is said to contain the end and complete the Fools journey to enlightenment, that is why i wanted to implement Hercules’s journey to becoming a demigod. Ive placed all twelve labours in this card together with the first obstacle that Hercules had to overcome being the two giant snakes that Hera sent to Hercules’s cradle to kill him out of anger of Zeus mating with a mortal woman that gave birth to Hercules.

Changes i made to be closer to the character i used: Firstly i changed the female figurine from the middle with a male figurine to represent Hercules holding the two giant snakes that Hera sent to kill him. Then the labours placement goes as follows:

• Slay the Nemean Lion is placed on the bottom right corner
• Slay the nine-headed Lernaean Hydra is placed on the top of the card
• Capture the Golden Hind of Artemis is placed exactly in the middle behind hercules
• Capture the Erymanthian Boar is placed on the top right corner
• Clean the Augean Stables in a single day is placed on the bottom of the card
• Slay the Stymphalian birds is placed on the top right corner
• Capture the Cretan Bull is placed on the bottom left coner
• Steal the Mares of Diomedes is placed on the left side of the card
• Obtain the girdle of Hippolyta, Queen of the Amazons is placed around Hercules’s chest and arm
• Obtain the cattle of the monster Geryon is placed on the right side of the card
• Steal the apples of the Hesperides are placed on the horns of the Golden Hind of Artemis
• Capture and bring back Cerberus is placed on the top of the card next to the Hydra

 

 

And these are the last few cards of the Olympian Tarot deck ive been making. Next week we will start putting up the exhibition and i will explain my part of it and how i worked and helped to put the exhibition together.

 

Bilbiography:

DuQuette, L. (2017). Understanding Aleister Crowley’s Thoth Tarot. Newburyport: Red Wheel Weiser, pp.99-103, 117-119.

Louis, A. (2010). Tarot plain and simple. St. Paul, Minn., U.S.A.: Llewellyn Publications, pp.46, 48.

Temperance XIV

Universal Meaning: The Fool emerges with a sense of integrity, perspective, balance and moderation. He has learned the virtue of Temperance. Astrologers associate Temperance with the wise, tolerant and independent sign of Sagittarius, the Archer.

Thoth Tarot Breakdown: First of all, the figures in the forefront of the card are positioned before a huge golden egg. This is the Orphic egg and everything we see happening in front of the egg is actually the secret work that is being done inside. Shimmering around the egg is a golden aura displaying beautiful pernmanship the alchemical motto: VISITA INTERIORA TERRAE RECTIFICANDO INVENIES OCCULTUM LAPIDEM – ”Visit the interior parts of the earth: by rectification thou shalt find the hidden stone.”

Cooking up the potion that is making that visit possible is a strange and wonderful being whom we first met as the two characters, the bride and the groom, in ATU VI, the Lovers. The black King and white Queen have now merged and become a single character with two heads. The white bride now has black hair and wears the golden crown; the black groom now has golden hair and wears the silver crown. Her/his arms are exposed to reveal that the body is also counter charged.

His/her dress is decorated with both bees and serpents, and she/he stands behind a cauldron into which he/she pours water from a silver chalice from his/her left hand, and fire from her/his right hand. Flanking the cauldron stand the Lion and the Eagle. They have also made a dramatic change. The lion has turned white and the eagle is now red, having transmuted to their opposite characteristic by the dual baptism of fire and water.

Character used and Backstory:  Again for this card i used the two figures that i have used at the Lovers card, Zeus and Hera and have created a single being. All the info about those two have been written in the Empress, the Emperor and the Lovers cards description.

Reason that this character was used: The reason i used these two characters is that the figure shows in the original card are the Empress and the Emperor that were also shown in the Lovers card. That is why i took both of them and created one single being.

Changes i made to be closer to the character i used: In this card i kept the colors that were changed for each figure and implemented them. Another change that i did was of course changing the lion and the eagle into the two symbolic animals of Hera and Zeus, the peacock and the bull. Instead of fire and a chalice filled with water, i exchanged it for thunder bolts which are zeus’s symbol and for a chalice full of nectar which is the drink of gods. The Orphic egg that is in front of the figure has been changed into ancient greek vase that shows the pottery design of that time. Last but not least the potion that this figure is creating is nothing other than Ambrosia the known food of gods.

