Tabula Mundi Tarot – an inspired Thoth based tarot deck by M.M. Meleen

DECAN WALK: ARIES 1 TWO OF WANDS

The Two of Wands, first face or decan of Aries — Aries 1 decan: **A tall, dark, restless man, with keen flame-coloured eyes, bearing a sword.**

It’s that time of year! We made it through another solar cycle, arriving at the March equinox (tomorrow, March 20th) and zero degrees of Aries, the start of the zodiac in traditional Western astrology. This decan corresponds to the Two of Wands. Shown above is the Two of Wands from Telos Tarot of 777, shown after it was colored during the Aries 1 decan. The line art had been drawn and inked in a previous Aries 1 decan.

Aries season is the time of year when many people begin a “decan walk” practice.

The decan walk is an accessible and truly enriching way to understand the powers of the decans through direct experience and observation over a solar year. During the roughly 10-day period of each decan, one connects with the energies of the sign and planet involved in each of the thirty-six minor arcana. One observes how they experience them during the actual period of the decan. It is a powerful way to connect to a deck, and to the experience of being a solar being moving through time and space. As the Sun moves through each decan, one notes the flavors of the decan and how it changes their experience of time and space.

It is an especially potent time to work acts of tarot and astrological magick through the lens of the associated card for each decan, and its related dignified planets.

The possible activities one might perform during the period to deepen the connection are innumerable and personal to the aspirant.

They can include (but certainly are not limited to):

invocations and evocations
the creation of art
writing poetry, or journaling
meditations on the card, pathworking and interacting with the figures
creation of an altar displaying the decan card and related cards, with appropriate offerings to planetary or other deities
lectio divina, or devotional reading
educational reading about the deities, and their stories, mythologies, or astrological elements

Telos Two of Wands line art — **The original inked lines of the Two of Wands from Telos, completed during the Aries 1 decan in 2021**

The Telos Tarot of 777 was created during several decan walks in a multi-year process of observing the decans while creating the cards. The art was all created using classical art materials, and each was ceremonially made during a corresponding astrological time. They were painted in the appropriate colors according to the color scales of the Hermetic Golden Dawn in 777.

Telos is defined as the ultimate inherent purpose of a thing. The Telos Tarot was designed to be both a traditional tarot and a tool for magical purposes. This makes the Telos Tarot of 777 the perfect companion for initiating oneself via the decan walk experience.

The minors were created in accordance with the “magical descriptions of the decans” according to Aleister Crowley’s book of magical and tarot correspondences, 777.

The magical images of the decans per 777 seem to be mainly (but not exactly) based on those found in the 11^th century Arabic astro-magic grimoire known as the Picatrix. Picatrix is the Latin name used; the original title was Ghāyat al-Ḥakīm, meaning The Goal of The Wise. This deck reconciles the decan images with the traditional meanings, symbols, and images of the tarot minor arcana.

**Seal of Mars as seen on the man in the figure. Aries 1 is doubly Mars ruled.**

The approach of the Picatrix text is to associate the power of the decan with the specific image, considering that the power resides in the image itself and the connection or bridge it makes with the corresponding sector of sky.

I have also incorporated the Golden Dawn’s Chaldean planetary assignment to the decanic minors where they are influenced by the ruling planet of the decan. This association of the planets to a decan is based on the Hellenistic astrological approach wherein the planetary ruler of a decan lends some of its attributes.

**The Emperor (Aries) from Telos Tarot of 777**

In this case, the card is doubly/triply Mars ruled, as the sign Aries is ruled by Mars. The decan ruler is also Mars in both the Chaldean rulerships and the triplicity rulership schema. It’s all Mars all of the time. A fitting start to the solar year, as the sun is exalted in Aries, and Mars gives the spark and energy for beginning. It leads the way!

05 2W Download

mars square Download

Aries 1 invocation Download

Above is a gift for initiating your decan walk journey.There are 3 files. There is a large file of the original black and white inked lines of the Telos Tarot Two of Wands. You can download the file, size it however you would like and use it for personal use only. Print it, color it as a meditative exercise, or use it to create a talisman or spell. I’ve included an Aries 1 invocation, also for personal use only.

I’ve also included a file of the Mars square the figure is wearing, that you can use for your creations. It is the basis for the planetary sigils and seals of Mars. The figure of the man in the image wears the Mars square, the Mars seal, and the designs of the spirit of Mars and intelligence of Mars.

The color version of the card at the top also has a red figure in the sky behind the tower. It is a sigil derived from the kamea of Mars (the Mars square) by dividing the 25 numbers 1-25 into five groups of ascending counts of five, wherein the numbers are then connected in order in five continuous lines.

If coloring the image yourself, here are the colors:

Two of Wands, Chokmah in Atziluth: Pure soft blue. Plus the colors of the associated majors.

Colors of the associated majors for Aries (The Emperor) and the Tower (Mars):

Emperor: Scarlet – Red – Brilliant Flame – Glowing Red
Tower: Scarlet – Red – Venetian Red – Bright Red, Rayed Azure and Emerald

Here is the invocation I created especially for this decan, during the decan:

Aries 1 – Invocation of the first face of Aries by M.M. Meleen. For staking claims of true precedence, claiming sovereignty of self, leading the pack, and winning.

See?

I plant my flag.

I claim dominion of the directions.

Ram regardant, I lead the beastly circle.

First son, last born: the decans my destiny.

I break ground.

Motion is mine.

Martial flint, solar spark, as year revolves.

My serpent mouth consumes all, circling round to satiety,

where my dominion is sealed.

Here first I was.

I Am, and ever shall be.

North and South, East and West, Above and Below:

Dominion is mine!

All see:

I AM.

As it was, as it is, as it shall ever be.

It is known.

Son of the Morning, I marshal the hosts of the mighty.

I draw from the earth-star, the chthonic fiery core. I draw from the star-fire, lead the celestial parade.

