Tabula Mundi Tarot – Page 19 – an inspired Thoth based tarot deck by M.M. Meleen

The Process: All you need is Love…the decans of Cancer

After the last post, two people asked if I could share more about the process and the materials used. So for this time, I will show you some of that. You will see some of the ugly in-between stages of the coloring process. Don’t judge anything by those; the final ones look good. What you will know after reading this is how it is a many-layered process, and truly a labor of Love. Love under Will. All you need is Love…

This card was actually challenging to paint. In order to use all of the colors of the color scale, before beginning to paint each card, one must decide where to put each color. The colors of Cancer include Amber, Maroon and Russet; and Dark Greenish Brown. The colors of Venus are Emerald; Sky Blue; Early Spring Green; and Bright Rose , rayed Pale Green.The color of Chokmah (2) in the Queen Scale (Cups) is Grey.

As far as this card goes, it was obvious where most of the colors went. Except for that “Bright Rose, rayed Pale Green”. I decided the only element of the scene where that could work is the sea. The sea at sunrise or sunset. That took care of that, and put the Maroon and Russet on the horizon. But it was tough to do with the media I use. A labor of love.

The original drawings are on matte Dura-lar with a fine line permanent marker. One size of marker, and one kind only. I bought a tub of them as I knew if I ran out before the deck was done, it would be bad. Not very marker behaves the same on this stuff.

They call it the acetate alternative ” a high contact clarity, translucent film with matte erasable coatings on both sides”.

It is archival, to accept “pen, lead, ink, paint and colored pencil”. It is basically a frosted mylar I guess, so it is a type of plastic, not paper, and coated with a matte coating. I love it for its half opaque/half translucent and light-transferring quality, for its durability, erase-ability, and affordability. I can sketch the drawing on it in pencil, refine it with the marker, erase the pencil, and then paint the image in colored India and acrylic inks.

The colored inks I mostly use are Liquitex Ink! professional acrylic ink, and Dr. Ph. Martin’s Bombay.

These inks are both excellent, permanent, and lightfast. But painting with them on this frosted mylar is very different from working with them on paper, both for better and worse I imagine. Because Dura-lar is a film, it isn’t absorbent so the ink does not sink into the paper, it floats on top, and when the liquid evaporates, the color is left. This, and the differing opacities of every color, make it difficult to control. Or maybe not difficult, just time consuming, as in, you can do almost anything with them, but it is going to take a lot of layers if you want it to look good and dimensional. Almost no element in this deck, nothing thing in any card, had only one layer of color on it. Transparent colors need several, opaque colors need even more, and dimensional colors need more still.

Here is a shot of the first baby steps of painting this card:

I usually put anything yellow down first, as it is a very transparent yet staining ink. So here you see the first spotty coat on the cups. I also have done the base coat for the sunrise, by puddling maroon shapes on the horizon and then removing them with a paper towl. Over that russet was interlaced, and the rose color for the sea reflection was added to the cloud layer. This cloud layer is grey, the color of the Queen Scale of Cups. Believe it or not, what little you see above is multiple layers, on every object. Down below, yet more layers, beginning the sky and the sea. These inks are a challenge to blend on a smooth, non-absorbent sheet. You can see below, the first layer(s) of the sea are ugly. It took a lot of layers to get them to the finished card. Meanwhile, they looked awful, like this:

Some of the inks are extremely transparent, some slightly opaque to varying degrees. Straight black and white are most opaque I think. All can be made more opaque with white to some degree, but the more you add the more you lighten the color. But you can darken it again with layers.

Layers, I can say again, are it. Every element, every color, is layers of ink. Probably each section has at minimum six layers and at max, infinite, as in, until I am satisfied with it. What is above is an ugly stage. Every card has one, a stage at which I wonder about my sanity, and if the colors I chose are so ugly and my skills so missing that I might have ruined it! I know now, just to keep putting on layers, as eventually all is well. The original looks better than the scan, as the sky came out just right.