 

 

The Tower XVI

Universal Meaning: A lightning bolt strikes the tower out of the blue, destroying part of its structure, setting it ablaze, and casting its inhabitants to the ground. The Fool again learns that drastic change can disrupt the life cycle without warning. Perhaps the Tower card is advising the Fool to break from the bondage symbolized by the Devil card, to face the truth and get on with his development. Astrologers associate the Tower Trump with the fiery, energetic, warlike planet Mars but the suddenness of the disruption shares many of the characteristics of the planet Uranus, the Awakener.

Thoth Tarot Breakdown: The Tower is the planetary trump of Mars, and it incorporates most of the images that characterize traditional versions – a blaster tower with human figures falling from it. The tower in this version is blasted from below by flames belching from the mouth of the underworld. Another unique feature is the presence of a large eye at the top of the card that seems to radiate a zigzag of lightning or fire that may be the spark that has ignited the flames from the mouth below.

Character used and Backstory:  For this card instead of a god or a goddess i decided to choose an event that happened at that time. The Minoan eruption of Thera, a Greek island also known as Santorini. This event is also referred to as the Thera eruption, Santorini eruption or Late Bronze Age eruption. It was a major catastrophic volcanic eruption with a Volcanic Explosivity Index of 6 or 7 and a dense-rock equivalent of 60 km³. Dated to the mid-second millennium BCE, the eruption was one of the largest volcanic events on earth in recorded history. It devastated the island of Thera including the Minoan settlement at Akrotiri and communities and agricultural areas on nearby islands and the coast of Crete with a related earthquake and tsunami.

Reason that this character was used: The reason that i decided to choose an event instead of a god or goddess for this card is because even on the original card a structure is shown. The card itself talks about drastic changes that can alter life a lot and the volcanic eruption that happened in Santorini is the most accurate event that can be used for this card. The fire that comes out from the mouth of the underworld is perfectly depicted by the lava that was created under the earth and came out to destroy everything in its path on the island.

Changes i made to be closer to the character i used: The changes that i made to this card to show the eruption of the volcano in Santorini are drastic themselves. Instead of a huge tower, i tried to draw the land that was destroyed with all the houses and the style of the Minoan Empire. Instead of fire i drew lava burning down the houses. Where the tower was sitting up high i designed a volcano to indicate where the lava came from. The only thing i kept from the original card are the figures that are falling to show the agony and sadness that the people of Santorini went through at the time of the eruption.

 

 

The Star XVII

Universal Meaning: The Fool sees a ray of hope in the Star Trump. If he has learned his lessons of the Devil and the Tower and cast aside the chains that bound him, the Fool is now ready for further enlightenment and development of his special talents. Astrologers associate the Star Trump with the humanitarian, visionary, altruistic sign of Aquarius, the Water Bearer.

Thoth Tarot Breakdown: The adobe of Babalon/Nuit on the Tree of Life is the third sephira, Binah, the Supernal Sother. The river, which is a bit hard to see, flows at the bottom of the card and is demarcated by hills on the distant shore. The celestial globe represents the entire heavens surrounding the Earth. Therefore, all other images on this card that are placed outside of the celestial sphere must represent spiritual environments that transcend even the concept of infinite space. The two cups in her hands, are fashioned as breasts. From the Golden cup she pours this ethereal water which is also milk and oil and blood upon her own head, indicating the eternal renewal of the categories, the inexhaustible possibilities of existence. The left hand, lowered, holds a silver cup, from which also she pours the immortal liquor of her life.

Character used and Backstory:  For this card i used Nyx, the Greek goddess of the night. She is depicted as a shadowy figure that stood at or near the beginning of creation and mothered other personified deities such as Hypnos (sleep) and Thanatos (Death), with Erebus (Darkness). Her appearances are sparse in surviving mythology, but reveal her as a figure of such exceptional power and beauty that she is feared by Zeus himself. Not much else is really known about her.

Reason that this character was used: The reason that i used Nyx for this card is because the card itself represents the stars and the moon. Nyx fits perfect for this description as she is a shadowy figure and not much is known about her, not even the features of her face. The pose of the figure in the original card shows only the back of the figure without showing the face which makes a perfect pose to draw Nyx. Also the pose shows the grace and power one holds, standing in front of the moon and having the milk, blood and oil poured upon her.

Changes i made to be closer to the character i used: The main change is that i gave the figure a cloth around her arms to make a connection with the clothing that ancient Greeks wore. I also changed the design of the water to look more like the paintings that are left behind from the ancient greek times. I changed the star on the top left and the flowers on the bottom right to look more like a Nightblooming Cereus flower or also known as the Queen of The Night flower to make a better connection with Nyx.

