#paraluman studio

[rabbitsmoontarot]

Read the interview with the Artist behind the work of Paraluman Studio on Eclectic Tarot:

http://eclectic.jomay.com/viewtopic.php?f=227&t=586

cards from the newly released Gravenchase Lenormand

[comparativetarot]

The World. Art by Paraluman Studio, from The Southeast Asian Myths & Stories Tarot.

The World card features various elements from Southeast Asian mythic and cultural iconography, both indigenous and those influenced by their interactions with their ancient neighbors. In lieu of the four creatures normally used in the Tarot's world card, the SEAMS Tarot World card features the Four Celestial Beasts in its corners.

The World, centered on Southeast Asia, is a pearl mounted on top of the four World Elephants (three shown, the fourth, behind, inferred), atop the great World Turtle's back. On top of this pearl-globe is a stupa that reaches to the heavens. Beside it, are a merging of Garuda and Naga elements, eagle, and serpent, thought and feeling, spirit and matter - reflecting the union of dualities touched on in the esoteric meditations on the tarot. The eagle soars in the heavens while the serpent slithers on the ground - as above, so below.

Most of the cards in the deck feature a story from a particular region in Southeast Asia. The World card instead features OUR story, as a community of diverse cultures sharing ancient ties with each other. BUT if a story must be had, then this one is as good as any:

“In the Eldest Days, when Time was young and the World was still being willed into being, The Creator awoke one day feeling particularly happy. And so, She went to her favorite spot in Her creation and there laid down Her precious necklace which was dear to Her - bands of gold and strings of pearls strewn across the dark silken waters of the deep seas. These became Her favored Lands.

And then She asked Her daughter,The Rainbow to come down from the heavens and bless these lands. And so, The Rainbow descended in all her colorful glory, and danced upon the Lands, and sang in her joy. And her songs and colors echoed throughout. And plants began to sprout and bloom in a myriad of colors, and the scent of a thousand different flowers, each unique and sweet, filled the air, mingling with the scent of an equally bounty of spices which teased and delighted the tongue. And these trees bore scores of fruits, the flavors of which were unlike any other in their sweetness and lusciousness.

And so, the Lands were enriched beyond imagining, and so were its People. The Creator asked Her son, the Lord of the Sun to lay a gentle kiss upon their skin. And the Lady of the Moon lent her smile to their faces, and the Lady of the Stars, put the twinkle in their eyes. And the People danced and delighted in the richness of the land which was theirs and sang in their joy and contentment.

Scores and scores of years passed by, and many men came into the Lands, oftentimes to trade because of the Lands' rich bounty, and sometimes to invade, desiring to claim the abundance of the Lands as theirs. And the People began to forget their own blessedness and the richness that was bequeathed upon them, and they began to go their separate ways, mistrusting each other, because of the lies whispered to their ears.

But the time came when they reached out again towards each other, in trade, perhaps to attempt at solidarity, and discovered faces of familiarity. And in this they grew to relearn about each other, brethren sharing the same roots, brothers and kin sharing the same Lands.