Here is a bit of the process for the next card, the Three of Cups. The colors of Cancer (Amber, Russet, Maroon, Dark brownish green) combine with the colors for Mercury (Yellow, Purple, Grey, and Indigo rayed or flecked Violet) and the color for the Queen (Cups) Scale of Binah (3) is Black, providing the big black egg or egg shaped portal in the background:

Above, the many base layers on each object. Below, an ugly stage:

The ugly stage above is because even if I puddle up the first layer as high as it can go, the first layer is never perfect. It usually has dark spots and light areas, as the ink pools thicker in some spots. To get a beautiful smooth flat layer takes a lot of work, especially if it transitions like happens in sky or water sometimes.

Above, the background has been given enough layers to be opaque and interestingly textured and the egg has been filled. Below ugly stage. Only the first few layers of the sea, it still looks like shite.

Above is a stage where the ripples of moonlight on the ocean are being formed. Still an in between stage above; the finished card below:

I won’t bore you with stages for the next card, but here it is, the Four of Cups. Man, the color scales really worked out perfect for this one! The color for the Queen Scale of Chesed is Blue. This provides the background sky color. The colors of the Moon are very blue too: Blue, Silver, Cold Pale Blue, and Silver rayed Sky Blue. The colors of Cancer are in the scallop shell (Amber, Russet, Maroon) and also in the wave to give depth (Dark Brownish Green). As I’ve gone along I’ve been fairly amazed that the colors for the scale really work on the imagery I’ve chosen. Not planned! At least, not by me consciously!

Pretty much the same process. But for some reason the Four was fun to paint. I think it was the colors, such a beautiful combo and the Luxury of using every shade of Blue!

The Colores Arcus edition…Sagittarius decans

Swiftness – the speed of light

Glad to be on the wings of momentum.

Here is an “in progress” picture

The Eight of Wands combines the Art card with the Magus.

Color Scales for the Eight of Wands:

King Scale for Hod: Violet

Four Scales for Sagittarius: Blue; Yellow; Green; Dark vivid Blue

Four Scales for Mercury: Yellow; Purple; Grey; Indigo, rayed Violet

Next up is the Nine of Wands, combining the Art card with the Priestess.

Color Scales of the Nine of Wands, combines the Art card with the Priestess:

King Scale for Yesod: Indigo

Four Scales for Sagittarius: Blue; Yellow; Green; Dark vivid Blue

Four Scales for the Moon: Blue; Silver; Cold Pale Blue; Silver, rayed Violet

Last decan of Sagittarius is the Ten of Wands, the Art card with the Universe card

King Scale of Malkuth: Yellow

Four Scales of Sagittarius: Blue; Yellow; Green; Dark vivid Blue

Four Scales of Saturn: Indigo; Black; Blue-black; Black, rayed Blue

Heart of Fire: Regulus and the Fixed Sign Leo

The heart of the Wands suit is the fixed fire sign of Leo, spanning the middle of the Tree of Life, the 5,6, and 7. Here is contained one of the four Royal Stars of Heaven, Regulus, called also Cor Leonis, the heart of the Lion and the Watcher of the North, seen on Tabula Mundi’s Universe card. Regulus itself means the Star of the Prince. Golden dawn initiates were instructed to begin the Zodiac sequence here, starting the “angels” at 0-5 degrees Leo, contained in the first decan of Leo. Many speculate about the reasons for Mathers starting here, whether it was Chaldean or Egyptian in origin, or perhaps to place Regulus on the ascendant, or due to associations with the rising Sun (in reference to the Golden Dawn). When I think of the four Royal stars of the Universe card, I think of YHVH, and thus Leo/Regulus/Fire begins the sequence in the place of Yod. To Will, the first of the four powers of the sphinx. The Prince of Wands carries the power of Velle, Will, to the Princess. The first card of the Leo Decan is the Five of Wands, Strife, from 0 to 10 degrees of Leo. If one uses the 11.30pm time given in “Astrology, Aleister & Aeon” by Charles Kipp rather than the 11.42pm given in Astrodatabank, Crowley has an ascendant 5′ 53″ Leo. If using the 11:42 pm time, his ascendant is 8′ 00 Leo. I like to consider the Sabian symbols for the degrees, for fun. The 6th degree of Leo (from 5′ 00″ to 5′ 59″) says “An old fashioned woman and a flapper” or “An old fashioned, conservative woman is confronted by an up-to-date girl”. Hmmm. The 9th degree (from 8’00” to 8’59”) is called “Glass Blowers” of “Glass blowers shape beautiful forms with their controlled breathing” And the 8th degree of Leo, from 7’00” to 7″59 is “A Bolshevik propagandist” or “An activist is stirring up discontent by spreading his revolutionary ideals.” Since birth times are often recorded wrong, it is interesting to speculate what the actual degree is. Which one sounds appropriate? Either way, it is firmly in the first decan. (And, conjunct my descendant at 6′ 44″ Leo, which the the Leo 7 Sabian, “The Wonder of the Constellations in the Night Sky”.) I guess if Aleister’s 11:42 time was a few minutes earlier, which is likely as birthtimes are often recorded a couple of minutes late, he could be there as well. In any event, Crowley’s ascendant falls within the 5 of Wands, Strife, which is why his personal sigil appears on the central wand in the Thoth tarot. In Tabula Mundi tarot, the Five of Wands blends influences from the Lust card, for Leo, and the Universe card, for Saturn, ruler of the decan. Zurvan on a river of volcanic Lava.