By the Ram and the Boar, I claim the peak and the trough.

Above and below, I claim dominion.

By crown and scepter, by hook and flail, by shield and spear,

I prevail.

I declare I am:

Angaraka, born from the celestial sweat of the Lord of Beasts;

Assiccan, Aroueris, Zazer.

As Horus, I stand upon the pillar.

As Emperor, I look out over the rampart.

As Grand Architect, I survey my domain.

See?

I stake my claim on sovereignty.

First I was.

I AM

and shall ever be.

The decan walk process also has a protective effect in a sense, as by working with the energies of the planets directly, one is experiencing astrological effects in a proactive way, which can mitigate some of the less desirable planetary transits and effects. It is sort of like homeopathy, where by taking a minute dose of something that causes symptoms, disease is abated. Or something like that, it is a mysterious mechanism but it does do something.

Personally, I am also beginning a decan walk, for the purpose of magical exploration. It will be a goal to perform at least one, if not several, explicitly magical acts during each decan, related to the energies of the decan. Which is also the focus of the book I’m working on as promised as an accompaniment to the Telos Tarot deck.

It’s turning out to be as much grimoire as guidebook. It will have all the symbolism of the images explained, and give all of the “Artist’s notes” or specific artistic inspirations and other asides for the figures in the images, as that has been requested. And of course there will be card meanings to refer to. But it will have much more than that, as it will have all of the information related to each decan, and suggestions for magical practices related to the decan. These practices include the creation of physical talismans, but also will include some less permanent magical actions that relate to the decan. It is coming along and I expect it will be ready before the end of the year.

If you would like to join in on the decan walk process, use your Telos Tarot of 777 and let me know how it goes as we go along. Aries is a great time to begin something. A positive expression of Aries and Mars is initiation. Let the energy of Mars break new ground for you and usher in new magical life as you explore each decan of the year. Dedicate yourself to the work, and things will never be the same.

If you don’t yet have a Telos deck, get one of the very first edition at TarotCart.com. There is a special only during Aries season DECANWALK2025 for 15% off the deck.

Happy equinox and welcome to Aries season!

The Decans and Tarot – Virgo I, the Eight of Disks

Decan Virgo I and the Eight of Disks — First decan of Virgo*, the Eight of Disks from Telos Tarot of 777

*While we are not in this decan currently, the Telos tarot cards chose this as the decan to post about.

The Decans and Tarot.

“The decans and tarot” is not the name but is the subject of the new book I’ve been working on, as promised for Telos Tarot of 777. This book is focused on the talismanic use of the 36 decan and tarot images, and the symbolism of the art choices in Telos Tarot of 777. As you may know if you followed the creation of this deck, the minor tarot cards were directly based on the magical image of the decans in 777.

This book also compiles a lot of information about the decan gods, angels, and demons, comparing the various decan images and decan names, and gives advice on ways to use them. While also delineating the tarot meanings and mythologies inherent in each card.

The tables in actually have so much information that I was getting a little bogged down in the weeds just compiling them and writing the chapter on where each bit of information comes from.

Attention to detail and minutia can also be an attribution of the decan Virgo I.

Why am I posting something about the Virgo I decan, when currently we are in an Aquarius decan? No reason other than I pulled a card from Telos asking which tarot card and decan to work with and use as an example for this post, and this is what I got. It actually is kind of appropriate, given that in the Picatrix, a talismanic use for the Virgo I decan image is for skill in writing, and the promotion of such. So here I am, writing to give a teaser on this new decan based tarot work.

The decan info table for the Eight of Disks

Speaking of detail, check out this (rough and unorganized) table of decan data! It’s not even done yet, as there are a few more elements I’d like to include. It will ultimately be organized differently to be less overwhelming though; I need to use some Virgo skills of discernment and organization here eventually.

Magical image of the decan per 777: A virgin clad in linen, with an apple or pomegranate

Decans and Tarot: Virgo I — Decan I Virgo tarot line art Eight of Disks

Symbols of the Virgo decan I drawing:

The decan images almost all specify a virgin, maiden, or a “good girl;” sometimes specific in her manner of dress in linen or woolen cloth, natural materials sometimes specified as being dirty or showing wear – appropriate Cinderella-like Virgo images. Virgo the maiden is an archetype of purity, virtue, and restraint, and being sufficient unto oneself. She holds in her hand either an apple or a pomegranate, fruits that have developed over the season. Virgo is the mutable sign signaling the approaching end of summer in the Northern hemisphere, and the first fruits of autumn are often just appearing.

In the Virgo I decan drawing, the pomegranate is depicted, a symbol of fecundity, perfection, and the chthonic fire of the underworld; chosen for the symbolism of its many small seeds. These are the many small details that Virgo diligently sees to completion. There are eight fully ripened fruits in all amongst the blossoms for the denomination of the card, including the one she holds – for the large opened one in the foreground is an exploded diagram of the one in her hand.

It shows the pomegranate as a constructed object, like a Fabergé egg, opening to reveal the Sun, ruler of the decan. I think of the crafting of these eggs as a good symbol of the decan, as goldsmithing brings together the Sun (ruler of the decan, whose metal is gold) and Vulcan (the smith god sometimes associated with Virgo). The Vulcanalia festival of August 23^rd falls in, and often marks the day of the Sun’s entry into, this decan.

The tree in the Telos image has a face hidden in the twisting folds of its bark. Tree deities and tree nymphs were usually benevolent young goddesses, offering their gifts of fruit, as well as creativity and fertility.

Some images of the Eight of Disks — Decan I Virgo: RWS, Thoth, and Tabula Mundi Tarot Eight of Disks

The Rider-Waite card shows a craftsman making pentacles, the Thoth card shows a twisty tree with eight blossoms in the Sun, and the Tabula Mundi card has the solar lantern of the Hermit warming a nest of eggs. The carefully constructed gold trinket box in the Telos image likewise shows Virgos craftsmanship and attention to fine detail, and the care and patient husbandry of resources in the orchard, ripening them to completion.

