Tabula Mundi Tarot – Page 21 – an inspired Thoth based tarot deck by M.M. Meleen

Paper Lust

I used up my hoard of fancy paper on the Tabula Mundi little white books, so went to the local art supply store for more. Lo and behold! They were having a “buy one get one half off” sale. I love love love nice paper, so Lust took over and I bought a ton.

The books I make this weekend with this paper are going to be even more beautiful than the first few, I hate to say it but it is true. These papers are drop dead gorgeous! So if you have not yet ordered a Deluxe set, but intend to, or are getting someone a gift for the upcoming holiday season, you are in luck as these books are going to be awesome. By the way, has anyone actually read them yet? They have words, too!

I will post pictures of some finished books later, but for now feast your eyes on this stack of paper!

New Aces-Ace of Wands

I’ve decided that the Ace prototypes seen previously are another tarot deck in the making entirely, and that I’ll redo the Aces “Tabula Mundi style”. I’ll post progress here as I go. I’ve got the Ace of Wands done in black and white.

The other day, I was telling someone that I was about to do the new Aces, that I have ideas, and that I’d do the Ace of Wands first. He said, “So what is it going to be, a flaming stick?” I laughed and said, yup, but that it won’t be an ordinary flaming stick, it will be different. He knows me well enough to know that is probably true, but seen one flaming stick, seen ’em all is what most people would be thinking. I showed him the drawing last night and he said “Huh. You were right, this is not an ordinary flaming stick!” For some reason I just find this whole conversation funny.

So the Aces are filed under Kether, and the Ace of Wands is, um, more Kether than most you could say. You could also say that all of the small cards, not just the Wands, are contained therein. Some of the titles of Kether are pretty evocative for this one:

Concealed of the Concealed. Ancient of Ancients. Ancient of Days. The Most High. The Vast Countenance. The Head which is not. The Inscrutable Height. (Et al…)

Some of the symbols for Kether are the Point and the Crown.

It seems like the perfect time to begin the Aces again. A new moon eclipse in a Zero degree, and Mercury stationing to go direct!

Anyway, here is the black and white version of the Ace of Wands.

New Ace of Wands — Ace of Wands copyright 2014 M.M. Meleen

And, here is the completed card after painting it with ink. According to the Golden Dawn, the appropriate color is “Brilliance”:

New Ace of Wands color — Ace of Wands copyright 2014 M.M. Meleen

I’ll post the rest of the Aces as they are done, so watch this space!

The Ace prototypes

Here are pictures of the Ace prototypes that are going out this week as prizes for the Kether is in Malkuth contest:

As a disclaimer I have to say that these will not end up being the Aces for the Tabula Mundi tarot deck when it finally manifests as a full 78 card deck. But they started as such. Originally, my intention was to do all of the minors as oil paintings. But I am considering the possibility that I want the deck to have a unified look. I might end up doing these Aces over completely, and having the oil paintings I did be in my next and third deck (assuming I finish this one) which will be done in oils, or maybe I will do these over in the same media as the Majors and include them in Tabula Mundi, or maybe they will end up being the Aces for the deck as is, and the only cards of Tabula Mundi that are done as oil paintings.

What do you think? Do these Aces over, in a similar design but in pen and ink style like the Majors? Do them over completely, new design, and have these be in deck #3, should it ever manifest…or, keep them as is as the Aces of Tabula Mundi, but do the rest of the minors in pen and ink? The Aces are singular, after all. But since I am not the best oil painter, maybe they are not up to snuff; I can’t decide right now.

Please let me know your thoughts. I will end up doing whatever feels right to me, but I am open to hear your opinions!

*edited to add: decision made. These will be in my third deck, and Tabula Mundi tarot Aces will be redone.

Ace of Swords copyright 2014 M.M. Meleen

Happy Crowleymas – winners of the “Kether is in Malkuth” contest!