The colors for the Five of Wands are as follows:

The King Scale for Geburah: Orange

The Four Scales for Leo:

Yellow (greenish); Deep purple; Grey; Reddish Amber

The Four Scales for Saturn:

Indigo; Black; Blue-Black; Black rayed blue

Next up is the true heart of fire, placed at Tiphareth, the Six of Wands, Victory. This card is the middle decan of Leo, which is ruled by Jupiter, and thus, the card combines elements from Lust and Fortune. The heraldic lion and owl, wreathed and crowned:

The colors for the Six of Wands are as follows:

The King Scale for Tiphareth: Clear Pink Rose

The Four Scales for Leo: Yellow (greenish); Deep Purple; Grey; Reddish Amber

The Four Scales for Jupiter: Violet; Blue; Rich Purple; Bright Blue rayed Yellow Emerald

And finally, we come to the last decan of Leo, the Seven of Wands, the Lord of Valour. The elements of Leo, Lust, combine with the elements of Mars, the Tower, as the ruler of the decan. Tiger vs Dragon, on a mythic quest:

The colors of the Seven of Wands are as follows:

The King Scale for Netzach: Amber

The Four Scales for Leo: Yellow (greenish); Deep Purple, Grey; Reddish Amber

The Four Scales for Mars: Red; Venetian Red; Scarlet; Bright Red, rayed Azure or Emerald

ROYGBP: All the colors of the rainbow start with Red…the decans of Aries

The Tabula Mundi Tarot Colores Arcus edition is in progress! I have the three decans of Aries completed in color.

Right after I finished painting the Major Arcana, and was about to start creating the Minor Arcana, I had a dream about finding an instrument that played colored lights instead of sound. It seemed like A Big Dream. But I ended up not painting them in color right away as I got really fired up about an aspect of the decanic minors, in that all three decans of every sign would be symmetrical enough that when combined, certain aspects of each of the three cards could as one, making twelve additional cards, Zodiacal cards. They are mentioned in Book M: Liber Mundi page 77, but only one person has yet commented on that aspect of the deck, so I wonder how many people read that section! I wanted to design them (the decanic minors) all at once, together, and not stop in between to paint them. So the black and white drawings became the Nox et Lux edition. There was the Kickstarter for Tabula Mundi Nox et Lux, and the deck got published and sent on August 6 2015.

Inspiration has returned, the Fire of Wands. And now I have the first three cards of Aries completed, the Two, Three, and Four of Wands. Aries is the first sign of the Zodiac, and appropriately, the colors of Aries are all varying shades of red and fire: Scarlet; Red; Brilliant Flame; Glowing Red. Colores Arcus means “colors of the rainbow” and the rainbow starts with red, or perhaps infrared.

In the Tabula Mundi Colores Arcus edition I will adhere to the Golden Dawn color scales, and attempt to achieve flashing color. With of course some room for artistic license. These are painted in colored inks on frosted mylar, so each one takes a while to complete, as the inks have varying opacity and it takes a lot of layers to get the colors right.

