Four Months till Tarot Publication… and a Giveaway!

In four more months, the Everyday Witch Tarot will be published by Llewellyn! Deborah and I are super excited. So excited, in fact, that we’re revealing the process behind another card, AND having a giveaway (see bottom of post for details)!

We’d like to share the Judgment card, which is also used on the cover of the kit box. Everyone has seen the image by now, but here’s a bit of the work that went into making it.

Here is the original Rider-Waite version of the card that ours is based on:

Deborah writes, “I tend to look at the Judgment card in a more positive way than some. Not so much as a judgment ON you, but more how you judge your own life. Do you like what you see? This witch is clearly following her own path with joy, which is what I was trying to represent with this card.”

The image description Deborah gave me was, “A witch in a black hat dances merrily down a path playing a flute [think Pied Piper] with her black gown hiked up to show her striped stockings, a black kitten bouncing in her wake, chasing a butterfly which flits in amongst the musical notes from the flute. A shining light beckons from the direction they are heading in. The mood is of anticipation.”

I began with rough ‘thumbnail’ pencil sketches, and once a composition was approved I moved on to the drawing and digital color rough to figure out how I wanted to paint it.

1. Thumbnail sketch.
2. Final drawing.
3. Digital color rough.

Before doing the drawing, I took photo reference of myself pretending to be the witch in the image. I wanted all the figures in the deck to have accurate anatomy and feel more lifelike and dynamic, so I took a lot of photo reference!

Ooh la la! A wooden spoon served as my flute, and I had been using the pot and bowl on the floor as rocks I was standing on for a different image.

I also looked at photos of canyons, shrubs, and playful cats.

Here is the image after inking on watercolor paper. Unfortunately I don’t have any process photos mid-paint, but this is what I painted on top of!

Here is the final painting, and below is the text from the guide book that comes with the deck.

“Here we go again.”
Where has your path led you and where will it lead you now?

A witch in a black hat dances merrily down a path playing a flute with her black gown hiked up to show her striped stockings, a black kitten bouncing in her wake, chasing a butterfly which flits in amongst the musical notes from the flute. A shining light beckons from the direction they are heading in. The mood is of anticipation.

The Judgment card is often perceived as something ominous due to the traditional picture that features naked dead people being summoned by the Angel Gabriel’s trumpet. What isn’t clear is that this call is less about “being judged” by someone else and more about taking a look at your own life and finding it unsatisfactory. Our witch on the card is following some music that only she can hear, playing along as she moves happily down the path towards rebirth, renewal, and letting go. She is light of heart and feet because she has put down old grudges and hurts that were dragging her down. There is joy in finally heeding the call to the life you are meant to be living.

Things to consider: Are you following your own music, or dancing to someone else’s tune? The Judgment card reminds us to listen to our own inner wisdom. It can also be a suggestion that we are judging ourselves too harshly, or taking others judgment of us to heart. If this card shows up in your reading, it may be an indication that it is time to let go of the old and embrace the new. Rebirth and renewal await, if you are willing to go down the path that will take you to them.

And the Judgment card on the cover of the kit… The team at Llewellyn did a fabulous job with the design. We couldn’t be happier!

And finally… Deborah and I are having a double giveaway!!!! Two winners will be picked! Go to Deborah’s blog at http://deborahblake.blogspot.com/2016/09/tarot-deck-update-and-2-prize-giveaway.html to enter the giveaways! We are offering a copy of Llewellyn’s Witch’s Coloring Book (which has some images from the deck that you can color in yourself!) and a signed print of the Judgment card! Here is the print – it is on archival matte 11×14 paper, signed by me!

The Everyday Witch tarot deck can be pre-ordered now direct from Llewellyn at https://www.llewellyn.com/product.php?ean=9780738746340 or on Amazon at https://www.amazon.com/Everyday-Witch-Tarot-Deborah-Blake/dp/0738746347.

Meanwhile, if you are eager to check out a new tarot deck now, the Modern Spellcaster’s Tarot was released today from Llewellyn, written by Melanie Marquis and illustrated by Scott Murphy! You can get it at https://www.llewellyn.com/product.php?ean=9780738741666 or on Amazon!