First, I’d like to announce that I added three more prizes. There were more entries that I thought deserved a prize than there were prizes, and since I like to give prizes, I just decided to add more. I added another tier of three more awards, each to get their choice of any Tabula Mundi tarot Major Arcana as an 8×5 print.

I’ll post first the entries that one a Major Arcana tarot print, then the entries that got an Ace print, and last, the Grand prize winning entry.

Here are the entries that get their choice of a Major Arcana tarot print, in no particular order:

The above entry was from MH, of Redondo Beach, California, USA.

Also getting a Major Arcana tarot print, the following two written entries:

Good evening M. M. Meleen,

Thank you for creating the Kether is in Malkuth contest…I am excited to see if I hit on anything.

Firstly, the presence of “Abrahadabra” appears to be breathing life into the spherical design in the center of the image. Crowley used the term, Abrahadabra, to represent “The Great Work accomplished.” This suggests the breath of Kether is renewing Malkuth (the spherical design surrounded by four shooting stars — perhaps representing the four cherubim) — promising the coming of a new Aeon.

Within the sphere are two sets of the four tools of ritual Magick (i.e., wands, cups, swords, and pentacles), which may allude to the duality present in the manifest world of Malkuth; while the craftily constructed octagon (which contains the two sets of suit symbols) acknowledges the “bendability” of the earthly realm by Qabalistic path-working and ritual Magick.

The octagon symbolizes the eight sephira, Hod, the intellectual consciousness, acting upon Malkuth (i.e., the path of Shin, which is associated with Crowley’s Aeon card).

Thank you again!

~The above entry was from JL, provenance unknown. (JL, if you are reading this, please note that I do not have you as a purchaser of Tabula Mundi under your email or your name. Since the contest rules state it is only open to those who ordered, please let me know the name you ordered under, or place an order to receive your prize)

Another winner of a print, from IL of Amherst NY, USA:

Hi Melissa,
I’ve received my deluxe edition decks today and everything is exquisite! I can’t imagine how many hours of hard work has gone into developing this project. Tabula Mundi is no doubt a welcomed addition to any tarot collection.
Thank you for holding this contest, going through the clues to work out a solution was a lot of fun.

Here’s my view:

Malkuth, the Kingdom and the earth element, is usually depicted as a circled cross with four-fold divisions. In the back design, the Malkuth symbol has been reworked and combined with artistic modifications. The circle in the card center – a perfect geometric shape – resembles the ideal, which is a symbol of the infinite and the divine. The rectangular card outline, however, is finite and measurable, because the four corners defines the components of the material world, such as the four elements, the four seasons, the four cardinal virtues and many more. By incorporating the circle with the four-fold divisions/corners, Malkuth appears as a metaphor – the divine’s manifestation in the material world. Therefore, Malkuth is embedded in the entire back design.

Please do post the winning entries when the contest is over, can’t wait to read what others think about the back design.

~The above entry was from IL, of Amherst, NY USA

All three entries above get any Major Arcana print of choice, congratulations and thank you!

Next up, the Aces:

For his swiftness, and passionate multiple entries, the Ace of Wands, Root of the Powers of Fire, goes to CJ, of Bremerton, WA, USA. Here are all of his entries below:

Entry 1: My first guess is that the Sphinx located at the bottom of the card, standing on the ground (Earth element) with one hand reaching for the star. My reasoning for this is that in “777” by Crowley, Column XXXVIII (Animals, Real and Imaginary), he refers to the Sphinx as the animal pertaining to Malkuth. Looking at the card, I’m not sure if Malkuth is shown at he corners of each card in The Tree of Life. I will enter again with that answer.

Entry 2: If you place 2 cards side-by-side, you see the tree of life at the bottom left or right of the card. If I see correctly, Malkuth is at the very bottom of the corners, covered with Earth (element of Malkuth).

Entry 3: Since ABRAHADABRA can be interpreted as the interface between humanity and the universe, it is also number 11 (“the one beyond 10”), Daath. So if we look at the inverted triangle, we could see the solitary “A” at the bottom being Malkuth.