The virgin in the Telos Tarot decan image wears a crown of myrtle, often associated with both chastity and fertility, good works, and virtue. The natural undyed linen she wears is also a symbol of purity, righteousness, and humility, and was the perfect canvas for the color of Virgo’s first decan, yellowish brown flecked white.

Artist’s notes on the decan image created:

The inspiration for the virginal maiden of the decan image was a neoclassical sculpture of a goddess based on one of the Horae (Seasons), reminiscent of Pomona. Pomona is a Roman wood-nymph goddess of the orchard, named for the Latin pōmus meaning fruit or fruit tree. Rather than the harvest, she watches over the orchard’s cultivation and growth, fitting for the meaning of the Eight of Disks/Virgo decan 1 as well as for the “apple or pomegranate” imagery of the decan description. Both apples and pomegranates share the Latin pōmum, meaning ‘apple’. She was said to carry as a weapon not a spear or sword, but a pruning-knife. Thus is the nature of Virgo, ever practical and discerning.

Horae were personifications of the seasons and goddesses of order and natural justice who bring ripeness and fertility. The have association with things cultivated over time, as the name refers to both seasons and to hours. Hora means ‘the correct moment’. In the Dionysiaca they were daughters of Helios, the Sun god (note the Sun rules this decan); though in the Orphic hymn to the seasons they were children of Zeus and Themis.

Hellenistic and Ptolemaic Egyptian Gods of Virgo decan I

The 36 Airs fragment lists the deity of the decan as Themis, ‘order’, a female Titan, daughter of the primordial Gaia (Earth) and Ouranos (Sky). Themis was said to oversee justice in the sense of divine law and order, the proper procedures considered necessary for civilized societies. Indeed, she bore Dike, goddess of moral justice and judgements. One of Dike’s epithets was Astraea, a term for the constellation Virgo.

Themis was an advisor, and sometimes second spouse, to Zeus. With Zeus, Themis also bore the Horae, as already mentioned above. In the Homeric Hymn to the sun god Apollo, Themis was present as witness to his birth and nursed him with divine nectar.

The Ptolemaic deity in 777 is Isis. It is hard to summarize Isis in a few words as her iconography is all-encompassing. She has the mystique and power of the eternal virgin yet is also a divine mother figure. With a throne upon her crown, Isis is one of the Ennead descended from either Atum or Ra, both solar deities. Herodotus equated her with the maternal earth goddess Demeter. The throne symbolism, and her role as wife of Osiris and mother of Horus, also associates her with the divine rule of kings, as the symbolic wife and mother of the pharaohs.

Her parents, like Themis, were personifications of Earth (Geb) and Sky (Nut). She was a nearly universal creator goddess with sovereignty over nations and kings. Throughout history she has been redolent with magic, mystery, fertility, and healing, as the story of her role in resurrection of Osiris attests.

The attribution of Themis and Isis, children of Earth and Sky, to this decan suggests great power in purity and order, the divine laws which govern creation. Attention paid to cultivation bears glorious fruit.

Talismanic use of the Virgo I decan image

This is a decan of sowing and germination, plowing and peopling, good harvests, and a healthful diet. The body part is generally the belly, and Virgo is associated with food production, making healthy eating a potential focus. It is also associated with Mercury’s realm of commerce, and the accumulation of wealth as time accrues. The Picatrix text associates it with skill in writing and business promotion. Use this image for those things as well as for obtaining skill in harvesting, husbandry, and detailed craftsmanship. With it, one may attain patience, diligence, and humble yet skillful competence.

For permanent talismans, the best planets to have in the decan are the rulers, Mercury and the Sun. One might also use the waxing Moon for works involving good germination, planting, fertility, and good diet, for the lunar affiliation to the belly, womb, and the growth of plants in general.

General meaning of the Eight of Disks in a tarot reading

Economic methodologies yield interest over time. Patiently plant seeds and wait for growth, but also actively cultivate the things you seek to develop. Prune, fertilize, and water when necessary as you wait; these can be taken literally or metaphorically. You can refine and nourish small things; with attention to detail, these things bring fruitfulness.

This may indicate a time of gaining aptitude in a craft. Create order in your environment, and perfect the things in your purview. Be prudent, virtuous, and humble; use proficiency, earnestness, restraint, and good judgement and you may attain solar splendor in the earthly realm.

Decan work continues…

I hope you enjoyed an advance look at this decans and tarot work in progress. It truly is a work in progress. This is a rough draft and merely a start, and the final book will be subject to many revisions and planned additions. But hopefully this will give you a hint of the book that is coming for Telos Tarot of 777 and the use of its decan and tarot images for astrological talismanic magic.

Yes, there will be chapters devoted to the actual practical aspects of making of various forms of talismans, other astrological and decan magic, and all of the sources of the table information will be provided and explained, in addition to the decan by decan tarot card delineations.

Brought to you by decan Virgo I, The Sun, and all the decan deities and spirits. May your prudent endeavors be fruitful.

Telos Tarot of 777 wins Best Deck Release of 2024

I just learned that Telos Tarot of 777 won in its category for Best Deck Release of 2024 in the World Divination Association Awards! Thank you to all who voted and made this unexpected win a reality.

You can check out the awards video to see who won in each of the many categories. It was an honor to be nominated and a great surprise to have Telos Tarot of 777 voted as the winner of Best Deck Release 2024!

Telos Tarot of 777 nominated Best Deck Release 2024

Telos Tarot of 777 scored a nomination for the “Best Deck Release 2024” in the World Divination Awards! I just found out yesterday (Thursday, Jupiter Day) that it scored a nomination. I don’t know who submitted it, but thank you for thinking to include it!

