Your deck is nearly complete. You’ve completed all of your card drawings, paintings, or other artistic endeavors. Now, everything revolves around those unique finishing touches.
Last time, we briefly discussed borders. I assume you’ve made up your mind by now. If not, the time has come to start. Will you be having them? Will they contain your text in them? Which color will they have? Every suit is a distinct color, or are they all the same? Do you know where your text will go if you don’t have borders, and do all of your cards have a bleed?
Now let’s talk about typography, one of my favorite topics. The writing on your business cards and the font you choose.
Now. I have very specific preferences in this area. It would be a lie if I stated that I didn’t apply the stringent text and spacing instruction I received to my current work. I am probably way too fastidious for my own good.
Consistency, consistency, consistency should come first. Choose ONE typeface. If you must, two. Yes, fonts are interesting. They are all so lovely, and there are so many of them. However, fonts are strong tools that have a lot of information-carrying capacity. Your choice of font should match the design of your artwork. And if you start using more than one, you’ll be sending conflicting signals.
Ceccoli uses a lovely serif font that is basic enough to showcase the artwork while maintaining a formal appearance. While Crystal Visions use a little more distinctive typeface, it is still simple to read and has the same aesthetic (feminine, pretty, formal). The Idiosyncradeck has a nice sans serif font that matches the deck’s simple design, whereas Joie de Vivre uses script to fit the loopy graphics of the deck. Although there are two fonts used in Houseswives, they are applied consistently.
Let’s review some fundamentals. Time New Roman is a serif typeface, which means there are little feet and extra lines. Helvetica is a sans serif font, which means there are no extra little lines. Script: appears to be written by hand. Never use calligraphy or script fonts with all capital letters; not only is this difficult to read, but it also looks terrible.
Every font has a distinct “feel.” Some appear elegant, while others appear feminine, macho, playful, or serious. Search for a font that feels similar to your deck when making your selection. Although it is difficult to describe, you will recognize it when you see it. Even more challenging is matching fonts, although you can look it up on Google.
You notice how each card in the Ellis Deck has a different font? He chooses a font for the card rather than the deck. I abhor this. Of course, you are free to act anyway you choose, but I really don’t advise it. The name of the card is written in extremely small print on the bottom of Silhouettes. It appears good, however reading it is somewhat difficult due to poor visibility. The Thyme Oracle Tarot deck. Yes, the typeface is attractive. I also possess it (Scriptina, I believe). But reading it can be challenging. And because it’s not a well-known or expensive typeface, the kerning is terrible. Do you see the void between the letters T and H? Bad. Compared to the rest, there is far too much space between those two characters.
The area between the letters is referred to as the kerning. It should appear equal. It wouldn’t be if you measured it, but it must appear to be. You don’t want certain letters to touch while the others don’t, or you don’t want particularly wide spaces between them. Therefore, you must kern your text if you plan to utilize a distinctive typeface. Whatever application you use, Google will have instructions for it (if you’re writing by hand, that’s normal). Please do this even though it’s a pain in the butt. The text ought to be kerneled if you’re using a widely used font (such Times, Helvetica, or any of the others you see on every software).
Make sure to hire someone to edit and proofread your work. Verify your spelling throughout, that no pictures are lacking any necessary details, and that no identical images were used on two separate cards. An additional set of eyes is usually helpful.
Take a broad view of your deck. Does everything match up? Is something lacking? Do the colors complement one another well? Do the others and one not match? A card, did you forget? Are you going to include extras like an artist card or a Happy Squirrel card?
Consider a box. Do you desire a tuck box with a unique design? Will you use a container or perhaps a bag? What sort of appearance are you hoping for? It’s important that you start considering this.
Have you considered cardstock? I’m referring to the type rather than the quality. Is regular cardstock healthy for you? Do you want plastic credit cards? Do you prefer smooth or linen? gloss or matte? Do you want something holographic or metallic? If you have a special project in mind, you should be picky about your printers and make sure they have the necessary skills.
Conclusion: Pick borders, choose a good font, kern it, have someone else (not you) proofread it, and consider what kind of box (if any) you want.
In This Article...
What do the tarot card suits represent?
Wands, batons, or rods are used for clubs; cups are used for hearts; swords are used for spades; and coins, pentacles, or disks are used for playing cards (diamonds). Four court cards are in each suit. 10 numbered cards, a king, queen, knight, and jack, as well as The value sequence in each suit is from aces to ten, followed by jacks, knights, queens, and kings (though the ace is sometimes assigned a high value, as in modern playing cards).
Can tarot cards have various layouts?
Despite their vastly different designs, all tarot decks share a few characteristics. Each one has 78 playing cards, divided into the main and minor arcana. The major arcana, which are the deck’s 22 trump cards, generally allude to bigger influences and disclosures when they are revealed during a reading. These cards stand alone without a suit and represent key occasions or people in a person’s life.
In contrast, the minor arcana refer to influences and issues that are more commonplace. Wands, swords, pentacles, and cups make up the four suits that these 56 cards are divided into. (Occasionally, tarot decks will use different terminology, such as “Pentacles for coins, but they are exact equivalents to the four original divisions.) A different aspect of life is represented by each outfit. Wands typically represent imagination and passion, swords intelligence, pentacles work and wealth, and cups emotion. Additionally, each suit is associated with a certain set of astrological signs, such as wands being associated with fire, swords with air, pentacles with earth, and cups with water.