Entry 4: New entry (or just an observation ). I have numbered the Tree of Life on the card back. To me this makes sense because Tiphareth is in the middle, with the Sun symbol (or Eye of Ra) in the very middle, which with the 4 cups make the Rosy Cross. Tiphareth is also where the Holy Guardian Angel resides. Malkuth would be “Abrahadabra “, or the Great Work fulfilled.

I received my package today. Wonderful! Thank you for your hard work. The cards are beautiful.

Entry 5: I’ll give it another shot. At the feet of the Sphinx (maybe?) there is a symbol. I see an inverted Virgo symbol, which is also a symbol for Earth. Joining this symbol at the top is an “M”, which could also be construed as the Omega symbol. Perhaps this could be symbolic for the beginning of our journey in Malkuth (Earth), culminating in the “end” of our journey, Omega, or the finish. Or as they say, “On Earth as it is in Heaven”.

All of the entries above came from CJ. CJ, your persistence paid off, with the Ace of Wands!

The Ace of Cups, Root of the Powers of Water, goes to CM, of Ely, MN, USA, for coming next in line with a correct entry and for both the clarity of her entry, and for being the only one to mention sharing on social media. The Powers of Water seems appropriate for the sharing aspect, to me.

Hello! I am excited to get my deck.
I see Malkuth in the 4 corners of the back of the card, at the base of
the trees.Just wanted to let you know I did share on social media. Thank You.

Thank you for sharing, CM! I greatly appreciate when anyone helps me get the word out. I can’t do it alone, and I want these decks to find good homes!

The Ace of Swords goes to BM, of Las Vegas, NV. Here is his entry, and you can see the clarity of mind with which he thoughtfully considered the clues; the Root of the Powers of Air is his reward:

Dear M.M.,

The deck is beyond stunning. I am so thankful you brought out this edition, and consider myself very fortunate to have one! I love number 4!

My theory is the corners of the cards when put together show where Kether and Malkuth meet. I was considering the 3 clues you gave, was thinking about wallpaper, decided to try a “Grand Tableau” of sorts, and voila! Beautiful.

Eager with anticipation, I camped out (like a concert goer!) before my laptop to place my order as quickly as possible when the deck went on sale. I even marked it on my calendars. Your message about my set number 4 really helped hold me over til it arrived!

The box itself is so gorgeous, and still had the sweet smell of fresh lacquer. The contents, from the key-imprinted paper, beautiful little white book (has there ever been a beautiful one?) and the decks with their wax seal really is beyond compare.

I stared at them all evening. The two versions are so different in effect! I can’t get enough of them I plan on sitting within a triangle of the elemental cards, surrounded by a star of the planetary cards, surrounded again by the zodiacal cards. I wonder what I will see…

Wow. This is such an incredible work of art. Congratulations! I love it.

Thanks BM!

The Ace of Disks, Root of the Powers of Earth, goes to SK, of Moscow, Russian Federation. Which I think is really cool and interesting, because he was in a way, both first and last to get a correct entry in. First, as he mentioned to me in an email of his idea of cutting up a card, so I just knew he was on the right track, but at the time he did not elaborate so I could not be sure. By the time he sent the entry, he got in just in time to be in place for the last correct entry to win an Ace! Since the Ace of Disks is the Malkuth Ace, it too is both first and last.

Here is SK’s entry, winning him the Ace of Disks:

Now about the contest. First I thought that the back itself is Malkuth, being the result of your genius-Kether brought into manifestation. In this context the whole deck in its material form which could be used and played by anyone is Malkuth, including its back. It certainly carries your Kether (and all the others) and will inspire and serve as a catalyst to many other’s creative projects.