Here is the Two of Wands in the Tabula Mundi Nox et Lux, and in the Colores Arcus:

The Two of Wands, Dominion,is the first decan (ten degree segment) of the sign of Aries. This decan of Aries (The Emperor) is ruled by Mars (The Tower). It is Chokmah of Atziluth – a Two (Chokmah on the Tree of Life) in the King position of Atziluth (Wands, and the World of Emanations). Thus the color scales for the Two of Wands, Dominion, are as follows:

The King Scale for Chokmah (Two) is pure soft blue

The Four Scales for Aries are Scarlet; Red; Brilliant Flame; Glowing Red

The Four Scales for Mars are Scarlet; Red; Venetian Red; and Bright Red, rayed Emerald

In the card I’ve used the color of the sephiroth (Chokmah of Atziluth, The King Scale for Chokmah (Two) is pure soft

blue) as the background color, as this is “where” the energies of the first decan of Aries, ruled by Mars, are expressed.

Three of Wands, shown in the Tabula Mundi Nox et Lux, and in the Colores Arcus:

This is the middle decan of Aries, Binah of Atziluth. This decan of Aries is ruled by the Sun:

The King Scale for Binah (Three) is Crimson.

The Four Scales for Aries are Scarlet; Red; Brilliant Flame; Glowing Red

The Four Scales for the Sun are Orange; Gold Yellow; Rich Amber; and Amber, rayed Red.

In the card I’ve used the color of the sephiroth (Binah of Atziluth, The King Scale for Binah, Crimson) as the background color, as this is “where” the energies of the second decan of Aries, ruled by the Sun are.

Four of Wands, shown in the Tabula Mundi Nox et Lux, and in the Colores Arcus:

Last the third decan of Aries, the decan ruled by Venus.

The King Scale for Chesed (Four) is Deep Violet

The Four Scales for Aries are Scarlet; Red; Brilliant Flame; Glowing Red

The Four Scales for Venus are Emerald Green; Sky Blue; Early Spring Green; Bright Rose or Cerise, rayed Pale Green

In the card I’ve used the color of the sephiroth (Chesed of Atziluth, The King Scale for Chesed, Deep Violet) as the background color, as this is “where” the energies of the last decan of Aries, ruled by Venus, are expressed.

And here they are all three decans in a row. Do you see the symmetry that will allow them to be combined into one image, of all three decans of the Zodiacal sign?

Or maybe it is easier to see in color?

Whether or not you can see exactly how they will fit together (and even I don’t know that yet), the cards were designed with the idea of potentially interlocking elements in mind. I hope to show the “secret” Zodiacal cards soon. They are only secret in the sense that there are currently myriad ways they could come out. Sort of like a multiverse.

Crowleymas

Happy Crowleymas to you all!

In the trickster spirit, I thought the Beast might appreciate some joking. Here is poking a little fun at AE Waite, a favorite pastime of his:

And a joke:

How many Thelemites does it take to screw in a lightbulb?

Two, if they fit.

For tonight, I hope to toast Uncle Al with my own concoction that I think he might approve of:

Debauch cocktail:

seltzer
Violet Cordial
Absinthe

Fill a wine glass half with Violet Cordial, top to the two thirds mark with seltzer. Float as much absinthe at the top as you can without mixing.

The result is a spooky lavender and glowing green swamp, that gradually mixes as you drink it.

Violets are of Venus, and I would not be surprised if Absinthe was Scorpionic, but I need to check.

Of course, you need Violet cordial. I make my own each spring with fresh picked violets, alchohol, lime and sugar. It turns a brilliant blue, then, like litmus paper, when you add the lime it turns shocking purple.

If you haven’t any, just float some absinthe 🙂

I leave you with a quote:

“May the New Year bring you courage to break your resolutions early! My own plan is to swear off every kind of virtue, so that I triumph even when I fall!”
― Aleister Crowley, Moonchild

from Beauty to Splendor

October Ode to Pan, Io Pan! Io Pan Pan! Pan! Io Pan!

blue black grapes purpling

fragrant, fallen

high the devil lived

hickory nuts, swollen

white gold crystals

as yet unlived potential

existence is pure joy

honeycomb, torrential

The Number 4

The number 4 gets little glamour. It’s rep is stability, squareness which isn’t all that exciting on the face of it. But really it is everything there is, come forth from the One.

