Sun Signs Everything Under The Sun!
What Is DeSavyok Elfhame Tarot?
We have decided to create the DeSavyok Elfhame Tarot following the general and recognizable guidelines of the Rider-Smith-Waite tradition- but undoing some of the minor errors Waite made in the pursuit of his Tarot vision and incorporating the potency of not just traditional Tarot symbolism but also the mystical and eldritch contents of the academic language of pre-modern European Witchcraft, mainly from Scotland and the British Isles.
DeSavyok and Elfhame
People who may wonder at the name “DeSavyok Elfhame Tarot” will be pleased to know that “DeSavyok” is the name of the sorcerous Covenant of which I am a member, alongside Caroline, and a group of the most delicate and most potent esotericists that I’ve ever had the pleasure of knowing. This Covenant’s name has never been made public before now.
“Elfhame” refers to the Underworld, or the Unseen World, which is generally the source of all real divinations or oracles. This Tarot deck is a visual display of our sorcerous understandings and many of our shared extraordinary experiences and a means of sharing some of those experiences with others.
DeSavyok Elfhame Tarot
The Rider-Waite Deck
I am a strong traditionalist regarding my understanding and appreciation of Tarot. I am a fan of the oldest Tarot deck traditions: the Marseille, the Visconti-Sforza, and the Sola Busca- but I have learned through many years of experience how the sacred science of Tarot evolved in positive ways with the creation of the world’s most popular Tarot deck: the Rider-Waite.
E.A. Waite was a learned man; his art adeptly translated his vision into images. Still, their decision to have pictures of human actors interacting on the pip cards of the deck (mainly in imitation of the Sola Busca deck) was ground-breaking. This allowed for the pip cards to not only transmit a clearer message of their meaning (as opposed to the most traditional decks, which only have a suit number and a suit symbol for each pip) but also allowed for the deck to be used to create entire landscapes of interacting characters and images, spelling out an endless variety of more powerful messages.
My path to reading Tarot relies heavily on these images being allowed to create visual stories, stories in which the Divining Familiars we seek oracles from can answer our needful questions.
My method of reading has been evolving over many years. And now, in its perfected form, it will be written into a book and published exclusively with this deck. That book is entitled “
The DeSavyok Elfhame Tarot Key
” It will not only be a means of sharing my method but also of exploring the rich symbolism and symbol language of our deck, giving deep descriptions of the meanings of each card, and transmitting a learned perspective on traditional Tarot symbolism in general. It will bring the message of the Tarot to people in its timeless form but free of the largely Judeo-Christian conceits that have managed to become so prominent in Tarot.
The Deck
We are not creating this deck to be as “mass market” as other decks. We have found printers who can make extraordinary high-quality cards and will find a printer who can create for us a top-quality hardcover book to contain the Tarot Key. Also, We will likely have our Hobb’s Eye sigil embossed into the cover of that book. We will sell and distribute these Deck-and-Book sets ourselves, carefully controlling the appearance and quality of each one.
The backs of our cards are reversible for those who read with reversed cards. Following the oldest deck traditions, titles and numbers (except Roman numerals for the Major Arcana) will not be used. Anyone will know what card is what just by looking. Again, there will be no front borders in common with the oldest decks. The images blend freely.
In keeping (again) with the oldest decks, the cards will be larger than standard Tarot cards. They are 4 inches wide by 6 inches high. A particular randomization method works far better than ordinary shuffling. This preserves the cards from crawling damage. This will be in the Tarot Key.
DeSavyok Elfhame Tarot
Spiritual Tool
This Tarot set is not merely a deck but a powerful spiritual working tool and work of True Art that can create a bridge between a human’s conscious mind and the deep places of the soul and the world. That is the true purpose of the Tarot.