Speaking of the design of the back, I first thought Malkuth to be in the center of the suits circle. There is a small white point in the middle of the Sun glyph – that’s what I thought to be Malkuth as a small point in the Solar System (Tiphereth), highly depending on the Sun. But then I saw the elements of the Tree in the corners and decides to cut it (the printed photo) into 4 pieces, like I told you (don’t know if that’s what the Oscar Wilde hint suggested to do). What I got was actually the Malkuth symbol (an equal cross also seen on your signature card as a silver glyph) with 2 trees meeting in the Malkuth point in a form of an eye and 4 sphinxes. The sphinx being combined of 4 Cherub elements reminded me of the Universe card (representing also the Earth). The 4 Cherubs, the 4 elements, the 4 parts of the cross (also seen on the GD Pentacle, the Earth’s weapon) – these are the characteristics of Malkuth, which is now seen in the center. The sphinxes’ gesture however made me think of an «So above, so below» – and maybe best idea is not to cut the back, but to bend it just so that the corners meet – we’ll see the 3D structure of the Tree, with Kether above (the small white point) descending into Malkuth below along with the divine presence of Abrahadabra.

I am not sure about the eye symbol. I just know you love it so much – there are so many eyes in Rosetta and in Tabula Mundi. I don’t know whether this is Shiva’s eye destroying the Universe or the human’s eye perceiving the light of the Sun. I know that in the Malkuth context the eye is what sees the result of the divine manifestation into a form. This eye is actually Malkuth (where 2 trees meet) and might also refer to one of Malkuth’s titles as “The Gate of Tears”. It can also be thought of as a window through which a man perceives the World. The window can be thought of as a second H of IHVH also bringing us to the Malkuth idea. The eye finally reminds me much of a rotated womb of Binah, another Saturn correspondence on the Tree, and the “celestial shekhina” (Malkuth being the “worldly shekhina”).

I don’t know if it all sounded clear, cause I needed to put my thoughts into foreign phrases, but I just hope I wasn’t completely opposite to what you’ve put into the back design ))

Whishing you very happy Crowleymas.

Happy Crowleymas, SK!

And the Grand Prize of all four Aces goes to KA, of Muang, Thailand! Here is his victorious entry:

Dear MMM,

First of all, I would like to say that I actually do not know whether this is the right answer or not. At least it is (they are) what I see (feel/contemplate) when I look through the Tabula Mudi’s card back in association with the “Where is Malkuth?” question.
To me, Malkuth (or Kether in Malkuth) is consciously and subconsciously illustrated throughout the card back area. Here is the list of what I feel/see/contemplate (10 inter-related answers). Hope that it is not too weird (especially with my non-English-speaking answers).

“As above, so below” Obviously, the Reversible card back is an illustration of the “Kether is in Malkuth” (or “Where is Malkuth?”), where Malkuth is a reflection of Kether and vice versa.

“Kingdom” Since Malkuth is associated with the realm of matters/physical world, I can see a creation of the Great Kingdom of our time that is of importance to all of us. That is the origin of our Universe; Big Bang, where all those matters (i.e. suit symbols) are dispersed out. Such four elements correspond to four states of matter; earth, water, air and fire.
In addition, it can also be seen in a bit smaller scale; i.e. our Solar system, where all suit symbols line up as the Sun in the card back’s centre and all planets circulate around the Sun.

Thoth’s Ace of Disks; to me, the illustration on the card back is resemble to the Thoth’s Ace of Disks (Earth; physical plane); Circle in the centre & Disk in the centre, Sphinxes’ wings corresponding to the four pairs of wings, four empty paths and four directions of wings, Octagram star and Septagram star in the centre, etc. Disks represent the physical plane; i.e. Malkuth.

Card back’s Four Corners: (Half-) Trees of Life are illustrated on all 4 corners of the card back, each of which has one-fourth of the Malkuth’s Sephirah locating at the very corner. As such, these quarters looks like a framework structuring the whole great picture (the Universe/Realm of Matter). Moreover, no single colour is associated with the Malkuth; normally, citrine, olive, russet and black are used for the Queen scale. These four quarters (or four colours) can be combined to one full Malkuth.

