New Additions + Revisions

Yesterday I added five new cards to the deck and tested them out at the forums. I feel like they've added some much needed depth to the readings. Note these were not drawn by hand but constructed digitally. This brings the deck up to 53 cards. So I may not have been entirely accurate when I posted in the introduction about number of cards here originally :x

I have been doing "what-the-next-day-holds" readings to further evaluate the predictive methods and capabilities of the deck. It's still too early to report in the results, but once I have some, I will share them here.

It's still going to be another month or two away for artwork revision. I'm getting ready to work again for the first time in seven months and so this will provide some funds that will go into the deck. I work in both paint and illustrator right now, and I am considering the purchase of a drawing tablet for revisions. I hear it can be a lot easier to work with graphic images rather than using a mouse. While I was looking up tutorials on Youtube, I came across a program called GIMP (GNU Image Manipulation Program) that might be able to make things a bit easier as well with scanned images. Working in Illustrator has proven to be very complicated! I will be looking more into this program in the coming weeks.

As for changes, I've taken some indicators out of the deck. So far, these have been from the man and woman cards. I plan to leave all sun and moon indicators. I have also been tempted to re-do the hand-drawn cards in paint/illustrator using improved shapes and lines, but I feel this is going to take way the authentic artistic touch/style the deck originally came into being with. The only thing that would be original is the creative twist put on some very old symbols as well as new symbols.

Then there is the question of copyrights, too. I feel like before I post any further images of the deck, or discuss it in further detail, I need to seek out the advice of a legal expert. Gosh, it does feel really limited, but I can always watermark the images and place a copyright at the bottom of the blog, right?! I'll get back to you on this!

So I will wrap it up here for the night. Until next time, thanks for checking back!

The Double-Edged Sword

I've been in the testing phases with my deck as mentioned in my last entry. Before I attempt to make any further (and final) artistic modifications, I'm working on a clear idea of what the oracle can and can't do. I know, it's a huge undertaking... and I didn't expect it to be.

The way I've been going about answering such a question is by asking more questions that yield a more specific reading.

Another significant question that ties in with the first is: how will the deck change my previously held experience of what a reading is? How specific can it be? I think I've gone the farthest today with this question in one of my weekly readings.

Another way I am going about discovering this deck's potential is to go through each card. How much can a reader get out of a single one? How might vagueness be a problem? What can I do about it? I know, it's a lot to get lost in, but it can make a huge difference in the deck's quality.

One thing is for sure, I want to keep its look as simple as possible, and this might mean the elimination or minimization of some indicators. I created this deck because I wanted something simple but then the need arose along the way to have something that was specific inside. I think it's going to be one of those "deceptively simple decks."

I also did a reading on where I need improvement. The main concern was how much the reader's freedom plays a role in using the deck. Again, I'm on the side of simplicity. I think the more simple a deck is, the more room (or freedom) a reader has in using it to complete their reading style. However, that reader needs a creative awareness in order for the deck to be of any use. With this blog and deck, I would like to raise more of an awareness of that creativity in readers. Not to get all philosophical, but some readers have "maybe," "either," "or," and "I'm not sure" in their vocabulary. I'm one of them.

How and where does awareness become achieved? Are you actually limiting a reader's creativity by the more options you make available to them, or less? I'm really going Hermit here! As a creator of an oracle deck, one can only go so far in trying to help readers feel more creatively free with tools that otherwise place limits. I am definitely on the side of believing readers should be encouraged to transcend the limitations of what is provided in tools.

Ironically, I've been reading with this deck without using any real spreads. I think now is as good a time as any to begin trying this. When working with specificity, it becomes much more of a challenge to keep an open mind. Again, this is what either makes or breaks a reader, just try not to nick yourself.