Voting is at https://www.worlddivinationassociation.com/awards. Votes cast after September 29th 2024 will not be counted, so vote soon. It is an honor to be in the running, even if these things are a popularity contest really. But it was such a nice surprise to find out about this. Thank you to whoever nominated it!

There are only a few days left to vote since their website says that “votes cast after September 29th won’t be counted”, so don’t let the September 30th date on the graphic confuse you. Weird that it says that when they won’t count votes on the 30th, so heads up!

Lots of other categories to vote on, all divination related. Check it out!

Today (Friday) I got a delivery of half of the Telos Tarot of 777 decks and books, and am busy embellishing everything and getting ready to ship. Pre-orders at the pre-order price are only available until I get the Kickstarter decks shipped, and will ship directly after those ship, so if you want to get one of the special double foiled numbered first edition, get them at TarotCart.com.

Telos Tarot of 777 availability

Did you miss the Kickstarter for Telos Tarot of 777? No worries, as it is now available for PRE-ORDER on Tarotcart.com! These pre-order decks will be for the numbered decks remaining after the Kickstarter rewards have been fulfilled. The pre-order price is only available until on or before November 1st.

I just received the title cards that I’ll sign and number for this very special first edition. You can see here the gorgeous traditionally embossed foil. This edition is special and will have features that won’t be repeated, as they were only possible due to the success of the Kickstarter campaign and the stretch goals achieved.

It is offset printed with aqueous coating and has embossed foil on both front and back. It is a numbered edition and has a 112 page perfect bound book included in the box.

The card backs are foiled in copper to offset the Scorpionic blue-green. The art on the fronts will have a gunmetal color foiled border.

I expect to receive the decks and books here by Friday September 20th 2024, and then begin shipping the Kickstarter rewards the following week. This will be done in batches, so it may take a few weeks to complete that process. AFTER the Kickstarter rewards ship, the PRE-ORDER decks will ship.

I estimate that the pre-ordered decks will begin shipping in the second half of October, which means they will arrive before the holiday season in most cases.

As this edition was costly to produce and was only possible due to the Kickstarter funding, it won’t be repeated. Get it now at the pre-order price. After the pre-orders are complete, the price for any remaining stock of the first edition will increase.

This was the summer of box making. The end of the summer approaches. By Mabon (the September equinox) the Kickstarter deck shipping process will begin, and the pre-order price for the remaining decks will end on or before Samhain (Nov 1st). Available only at TarotCart.com.

The figs are ripening under a September sunset. Enjoy the sweet fruits of the approaching season!

Telos Tarot of 777 Ten of Disks, last decan of Virgo

The decks will arrive to me right at the end of the Virgo season. The corresponding card is the Ten of Disks, for the third decan of Virgo. Per 777: Virgo III. 10 of Disks, Wealth: An old man leaning on a staff and wrapped in a mantle. Seems appropriate for the culmination of a years long project resulting finally in the physically produced item; especially one called Telos, meaning end goal. Crowley says of this card “Here is great and final solidification” and “represents the sum total of all the work that has been done since the beginning.”

“It is the holy Hexagram, the symbol of the uniting of the Macrocosm and Microcosm, the accomplishment of the Great Work, the Summum Bonum, True Wisdom and Perfect Happiness. Sic sit vobis!” (So be it to you!)

Hot off the press! Telos Tarot of 777 in production and a lesson in printing processes

The press man checks for color balance and sets up the color keys

I just spent half a day with the printers I chose for the first edition printing of Telos Tarot of 777. I got to be on site to approve the colors, and suggest small adjustments when necessary, to make them more true to the originals that were painted in the Golden Dawn color scales. It isn’t always possible to get them to match exactly, but these printers went above and beyond to do what is possible with a 4 color process.

This was exciting as it is printed on a traditional old-school 4 color offset printing press. Normally I can’t do this offset process, as in order to make it possible a large run of decks needs to be produced at once. As a small business without a lot of capital I usually have to do short runs of very small quantities at a time, which means my other decks have been printed using a digital process rather than traditional offset.

Digital printing is done on something like an ink jet printer that you might have at home, or maybe like a color copier. Except much more expensive! My other decks were done on a state-of-the-art digital printer that costs something like $350,000 USD!!! These digital presses can be liquid based or dry toner based ink, but the ink goes on top of the paper creating an an enamel like finish.

Because the Kickstarter for Telos Tarot of 777 did very well, I can print enough decks at once to make an offset printing process possible, so this time it is something completely different and more old school. I do hope to also do a different version digitally printed at some point, but this first edition gets to be done on an offset press.

An offset printing is done on an even bigger huge also very expensive machine! But a different type of machine. First, metal plates have to be created for each “sheet” of cards, and each of the four colors of the process: Cyan blue, Yellow, and Magenta red, plus Black. The colors mix on the sheet to create the infinite number of possible colors in the artwork. The inks also sink more into the paper, and are then given a protective clear coating too making them even more durable.

This picture is to give you some idea of the size of the press, which has to be at least 30 feet long and massively heavy. It has to be on the basement floor of the old mill building it is in, due the weight. It’s so big all of it didn’t even fit in the picture.

This is a side view of the part of the press that applies the ink to each metal plate inside of those “boxes”. The plates were marked with the images of the cards in specific colors. Don’t ask me how! The metal plate puts the ink onto a rubber blanket, and then that blanket puts the ink onto the large sheet of silk card stock. See the metal cans on top? Those were the inks loaded into the machine. It is a four color process, so one of those stations is for each color, plus one for the clear aqueous UV coating at the end to protect the cards.

A top view of the press and the rollers loaded with ink. Every pressman or presswoman and every print shop might do things differently, but this shop prints the colors on dark to light as shown. First on is Black, then Cyan Blue, then Magenta, then Yellow. They mentioned keeping yellow as far away from black as possible in the process is a good idea, for reasons I can well comprehend as an artist.

