About this item
- The William Blake Tarot of the Creative Imagination deck was inspired by the artwork of the Romantic painter William
- Blake. Each card shows collages of reproductions of his work, and it's quite an unusual and distinctive style.
Specifications
Name
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William Blake Tarot of the Creative Imagination
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Creators
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Ed Buryn
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Publisher
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Harper Collins 1995
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Deck Type
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Tarot Deck
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Cards
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78
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Major Arcana
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22
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Minor Arcana
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56
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Deck Tradition
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Mixed
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Suits
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Court Cards
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The Fool
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is 0
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Strength
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is 11
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Justice
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is 8
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Card Size
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3.15 x 4.72 in. = 8.00cm x 12.00cm
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Card Language
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English
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Card Back
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Unknown
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Reviews
finally was able to work with Tarot decks and books that I
have been hearing about since I came on the internet in
1997. I don't kick myself for waiting, because I realize
that there is a time for everything, and everything has
its time. I have spent many wonderful hours with works
such as Mary Greer's Women Of The Golden Dawn, Robert
Place's Tarot Of The Saint's and Brian William's
Renaissance Tarot. Now is my time for the William Blake Tarot!
At a certain time in my life I was dealing with some
very difficult issues. As most Tarot readers will
attest, during these times it is hardest to read for
ourselves. I work nights, from home, giving readings. Often
there is space between callers, and sometimes that space
becomes an endless void where one falls into the trap of
too much thinking. I found that accessing interactive
readings on the internet was one way to keep myself
centered. They are not the be all or end all of anything,
but they served their purpose. There was one
particular site that I went to that featured the William
Blake Tarot as one of their decks. At first it was a
little off-putting, but then I realized that this was
exactly what I needed to move myself outside of my own
personal envelope - which is exactly what this deck is all
about - personal creativity.
Due to other project
deadlines, this review was set aside for a few days. Then I
picked up the box with the deck and book, and the
paperwork that came with it. What a treasure! Ed Buryn had
included a photo copy of a presentation on the WIlliam
Blake Tarot (Old Symbols For A New Age) that he gave
at the First International Tarot Conference in
Melbourne, Australia on July 12th, 1997. In it he talks about
William Blake, the 18th century English
poet/engraver/mystic whose work he based his deck on. He talks about
the data overload of the technology age, and about how
we need to move into the realm of intuitive or
"inner" abilities.
In using Tarot, we access the old
symbols from Medieval and Renaissance times, with overlays
of interpretations from the Victorian and Romantic
ages. Buryn suggests that perhaps these symbols have
either lost their original meanings, or have become less
clear than they should be.
In designing the William
Blake Tarot Of The Creative Imagination, Buryn sought to
introduce new symbology of a classical nature. To do this,
he turned to the works of William Blake. Blake,
through his poetry and painting, evolved a complex
personal mythology in which god-like creatures called Zoas
came to symbolize the divine aspects of the human
psyche. These archetypal figures, and the energies that
they represent, have become the Triumphs of this deck.
The four Creative Process Suits represent the four
suits of the Tarot, and are named after Blake's four
"arts in eternity": Painting, Science, Music and
Poetry.
One last thought before we get to the book and the
deck. Also included in the paperwork with this deck was
a sheet containing a diagram called The Wheel Of
Eternity In The WIlliam Blake Tarot. It is a wonderful tool
adapted by Ed Buryn from a diagram created by Anne Maria
Rennie for working with the William Blake Tarot.
Amazingly simple, yet amazingly complex - showing the souls
journey through life. The suggestion is made to take the
diagram and actually lay the cards in the deck out to see
how the energy works. I did a similar exercise with
the 10 Sephiroth of t he Tree Of Life, and found it to
be amazing and empowering. Working with the entire
deck at one time would be a breathtaking experience -
one that I plan to do when I can block out an entire
day to sit back and become part of the process.
With
this background in mind, I now turned to the 160 page
book that accompanies the deck. As is my nature, I
thumb from back to front. Aha! There is a little side
note at the back of the book that very quietly
announces that Mr. Buryn has a separate booklet entitled
Artwork Notes For The Blake Tarot that identifies the
works and quotations used. What a wonderful addition to
this deck!
Slowly sidling to the front of the book, I
find definitions for the court cards:
Angel
cards: These cards correspond to the Knights in a
traditional Tarot deck. Blake defines
them as divine
muses that represent imagination in various forms.
Angels are associated
with the element of Air.
Child cards: These cards correspond to the Pages in a
traditional Tarot deck. Blake defines
them as innocent
and instinctive beings of light. They are associated
with the element of
earth, and with growth and
renewal.
Woman cards: These cards correspond to the
Queens in a traditional Tarot deck. Blake
defines
them as the spiritual power within, and gifts them with
skills and wisdom. They are
associated with the
element of water.
Man cards: These cards correspond
to the Kings in a traditional Tarot deck. Blake
defines
them as representing rational power, working
from the mind, being focused and goal
oriented.
