Sign-ups are now open for any member who would like to create a card for this group Oracle Deck project.
I will try here to briefly summarize the Star & Crown Oracle.
This is an oracle, in the truest sense. An Oracle by definition is a go-between, a bridge between the Earth (the earthly, human concerns) and the “Heavens” (the divine, heavenly or spiritual guides.).
The idea is to create a deck that helps to bridge the imaginary gulf we dig between our earthly concerns and our higher selves. A deck that helps us perceive the spirit of the divine in our everyday struggles and the struggles of the larger community we live in.
This Oracle is about communication. It’s about creating links between things, between people, ideas, feelings, etc. It’s about finding solutions and responses to the things we face in our personal lives and in the greater world. We’ll see how “small” themes lead to larger ones and how they work together, compliment and support each other.
You can draw upon any esoteric practices, concepts, or studies you are versed in. You can also draw upon your own life experiences.
In the end, the cards will all come together and form a truly unique Oracle of powerful connections.
The cards will not have keywords.*
The idea is to create images that the reader will be influenced by with or without using the guidebook. The meaning/symbolism of the card will be explained in the guidebook by the artist.
This means each artist will determine for themselves what concept their card will communicate, what bridge between the Crown & Star they are depicting.
*EDIT: The cards will however be titled and those titles will appear in the guidebook (again, NOT on the cards themselves). This title can be a word or phrase, whatever the artist chooses. It's not so much a "keyword" as it is the feeling of the card, like the title of a poem, song or painting.
Clearly, this is a challenge. But don’t think everything has to be super “deep.” It’s the overall combination of things that will determine the deck’s substance. If what you choose to depict is something that you can relate to, that moves or inspires you, others will respond as well. Maybe not exactly the same way you do, but they will nonetheless.
We could actually make something original and relevant to life in the world today. We are all experiencing things we never thought we would, and other things that no one should. Many of the cracks in society, that were always there, are showing like never before. We are all learning and growing in ways we never imagined.
This is where I stop explaining because I can’t tell you anything you don’t know. We’re all going through all this together, in real time. Maybe this project, and ultimately this deck, will be a way to help each other process our world views, our concerns, our hopes and the challenges we have ahead of us.
EDIT A really good suggestion has been made and I want to incorporate it into the design of this deck. I will post here in it's original wording:
So the idea is, whatever your card design is, see how you can portray a star and a crown into the design somewhere.Pen wrote: While I was working yesterday the painting whispered in my ear (it seems to be part of the process). So I listened, as I always do, followed the advice and added a Star and Crown as part of the narrative and was pleased with the result. Anyway, so far so good. Later it occurred to me that this idea could be incorporated into all the card images - it wouldn't be difficult. The Star and Crown could be either incidental or an important part of what's happening on the card. They could combine to form a tiny logo on a mobile phone that's in use, or appear as an actual star or something star or crown-shaped - anything from a flower to a fountain, or perhaps as objects with those words as part of their names - eg. starfish, starfruit, starflower, stars and stripes etc. Crown is a little more tricky as all the alternative meanings are less obvious - eg. crown of a hat, head or tooth...! but stars and crowns make good patterns on cushions, posters, book covers or toys for children, maybe images on a screen. An extra dimension to bind the deck together.
I really do think this, in addition to tying the cards together and bringing out the theme, is also a fun challenge for the artists.
And if you need any help finding a way to do that, maybe you could submit it to the group for suggestions. Use the Art/WIP section.
EDIT: And the Star and Crown don't need to necessarily be literal stars and crowns. I'll let you decide what that means!
Technical Stuff:
To optimize printing costs, I would like to start with 32 cards as a goal. (this is one sheet of 88x126mm cards)
If that is accomplished and we still have a lot of steam, then let’s shoot for 64 cards or as close to that as possible.
Template:
The finished cards will be 88x126mm. (for reference, a standard tarot card is 70x120mm)
Here is the template in 2 file formats, jpeg and PDF.
- Template jpeg format, First click on it then download.
To give you an idea, here is the card I am currently working on (still unfinished.) The image on the right has a white border to indicate the “bleed area.” The finished, cut card is the part inside the bleed area. There will be no border showing. Your artwork should go all the way to the edge (left image) and all the important information should stay within the “Safe Area” indicated by the blue guidelines.
(This is my son's girlfriend Shauna from a picture she calls "Celebrating Myself". )
The template has all the details you’ll need.
IMPORTANT: If you need any help or assistance at all, please just let me know. One of my favourite parts of Button Soup Tarot was working with people to help them get their ideas to a finished card. The collaboration is part of the magic.
Submit finished art to: artshare@cultoftarotforum.com
Booklet Text: EDIT: I have created a google Doc that all the artists can work from together. I will send you the link when you join the project. If you don't have it please just PM me or email me.
That’s it!
I haven’t set a “deadline” but logistically, early autumn would be perfect. The sooner work starts coming in though, the more it inspires others, so the sooner it starts coming in the better!
I will open up some more discussion threads so we can help each other work through this project.
To Sign Up: Just reply to this thread. I hope you do. I see something wonderful coming from this.
**If you are not a member of CoT, it takes just a few seconds to join. Just click "Register" in the top right of this page. If you are a member and need help logging in, email support@cultoftarotforum.com
We need some rules please! 
as I have idea for "Butterfly Effect" & "Dire Predicament" (based on that vintage movie poster Pen made unless she would like to use it here!) & would also like to do something like You Are Original as tribute to our antypiracy awarenes movement? So where do we discuss card ideas as i dont see who signed for what card from my android? Also can I sign up for 2/3 cards now or should I wait for evryone to get a chance? Also can we use public domain img? Photos obviously need participant permision etc btw like that athlete from your card totally have that olimpic vibe! 