 

These are the 3 cards for this week. There are 4 cards remaining that i am going to talk about in next weeks blog and then i will talk about the show week!

Bilbiography:

DuQuette, L. (2017). Understanding Aleister Crowley’s Thoth Tarot. Newburyport: Red Wheel Weiser, pp.99-103, 117-119.

Louis, A. (2010). Tarot plain and simple. St. Paul, Minn., U.S.A.: Llewellyn Publications, pp.46, 48.

The Chariot VII

Universal Meaning: The Fool must now learn to control and balance opposing forces to run a steady course. In this card the Fool realizes that life involves conflict and compromise, that there is no light without darkness, that we must all integrate our shadow. Astrologers associate the Chariot with the nurturing, protective sign Cancer, the Crab.

Thoth Tarot Breakdown: The Chariot is drawn by sphinxes representing the elemental blending of the Kerubic beasts. The starry canopy of the chariot represents the night sky. The charioteer is in full armor, much like the crab of the zodiac sign of cancer, which this card represents. He bears the Holy Grail, in this case a magnificent carved amethyst.

Grail Mythology tells us that the Holy Grail is the cup from which Christ drank at the Last Supper, and the same one that Joseph of Aramathea used to catch the blood and water that spilled from the lip like spear wound in the side of the crucified Christ. Joseph later conveyed the Grail and the spear to a magically constructed castle, where their mysterious powers complicated the lives of many generations of noble knights. In one very real way, the Chariot is the Chapel of the Holy Grail on wheels.

Character used and Backstory:  For this card i chose Achilles who was the Greek hero of the Trojan War and the central character and greatest warrior of Homers Iliad. Achilles’ most notable feat during the Trojan War was the slaying of the Trojan hero Hector outside the gates of Troy. Although the death of Achilles is not presented in the Iliad, other sources concur that he was killed near the end of the Trojan War by Paris, who shot him in the heel with an arrow. Later legends state that Achilles was invulnerable in all of his body except for his heel because, when his mother Thetis dipped him in the river Styx as an infant, she held him by one of his heels. Alluding to these legends the term ”Achilles heel” has come to mean a apoint of weakness, especially in someone or something with an otherwise strong constitution.

 

Reason that this character was used: The reason that i used Achilles for this card is that his biggest achievement was killing Hector outside the walls of Troy. After defeating Hector he took his lifeless body and tied it on the back of his Chariot. After doing so he commanded his horses to run around the walls of Troy, dragging Hectors dead body behind him for all citizens of Troy to see. The way that the figure was sitting upon the chariot in the card reminded me much of Achilles and his victory. The pose of the figure holding a disk made great for replacing it with Achilles holding his shield and showing it off at the people of Troy who were watching the whole scene.

Changes i made to be closer to the character i used: The first thing i changed was instead of the figure wearing full armor like the Crab, i made it wear a more suiting armor than spartan warriors would wear. In the place of the four beasts i placed the lifeless body of Hector, who Achilles killed and tied his legs so it will look like its tied on the chariot. Instead of the usual background that the Chariot card has i changed it to represent the walls of Troy, outside of where Achilles dragged Hectors body. I kept most of the colors so it could be as close to the original card as possible.

 

 

The Hermit IX

Universal Meaning: The Fool learns to look within, to meditate, to reflect in solitude, to trust one’s inner guidance. The Hermit embodies the old adage, ”Know thyself”. Astrologers associate the Hermit ith the prudent, service-oriented sign Virgo, the Virgin, goddess of the harvest.

Thoth Tarot Breakdown: Earth, Mercury and the Sun come together in the Hermit. He represents the zodiac sign of Virgo. Virgo is the mutable sign of Earth. Virgo is ruled by Mercury, and Mercury is exalted in Virgo. The hermit carries the lamp of the Sun, with which he gives his light to the world.

The figure of the Hermit himself is one big stylized Yod. He sports the ibis head of Thoth/Mercury. The only other visible part is his hand. He stands in the fertile field of wheat.  The heavy-headed shafts suggestive of sperm. He carries the lamp of the Sun. He is dogged by Cerberus, the three-headed guardian of the gates of the underworld, whom Hermes/Mercury tamed with honey cakes during his mission to rescue Persephone from Hades.

