Exchange not names, only understanding 

From the creator of the Children of Litha tarot

If you've been following me on Instagram or Facebook this past year, you already know all about this combination Tarot, Oracle, and Sigil deck I've created. I've been posting teasers for months now. If this is the first you've heard, let me tell you a little bit about it!

 About The Deck 

•  100 fully illustrated cards (with an additional 8 cards to be potentially unlocked as stretch goals). Each deck will contain 22 cards corresponding to the Major Arcana, 56 Cards corresponding to the Minor Arcana, and an additional 22 oracle cards of my own design, making it 100 cards total. 
•  Custom large format size - Dramatic, striking, & unlike any other. The cards in this deck are approximately 89 x 146 mm (3.5 x 5.75 inches) in size. As there are no words, numbers, or titles printed anywhere on the cards, this size ensures the complete attention and focus of the unconscious mind, as it allows us a clear and unobstructed view of the images on display. The messages rest purely in the visual symbolism depicted in each illustration. 
•  High quality card stock - 350GSM. Just the right thickness & durability to help stand the test of time.
•  Matte finish - protective and smooth to the touch, this finish helps protect the cards & avoid fingerprints & smudges. 
•  Black edges - Classy & timeless, with an aura of mystery.
•  A sturdy two-piece box - to hold, secure, and protect your cards. (Subject to stretch goal upgrades.) 

How might I use The Nameless One?

Instead of titles, each card possesses a unique sigil forged from an affirmation based on the traditional tarot card's positive aspects. This allows one the ability to utilize this deck in countless ways. As each reader seeks to find Truth, so too will they undoubtedly find a special bond with their Nameless cards as they learn techniques and methodologies that suit their specific and individual needs. Listed below are but a few ways to use this deck:

•  As Tarot Cards - Use the companion book to separate out the 78 cards corresponding to the meanings of the traditional tarot and use them as you would any other deck. Although it may take more time to memorize each face, once you do you shall possess Nameless companions, you will leave those who are unfamiliar with the deck awestruck by your unique connection to the cards. 
•  As Affirmation Cards - Use the companion look up the affirmation that the sigil was forged from and carry its positive message with you throughout your day. Let it resonate within your soul and help ground & guide you. 
•  As Oracle Cards - Without the words to limit them, one may simply look at, or meditate over each card and intuit a meaning all their own. Use the entire deck or divide it into several smaller ones by picking the cards that resonate most strongly with you on any given day. Even the sigils were made with the intuitive in mind, as they utilize the power of shape language to imply multiple layers of meaning. 
•  As Sigils - Shuffle the deck & choose a card or pick one directly with an energy you need to borrow, then copy its sigil on a separate piece of paper. Charge and activate that sigil as you will. The companion book will include many suggestions for charging and activating your sigils, as well as instructions for creating your very own sigils!

This deck is completely yours to personalize with many bonds to forge. The readings and uses are too many to list.  

 I know all about Tarot & Oracle...but what is a Sigil? 

A sigil is a symbol of power that one makes to aid them (or their clients) in manifesting their desires into reality. There are many different ways to make and use Sigils. So what I'm about to tell you is but one path of many. Still, as far as The Nameless One is concerned, a Sigil is a symbol made with a specific meaning & energy drawn from a positive affirmation. By copying the sigil from the card, while focusing on that affirmation, one can trap and then harness its energy to help them manifest a desire that resonates with the sigil's meaning.  

After copying the symbol onto a separate piece of paper, one can then "release" its power into the universe by "charging" and "activating" it. This will help turn the tides of fate in your favor. There are a lot of different ways to do this, but my preference is to burn the paper (while exercising proper fire safety procedures and while in a safe & calm environment) and focus on my desire as I watch the symbol be consumed by the flame. Some prefer to charge & activate their sigils by staring at the symbol and visualizing their energy pouring into it, like pouring water into a vessel. One is encouraged to experiment and find something that works well for them.  

If funded, I will go into this process in a lot more detail with the companion book (which will be available in both physical and PDF format) as well as include other valuable information including but not limited to: The meanings & symbols of each card, it's material world correspondences (i.e., herbs, crystals, elements, astrology, numerology etcetera), a brief history of sigils, how they relate to tarot, and how to make your very own. The book will likely span over 300 pages, and will include full color prints & pictures of the cards in a hard fabric cover (if the full color & hardcover stretch goals are unlocked).

The Royal Court 

Another way in which The Nameless One is unique is that there are no "live" humans anywhere in the deck. It features only plants, animals, insects, objects, and bones. This is so that anyone, regardless of race, age, sex, gender, or orientation might better relate to the images and messages they carry. Instead of focusing on our differences, The Nameless One speaks to our similarities. So it depicts the things we all have in common: the Earth we live on, the animals we share it with, the history of art and design we have created, and the skeletons that carry us through it all. To reconcile this theme with the court cards (which in traditional tarot are used to represent the people and faces in our lives) I have tuned the royal court into Venetian masks. Famous for their intricacy, these masks often bore a strange symbolism all their own, and were admired the world over. Thus, they create an ideal platform for occult symbolism.  

Anyone can wear a mask - and these masks are meant to represent the different metaphorical "masks" and personas we all wear and use to interact with others throughout our lives. Each of the Kings, Queens, and Prince/Princesses correspond directly to Zodiac matches (for example, the King of Coins represents Capricorn, the Queen of Branches is Leo, the Prince of cups is Scorpio, etc.). This enables one to choose a tarot significator based on their zodiac correspondence if they are using The Nameless One as a tarot deck, or separate the court cards and use them as a zodiac-based oracle deck, should the mood strike them. The Jesters of each court may be used as Pages in traditional Tarot, Seasons or elements in oracle, or wild-cards in either! They might also be used as significator card (if one wished to leave all the zodiac correspondences "in play" during a reading). They are a very fun and versatile addition. 

Images from the deck

Because a picture is worth a thousand words...I present to you several images from The Nameless One.  

Stretch goals

I don't mean to get ahead of myself here...but what if we make it to my $20,000 goal...and keep going? Here is a break down of my stretch goals.  

Thank you for your time & support

Being a human being can be difficult, and being an artist can seem a fool's errand, but that's where I'm at. Yet as difficult as things can be, I am amazed time and time again by the unrelenting proof that we are not in it alone. The Children of Litha was my first Tarot endeavor and I learned so much while making it and so much more by sharing it with the world. As scary as it was to show such a vulnerable part of myself, it was 100 times more gratifying to find the warmth, love, support, & Magick of this community. For the first time in my life I truly understood what it was like to be a part of something bigger than myself. I could not have achieved it without your support, and there are no words big enough to convey the scope of my gratitude. And so my friends, I call upon your aid once more to help me breath life into yet another creation and share it with the world. Thank you a thousand times for your time & support!

May love and light bless you on your path,

-Xia