One thing I love about my job as tarot acquisitions editor is watching an idea go from concept to manifestation. An author or artist approaches us with an idea. Everyone likes the idea. It grows and evolves. It is completed…well, the art and the text are completed. But there is still a lot that happens before the deck hits the bookstore shelves.

There are numerous meetings about the look and presentation of the deck. Who is the audience? What is the personality of the deck? How can we best express the essence of this deck in an image a buyer may look at for a split second before moving on? How do communicate all the promise that these particular seventy-eight cards hold? And all of that has to be balanced with more mundane concerns—economics, competition, other projects also nearing completion.

One of my favorite meetings is when we discuss the final title and cover ideas. It’s usually a fun and creative brainstorming session. But my very favorite is meeting where the designer reveals the designs he or she has created based on the previous brainstorming meeting ideas, and we (the committee) get to pick one. It’s so amazing to me how the designers take our ideas and our sometimes vague direction and make such amazing pieces of art.

Just a few weeks ago we had one such meeting for a project coming out this spring. It’s a much anticipated deck that the artist has been working on for quite a while. The artist is Stephanie Pui-Mun Law and the deck is called Shadowscapes. You can see the cards at her website. And—lucky you!—you can see the kit box cover right here:

Shadowscapes Kit

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Written by Barbara Moore
The tarot has been a part of Barbara Moore’s personal and professional lives for over a decade. In college, the tarot intrigued her with its marvelous blending of mythology, psychology, art, and history. Later, she served as the tarot specialist for Llewellyn Publications. Over the years, she has ...