Since we’re beginners, the meanings you’ll most frequently refer to are the functional definitions, albeit these meanings can be used when cards symbolize people and their zodiac signs. For example, a three-card spread with three pentacle cards strongly denotes a financial concern. (More on the various spreads will follow.)
While much of this is up to the deck’s owner and what resonates with them, there are a few conventions that apply to the majority of tarot readings. If you’re reading cards for someone else, you should ask them to provide you with a question or suggest something they’re interested in, and keep that question in mind while you shuffle the deckalso referred to as “removing the effects of earlier research and readings. (An illustration would be, “When will I discover love?” Am I pursuing the correct career? “How can I get through my block?
Then you could query the person you are reading for (also known as “cutting the deck, once more concentrating on the querent. Although some readers will cut the deck for the querent, we prefer this option since it gives the querent a chance to feel linked to the deck personally. In any case, you will draw the necessary number of cards for your spread and, if you’re reading for yourself, place them between you and the querentor directly in front of you.
Do Tarot cards have official status?
A full Tarot deck contains 78 cards. The Major Arcana Tarot cards are the first 22 cards. Four suitsWands, Cups, Swords, and Pentaclescomprise the remaining 56 Minor Arcana cards. A page, knight, queen, and king are among the 14 cards in each suit, which also includes 10 numbered cards.
How can I create my own tarot cards to print?
How to make your own tarot cards: the steps
- Select a smooth or linen card stock for your project.
- Choose how many cards you want, then complete.
- Include a choice box in your deck.
- Here’s our tarot card generator online.
- Upload picture files, then drag and drop them onto the front and back of cards.
- Preview and checkout.
How should my tarot deck be cleaned?
While rearranging the cards in the tarot deck is a good approach to purify and clear their energy, there are some circumstances in which you might wish to perform a more specialized ritual. If you’re just getting started with tarot, cleaning your deck can be an excellent place to start.
You might want to clean your tarot deck for a variety of reasons, including:
- beginning with a fresh deck
- readings for other people
- You think you need to recharge.
- Your card readings seem a touch “odd” or “disconnected”
- Your deck hasn’t been used recently.
- Your deck has been handled by others
- You think you’ve been utilizing your deck a lot. A LOT, especially for books with strong emotional content
Why should you cleanse or clear your tarot deck?
Tarot deck cleansing helps keep the energy flowing between you and your deck. Consider it as a little spiritual hygiene to maintain a strong and clear connection. It’s not necessary, but if you have any of the aforementioned symptoms, try a few of the energetic cleansing techniques listed below and note which ones seem to work the best for you.
How often should you cleanse your tarot deck?
This is another way of stating USE YOUR INTUITION: there are no hard and fast laws. Don’t stress if you don’t believe it is necessary for your deck. Alternately, if you like to cleanse them once per week or once per month, that’s great. If it feels appropriate to you, you can even place your favorite crystal on the balcony each night.
If you frequently place crystals on your deck and store it on an altar while not in use, you might not feel the need to cleanse it frequently because this quick ritual will likely be sufficient to keep your deck feeling nice.
There are numerous ways to cleanse your cards, just as there are numerous reasons why you might desire to do so.
Different ways to cleanse your tarot deck
Use holy smoke. Light a dried rosemary, lavender, cedar, sage, or palo santo cleansing wand until it begins to smoke. Hold the smoke a safe distance below the deck while holding the burning herbs in one hand and the deck in the other so that the smoke drifts upward onto the cards. Turn the deck so that the smoke covers it from all angles. Next, safely put your deck to the ground and put out the fire.
On the deck, set a selenite stone (or a black tourmaline or a transparent quartz). It works well to leave it like way for an hour, but I prefer to leave it overnight.
Set them on display during a new moon. The New Moon is energy of a blank slate; you can purify the deck by setting it on a window sill on a new moon night. At this moment, you can also make a brand-new intention for your deck.
Place the cards in a salty dish. A strong and stabilizing cleaner is salt. My preferred choice for a thorough cleansing is this. Allow it to sit anywhere from one to eight hours in a dry area.
Unorderly shuffle. Spread the cards out on the ground, then shuffle them around like a child playing in dirt. This method’s freedom and randomization serve as an excellent reset.
the shuffle and sort. Set up the deck in rows of seven cards across, commencing with the Major Arcana numbers 0 to 22. (see photo above). Next, arrange the cards, Ace through King, one for each suit, as follows: Swords, Pentacles, Cups, and Wands. View the deck in this configuration, then mix everything up (like the chaotic!) and shuffle it thoroughly.
Do you know how to say “tarot”?
Depending on whether British English or American English is being used, the proper pronunciation of “tarot” in English significantly changes. The “t” in “tarot” is never uttered, in any scenario. The word “tarot” is pronounced “tah-row” in British English and “teh-row” in American English.
Questions you don’t really want answered
Even though it might seem apparent, it’s advisable to refrain from asking the tarot cards questions that you aren’t prepared to hear the answers to. That’s because answers to these questions can reveal information you’re just not quite ready to hear.
“Tarot can definitely come off as offensive if you’re not willing to hear the truth or consider an opposing opinion. Tarot reading Nicole Fortunaso
According to tarot reader and life coach Nicole Fortunaso, “tarot may truly come out as offensive if you are not willing to hear the truth of the problem or look at an alternate viewpoint.” She advises analyzing why you’re reacting the way you are in order to reflect on how to effectively address the underlying problem if you ask the question and aren’t satisfied with the response.