Four is the number of wholeness and completion of a created thing, in that nearly every complete thing can be divided into four aspects, or four stages. The compass is divided into the four directions, from whence issue the four winds, is just one example of a whole thing justly divided. Oddly the tarot is not divisible by four, and yet four is essential to it’s structure. The tarot minors are divisible by fours into the four suits, and these are the four elements. We all know that.

These four directions which are also the elements which are also the suits are also the letters of the divine name YHVH or (IHVH). Each thing is not synonymous but each has an affinity.

Imagine the following:

First there is the point, which extends to the line, which becomes a plane, which becomes a cube.

1- The first point is a dot, a flame, a Yod, the suit of Fire. You can see it as a dot in a field of nothing.

2- Next we the point extend itself as a line extending infinitely across the horizon; the surface of the Water, He primal.

3- The line becomes a plane in all directions; three points allow for the making of a triangular plane, the Vau for the element of Air.

4- This plane becomes a cube, having four sides of four points, and an above and below. This is solid matter, for the element of Earth, He final. This is a complete thing. This is our world. This is us. This is a story of creation. We are the Four, and as such also the Three and the Two and the One.

The four sides, are the four suits. Is there a suit for the above and below? The Majors could certainly qualify, having doubly the number of cards for a suit, plus two more. Let us say the two extra cards are the Fool and the Universe. Kether and Malkuth. Us upon the earth. So we have the Fool, then beginning with the Magus we have the sequence of 20 cards for the above and the below, and then we have the Universe. (Which Minors are above and which below? Do they do double duty? It may not be relevant.) On the Universe card, traditionally there is a Zero shaped wreath or portal surrounded by the four Kerubic beasts, each at one of the four fixed points, containing the four watchers. Here the point beginning in the Fool has expanded into the cross or the cube.

Four is the sephira of Chesed, ruled by Jupiter. Jupiter, whether you consider it fire or air (and it is both though in different fashions) is all about expansion. One could say expansion drives the Point out in the four directions. But it also contains the Point at its core, just as Chesed, and the Fours, are like the Kether of the world below the Abyss.

The next time you feel like a square, remember that you are a cube. Divide that square into four and realize that you have four sides and that united, they encompass the above and the below, connected. Kether is in Malkuth.

In the minor arcana, the fours are both stable and unstable, in that energy coming from One, Two and Three (the Supernals) is on an ultimate trajectory downward towards the next sephira, and that is the disruption of Geburah and Mars. That doesn’t mean they aren’t a pleasant place to rest, because they are.

The Four of Wands: Completion. This card combines the Bee and lunar symbolism of the Empress, with the Eagle and Sun, and compass and square, of the Emperor. Together they are Nuwa and Fuxi, creator god and goddess of Chinese mythology. Here one rests after creation.

The Four of Cups: Luxury. The great wave from the Chariot card crests, and the four phases of the Moon are from the Priestess card. Central is the pearl coming out of it’s shell. One enjoys luxury while it lasts.

The Four of Swords: Truce. The treaty is written with the feathers of Adjustment and Fortune, as the vajra-shuttle brings the four together. Here one enjoys the refuge of truce.

The Four of Disks: Power. Between the pylons, the green man of craving from the Devil’s belly guards the solar currency of Sol Invictus from the Sun card. The trappings of power are a fortress.

Totems and Tarot

Someone asked me an interview-type question the other day about sacred animal symbolism in the Tabula Mundi tarot. Specifically, they said, “You use a lot of symbolic/sacred animals – bees, snakes. Would you say they’re part of a personal cosmology?”

It’s true, they are part of a “personal cosmology” system and always have been. As part of my artwork, I’ve always had a large symbolic vocabulary. Tabula Mundi uses animals as symbols, rather than as depictions of nature.

This got me to wondering how many cards had animals on them. Turns out, a lot.

I counted animal hybrids and mythical animals but not human animal hybrids as animals. Though I guess we are animals too, I had to draw the line somewhere.

I also didn’t include them if it was just a design on something in the card, or an inanimate object, like as part of a sword hilt or belt. But I did include court crests as they were mostly the full animal or bust of the animal.

