DIY: RWS Tarot “Tavern Edition”

This week I worked on a reproduction of a 1910 Rider-Waite, with a special twist.

I saw many “aged” RWS deck on the web, but most of the time, the cards are aged by computer and the stains are the same dirty pattern copy-pasted to the 78 cards, and it looks fake. So, the deal was to make my own. It’s a new series that I’m calling the “Tavern Edition”! Next, I will do a version of the Conver’s Tarot de Marseille. I plan to use this RWS Tarot deck in party or family celebrations, so I won’t be afraid to damage any deck that I want to keep clean!

DISCLAIMER: This deck is unique. I only made one copy of it and it’s not for sale. I’m well aware of the Copyrights, and I already own 6 versions of the Rider-Waite Tarot published by U.S. Games Systems. This handmade reproduction is only for my own enjoyment. Thanks for your understanding.

I took pictures of the making of, so that might gives you some ideas to do your own.

Step 1: Printing! The reason I’m printing my own deck instead of using a U.S. Games version is because of the coating. The coating on the manufactured tarot cards prevent them to get stained too much, and that’s exactly what I don’t want for this project. So first, I scanned my U.S. Games Smith-Waite Centennial Edition — Yes, it’s copyrighted, but the deck is not for sale, and it’s for my own use. Then, for the back, I recreated the 1910 backing of the RWS using a hi-res scan of the card and Photoshop. I printed the cards (both sides) on a 300 gsm (110 lb) cardstock, the same as U.S. Games.

Step 2: The cutting! I made a template to cut the card at the same dimension. Now, before cutting the cards, make sure your backs are covering all the front cards. I added some fun and decentered the cards, based on the “1909 Prototype” and the “1910 Pamela-A” decks. That’s 78 cards, and I think it took me 2 hours. That’s not a project that you can do quickly!

Step 3: Rounding the Edges! I used a “Sunstar Kadomaru Pro” Corner Cutter (S4765036) for the edges, using the “small” corner. For one of them, I got distracted and used the “Medium” size, but hey, it adds to the charm, and a seriously cannot spot it quickly!

The U.S. Games Centennial Edition cards vs my handmade card:

Step 4: Staining! Now the fun begin!! This steps is even longer than the cutting/rounding, and it probably took me a good 3 hours! Good tip: Shuffle your new deck before staining them. The reason is that during the aging/staining process, your technique will evolve or (at the end) will become impatiently quick!! So, that will prevent to see the evolution of the process in a chronological order if you ever decide to put them in order! I decided to use a container of water stained with tea and the distress ink from Jim Holtz. Now, if you choose to use Jim Holtz’s Distress Ink, remember that it’s a water based ink. You need to add water on it (before of after) to “activate” the ink, and make sure it will stays on the card. I discarded the coffee grains but that could have been used too. I works well for aging the pages of a book, but it can be time consuming. Anyway, here is the result:

I decided to sand some of the cards that have a very deep black.

Now, the final touch will be to pile the cards together and to stain the sides using a sponge. That looks old and dirty!!

In a later step, I plan to add some red wine stain, notably on the Three of Cups! I’ll do it this weekend!

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Samhain 2017

Here are some pictures (embedded in a video gallery) from my Samhain ritual, held on November 1, 2017. Blessed Samhain to all!