After that, there is a separate tank not shown in the picture that does the clear UV coating that protects the cards and makes them more durable. I chose a Satin finish as I didn’t want glossy cards.

The paper gets loaded in one end. Cue the Powerhouse factory music!

And a printed sheet of cards comes out the other end!

The pressman then scans the sheet to check and ensure that the color levels are all printing as they should be, before running all of the sheets.

I have an up close look under a sun lamp and in natural light, to check them out. I approve! They look great! Now, be aware that these don’t yet have the foil border that is going around the card art yet. For that I chose a gunmetal color for the fronts, closest to Saturn’s lead as that was the Saturn stretch goal! This will be done in a separate process as it is a traditional metal foil, not a printed foil. The printers will make a die for that, and also another for the foiled design (in a different color) on the card backs, and use it to embed the metal foil with heat onto the cards.

These stacks of cards will have to cure for at least a day before the foiling is done. You can’t see it, but the card backs are printed too, on the other side of the sheet. Those were done first, for the entire run, then the fronts get printed in the other side. I made sure the color was a deep Scorpionic green!

I got them to tweak the color a little to ensure it was more of the blue toned green I wanted. Not sure if this photo was the first version or final version, but the difference is subtle. Also, the card backs are here shown with just the printed part, and not the part that will be foiled.

Those big printed sheets will get cut into quarters, each with 8 cards. Then the foil will be done on both front and back before they are cut. I don’t have a picture of the foiling dies as they weren’t made yet when I was there. But above is a die they will put into a different big machine used to cut the cards out of the sheet perfectly after the foil is done. In the pictures of the card sheets, the borders look larger than they will be after they are cut, because there is extra printed border (bleed) that gets cut off.

After the cards are cut, they get collated. I gave them the order I wanted them in. would you believe they do that by hand? I was surprised to hear that! With digital printing the cards can print in whatever order you want; you just put the files in a pdf. But with offset press printing they have to put the cards in order, by hand, after they are cut.

Then they shrink wrap the cards, which is also a hands on process.

The 80th card isn’t shrink wrapped, as it is a title card that I’ll sign, and for this first edition, will also number.

I’m really happy to have been able to print these locally, and support our local economy, keeping nice people in business and employed. I do all of my printing for everything in the USA, even though I am not exaggerating when I say I could choose to print overseas for about 20-25% of the cost. But I believe in supporting the local economy whenever possible, as if we don’t, we will lose places like this!

This job was done even more locally to me than my prior decks, which means not only can I be on site but it is better for the environment too as they don’t have to travel far to reach me.

This company is in an old mill building located on a river. I think it was originally a paper making factory. What is cool is that because of the riverside location they get 50% of the electricity to run the presses from hydro-electric!

So, as of right now, the sheets are printed. But it will be 5-6 weeks until I have them all here, as they still need to be foiled on front, foiled on back, cut, collated, and shrink wrapped. They tell me I should have at least some of them if not all by mid September.

Then I can start shipping the Kickstarter rewards to all those who have paid for shipping and completed the address survey. Some of you have still not done this crucial step! Those who have not by the end of August will be sent their decks in a later shipment and get later deck numbers, so please get on it, as I will be assigning deck numbers after August 31st and figuring out what and who ships first. It involves a big complicated spreadsheet, so I can’t delay assigning numbers any longer than that.

What are you waiting for?

Once the Kickstarter decks ship (meaning those with address survey and shipping payments completed), and any already previously invoiced decks ship, the remaining decks will be put on TarotCart for purchase. The first Kickstarter rewards will ship as soon as I get some of these decks, estimated in mid September.

This post was brought to you by the current Jupiter in Gemini: big (Jupiter) printing presses (Gemini) and today’s Mars-Saturn square: Mars (machines, machine shops, metal plate and dies) and Saturn (traditional processes).

Telos Tarot of 777 info

Telos Tarot of 777, was on Kickstarter from June 19th 11:11 am thru July 2nd 5:55 pm. The Kickstarter is over now, but you can still learn more about the deck and watch the video. The deck successfully funded well enough for a glorious printing with all the extras. If you missed the Kickstarter, don’t worry, some additional decks will be printed and available this fall on TarotCart.com.

Kickstarter picked it as a #ProjectWeLove !!!

Telos Tarot of 777 is my latest tarot creation. The idea was to magic a tarot deck suited for magical workings and imbued with astrological potency via a ceremonial art process centered around astrological timings and alignments. Telos means end goal or inherent potential. The image ideas in Telos Tarot of 777 come from Crowley’s book of magical correspondences 777; the “magical descriptions of the decans” for the minors (mostly Picatrix based), and the “correct designs of tarot trumps” for the majors.

You can read more about that process here in the Meet the Fool post and preceding posts, and also at Telostarot.com. A four and a half year process of creation is culminating soon!

I’m was hoping to launch it around Solstice, or the day before if possible. It launched Wednesday (Mercury’s day) June 19th 2024, late morning EDT around 11:11 AM. Which is the day before the Summer Solstice here, a fitting time for a celebration. I just got the sample deck yesterday and am taking some pictures and video. Here is a sneak peek – look at all the color!

Telos Tarot of 777 © 2020-2024 MM Meleen some cards laid out

Here is a link to the Kickstarter page.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/mmmeleen/telos-tarot-of-777

And here is the project video! With many thanks to my generous and talented friend Sean who filmed it.

Some samples of card back drafts – note none of these are final! I didn’t ask for the white and somehow my printers must have misunderstood! But it shows what is possible. I do like the one with silver. Other colors of foil are possible too. I’m looking at copper now, as many thought the silver looked like copper. That’s because it was filmed in my art studio that has salmon orange walls and ceiling! But copper would be awesome, a reddish copper would be the perfect flashing color against that Scorpionic green!