Character used and Backstory:  For this card i chose Odysseus, the legendary Greek king of Ithaca and the hero of Homer’s epic poem the Odyssey. Odysseus also plays a key role in Homer’s Iliad and other works in that same epic cycle. Odysseus is probably best known as the eponymous hero of the Odyssey. This epic describes his travails, which lasted for 10 years, as he tries to return home after the Trojan War and reassert his place as rightful king of Ithaca.

Reason that this character was used: The Hermit card is the card where the fool learns to look within and meditate. The reason i picked Odysseus for this card is because of his ability to think and solve all the problems that he had to go through and passed successfully on his journey back to Ithaca. He has been through a lot of different dangerous situations where he learned to trust himself and show to the world that a mortal can successfully win against all of the trials that a god puts upon him. For 10 years he has been a wanderer in the sea, not knowing what could be possibly going on back to Ithaca but he never gave up, a reason why he is known for his intellectual brilliance, guile, and versatility.

Changes i made to be closer to the character i used: Starting off i kept the figure of the Hermit and i changed his clothes and hairstyle to match better with the sculptures of Odysseus that were made in Ancient Greece. I changed the background to a sea to represent his 10 year adventure in the open sea while trying to get back to Ithaca. Another change that i made was to exchange Cerberus (even tho he is from greek mythology too) to Scylla and  Charybdis, the two sea monsters that Odysseus had to face when passing through the Symplegades (also known as Clashing Rocks). Scylla was a multi headed beast who grabbed voyagers off their ships and devoured them. On the other side was Charybdis, a monster who swallowed a huge amount of water, before belching it back out again, creating large whirlpools capable of dragging a ship underwater. I kept the lantern to show that Odysseus always had a light within him that showed hope that one day he will arrive back at Ithaca.

 

 

The Wheel of Fortune X

Universal Meaning: The Fool learns that much of life is random and unpredicable, full of ups and downs. He understands that he cannot take any day for granted because it may be his last. He comes to appreciate the workings of fate and of karma. Astrologers associate the Wheel of Fortune with the beneficent, expansive planet Jupiter.

Thoth Tarot Breakdown: A wheel of six shafts, whereon revolve the Triad of Hermanubis, Sphinx and Typhon.

For centuries the Wheel of Fortune has been interpreted as the card of good luck. That is only partially true. It is also the card of back luck; and the card of luck getting better; and the card of luck getting worse. Whatever kind of luck we are talking about, one thing’s a sure bet. It’s going to change.

Change is stability and with stability comes order, and the god that brings order to so-called creation is the Demiurge, the highest god below the Abyss- the ”creator” god of its own creation.

Although Hermanubis, Typhon and the Sphinx are not openly identified as the alchemical elements (mercury, salt and sulfur) , or as the tarot trumps (the Magus, the Empress and the Emperor),  or as the gunas (sattvas, tamas and rajas), that is exactly what they are, and they are locked in the perpetual game of one-ups-manship.

Character used and Backstory: For this card i chose the three Moirai, often known as the Fates. They were white-robed incarnations of Destiny. They controlled the mother thread of life of every mortal from birth to death. The three names of the Moirai were Clotho, Lachesis and Atropos. Clotho spun the thread of life from her Distaff onto her Spindle. Lachesis measured the thread of life allotted to each person with her measuring rod. Atropos was the cutter of the thread of life. She chose the manner of each persons death and when their time was, she cut their life-thread with her abhorred shears.

 

Reason that this character was used: The reason i chose the Moirai for this card is because the card itself talks about luck, fortune of any kind, that being bad or good. The Moirai were the ones who decided the peoples fate and they fit perfectly with the meaning of this card. The beasts that were drawn on the original card were three too, so replacing them with three female figures was a perfect fit.

Changes i made to be closer to the character i used: The main change that i made was replacing the three beasts with the three Moirai. Each Moirai was drawn to represent her part of mythology with Clotho holding on the wheel of fortune and spinning it, Lachesis measuring the thread of life on the top and Atropos cutting off the thread of life with her shears. The placing of all three Moirai make a perfect circle and represent the circle of life in a clockwise manner. I also replaced the thunders on the background with red thread that represent life. And of course the top of the card i replaced the stars with spindles, the source of the thread of life.

 

Those were the three cards ive done this week. Next 3 cards will be created next week and talked about in the next blog entry!

 

Bilbiography:

DuQuette, L. (2017). Understanding Aleister Crowley’s Thoth Tarot. Newburyport: Red Wheel Weiser, pp.99-103, 117-119.

Louis, A. (2010). Tarot plain and simple. St. Paul, Minn., U.S.A.: Llewellyn Publications, pp.46, 48.