(In this case, it also reminds me of the Lenormand’s Grand Tableau. Those four corners of the Grand Tableau can be used to bring context to all the answer.)

Portal:

In Tabula Mundi, the Fool is walking down to the Whirlpool/Portal, while the Maiden in the Universe is sprung out from it. This process can be seen in reverse; where the Maiden in the Universe card is pulled into the whirlpool of matters. Consistently, the circle centred on the card back is the whirlpool/portal, where all matters/four elements spread disperse out or are drawn back to the origin. In other words, everything goes to Malkuth and comes out from Malkuth (as well as Kether)

Sphinxes:

Moreover, to enter or exit from that Malkuth, paths/directions are illustrated on 4 sides of the card. Sphinxes can be seen as guardians of such gateway/portal between the realm of matter (Malkuth) and the realm of spirits/heaven/other side (Kether). As such, it is not an easy task to walk the path and cross-over to the other realm. Knowledge/process is therefore necessary.

“Crown” Kether means “the Crown”, of which the top-view is similar to an 8-pointed star. This star (/crown) is in the circle and the circle is in the rectangular (i.e. four-corner) card. If Kether is in Malkuth, it means Malkuth is there; all over the card. Such 8-pointed star also reminds me of the Buddhism’s Noble Eightfold Path, dealing with harmony, balance, mindfulness, etc. In Buddhism, if one rightfully and mindfully follows the noble eightfold path, the cycle of birth and death will end. As long as we still cling to this matter world, we will repeatedly and endlessly walk down and come out of such Malkuth.

“Roots”

Malkuth can also be seen in the centre circle. If I look the card from top view, I can see the Crown (8-pointed Star as Kether) is “Above”, I can see a very bottom of the tree (of life), Roots, inside the circle. Such root-look-alike structure inside the circle is “Below” and is therefore Malkuth.

Hexagram (8-pointed star + Abracadabra pyramid):

This combined illustration can be seen either as a separable 0-and-1 or as a single inseparable entity (0-Kether & 1-Malkuth). The “As above, so below” concept is again shown here.

Starting from the phrase “Bring Ace (Kether) to Malkuth”, as we know the “Ace” starts with an alphabet “A”, this A is gradually growing/extending into the Abrahadabra in the pyramid shape (which can also be seen in the Universe card above the Maiden) when it moves towards the centre of the cards. The Abrahadabra expanding process looks like the movement/insertion of 1 into 0 (As Crowley said that, “the establishment of the phallus of the Macrocosm in the void of Microcosm”); e.g. Big Bang.

10. “Ineffable”: Last but not least, this word could generally refer to “Kether” (and since it is in Malkuth). I would like to say that your “Artwork” is ineffable!!! That is why I initially say that Malkuth lies in everywhere on the Tabula Mundi’s card back (Actually, it includes illustrations, the deck itself, production, wooden box, etc.) . The whole package can be described with this phrase “Ars est Celare Artem”

Thank you very much for creating this deck and setting up this contest. I am now looking forward to the receiving the package soon (and the real answer of this contest as well).

Congratulations KA, for a great entry that I very much enjoyed reading.

As you all can see, there were a lot of correct ways to answer the question “Where is Malkuth” in relation to the card backs. I very much enjoyed reading the entries and learned so much from all of you, so thank you to everyone who entered. I will contact the winners via email over the next few days, so they can choose the form of their prize, and mail out the prizes before the month ends.

Happy Crowleymas everyone! Before mailing the prizes, I’ll post pictures of the Aces here for all to see.

MMM

Help Lon Milo DuQuette!

Hey friends,

If you are like me, you have read at least one of Lon Milo DuQuette’s books, and maybe several. I know I’ve read almost every one, and really enjoyed them too. So I’d like to give something back.

In case you didn’t know, in addition to being a great writer for the genre, a Thelemite and Magician, he is an accomplished musician too. He is in a singer/songwriter contest now, top prize is a spot on the Jimmy Kimmel show.