Travel Altar Kit

My Travel Altar

You may wish to have a Travel Altar Kit (Portable Altar, Travel Spell Kit, Spiritual Toolkit) for any number of reasons. Perhaps your job requires you to travel a lot. Maybe you’re a college student in a cramped dorm, and space is at a premium. Do you belong to a group that holds rituals in a different place each time? Got small children who will knock over anything and everything that you set out on a table top? Any of these — and more — are good reasons to create a portable altar kit. It’s easy to do, and it makes it a snap to just grab-and-go on your way out the door. The first thing you’ll need to do is decide whether you want to use a box or a bag. If you plan to carry your altar kit on a plane, backpack, purse or other place where space is at a premium, go with a bag. If it’s something you’re going to keep in your home, or maybe take over to a friend’s, you can probably use a box. The great thing about a bag that enhances portability is that your bag can double as an altar cloth. To make a circular piece of material into a carrying bag, simply stitch a ½ hem around the edge of the circle, and run a cord through it. Knot the cord at the ends, and then when you pull it tight you’ll have a drawstring bag that unfolds into a round altar cloth. If you want to use a box, great — there are tons to choose from. You can get a plain wooden one from a craft store and paint it or decorate it. You could use an old cigar box and cover it with fabric and embellishments, or you can buy a pre-made carved or decorated box from one of the thousands of retailers who specialize in metaphysical gifts. Some uses pencil cases or makeup cases, and some even use tiny tin cases — but personally, I find these too small for my needs.

Next, you’ll need to decide what items you want to include in your portable altar. Some people like to put in every single magical tool they own, five different decks of Tarot cards, and their entire gemstone collection, but I’ve found that simple is usually better. These are, in my opinion, the very basic items that every Travel Altar should include:

• A wand (Tool of Air)
• An athame (Tool of Fire)
• A chalice (Tool of Water)
• A pentacle (Tool of Earth)
• A censer/incense (Element of Air)
• A candle/matches (Element of Fire)
• A bowl of Water (Element of Water)
• A bowl of Salt (Element of Earth)

The key with a Travel Altar Kit is to think small. The wand should be no bigger than a pencil. The athame can be a pocket knife. The chalice can be a shot glass. The pentacle can be made of anything, like a small wooden disc. The censer can be replaced by a small metallic disk used to burn cone incense. The candles can be tealight candles or chime candles. The bowl of water doesn’t need to be a bowl, it can be a small mason jar with water in it, or simply a vial of water. Same thing with the bowl of salt, it can be a small container with salt in it that can be opened for the time of the ritual. If your tradition requires you to use other items, you can add those as well. Some things you might want to include in your altar kit are:

• Some crystals
• Some herbs
• A Tarot deck/Ogham/Runes
• A bell
• A mortar & pestle kit
• An altar cloth

Again, the smaller the better. Use your smallest crystals for the Travel Altar Kit. The herbs should be only the ones you need for the planned ritual, and could be stored in small plastic bags. A regular Tarot deck takes lots of place, but you could buy a mini Tarot deck exclusively for the Travel Altar Kit. Instead of Tarot, you can add small Ogham staves or Runes carved of tiny stones. A small bell can be useful to begin and end the ritual, but any metallic object can be used to make a sound. A mortar & pestle kit could seems inappropriate for the kit, but I’ve found some not bigger than 2 ½” in stores that fit perfectly in a Travel Altar. Finally, add a piece of fabric to use as an altar cloth. It doesn’t have to be big, just large enough to spread all of your tools on it, so you can perform a working anywhere you may be.

Modifying a Tarot Deck

Have you got a deck that you would love to read with, but something about it is putting you off? For me, one of those decks is the Druidcraft Tarot deck. A standard Tarot deck size is 2.75″ x 4.75″ while the Druidcraft Tarot deck is 3.5″ x 5.5″. This deck is rather difficult to shuffle with those big cards. It doesn’t help that each image is surrounded by a 1/4″ white border. I’ve recently seen some images of the cards where the border has been trimmed and decided to do the same myself. When thinking whether or not to trim a deck, consider how the illustrations are located on the card. Is the location of the illustration consistent across all the cards? Is it the same size across all the cards? What impact will trimming have to the back? If it will affect the back design, is that important to you? How big will the finished deck size be? Can you work with that size? Once you have answered these questions, you have another consideration. One thing I have noticed when trimming decks, even when the illustration seems to be placed consistently on all the cards, is that there frequently is a slight deviation from one card to the next. This comes to the forefront when trimming as you have to consider whether you want to trim to focus only on the artwork – which may leave uneven edges, or do you want to focus on making sure the edges are consistent, which, in my opinion, makes the deck look like it was created that way, but leaves the tiniest bits of border edge around the images. Once we’ve decided on a deck to trim, and how to trim it, you’ll need:

• Rule
• Cutting surface
• Professional or heavy duty cutter
• 1/4″ corner rounder

Start by positioning a card in the cutter so that the line where the border meets the artwork is lined up with the cutting blade. I use the card to place the straight edges so that the sides of the cutter and straight edges form a template I can place the cards into for cutting. Using this method requires going through the deck 4 times, once for each side being cut. I pull a few cards from the deck and slip them into the template to check the border/artwork alignment. Once I have made sure that I have things adjusted so that the maximum border is removed and the maximum artwork is maintained, I’m ready to start trimming. When it’s done, I go through the deck one more time, inserting each corner of each card into a 1/4″ corner cutter to trim off the points and makes rounded corners.

Your deck is now ready to be enjoyed, unless you want to add some gilding to the cards or edges. Many like to color the edges of the cards instead of leaving them white. It creates the finishing touch that gives the cards an elegant aesthetic. It is easier to use a jumbo or a medium size permanent marker with a chisel tip. This wide chisel tip prevents accidental marks that can occur when using a non-chiseled tip. Since it is perpendicular to the card, it’s rather fool proof. It’s important that you ink one card at a time. It doesn’t take that long and it will eliminate any bleed through that may happen from trying to ink all the cards’ edges in a stack. For the color to use, keep in mind that it’s best if the borders on the front and back match. A good testing method is to try it on a test or title card first if your deck came with one.

My New Witchy Room!

I moved 4 months ago and all went well! I was very busy and completely forgot to post here, I apologize for this. Today, I’ll post a Tour Video of my new Witchy Room, and soon I’ll post more articles on my studies. I finished reading three humongous books on Tarot (Holistic Tarot by Benebell Wen and the two first volumes from the Lo Scarabeo collection: Tarot Fundamentals and Tarot Experience). I also did lots of readings for my coworkers during the last months and I’m really comfortable with that tool now. Next, I plan to move through Ogham and then Runes, followed by the Lenormand oracle deck. Like the Tarot, I want to be able to know how to interprets the casting without the use of a book and be comfortable enough to do readings for others. I’m also planning to finish my Druidic Dedicant Path program with ADF (I need to submit the corrections soon) and to pursue my journey into the Seer study program. Talk to you soon! Blessed be to you all!

A Pagan on the Move!

There we go, this is the last sprint before the move! In a week, I’ll rebuilt my Sacred Space, my lovely Witchy Room in a new house! The room is finished – I now have a very high quality hardwood floor and a suspended ceiling, and it looks gorgeous! My goal is to make it looks like it would be a metaphysical store. I always wanted to own a store like this, but I know I won’t quit my day job anytime soon, so why not make my Witchy Room like this?! The only deal is: I’m not selling anything and I’m keeping it all! Haha!

I’m not the first Pagan, Witch, Druid, Wiccan, Voodooist, Shaman, Ásatrúar, etc. to move, but it seems that when a practitioner move, it is a way more difficult move than any other regular move!!! We guys have so much stuff!!!We got lots of Herb in pots or jars, bowls for any kind or work, candles (so much candles) and incense!!! We also got all kind or delicate trinkets and tools for our altar, and it is a little overwhelming to pack all of this in a way to protect these valuable objects. I decided that only the Witchy books will be handled to the moving company, while all my altar tools, candles, incense, herbs, crystals have been (or will be) moved by myself, knowing that I’m hugely careful with my spiritual tools. So, I’m tired, exhausted, but it’s really encouraging to see less boxes here. On May 31, only the furniture and the (many) boxes of books will remains. Everything else will be already moved and well protected!

Talk to you soon, probably after the move!

The Witchy Room, almost all emptied!

Apothecary Sign!

Today, charged with Beltane’s creativity energies, I did an “Apothecary Shoppe” sign, that will be fixed at the top of my herb collection in my new Witchy Room. It’s not 100% finished, but because my crafting tools are packed, I can’t go further for now. I only need to add some darker effects with dye and to varnish it.