Cult of Tarot Forum

Hello fellow Taroists.. I just wanted to jump on here and give a little background on my Pearls of Wisdom Tarot deck and why I went print on demand. Pearls of Wisdom Tarot was a 7 year journey through the Tarot, the original paintings are 30x40" and 24x36". I created this deck, as a path to healing, after the loss of my health, my son and mother in a short period of time. It was, in fact, my art therapy.

The deck was first published in 2007 and, because of bad flaws, 9000 decks, yes 9000 decks, ended up in the Houston landfill. After 7 years of hard work producing the deck, you can imagine how difficult that was to have one's art and years of work dumped like that. The second edition was not much better, having little nubs around the edges and boxes that would fall apart. Worse yet, the publisher did not pay me. So, I took back my rights and decided to self publish, print on demand.

Through print on demand I could offer you all a variety of choices. For example the size of the cards, I offer both poker and jumbo, secondly I had the paintings photographed with a Zeiss lens which produces very high resolution borderless images, way better than the first two editions. In addition, I could offer you two different card stocks, smooth and linen, because we all know how important that is, and also you can choose to go with or without boxes and books. I really don't think there is another deck out there that offers all these options.

I have also created a workbook/journal/healing art projects pdf download. This is only available through Global Spiritual studies https://globalspiritualstudies.com/product/art-therapy/ The art projects are step by step, painting with the elements of earth, air, water and fire. The art projects are meant to uplift and they are truly magical and fun to do. There is also an expanded write up for each card, and guided meditation, question sheets, journal entries and more. Again, nothing like this on the market for sure.

In using POD for my tarot deck, I also decided to print my Joy and Sorrow Oracle deck the same way, and offer it in poker and jumbo as well. Joy and Sorrow is also available as an app, which you can try for free through your app store. It has guidance from each card and a guided meditation for each image as well.

I realize that POD is more expensive than decks that are published by the thousands, or even self published decks that get 1000 decks printed. However, for the artist, POD works really well, they ship internationally and best of all they pay me my royalties from sales. I am also happy with the quality of the products and the fact that they do not exist until you order it.

Both decks focus on being uplifting, healing and joyfulness. The bright colours and busy imagery are what I needed to see myself, in order to come out of the depths of depression and grief. I am happy to say, that my health has improved greatly, as has my head space and creativity. I hope that you enjoy the decks, and try the app for free for a short time and own it for a small fee. www.roxiartwork.CA for decks

Thanks for posting this Roxi. What a story!
I can't imagine seeing 9000 decks destroyed. I can't really imagine 9000 decks.

ya hard to believe but it gave the cheapest price per deck at the time. It all happened just ahead of the 2008 melt down too, so distributors and stores went out of business a lot then too. Now they just get produced when purchased and I like that too. cheers Roxi

Sacred Feminine is the Joy and Sorrow Oracle renamed, right? It has pictures very like the ones in aeclectic’s review of Joy and Sorrow, anyway. I just downloaded it on the app, and it’s gorgeous.

Once I slipped out of collector mode and started thinking like a tarot reader I began to appreciate POD more. There are many great decks out there Out of Print, or in limited run, that are decks the average reader would benefit from having in their tool chest. As long as the company doing the POD has reasonable quality and stability (they don't go out of business months after your deck goes live) it's a gift to the tarot community at large. I still buy the odd collectible in limited run, but for me I think this is a great move. It saves tarot readers money in the long run, as they don't have to spend hundreds of dollars for a deck they are in love with they may have missed while it was in print, and they can also buy another copy if affordable as a backup should something happen to their primary deck. The Game Crafter has a solid system in place and seem to provide good materials. I have a couple decks from them and each one is unique from the other and the cards very readable.

agree! I'm happy we have pod & appreciate their work as it enable Anyone to create & share their creation with world without worry about cost & all work printing & shipping require & it gives us so many Options to chose for ourself regardless of number of deck in demand being appreciated by just few or many people!

Sorry to hear about your bad experience before (9000 decks!). I totally understand why creators use POD, in my opinion there are many benefits. Sure, the cost may be a bit higher, but it's pros and cons, and for the artist I think the pro's win. It gives so much more control to the artist, which I think is always a good thing.