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Tarot and the Invisibles

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MaximusOverdrive

00:27 / 04.10.01

Hello everyone,

My name is Michael O'Sullivan and i've been somewhat a lurker of this site for a while now. i really don't have much time to interract with the conversations that go on here seeing as how my heavy workload from art school prevents me from doing much of anything, but i really do enjoy the discussions that go on here. Anyways, i've been a fan of the Invisibles since i was a young teen and read it voraciously. I'm now taking a class that requires me to make a tool in the abstract sense of the word and i figured that i would make something that would be a kind of "thank you" to the Invisibles by constructing and Tarot major arcana deck using characters and imagery from the Invisibles. I've just emailed Grant through his personal website but, seeing as how this is also a homework assignment and time is of the esence, i was hoping that some of you guys would be able to help me out by giving me a list of what characters correspond to what arcana. i know that Jack is the Fool, but that's really all i can think of without having the books right in fromt of me. thanks in advance for any help!

-Michael P O'Sullivan

01:20 / 04.10.01

Jack's the Fool but he could also be the World. And the ending becomes the beginning.

01:29 / 04.10.01

I am not Jack...

...but I could be wrong.

01:52 / 04.10.01

1 magician= Mr. Six

2 high priestess= Lord Fanny

3 the empress= Edith

4 the emperor= Sir Miles

5 the hierophant= Mason

6 the lovers= King Mob and Robin

7 the chariot= The Time Machine

8 strength= Boy

9 The Hermit= Tom

10 Wheel of Fortune= ?

11 Justice= King Mob

12 The Hanged Man= John O'Dreams

13 death= Jim Crow

14 temperance= Ragged Robin

15 the devil= King of Tears

16 the tower= Windmill

17 the star= ?

18 the moon= ?

19 the sun= ?

20 judgement= Harlequinade

21 the world= BARBELiTH

Um, that's all I got...

Randolph Carter

05:41 / 04.10.01

What about placing Tom as the Fool and Jack as The Aeon (Judgement)? The Harlequin moves to the Wheel. Mr Quimper takes the Moon. I'd like to stick John Lennon in there; maybe he could take the Hermit? And how about the origami "bird" as the Star? That would leave only the Sun left. The Hand of Glory, perhaps?

13:28 / 04.10.01

quote:Originally posted by Randolph Carter:
That would leave only the Sun left.

Barbelith?

Also, John Lennon would make an intersting Star.

MaximusOverdrive

14:22 / 04.10.01

i was originally thinking of putting the magick mirror in the pictre of the lovers, from that one scene where KM is talking about making love to his girlfriend on acid. also, i didn't even think of the chariot as the time machine. goes to show where my mind was at. ;-) i'm thinking of putting lennon in as the star and i'm trying to think of a good place for Robin. most of the selections that you guys have made so far seem to be pretty much on the money. if anyone would like to see these when i'm done or would like a set of them, just tell me and i'd be happy to get them to you. now, keep the assistance coming! ;-)

laters,

-michael

Rex City-zen

20:52 / 04.10.01

Hate to burst creative bubbles...but...I started this thread aeons ago. In fact there are existing cards for the lovers and death.
Just don't know where it is...
REX

23:54 / 04.10.01

Love to see it Maximus/Michael!

I don't think it's quite the same Rex City, I think the intention is to use invisbles imagery and symbolism. As opposed to the Barbelith Tarot, which is more of the combined divinatory force of the 'lithers.??

Am I close?

MaximusOverdrive

13:46 / 05.10.01

quote:Originally posted by ab-synth-etic:
Love to see it Maximus/Michael!

I don't think it's quite the same Rex City, I think the intention is to use invisbles imagery and symbolism. As opposed to the Barbelith Tarot, which is more of the combined divinatory force of the 'lithers.??

Am I close?

that was te intent. i really do like the work that you guys have been doing with the Barbelith deck, but i've been wanting to make one based on the Invisibles books and characters for quite a while. now a project came along in class that gave me the oportunity. hopefully i'm not stepping on anyone's toes. don't mean to! and if you guys that are working on the Barbelith one have any ideas to help on my project, that'd be great.

laters!

-michael

Rex City-zen

17:14 / 05.10.01

NO DUDES...I mean we made an invisibles Tarot deck, or started too...

