Short Summary
Hello! My name is Emily, though my friends call me Lee, and I have been a Tarot enthusiast for about six years now. This is probably my fifth attempt at making my own deck; I have honestly lost count. However, what sets this deck apart from those is that it is actually finished! (Yes, all 78 cards are complete!) I was going to just make it for myself, but as I posted the art online, I became aware that other people would want one as well. (At times, aggressively so.)
There are several things that set this deck apart from the Rider-Waite model that I was working off of, and my intention was to make something unique, but I did have a few other goals in mind:
-I wanted to make it easier for someone who is not familiar with Tarot to interpret their meaning, and as such I put a very general meaning at the bottom of each card. In this way, a person does not have to refer to the guidebook in order to do a clear reading.
-I wanted to take the occult and religious images out of it as much as I could. I have alwasy seen Tarot and oracle cards as a psychological tool as well as a psychic one: in that a person can use the images as visual cues to understand a problem and organize their brain. By removing the religious imagery, I feel that this opens it up to people who want to use it in a secular sense, and divorcing it from occult imagery might ease some of the stigmas that are carried with Tarot.
-In many books on the interpretation of Tarot, you will find a lot of racist, sexist, heteronormative language. I hoped to have a deck that more easily reflects the diversity of the world, including many people of color, women in traditionally male roles, men in traditionally female roles, trans*persons, homosexual/plural relationships, and people with disabilities. I feel that by being more inclusive with the imagery will be a start to more inclusive decks in the future.
So I made something very different, and I am excited to see how many people are as enthusiastic about this as I am! I wasn't trying to make an impact, but I think I did on accident, and I want to share this with as many people as possible.
If you would like to see the finished art, feel free to browse the gallery at leebradford.tumblr.com.
What We Need & What You Get
To make a brief statement on the accounting bits, I am intending of doing a first-run print of about 200 decks. The decks that are not the result of the campaign will be sold at conventions, local shops, and I will also have them available to buy through Paypal. So the goal breakdown goes like this:
-$3500 for the first run print
-$100 for the packaging
-$90 to get the guide book printed
-$200 for IG's cut
-$200 processing fees
- Shipping fees.
This is a fixed goal campaign, and if we do not raise $5000, then you will not be charged and I will have to find some other means of doing the first-run print.
The Impact
If this project gets funded, then I hope that maybe some day in the future people will look at the Sweeney Tarot and see something that set a new standard. Absolutely every dollar counts in this, and every little bit of help is appreciated.
. A randomly-chosen person will get a free deck! If you reblog that, you not only have a chance to win, but you're also getting the word out. You can also share it on Facebook or Twitter! Tell a friend! Tell two friends! Spread this thing like an infectious smile!
