Must Share… Can you handle more cuteness?
One of my newest acquisitions is an adorable Tarot deck from artist Beth Seilonen, called the Tarot of the Red Jester. Each card prominently features a sort of stick-figure in a jester’s outfit. Most of the deck follows the Waite-Smith designs although it may take a moment to catch it, although some of the cards are a departure. The most obvious difference is the suit of Wands which has been renamed the suit of Tree Spirits here.
This deck is another limited edition of 200, and with each order the purchaser gets to elect to get the image only on the card, or the interpretive meanings printed right on the bottom front of each card. I opted for the former. The deck has such a clean, open feel I didn’t want to disrupt that. I’m also one of those people who can’t stand even having the card titles printed in multiple languages in the borders. Makes me nuts (Hello, Lo Scarabeo??).
The Tree Spirit people are a recurring element in several of Beth’s decks, including The Watchers Tarot, and the Sail on In Arcana.
The deck also arrived wrapped in white silk inside a hand-decorated box. I could have opted for hand-painted silk in blue, red, green or black, but somehow the white felt more in keeping with the spirit of the deck. I find the originality and artwork charming. There’s a lighthearted feel to the whole deck which is unusual. Tarot decks can so often be overloaded with symbols, color and details, making this one feel like a spring breeze.
11 Comments on “Must Share… Can you handle more cuteness?”
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That is a cute deck. And it has a nice, fresh look to it.
Delightful – so light & airy! It seems like the deck you could use to clear your head, & kind of “get the stink blown off of you,” as my mom sez about going outdoors on a breezy day.
I just love it, it’s so completely different from any of my other decks. I just fell in love with her artwork when I saw it. Beth also sent me a lovely handwritten thank you note on a Red Jester Sun notecard (not the same as the deck, maybe an early version of the Sun?), thanking me for my interest in her deck, etc. We e-mailed a couple times and she’s just a sweetheart to communicate with. She’s got several other decks I hope to add to my collection as time and finances allow.
It’s especially cool to have a little relationship with the artist – I bought a little pendant last week from this guy who makes jewelry out of inexpensive but distinctive-looking coins (I got a medallion made from a Polish 2-zloty piece) and it was fun listening to him explain his process. It’s so much more special than wearing something mass-produced.
That’s wonderful! I don’t buy the big plastic necklaces that are so popular now because I’m like you, I like jewelry that has some personal meaning.
I’m in the same place with the Tarot decks right now where I’m more interested in acquiring these kind of limited edition art decks than the mass-produced stuff.
OMG I just checked out Beth’s “Fishy Tarot” – how adorable is that?!?!
That’s a lovely one! She’s got some wonderful decks. They’re so original and thought-provoking, there are at least five more that I really, really want to get.
Did you see the link to her Zazzle page, where she sells coffee mugs & Tshirts with some of the designs on them? If she comes up with a fishy mug I’m all over it.
I haven’t checked that out yet. If you want, shoot her an e-mail through the Web site for the Cat’s Eye Gallery and suggest it. I’m sure she’d be happy to have the fishy mugs made up
DD,
Have you used the cards yet to read with?
I haven’t really had a chance this week, but I’m dying to! They’re nicely laminated so they’ll be sure to stand up to lots of shuffling and swishing around