Introduction to Telos Tarot of 777: meet The Fool

Introducing Telos Tarot of 777, my latest tarot deck creation over four years in the making. Pre-launch page now live on Kickstarter!

It’s a journey through the magical images of the decans as listed in 777 (mainly Picatrix based with a few outliers) for the minors. And to finally have a deck that combines and reconciles the images of the decans with the minor cards of tarot, both in art and meaning.

But it also is an attempt to finally have a deck where all majors actually follow the “correct design of the tarot trumps” according to the teachings of the Golden Dawn anyway, also per the descriptions in 777.

You might say, but wait, don’t many Golden Dawn based decks already follow that for the majors? Like the Rider Waite or Thoth? Well no, not exactly, if you read the descriptions not every major aligns. Some majors do, but some do not, and even the ones that do, don’t do every nuance of every part of the description. And some cards not at all, ever anywhere, at least that I have seen. For example, check out the description for the Fool:

A bearded Ancient seen in profile…He laughs; bearing a sphere containing illusion in his left hand, but over his right shoulder, and a staff 463 lines long in his right. A lion and a dragon are at his feet, but he seems unaware of their attacks or caresses.

Wow, have you ever seen a Fool card that checks all those boxes? Bearded! Ancient! Profile! Laughing! With a sphere? Containing “illusion”? And held in left hand, but somehow also over the right shoulder? And a staff 463 lines long? With a lion and a dragon attacking and caressing him?

Nope, I haven’t seen one. Maybe one exists but if so I haven’t seen it, and I’ve been looking at tarots for decades.

Over the years I read and reread that description. If you unpack it, of course it is all about the Tree of Life. But I always wondered why most Fool cards only have him with a staff (but not “463 lines long”) and either a dog (RWS) or a tiger and crocodile (Thoth, at least closer to a lion and dragon). Even some of the “Golden Dawn decks” instead have a Fool as an infant with a wolf, picking a rose off a bush.

So I wondered about that, and came to the conclusion that drawing it was just too hard. Getting that exactly contorted posture right. Getting in that sphere so that it contained “illusion”. Drawing a staff “463 lines long”. I mean really.

Now I guess someone can just feed all that into AI or something and see what they get. But I actually just thought about it. A lot. Over a long period of time. And I finally understood it, and how I actually could draw it, and get all those elements into it. And what each element of the description actually means. It’s the creation of the world.

The Fool. Telos Tarot of 777. copyright 2020 M.M. Meleen

Bearded, Ancient, profile, left hand with sphere over right shoulder, laughing. Animals both attacking and caressing.

Just for fun I did a little homage to Pamela Coleman Smith’s RWS Fool too.

The sphere contains maya written in Sanskrit, meaning “illusion” (and magic!). Of course it represents Kether (and the three veils of “nothingness>light” preceding it) on the Tree of Life, where the path of the Fool, and the lightning flash of creation, begins. The “illusions” seen that escape from it descend, creating the entire tree, and eventually, this illusory material world.

The staff of “463 lines” refers to the Middle Pillar on the Tree of Life, the paths of the Priestess (Kether to Tiphareth), Art/Temerance (Tipareth toYesod), and the World/Universe (Yesod to Malkuth). Their respective Hebrew letters Gimel, Samekh, and Tau are numbered 3, 60, and 400. Adding to 463. Rather than trying to draw 463 lines on something that small, if you look closely you will notice the staff is engraved with the letters.

This entire deck started, of course, with the Fool. The original pencil drawing was done in Aquarius season 2020 (Aquarius, Fixed Air sign as the Fool corresponds to the Air element).

The black lines of the drawing were ritually inked in ceremony with a dip pen at the exact conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn at 0° 0′ 00′ Aquarius on the Winter Solstice of December 21st 2020. It was precisely timed to the astrological “Great Mutation” when Jupiter and Saturn, the creator gods, conjoined at 0 degrees Aquarius ushering in a new cycle of Air sign conjunctions. It’s a big picture thing as it is a 20/200/800 and ultimately 2400 year cycle.

It’s part of a series of interlocking cycles of Jupiter and Saturn – Zeus and his dad Cronos, the two creator gods. They meet in conjunction every 20 years. This happens in the same element for 200 years, then switches to a new element for the next 200 years. It takes 800 years to move through all four elements, and 2400 years to move through the entire zodiac. So on December 21st 2020 (significant as Solstice), there was a conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn at 0 degrees of Aquarius, which marked what they call a “Great Mutation” as it was one of those 200 year marks where the 20 year conjunctions switch elements – this time from Earth to Air (Fool). And it was on the 0 degree (Fool) and sign Aquarius (also Foolish as Aquarius is the domicile of Uranus – Ouranos, Cronos’ Dad and Jupiter’s Granddad). That won’t happen again for 2400 years. But now we also have Pluto (Zeus’ brother Hades) in the mix, who also moves pretty slowly and has been passing over and then back and forth as he retrogrades over that 0 degree Aquarius point activating that degree a few times.

Every time Pluto hit that zero degree Aquarius point exactly over the last few years, is when I worked on the color painting for the card.

At the moment of posting this, Jupiter has hit 0° Gemini, another Air sign (trining 0° Aquarius), which is why I decided to finally share this Fool with the world.

So that’s the story of the creation of the Fool. But also the creation of Telos, where every card has been similarly created during specific astrological alignments.

You can see prior posts in the history of the blog, like this one: https://www.tabulamundi.com/new-deck-update-completion/ Hint – and all the ones preceding it!

To learn more visit:

Telostarot.com

and, the pre-launch page, now live on Kickstarter!

Please share it with anyone you think might be interested.

New deck update – completion!

Full moons are a time of completions. The last of the art for my new deck, Telos Tarot of 777, is done, and formatted into card form! The above is a graphic that was incorporated into the card back design.