I posted the exact same idea a while back and was underway...I don't know if maybe the board crashd or something, but, it exists... including the lovers card featuring KM and Robin and a Jim Crow Death card.
I would love to see this project revived... (CLEAR!...badUUmp...beep beep beep)
Someone must remember? Who created those cards and/or where is the thread?
It was called "Invisibles Tarot" or what not...
OH WELL...Best of luck and if you need me, I'm always here.
REX

Rex City-zen

17:17 / 05.10.01

ps...
Edith as the high priestess
Fanny as empress
Judgement as the eclipse of aug 11 1999
Magic Mirror as the universe
hmm?

22:48 / 05.10.01

Hey I want a deck! Let me know when you're done.

MaximusOverdrive

22:15 / 07.10.01

quote:Originally posted by impulsivelad:
Hey I want a deck! Let me know when you're done.

well, to keep everyone updated, i have the first two cards ( Jack as the Fool and Tom as the Magician) drawn and ready for colour. i will be happy to scan and post them when they are ready and i'm working towards the rest of the set. i'm trying to make sure that i get all of the arcane imagery from the original tarot correct while making the cards so that they don't look stupid. i'm not just going to redress the original characters. for instance, on the Magician card, the roses that hang in the background are now the blue mold that covered the walls in the subway tunnel. in order for the cards to work properly the imagery must remain intact. can't fuck up my sygils! ;-)

alright everyone, more on this as i complete a couple of more cards.

laters,

-michael

14:35 / 08.10.01

Rather than the windmill, I would recommand Malcom's house blowing up as the tower card. It fits with the meaning of the card more and with the title of the comic book.

-Jesse

MaximusOverdrive

17:39 / 08.10.01

alright, this is the list that i've got going so far

The Fool- Jack Frost/ Dane
The Magician- Mr. Six
The High Priestess- Lord Fanny
The Empress- Edith
The Emporer- Sir Miles
The Hierophant- Mason
The Lovers- King Mob and Ragged Robin
The Chariot- The Time Machine
Strength- Boy
The Hermit- Tom O'Bedlam
Wheel of Fortune- ?
Justice- King Mob
The Hanged Man- John O'Dreams
Death- Jim Crow
Temperance- Ragged Robin
The Devil- The King of Tears
The Tower- Windmill
The Star- John Lennon
The Moon-
The Sun-
Judgement- The Harlequinade
The World- Barbelith

now, the other question is, should we use the Thoth deck instead. and if we should, could someone please tell me what the changes are seeing as how i do'nt have one and i also don't have that particular issue of Promethea with me.

thanks everyone!

Laters,

-michael

Rex City-zen

18:17 / 08.10.01

Good show!
Personally,not a big fan of the thoth deck, I hear it's poison...
...do keep the symblism in tact though.
CHEERS!

Randolph Carter

19:09 / 08.10.01

I started with the Tarot using the Thoth deck and used it for several years before putting it aside for my current deck. I still think that it's a gorgeous deck and believe that anyone who is studying the Tarot should spend some time with it; there is a lot of value to be gleaned from Uncle Aleister's thinking on the subject.Having said that, I would recommend you stick to the Rider-Waite version for this project. I think it reduces the complexity of your task a great deal. If this were for a personal deck, I would recommend going with what you felt comfortable with. But for an art project, you should leave yourself some room for "artistic license."

MaximusOverdrive

19:29 / 08.10.01

thank you all for the support. should have the first couple Online tomorrow. Next up will be the Magician (Mr. Six) and the High Priestess (Lord Fanny). also, should the picture of Edith portray the older version of her or of her in her twenties?

laters everyone!

-michael

Rex City-zen

19:33 / 08.10.01

How bout both??
Superimpose old edith over the young??

MaximusOverdrive

00:11 / 09.10.01

well, i decided to use a younger edith smoking from her hookah while reclining on a pile of pillows. looks kind of like her time learning tanticism while in India. Also, have Miles sitting in a carved wooden shair, all scary looking and such, Mr. Six preparing a martini (with a rather indenious way to hide the floating infinity symbol) and King Mob and Robin floating in the aether with the magic mirror spinning away behinf them like in that one issue where KM recounts a particular time he made love while on acid.

well, back to the drawing board. eight done, 13 to go!

laters all!