While I don’t have a TV, I’d still get a kick out of Lon Milo being on mainstream TV. Better than whatever pap may elsewise get on there. I hope he wins and I can watch on YouTube or something.

All you have to do to support him is listen. And his stuff is pretty good! Intelligent lyrics and good melodies. Check it out here http://songwriter.amplifiertv.com/channel/Lon+Milo+DuQuette

He is up to 12th place now, and was 30th a few days ago, so he really has a chance. It goes until November 9th, so listen as often as you can, put it on repeat or something 🙂

Here is his fan page, with more info. https://www.facebook.com/lonmilo

The more times you listen, the better his chances get. So put it on once in awhile and support him for all the good works he has given us.

A dream

Don’t get me wrong, I understand that hearing about other people’s dreams is only about one step above listening to their medical problems in terms of interestingness. But this one seems to be one of what Jung called a big dream, meaning of significance rather than due purely to anxiety or that bit of cheese you ate before bed.

I don’t think this dream was due that, in spite of having both anxiety and depression lately, and in spite of the fact that last night I had some faux-Mexican food of dubious quality at a restaurant geared to profit rather than pleasure (something I almost never do) with a few glasses of tequila to wash it down. And the evening included other stimuli of a nature that has never been much a part of this life. I still think the dream was due internal factors (psychological rather than food!) instead of purely external factors.

I dreamed I was setting up an instrument in my house, on a table (makes me think of The Magus, his letter Beth meaning house, and his table with the instruments of the four elements). It was the size and shape of a grow light I have for growing seedlings, like four feet long and several feet high. But it was a “musical” device, though it did not play music. It had Keys, like a piano or a xylophone, (or a Tarot!) that you pressed to play, but instead of music, each key played a beam of light of a different color.

I was super excited to have it, and was looking very much forward to sitting at the table and spending quality time alone with the instrument to see what I could create with it.

To me, the timing of this dream was too significant, as now that I have the work and whirlwind of publishing the majors done I am now poised to dive in to a more formal study the tree of life as I commit to making the minor arcana of the tabula mundi tarot. What a metaphor, creating or composing with color and light, with keys, on a table. The mind is cool. I wish I could have stayed asleep long enough to use this thing for a while though!

Kether is in Malkuth – clues

Here are three clues:

Clue number one: The Universe card

Universe Tabula Mundi Tarot — Tabula Mundi tarot copyright 2011-2014 The Universe – M.M. Meleen

Clue number two: the signature card

Clue number three: Oscar Wilde’s last words.

thanks for entering, if you do!

Kether is in Malkuth contest

Want to get something no one else has now, and possibly never will have? How about a print, or the full set of prints, of a series of oil paintings I did as potential prototypes for the Aces of the Tabula Mundi deck?

Bring an Ace (Kether) into Malkuth (here, now)!

As a disclaimer I have to say that these may not end up being the exact Aces for the Tabula Mundi tarot deck when it finally manifests as a full 78 card deck. But they started as such. Originally, my intention was to do the minors as oil paintings. But I have decided that I want the deck to have a unified look. I might end up doing these Aces over completely, and having the oil paintings I did be in my next and third deck (gasp!) which will be in oils I think, or maybe I will do these over in the same media as the Majors and include them in Tabula Mundi, or maybe they will end up being the Aces for the deck as is, and the only cards of Tabula Mundi that are done as oil paintings. Or scrapped completely never to be seen again except as originals. Or burned, if I get much better at this, or have a bad day, haha. All to be determined. Nevertheless they are very Ace-y and evocative of the elemental energies and would be a fine addition to your Tabula Mundi set. Winners will get the choice of getting them as card size prints with titles and attributions or as 8×5 signed prints.

These as collectibles will be super limited – as in, there will be only one of each Ace awarded separately, and one grand prize of all four Aces. I’ve kept them secret until now. These will not be a limited edition in the true sense though, as I reserve the right to make more at any time, but there are no plans to.