I’ve now completed the 78 cards of my new deck, a project that began in February 2020. It’s a new deck based on the “magical descriptions of the decans” in Crowley’s 777 (for the 36 minors) and the “correct designs of tarot trumps” also per 777 for the Majors. With wordings followed precisely to the letter for all cards, and painted during the related astrological period, something I’ve never seen elsewhere.

Now that the art is completed I’ll be announcing details about an upcoming crowd sourcing campaign to fund this new addition to tarot.

The deck was started early in 2020, but I didn’t get fully going on it until later in the year, and really got going during 2021 thru now. The first thing I did was the Fool but the first thing I posted here was this pencil sketch of The Magus.

mock-up of finished card. copyright 2020 M.M. Meleen

This has been several years of working almost daily, for hours upon hours every day with very few exceptions. The art looks simple, intentionally so as to me that translates well to the small size of a cart. But the process has been long as everything is done by hand with traditional materials: pencil sketch then dip pen and ink for the final lines, and acrylic ink, paint, and colored pencil for the colors.

The card above is the Ten of Cups, the last of the decanic Minors, Pisces III. (With this card, you will be thankful I was using the 777 magical decan descriptions and not the infamous one of the Picatrix!) The 777 description of the decan: A man of grave and thoughtful face, with a bird in his hand, before him a woman and an ass. You’ll have to imagine his grave thoughtful face as you only see him from behind. This was intentional as Pisces is associated with the Hebrew letter Qoph, meaning “back of the head”.

The card has water and more water being poured into it, as well as what I call “The Well at the World’s End” of Pisces III. All that water, and a double rainbow to boot: Satiety. But the card is ruled by Mars – the ten cups are actually traditional Japanese temple fire buckets that really are stored in an upright triangle (fire symbol) – for this is the first of the “doubled Mars” decans in the circle of the zodiac. Fire is incoming, when the zodiac begins again at the first decan of Aries, also Mars ruled. And the male figure was inspired by a sculpture of an Arabic Falconer, which also seemed rather martial.

Work on the cards was purposefully timed to astrological indications. Two separate yearly “decan walks” were used for the 36 minors – one to do the pencil and ink line drawings, and one to do the color paintings. Most briefly, a “decan walk” is a yearly process of astrological contemplation on the 10 day decan periods that each zodiac sign is divided into, mirroring the Sun’s year long journey through each decan. It can also be called a Solar Walk for that reason.

Here is an earlier post showing the Aces.

Here were some cards from Aries, Taurus and Gemini.

Here is a post showing the Hierophant.

Here you can see the Three of Swords, Queen of Swords, Hermit, and Six of Wands.

Here are some cards from Libra, Scorpio, and Sagittarius.

The Majors, Courts, and Aces were also worked on during appropriate astrological timings. The Courts were done during the two decans of their element (they have three in all, but I chose to only work on them during their elementally aligned decans. The zodiacal Majors were done during their sign, and the planetary Majors had work periods commencing on their day and hour. Other significant timings were incorporated as well and will be detailed in the book’s notes, such as the Hanged Man during the very last decan of the zodiac (Pisces III) and during Neptune’s annual conjunction with the Sun, and The Aeon during the Feast of the Book of the Law, April 8th – 10th, which this year coincided with an eclipse at the Sun’s exaltation degree in Aries II.

Aries II, the Three of Wands, Virtue, decan ruled by the Sun, description per 777: A green-clad woman, with one leg bare from the ankle to the knee. The card is called Virtue, and has the goddess Persephone (deity per 36 Airs of the Zodiac), as well as depictions of the three main parts of the soul according to Egyptian theology: the Ka, Ba, and Akh.

There are so many cards to show since the last update way back in early Sagittarius, that I don’t know where to begin! Here are just a few selections. I don’t have the time to explain all the symbolism fully in this post, so I’ll just share the images and 777 descriptions and a few tidbits.

The Nine of Wands, Sagittarius II, Strength, decan is ruled by the Moon: Magical description of the decan per 777: A man leading cows, and before him an ape and a bear

Ten of Wands, Oppression. Magical description of the decan per 777: A man leading another by his hair and slaying him.

The Queen of Disks, according to the description in Book T.

The Devil, Lord of the Gates of Matter and Child of the Forces of Time, per 777: The figure of Pan or Priapus

The Two of Disks, Change, Capricorn I, decan ruled by Jupiter: A man holding in his right hand a javelin and in his left a lapwing

The Five of Swords, Defeat, decan ruled by Venus: A man with bowed head, and a bag in his hand

Six of Swords, Science, decan ruled by Mercury: A man arrayed like a king, looking with pride and conceit all around him

The Princess of Swords, per the Book T description (and inspired by the orisha Ayao, goddess of Air, storms, and tornados)

Princess of Cups, per Book T description, with her dolphin.

The Eight of Cups, Indolence, Pisces I, ruled by Saturn: A man with two bodies, but joining their hands. Figure was inspired by a river god, appropriate for watery Pisces, but doubled per the description, like Pisces symbol of two joined fishes. The lunar references are for The Moon card (Pisces), not the Moon planet, as the card is Saturn ruled. The eight cups used to make the sand castle were based on a discovery of a very ancient Janus cup with two faces, one on each side (doubles again, and Saturnine). This ancient and valuable gold cup was found stored and forgotten under someone’s bed, as when they inherited it they assumed it was worthless (Indolence, sleep, and very Pisces!)

The stories of the inspirations and models/references used for each card will be in the guidebook, at least when they are relevant/interesting to share.

The Moon card, brought to you by the zodiac sign Pisces. The fish are from an ancient fountain motif, similar to this one in the courtyard of the Isabella Stewart Gardener Museum in Boston.

The Hanged Man, done during the last part of the last decan of Pisces and during the annual Sun-Neptune conjunction. Note the gallows “shaped like the letter Dalet” per the 777 description. It also ties in the female form seen in the water spray of the Ace of Cups. Each of the elemental Majors echoes something in the imagery of the respective elemental Ace and vice versa.

