Heya! I’m not sure what questions’ve been asked/answered already but I’ve been keeping up with your progress on the oracle cards (can’t wait to get them btw! I already own the tarot you made and I love them) I just wanted to ask about the “theme” of each of your five suits? I have theories but nothing solid.
Also, something that caught my attention was how most of your card names in the four suits with depictions of specific myths are nouns (specifically concepts— ambition, order, purity, etc.) but the Amaterasu card is the verb ‘Ascend’? You also have two cards labeled ‘Trickster’ and ‘Dreamer’ which also break the pattern of ‘name-of-concept’ like ‘Trickery’ or ‘Dreams’ in favor of ‘person-engaged-with-concept’ and I was wondering what the significance of that distinction was to the meanings of those cards. Knowing how the meaning behind oracle cards is largely dependent on the deck’s maker, I got curious but I /have/ been known to read too far into things in the past so thought I’d just ask.
So sorry that this ask got so long! I’m too hyped about this deck I have to k n o w but I also don’t want to bother too much if this all gets explained in a guidebook like with your tarot cards.
Thank you for your question! I am extremely flattered that you're following my oracle deck so closely, and I really hope that it can live up to your expectations!
tldr; the exact names are a work in progress. I have strong feelings about the energy of each card, but I'll probably be tweaking until the last minute what each TITLE should be. It's hard to encapsulate everything a whole character and theme represents, and you're right about the adjective/verb/noun jumble being confusing. It's definitely something I'm taking into consideration, and have been talking with my publisher about. If you're interested in following along, I recommend joining my monthly newsletter! I put updates there and will keep everyone apprised of publishing news
My oracle deck has 12 Myths/Legends, which each myth being represented in 4 cards: Hero, Advisor, Challenge, Desire
To show you, these are the 12 cards for the 3 myths, Amaterasu's Cave, Ishtar's Decent into the Underworld, and Panji Semirang.
Hero Cards (Laurel Wreath icon): These are usually characters of action and movement. The embody change, creativity, and the symbol of fire. While these are generally speaking more positive cards, there are a few that can lean more negatively. While I absolutely love Ishtar, her Ambition does not always endear her to the rest of her pantheon
Advisor Cards (Eye Icon): These are characters of stability and advice. They embody intellect, the mind, and the symbol of wind. Again there are positive and negative cards. There is Introspection but also Gossip
Challenge Cards (Skull Icon): These are cards of opposition and confrontation. They embody emotion, volatility, and the symbol of water. While they tend to be more negative with traits like Envy and Greed, they can also be necessary like Sacrifice an Reckoning
Desire Cards (Heart Icon): These are cards of aspiration and hope. They embody the heart, wishes, and the symbol of earth. These are some of the more diverse cards, with desires ranging from the stability of a father figure, to a throne of power, to good time.
The 12 cards for the 3 myths The White Snake, The Industrious Daughter, and The Tale of Huathacauri
So I'll go over a little bit of my thought process for the names of these cards. Specifically you mentioned Amaterasu as the Ascend card, so I'll talk about that set. Originally when I was creating these cards my intention was to have each card named the name of the character/object. So, Amaterasu was going to be named Amaterasu, Ame no Uzume was going to be Ame no Uzume, etc etc. But when I started showing the cards to friends and family, the feedback I got was that the cards were extremely hard to use unless you were already innately familiar with each of the characters and their stories. This was really helpful, because I do want to encourage people to learn these stories--but I don't want to Assign Homework just so you can enjoy this oracle deck. I want anyone to be able to use this deck instantly, and if they want to learn more, there is a rich history for them to dive in to.
So that's when I started considering Titles for each of the cards, similar to many existing Oracle decks.
In summary in Amaterasu's Cave, the Sun Goddess Amaterasu (Hero) loves her weaver handmaiden (Desire) . This handmaiden is killed by Amaterasu's brother Susanoo (Challenge), which causes the grief stricken Amaterasu to hide in a cave. She eventually lured out by the charms and humor of the goddess Ame no Uzume. To start of easy, Susanoo and the handmaiden are clearly opposites of each other. The handmaiden is a weaver in Amaterasu's comfortable life and home, and so she represents peace and ORDER. Susanoo comes in and wrecks the harmony, causing CHAOS, ANARCHY and WRATH (I'm not sure which of these names I like best). Amaterasu, when she leaves her cave, ultimately represents the end of depression, moving on, and like a sun, ASCENDING once again. Although a better name might be REJUVENATION, RECOVERY, or maybe RE IGNITE to get more of the sun imagery in there again. It's tough to find a good single word for "I-was-too-depressed-to-get-out-of-bed-but-I-am-getting-better-and-now-I'm-ready-to-go-outside-again" But if you know one please tell me! Lastly there is Ame no Uzume, who is that friend that reminds you life is still worth it by showing you all the fun and beauty in the world. I originally called her REJUVENATION, but she might be better described as CELEBRATION, or JOY as it is her party that brings Amaterasu out of hiding. She can also be seen as a representation of a healing S-xWorker, as it is specifically her hilarious and lewd striptease that calls to Amaterasu.
But lastly let me also talk about the 5th and last suit of the oracle deck, the suit of Symbols
Symbol Cards (Star icon): These 12 cards are symbols that show up repeatedly in multiple myths and fairy tales from around the world. I wouldn't go so far as to call them Universal Symbols, because not every culture has every single one of these, but they are strong and impactful Archetypes.
For example The Forbidden is every box or door that we are told Not To Open. Some famous examples are Pandora's box, Cupid's Bed Curtain, or Bluebeard's Basement. While these things are expressly off limits, these are often lines we will need to cross in order to learn or grow. We just also have to realize there will be consequences.
The naming for these ones is really easy, as they will all be "The Noun"
All told there will 60 cards (12 myths with 4 cards each, and 12 symbol cards)
If you're interested in following along, I recommend joining my monthly newsletter! I put updates there and will keep everyone apprised of publishing news