There are two ways to win:

To win an Ace, look at the card backs and answer the question “Where is Malkuth?” (Sort of like as esoteric “find Waldo”, haha). While I understand there can be many “correct” answers, the winners will be the ones who answer the question the way I decided when I designed the backs.

The Grand Prize will be awarded to the person who gives me whatever answer I think is the coolest, regardless of if it is “correct” in the former sense or not. Bonus points for sharing news about this deck on social media. Since I don’t have that or do that, someone needs to!

Here are the rules and how to enter:

Rules:

1. Contest is only open to purchasers of a Tabula Mundi deck or set of decks. Entry must be made using email you used to order. Enter as many times as you want.

2. Only one prize awarded per person. If a person wins the grand prize they are disqualified from one of the Aces alone as a prize.

3. Contest begins September 29th 2014 at 8:24 pm when the decks go on sale, and ends at Crowleymas (October 12th 2014) unless I decide to extend it. Winners notified by email. If not all prizes have been won, then contest will be extended until all five can be awarded.

4. Decisions are made by me, according to the order in which I receive correct entries in the case of the single Ace prizes, and according to my own arbitrary decision for the Grand Prize of all four.

5. By entering, you allow me to post any parts of your entry (anonymously, I will only use initials) on the web.

6. No prizes will be awarded until all can be awarded. In other words, if there are not enough winning entries to award all five prizes, then the contest will continue with no awards made until there are, or be discontinued.

7. Winners agree not to reproduce the work and to obtain permission before putting images online.

8. Rules subject to change if I forgot anything important. Can be discontinued at any time for any reason.

Prizes:

4 First Prizes, awarded in order:

Ace of Wands

Ace of Cups

Ace of Swords

Ace of Disks

First person to qualify gets Wands. Second, Cups. Third, Swords. Fourth, Disks. Winner has choice of getting them card size with titles or as approximately 8×5 signed prints. Printed with archival ink on matte photo paper.

1 Grand Prize, consisting of all four Aces. Winner has choice of getting them card size with titles or as approximately 8×5 signed prints. Printed with archival ink on matte photo paper.

How to enter:

To win a first prize, send an email to [email protected] with the subject line “Kether is in Malkuth”. Tell me where Malkuth is. First correct entries in order win, by the date I receive them in my inbox. Watch your email and this site, as I may offer hints. But for now, I will say there is a hint on the trump for Malkuth.

To win the Grand Prize, send an email (it can be the same email as the one above) with the subject line “Kether is in Malkuth”.

Tell me about where you see Malkuth on the backs, or about anything cool you see in the card backs. Demonstrate where you have shared about Tabula Mundi on social media. Most creative, interesting, and prolifically shared entry wins, based solely on my decision. It is arbitrary, no question about that!

There is a distinct advantage to be had by having the cards in person, so to even the field a little, here is a preview where you can see the card back, in the card stand built into the deluxe box:

Stay tuned for future clues!

Tabula Mundi is available now!

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Little books for the decks

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The countdown is on until Tabula Mundi tarot launches and after writing in a concentrated stretch the books are written and the first batch is printed. Today I spent some time making some deluxe ones, that will be available for the first group of deck buyers for the boxed sets. These have lots of special touches: covers made of beautiful artisan paper, tissue end papers, fancy inner and outer spines, etc. I love making these but doubt I will make too many! In this case my tendency to lust after and hoard beautiful paper paid off, as I had enough to make a few of these for the launch Monday night.

Some are one of a kind as I only had a small piece of that paper. Most are unique, a couple there may be two or three that are similar in design.

There will also be little books that don’t have fancy covers, just the normal little white books one usually gets with a deck, and whether or not there is a cover on it, I hope you find them interesting to read.

The books are about 4×5.5 inches and there is one full page for each card.

