For several months now, I’ve been designing an animal archetypes-themed oracle card deck. Oracle cards are similar to tarot but do have some critical differences. Tarot typically follows a specific layout and organizational structure while oracle cards leave a lot up to the designer, including the total number of cards, their individual themes and numerical structure (if the artist even choses to use one).
I was introduced to tarot as a teenager when my mom somehow acquired the popular Rider Waite deck. I fell in love with them immediately and though I found learning the traditional symbolism discouraging, it didn’t stop me from intuitively reading the cards.
This deck is designed to be flexible for the user, allowing them to either apply traditional animal archetypes (e.g. the wolf as a symbol for cunning), their own personal intuitive meaning, or the description provided in the accompanying text. I’ve paired each animal with an accompanying element (earth, air, fire, water and spirit) to allow a deeper level of context to be added should the reader desire it.
That said, I don’t know yet if the cards will be for sale. I’ve shown my mockups to a few friends and, if I complete the project, I will surely print a set for myself. Whether I invest in copies for sale depends on interest. More pressingly, it depends on completion. As of writing this I’m 24 cards in to a 52 card deck. I’m making decent progress and I hope to be completed by the end of the year. If I finish early and there is public interest, I may produce a short-run hopefully in time for Christmas. There are a LOT of “ifs” here, so we’ll see what happens.
If you like the cards though, please let me know. If there is interest, I’ll push the project to the top of my priorities so we can make that holiday deadline.