Per book t the Ace of Cups: “a cup, resembling that of the Stolistes.
From it rises a fountain of clear and glistening water: and sprays falling on all
sides into clear calm water below, in which grow Lotuses and Water-lilies. The
great Letter of the Supernal Mother is traced in the spray of the Fountain.

Yes, the 78 cards are all done! I just finished the card back too. It’s a pet peeve of mine when a deck with lots of effort put into the art has a boring dialed in card back, like they ran out of steam! The card back is important – it’s on every single card! But the art is done.

Unless I decide to go back and redo anything. It’s always a temptation as after being so close to a work for so long like this, all you see are things that could be better or changed or improved. Trying not to go there!

There is still work to do, even over four and a half years into this project. There is a little booklet and the full guidebook to finish. It’s started already! It will have a lot of the inspirations for each card, often drawn from interesting sources.

Nine of Swords, Cruelty and Despair, Gemini II, decan ruled by Mars. Magical description of the decan per 777: An eagle-headed man with a bow and arrow. Wears crowned steel helmet. It’s hard to see in the scan above, but I painted his helmet with paint containing shavings of actual stainless steel.

And one more for now, The Universe. Per 777 it “should contain an example of the Quadrature of the Circle. An ellipse, composed of 400 lesser circles…” (yep, 400, really! The number of letter Tau). It goes on very specifically about the “naked shining figure” and its exact posture, hand and leg placements, and concealing scarf shaped like a letter Kaph, even though the card itself corresponds to Tau. I’ll spare you the details for now!

The Universe, the last card, a card of Saturn and Earth…I have to say is it’s A Day in the Life of an esoteric artist: “and though the holes were rather small, I had to count them all“. (and place and paint all 400 of them! Whew; I don’t ever want to do that again! It involved math. 32 of them are little Malkuths.)

I’ve posted cards for you to get an idea of what this deck is about but not all of them at this point, though all are complete. More posts will follow when I figure out the timeline for a crowdfunding to raise money for a great printing, probably via Kickstarter.

One of my favorite cards in this deck to work on was the Seven of Cups, Illusionary Success or Debauch, with a 777 description merely reading “a horse and a wolf“. Probably because it is the only card of the deck without a human face or figure in it, well except for the skull I guess, so it was a break of sorts. The 7 cups contain symbols combining Death (Scorpio) and the Empress (Venus/life); a potent combination for art if one can harvest it.

detail from the Death card…the end is near! Telos Tarot of 777

What would you like to hear about on the blog, and in the book? Let me know, and if you want to be updated for when this launches sign up for the newsletter.

New deck update: Libra through early Sagittarius

Hello, and happy Sagittarius season to all fellow Sag. Work continues! Just wanted to share a few of the latest cards on my new deck (in progress since 2020!)

Here are a few I haven’t yet shared:

Two of Swords, first decan of Libra © M.M. Meleen

The 777 description for the Two of Swords, Peace. First decan face of Libra “A dark man, in his right hand a spear and laurel branch and in his left a book“. The decan is ruled by the Moon.

You can’t really tell in the scan, but in the original I had fun painting the sandy beach – I mixed coarse iridescent stainless steel paint with a buff colored paint, and it really looks like glittering gritty sand in the original.

Major Arcana for Libra. Description per 777: “A conventional figure of Justice with scales and balances“. My favorite part of this one is how the floor deign extends and is seen behind the curtain, sort of as it it is extending out into the air – echoes of the Fool, Adjustment’s esoteric partner.

Four of Swords, third decan of Libra ©M.M. Meleen

The 777 description for the Four of Swords, Truce. Third decan face of Libra “A man riding on an ass, preceded by a wolf“. The decan and the 4th sephira are both ruled by Jupiter – double Jupiter, thus the two wheels, one of which is a gyroscope for the balance of Libra. Coloring that background was time consuming, getting that gradation of purples with colored pencil.

I think I’ve already shared the other Libra cards in a previous post.

Now for a selection of Scorpio cards:

Major Arcana for Scorpio. Description per 777: “A skeleton with a scythe mowing men. The scythe handle is a Tau.” Scorpio is ruled by Mars, thus the action of cutting. The Tau is a reference to the Universe card (Saturn, who also wields a scythe) and the idea of an end point in a cycle. Mars shines in the sky above (note the reddish tint).

Five of Cups, Disappointment. First face of Scorpio description per 777: “A man with a lance in his right hand, in his left a human head“. The decan is ruled by Mars, as is the sign – and the 5th sephira! Triple Mars! This is one of the five rivers of Hell.

all right…time to skip one Scorpio card, for the sake of not posting all of them…so moving on to the Seven.

Seven of Cups, Debauch. Third face of Scorpio description per 777: “A horse and a wolf” (one of the few without people!) The decan is ruled by Venus, as is the 7th sephira (double Venus): note each of the Cups contains something Venusian as well as Scorpionic.

Prince of Cups, court card for Scorpio © M.M. Meleen

The Prince of Cups is the Air of Water card. I followed the Book T/Liber Theta description – to the T.

Onward to Sagittarius! The only one done so far is the Eight of Wands:

Eight of Wands, first decan of Sagittarius

Eight of Wands, Swiftness. First face of Sagittarius description per 777: “A man with three bodies: one black, one red, and one white” The decan is ruled by Mercury, as is the 8th sephira (double Mercury), while the sign is ruled by Jupiter. A very strange description that could be interpreted many ways. Since the card combines Sagittarius (Art) with Mercury (Magus), I went with the alchemical.

Whats on my work bench now? Right now, three cards. The Nine of Wands, for this current time of the middle decan of Sagittarius. Also, the Knight of Wands, the court card for Sagittarius. And of course the Art/Temperance card, the major arcana for Sagittarius.

Still a lot of work to do on this one! One of my favorites, Art/Temperance!

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