Tabula Mundi Tarot – Major Arcana only decks and how to use them

Some people may not realize the many ways a Major Arcana only tarot deck like the Majors edition of Tabula Mundi can be useful. Of course, one can always take the time to separate out the Majors from any tarot deck. But you might wonder why you would want to do that.

It is said that The Fool carries the entire Universe of the Tarot in his pack.

Fool Tabula Mundi Tarot — Tabula Mundi tarot copyright 2011-2014 The Fool – M.M. Meleen

One use is for pathworking, an occult practice of many of the Western Mystery Traditions such as the Golden Dawn. It can be described as the process of taking an inner journey to clairvoyantly or astrally explore each of the 22 paths of the Qabalistic Tree of Life in order to experience the landscape and symbolism. It is similar to CG Jung’s Active Imagination. You put yourself “in” the symbol and experience the archetype directly. I hope to write more about this in a future post. The book by Dion Fortune called Mystical Qabalah is a respected source for deeper info. The Tabula Mundi tarot card set, with their large format size and each card having the appropriate Hebrew letter of the path and the alchemical or astrological symbols, especially is designed for this. The wooden box for the deluxe set has a built in card stand where you can put your focus card, and below it, the tree of life diagram with the labeled paths that comes with the black and white tarot edition. For a limited time with the Deluxe boxed edition I’ll also include a “card” made of heavy duty rewriteable transparency film, that you can lay over the tree of life card and mark your path of focus in an appropriate color to facilitate this process or to just lay out with your “card of the day” as you learn the paths. It is a good visual method of learning.

Speaking of “card of the day”, that is another good use of a Majors only tarot deck. Displaying your card on an altar (or on the card stand built into the Tabula Mundi wooden box) in the morning and then reflecting during the day or in the evening on how the archetype manifested can be a profound practice.

Another use is for meditation. Eyes open meditation on a symbolic object both frees and directs the mind simultaneously. At least it does for me, your mileage may vary.

One can use a Major Arcana tarot deck for divination as well. This is actually the preferred way for some, more commonly in European traditions. While Majors decks can be used at any time in any spread, many say that they prefer spreads with fewer cards for this, and that the readings are more suitable for big picture or more weighty rather than mundane concerns. Dan Pelletier, one of the owners of The Tarot Garden, came up with a two-card spread called Windows and Doors that I think would be great with just Majors only decks. Basically, the first card is the “window” or what the universe wants you to see or has on offer, and the “door” is what you need to do to get it.

An additional layer one could add to a two card Majors only spread, would be to combine those two cards to see if you obtain a “hidden” pip or small card. Each of the 36 tarot small cards is associated with a decan of the zodiac. Each of the twelve signs is divided into ten degrees, each of which is ruled by a certain planet, starting with Mars in Aries (the first decan of Aries) and following what is called the Chaldean order of the planets (Saturn, Jupiter, Mars, Sun, Venus, Mercury, Moon). The Sun is positioned in the center, the outer planets on the left and inner on the right (vice versa, depending on your perspective), reflecting the perception of speed of the planet’s motion as seen from Earth. So the thirty degrees or three decans of Aries are ruled in order by Mars (0-10 degrees), Sun (11-20 degrees), and Venus (21-30 degrees). These decans are associated with the Two of Wands (Lord of Dominion), the Three of Wands (Lord of Established Strength, or Virtue), and the Four of Wands (Lord of Perfected Work, or Completion).

So using this method if you got a combination that resulted in having a planetary trump and a zodiacal trump in a two card reading that equals any of the 36 pips, you could get a third “hidden” message, that of the associated small card. If you got The Tower (Mars) and The Emperor (Aries), your small card would be the Two of Wands, Lord of Dominion.

The Emperor + The Tower = The Lord of Dominion (Two of Wands) Mars + Aries First decan of Aries ruled by Mars.

= Lord of Dominion

So these are just some of the ways you may want to use your Majors only decks. I hope to write more detailed posts on each of them in the future; this is just a spur-of-the-moment overview since someone asked. If you have other uses, please post them in the comments section.