Friday, March 9, 2007

THE SUN IN THE TAIGA TAROT

Well, it's still not time for Death, The Hermit, or The World card, as I mentioned in a couple of previous posts as "candidates" for the next Taiga Tarot design. The Sun appeared in a dream of the night before last. I saw lots of little astrology glyphs for the sun -- a circle with a dot in the center -- floating, rotating, flipping, and dancing in the air before me. I took that as a big clue as to which card to work on next. :-D The dream also influenced the design and text as it progressed, but not fully consciously. I saw the effects mostly after the initial draft was done. Now, with no further ado, here's The Sun:




Given my recent track record, I won't make any predictions as to which card will be posted here next. Though I can venture a pretty good guess that it will be, in some way, dream prompted.

BACKGROUND ON THE TAIGA TAROT:

When I decided the name of the deck would be The Taiga Tarot, I liked not only the alliteration but the resemblance of the word “taiga” to “tiger.” One of my power animals is the Siberian Tiger (and by extension, all tigers), which first appeared as three tiger kittens in a dream. What I had completely forgotten at the time was that the area of Siberia in which the tiger ranges is called “The Taiga”!

A “taiga” (briefly put) is an illustrated tanka. A “tanka” is a mood poem written in five lines, that usually references natural images and human emotions. Also, there is often a contrast or conclusion or response in the last two lines to the first three. I recognize that the tanka/taiga I’m developing for The Taiga Tarot are non-traditional. As with the dream haiku I write, I am not only attempting to bridge two things – with this deck, Tarot and taiga – but also bringing my own experimental slant to it all.


* * * *


‘til next time, keep enjoying The Tarot,

Roswila

[aka: Patricia Kelly]

****If you wish to copy or use any of my writing, please email me for permission (under “View my complete profile”)**** SEE ALSO: Roswila’s Dream & Poetry Realm and Roswila's Tarot Gallery & Journal.****

Tuesday, March 6, 2007

THE HIGH PRIESTESS IN THE TAIGA TAROT

In my previous post I said I'd be posting either Death, The Hermit, or The World card designs next. But The High Priestess (II) made Her presence known, subtly as is Her wont. I was writing haiku yesterday based on dreams* and noted a camel in a very recent dream. I don't remember ever dreaming about a camel before and then I recalled that the Hebrew letter often corresponded to II is "Gimel," which in noun form means "camel." So here's The High Priestess design that camel dream precipitated:




I'm planning on working on either Death, The Hermit, or The World card next, but who knows what The Tarot will prompt. :-D

BRIEF BACKGROUND ON THE TAIGA TAROT (Click here for additional background on the Taiga Tarot.):

When I decided the name of the deck would be The Taiga Tarot, I liked not only the alliteration but the resemblance of the word “taiga” to “tiger.” One of my power animals is the Siberian Tiger (and by extension, all tigers), which first appeared as three tiger kittens in a dream. What I had completely forgotten at the time was that the area of Siberia in which the tiger ranges is called “The Taiga”!

A “taiga” (briefly put) is an illustrated tanka. A “tanka” is a mood poem written in five lines, that usually references natural images and human emotions. Also, there is often a contrast or conclusion or response in the last two lines to the first three. I recognize that the tanka/taiga I’m developing for The Taiga Tarot are non-traditional. As with the dream haiku I write, I am not only attempting to bridge two things – with this deck, Tarot and taiga – but also bringing my own experimental slant to it all.



* * * *


‘til next time, keep enjoying The Tarot,

Roswila

[aka: Patricia Kelly]

****If you wish to copy or use any of my writing, please email me for permission (under “View my complete profile”)**** SEE ALSO: Roswila’s Dream & Poetry Realm and Roswila's Tarot Gallery & Journal.****

Sunday, March 4, 2007

THE STAR, WITH REVISED STRENGTH IN THE TAIGA TAROT

OK, I keep waiting for the designs to stop coming, or at least slow down. And they probably will do both along the way. However, I sure am enjoying this spurt of ideas.

Taiga, for anyone not familiar with the word, are illustrated tanka, and tanka are five line poems. See this post for more details on The Taiga Tarot.

In the previous post I shared the design for The Strength card. I have since very slightly revised it. The word "cracking" was originally "breaking," and I have moved the entire design up a bit on the card, adjusted word spacing just a little, and added a comma after "beating":



[NOTE OF 4/07/07: This Strength card may be further revised. I came across a sketch for it that I did years ago for a different Tarot deck project, that I think I like more.]

I also said in the previous post I'd share The Star design next. Here it is:



This design is based on the meaning of the Hebrew word Tzaddi which is "fish hook" (in noun form). Tzaddi is often attributed to The Star card.

In my next post I'll be sharing either Death or The Hermit, or maybe The World. All three have begun to present themselves. If you are so inclined, I always appreciate feedback, but especially with a project like this.

BRIEF BACKGROUND ON THE TAIGA TAROT (Click here for additional background on the Taiga Tarot.):

When I decided the name of the deck would be The Taiga Tarot, I liked not only the alliteration but the resemblance of the word “taiga” to “tiger.” One of my power animals is the Siberian Tiger (and by extension, all tigers), which first appeared as three tiger kittens in a dream. What I had completely forgotten at the time was that the area of Siberia in which the tiger ranges is called “The Taiga”!

A “taiga” (briefly put) is an illustrated tanka. A “tanka” is a mood poem written in five lines, that usually references natural images and human emotions. Also, there is often a contrast or conclusion or response in the last two lines to the first three. I recognize that the tanka/taiga I’m developing for The Taiga Tarot are non-traditional. As with the dream haiku I write, I am not only attempting to bridge two things – with this deck, Tarot and taiga – but also bringing my own experimental slant to it all.


* * * *


‘til next time, keep enjoying The Tarot,

Roswila

[aka: Patricia Kelly]

****If you wish to copy or use any of my writing, please email me for permission (under “View my complete profile”)**** SEE ALSO: Roswila’s Dream & Poetry Realm and Roswila's Tarot Gallery & Journal.****