-michael

03:06 / 09.10.01

Ok..si I got this crazee Idea..why dont we get all the artists on the board to make up an Invisibles deck...get the copywrite holders ok ( I think its Grant (Morrison that is..unless they're one and the same??) and then find printer and distributor (perhaps D.C. could be it) and then sell them and put the funds into the barbelith running costs account???

just an idea....

MaximusOverdrive

18:00 / 09.10.01

I wouldn't mind. it would be nice to have a really well produced deck sitting around to show off to friends. but i want to do at least one card of the real edition! ;-)

Laters,

-michael

Rex City-zen

18:11 / 09.10.01

Great idea...
...perhaps we should stick with one artist for continuity sake?
Tom would be soooooooo happy I bet.

18:24 / 09.10.01

Well what I was thinking was we could find out who's interested in working on them then either assign people portions of the card to do. such a sone person does the image another person does the backing image another designs the font, another does the write up

OR
on person starts the card...passes it onto the next person who adds something and then passes onto the next in the list...then we as a group come up with a barbelith/invisible definition of each card...

Rex City-zen

19:43 / 09.10.01

I like option 2.
That would be cool...........way cool.
BTW- have you posted any cards yet?
Oh and one more thing...
Would you mind doing a card for the BARBELITH deck? I would really appreciate it.

[ 10-10-2001: Message edited by: Rex City-zen ]

Rex City-zen

09:52 / 10.10.01

Oh...and I like the idea of the time machine as the CHARIOT and the windmill as the TOWER. 16 reduces to 7 (1+6) and they are both the same thing.Wow.

MaximusOverdrive

09:52 / 10.10.01

nothing posted yet, still just slaving away. should have a couple of them up soon. and i would be honoured to do a card for the barbelith deck. you've got to tell me what you want and such. and also, i'm kind of bogged down with class work so anything that you may ask of me could take a little while.

also, kind of like the idea of a consensus artwork thing, the only problem i could forsee is the amount of time it would take. something like that would take quite a while to complete. then again, it could be fun to colaborate with some of the artists on this board, so i'd be willing to give it a go.

laters everyone!

-michael

09:38 / 11.10.01

How about the Moon-king/cosmic abortion/ mirror monster as the Moon card? How's about the Hand of Glory as the Star?

Wheel of Fortune is tough though...

How about the isolation tank Future Robin-Kay writes her book in?

-Jesse

MaximusOverdrive

09:38 / 11.10.01

i like the idea of the abortion as the moon card. damn it i wish that i had my issues here with me! they're all back at home in jersey! hey, maybe i should find a place to put the blind chess player... any other characters/suggestions would be of great assistance. mr. gelt maybe? or jolly roger? man, so many characters!

laters!

-michael

Rex City-zen

18:49 / 11.10.01

The blind chess player is of course te devil.

I like the star as hand of glory.

Put roger on the same card as Boy for strength.

I thought Fanny should be temperence - alchemy?

As for which card...WHICH ONE WOULD YOU LIKE TO DESIGN???
It's up 2 you.
We have finished:
Fool
Magician
High Priestess
Empress
Heirophant
Death
Tower
I'm kinda partial to doing the lovers and the dvil card myself...but if you like you can have one of them.
Take your pick MAXIMUS!

MaximusOverdrive

19:21 / 12.10.01

hmmm, i'd have to think about it. maybe the chariot or the Star. perhaps judgement'aeon would be interresting. ah, i'd say one of those three. oh, by the way, my art is kind of like a alan davis/ george perez/ michalengleo influenced stuff. i definetly have a distinctive style though. i have three cards inked so i'll scan them tonight and set them up here for perusal, if someone would tell me how to do that. ;-)

laters!

-michael

oh, btw, Michael is fine. Maximus is a name for a charcter from one of my short stories.

Rex City-zen

20:06 / 12.10.01

Ok Michael, you decide, but do it soon before someone snatches the cards up.Peace.

00:06 / 16.10.01

ah...er.. Maximus, buddy...
Any news?

Ed-

MaximusOverdrive

00:08 / 19.10.01

alright, sorry i haven't been on during the past couple of days. art school has a hell of a lot more homework than i expected it would! ;-) anyways, i have finished a couple of the cards, inked and pretty much presentable, only requiring a couple of touch ups. i would post them if only i had wbspace to post them with. if anyone knows how to get around that, please feel free to get in touch with me.

laters,

-michael

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