5/2 – 1:07pm – 

THANK YOU FOR JOINING ME RIGHT AWAY! 

Video and a lot more photos to come!

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A small aside…

(If want to skip the anecdotes, scroll down to ‘The Deck’)

One of my favorite memories of childhood was of terrifying ourselves with ‘spooky games’. Light as a feather, ghost in the graveyard, Ouija boards (or completely unguided ‘seances’), and the easiest one to pull off: Bloody Mary 

The ‘game’ we knew in suburban Chicago was simple – stand in a dark room facing a mirror, hold a candle, and chant softly: ‘Bloody Mary’. Then simply stare at your own reflection and wait for her to emerge from the shadows surrounding you.

Reported appearances of Mary range from the infamous queen of Scots herself in high regalia, to a more modern gaunt figure with a damp curtain of hair. Regardless of how she presented herself, Mary was ready to inflict the harm worthy of her name on those who called her forward.

Obviously we never actually saw her, but the fear was so thrilling and addictive that it further deepened my love of the supernatural.

From ‘Horror’ to ‘Myths & Legend

And so, Bloody Mary herself is my Empress – An illustration I’ve traditionally started each deck with. 

Initially I wanted this deck to lean more towards horror, but quickly saw a much larger scope. The figures that stalked my early nightmares and peppered my daydreams may very well differ from yours. There was a world full of stories, and even further from that, limiting my cards to the darker sides of mythology and local lore would’ve cut out another layer. 

Legends can be so personal, hence my vivid younger memories of seeking Bloody Mary. They are heavily reliant on how, when, and where you were raised. Different cultures mold their communities with these tales – from ancient tales of benevolent or horrifying deities to myths of ravenous hybrid creatures that existed on the fringes of society. Legends of how the earth itself was formed, and demigods that would be thanked for an abundant harvest. A figure for each mystery that plagues us as humans. And, of course, silly ghosts who began as purportedly horrendous historical figures. 

The threads that bind us as people sharing a planet are many, but the tapestry of stories we’ve told since time immemorial is one that repeats itself in surprising ways. We’ve always been united in our ability to pass on knowledge, tales that started as demons or dragons trickling from word-of-mouth to tablet to scroll to print. Completing the artwork for this project made me feel small in a good way – more connected to centuries of ancestors who allowed me to be able to even research this stories in 2022. 

The work I created for this deck feels like my own tome of illustrated tales, and I can only hope each card speaks to you as well – maybe even introduce you to a completely new mythos!

The Deck

This is my fourth tarot deck, following the Ocean Tarot Deck (2021/22), the Cat Tarot Deck (2020), and the Dog Tarot (my very first in 2018/19). 

It took me a few previous productions to settle on the box and card quality I currently have. I’m still very happy with that, so the only distinct difference from the animal tarots will be a copper gilding and matching embossing on the box. I’d like the box to appear very autumnal, but the design will still coordinate with my existing decks, sizing included.

It will also include a booklet! My Ocean KS was my first attempt at booklets, and I’m going to make a few big changes. Most importantly, the text size will be larger, along with slightly larger margins. This should make the included book easier to read. I do plan on including the extended PDF as well! Like the Ocean PDF before it, it will expand on each figure on the card, as well as including the full color illustrations. 

The Rewards

There will be one huge change this time around – I will unfortunately not be offering bundle tiers. I will be offering a coupon code for my existing decks that are in stock, as well as be willing to work with those with international addresses about potentially holding decks to ship together. This is to dramatically streamline the process – Unfortunately the biggest hang-up on the Ocean campaign (besides the stock being stuck in port for 2 months, more on that in challenges!) was preparing the bundled tiers. 

So, this will be the only deck in this entire campaign!

I also, unfortunately, had to dramatically adjust my pricing for this deck. The ocean deck was the last campaign I could run under my 2019 pricing. My goal is gigantic, and I’m always nervous jumping into a new one – especially as my goals continue to rise.

Extras

For my smaller stretch goal of $70k I already have an 18″ x 18″ altar cloth in the works! 

My grand, grand pipe dream is add a printed book at $100k. Not just the booklet, but a full color, hardcover book! This is a massive stretch goal, and will be a later reward or backer kit add-on if made possible!