Michele-lee Phelan's artwork has been heavily published in Australia in Spheres Magazine, Goddess Magazine and Spellcraft Magazine and she also has contributed and featured in many Oracle decks. I really hope that she doesn't over saturate the market with her work. I wonder at times just how many pictures of Dragons, Faeries and Cloaked figures there really can be without it being overkill? But I digress.
Michele-lee has said this on the site about the Tarot:
"BELIEVES THAT GAIA HAS CALLED HER TO CREATE A NEW TAROT FOR THE COMING OF THE NEW ERA THAT WILL DAWN IN 2012. IN THIS NEW TAROT, THE MAJOR ARCANA HAS BEEN COMPLETELY REWRITTEN WITH MANY OF THE TRADITIONAL ARCHETYPES REPLACED, WHILE THE MINOR ARCANA REMAINS TRUE TO TRADITIONAL DECKS, BUT IS NOW PURELY ELEMENTAL IN NATURE"
Sounds interesting and the art work that she currently has on the site is very enticing, I look forward to seeing the other cards. There are other decks that have the suits focused on the elemental aspects of the different minor arcana suits. It will be interesting to see how she progresses the cards from Ace to King and what the 'story' of each of the suits will be, or if they will be stand alone cards. I also wonder as a Tarot reader if I will be able to connect with them as they are not created from the traditional Tarot Rider-Waite Smith template.
The traditionalist in me rebukes the idea of changing the archetypes of the Major Arcana which is so heavily in bedded in the Tarot community and within my own understanding of the cards, but I will wait and see.
For now, I am just going to adore the art work. I really like the Elemental Queens. I have looked at each of the cards that she has created and also the key words associated and I am not sure I am going to click with them. For example the UNION card (below) would not be what I would associate with Marriage or Union at all, Dragon energy for me is more about the Astral realm, spirit guides and ancestors.
Also take the LOVE card, there is not a lot going on in the card at all, there is nothing beyond the love hearts, roses and the colors of the womans dress to give any sort of indication that this is the card of love. Love is a very emotive, powerful emotion and the card kinda feels flat.
I am not trying to bag the deck at all, I really do love Michele-lee's art work and I will definitely buy the deck when it is released, hopefully the book and the complete deck will be easier to connect with when I am able to hold them.
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