At least 49 cards, and there were a few more I wasn’t sure if they counted as in were they animate or inanimate objects. It probably could be in the 50’s. One of these days when I am bored I should count how many snakes, how many lions, how many hybrids. Oh the geekery. I bet there are a lot of snakes. Just sayin’.

Then I figured I’d pull a few cards just from those 49, and read the animal symbolism on them instead of, or in addition to, the cards themselves. These would be my animal totems for the current time. I pulled four cards for the four elements or YHVH.

The animals are:

from the Aeon, the Dragon and the Snake

from the Queen of Wands, the Leopard

from the Fool, the Crocodile and the Tiger (Snake if you count the Ouroboros portals)

from Nine of Disks, the Bee

Starting with the animals in the Yod position, we have the Dragon most prominently, and also the Snake. Dragon, the guardian of treasure and hidden wisdom. Snake, also reptilian, the symbol of rebirth, initiation and wisdom, of awakened kundalini. Here in the Yod/Father or the Fire/To Will position, shows the initiation or “first force”, the root of the emanation of the situation. (did I just rap there?)

In the position of He primal, the Water element position, we get the Leopard. Leopards are solitary, silent, and swift. They represent inner knowing and heightened powers of instinct and intuition. This is the position of “first form” and the mother of the situation, Love/To Dare.

In the position of Vau/Air or the Son, the Tiger and the Crocodile. The Tiger, another large cat and the Crocodile, also in the reptile family. Tigers are lucky animals, symbolic of power and passion. Crocodiles represent initiation and dark feminine powers of creation. This is what results from the combination of the first two cards,To Know.

Last in the position of He final/Earth or the Daughter, the Bride, we get the unfolding of the situation, the material. Here the animal is the Bee, a creature both lunar and solar, bringing fertility and sweetness to life as they gather nectar in the sunshine and transform it in darkness to honey.

I won’t go into the specifics of a personal reading and how these animals actually had a relevant message for me if I consider them as my totems, at least as totems symbolic for the current time in my life. The point is, they did provide a very insightful glimpse and the way they combined symbolically was quite interesting.

Then with the cards in the YHVH positions, or Fire-Water-Air-Earth, I was thinking about elemental dignities and found it pretty interesting to see in the Yod or elemental Fire position, The Aeon, the trump of elemental Fire. In the He Primal or elemental Water position, the Queen of Wands is the element of Fire but since she is a Queen, she is also Water of Fire. In the Vau or Air position, the Fool – elemental Air! And in the He final or elemental Earth position, a Disk card, the Nine of Disks. So all in all elementally these cards seemed very dignified position wise – two elemental trumps in the right position, and Earth pip in the Earth position, and a Queen, though a Fire Queen, in the Water position. This added another layer of meaning to look at.

So with this type of reading, one might go to the animal totems in the YHVH or elemental positions first, but then read them as tarot in the positions of Velle/Audere/Sciere/Tacere, and then look at them considering elemental dignity. Layers upon layers to consider in only four cards.

23 Skidoo

ΚΕΦΑΛΗ ΚΓ (23)

SKIDOO

What man is at ease in his Inn?

Get out.

Wide is the world and cold.

Get out.

Thou hast become an in-itiate.

Get out.

But thou canst not get out by the way thou camest

in. The Way out is THE WAY.

Get out

For OUT is Love and Wisdom and Power.

Get OUT.

If thou has T already, first get UT.

Then get O.

And so at last get OUT.

~Chapter 23, The Book of Lies by Aleister Crowley

At least, this is how I illustrate it using the Tabula Mundi tarot cards. At one point, T clearly has to be Teth/Lust, yet also, T is the Tau/Universe.

The surveys for the Kickstarter were sent today

If you are a Kickstarter backer for the Tabula Mundi Nox et Lux edition, you should have received an email survey July 1 that asks you to verify your shipping address. I can’t send your decks and books without it, so please reply.

The project is all consuming and going well. The decks and books are on schedule to go out to backers in August, and then be available to purchase direct. The first deck will be shipped August 6, in the early AM. Course, there is a reason for that, so I am motivated and working on all sorts of things to both shepherd this project along, and to make it awesome for you. The Nox et Lux is the most elegant black and white deck ever.

In a limited edition of 418 decks.

Countdown until the first Tabula Mundi Nox et Lux will ship.

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