They are associated with the element of Fire.
There is
a very unique feature to this deck that I have never
seen in any other deck - and that is what Mr. Buryn
terms a "symbol window". it is a space at the bottom of
each of the 56 pips where a reader can place text or
symbols that represent what the deck is to them. There are
four full pages of wonderful suggestions on how you can
incorporate your own ideas into this deck. Highly creative
work that even I, a very non-artistic person, can do.
In the spread section, mention is made of the usual
one and three card spreads. Then Mr. Buryn presents
two spreads that he calls Blakean Spreads. The first
spread is entitled The Four Fold Vision Spread. It
follows the process of (4) seeing through God's eye, (3)
seeing creatively, (2) seeing through the eye, and (1)
seeing with the eye, working with a mundane experience or
situation. What a way to open up the creative processes! (And
I loved the little eyes featured on the card
graphics!)
The second spread is called The Creative Process
Spread, based on Blake's idea of the four parts of man and
the four parts of any creative process: imagining,
feeling, thinking and manifesting. This is a five card
spread that is very, very easy to work with. There is an
active example given for both spreads, which is a feature
that I appreciate. I like to check in and make sure
that I have the process right! (Basic Capricorn
nature!)
Finally made it back to the beginning of the book! There
is a nice history of William Blake here, which acts
as a prelude to the explanation of his mystical
system of thinking. He bases his system on his
mythological creature Albion, an ancient term for England
(where Blake lived) and, by extension, for everyman.
Albion is the universe personified as a person, made up
of four parts called Zoas. Each of the Zoas represent
one of the four arts: Painting, Science,Music and
Poetry.
The Triumphs represent the Fool's Journey
through the Tarot, along with the tale of the four Zoas,
thus becoming the Soul's Journey. I dearly love charts,
and Mr. Buryn has done an outstanding job of charting
the comparisons between the William Blake Tarot and
traditional Tarot decks. For quick reference, page 13 shows
the correspondence of the Triumphs and the Major
Arcana; pages 14-15 show the correspondences between the
Creative Process Suits and traditional Tarot suits; page 17
shows the three cycles of the Triumphs (Matter,
Awakening and Spirit).
There is an additional Triumph in
the William Blake Tarot - similar to the Blank Rune in
a set of Runes, the additional card is titled
Eternity, bears the number 00 and the Lemniscate symbol. It
transcends numbers, and represents spiritual reality and
creative imagination. Keywords are awareness of spiritual
destiny and spiritual elation.
The cards themselves are
approximately 3" by 4 3/4". They are glossy, and of medium card
stock. Care would need to be taken when using this deck
not to tear or bend the cards. The backs are a white
line drawing done on a dark blue background,
representing the seven angels that Blake calls the Eyes of God
(Lucifer - Bright Star, Molech - King , Elohim - Mighty,
Shaddai - Strength, Pachad - Fear, Jehovah - He Creates,
Jesus - the Saviour). There is a 1/4" white border on
the backs of the cards.
The faces of the cards show
the same white border, with the card title at the top,
and the number and suit at the bottom for the numbered
cards. The court cards have the title and suit along the
bottom. Each of the 56 pips has a 1/4' blank space along
the bottom of the card in which the reader may choose
to place their own symbolism. The Triumphs have the
number and title of the card along the bottom. The suits
of Music and Poetry are unique in any deck that I
have ever seen, in that incorporated into the card is a
small section of text from Blake's works.
The Triumphs
have been renamed, and correspond to the traditional
Tarot Major Arcana as follows:
00 Eternity - no corresponding card
0 Innocence - Fool
1 Magic - Magician
2 Mystery - High Priestess
3 Nature - Empress
4 Reason - Emperor
5 Religion - Hierophant
6 Knowledge - Lovers
7 Experience - Chariot
8 Assessment - Justice
9 Imagination - Hermit
10 Whirlwind - Wheel Of Fortune
11 Energy - Strength
12 Reversal - Hanged Man
13 Transformation - Death
14 Forgiveness - Temperance
15 Error - Devil
16 Lightening - Tower
17 Stars - Star
18 Moon - Moon
19 Sun - Sun
20 Liberty - Judgment
21 Union - The World
The artwork
and presentation of this deck and book (you need the
book to interpret the deck - don't buy one without the
other!) are phenomenal! I would place it in the category
of special use decks - something like the Osho Zen
deck that I knew immediately upon opening it was going
to be only for meditation or for spirit oriented
readings. This is a wonderful deck for personal creativity
and problem solving, for group work - especially in the
creation of story - and for counselling or healing purposes. I
will also use this deck for ritual and ceremony. (It might have just been easier to say the that one thing I
would NOT use it for is routine reading!)
I think you will find that the William Blake Tarot has a great deal to
offer the Tarot world. It requires the commitment to
learn the Blake system - but that is part of the fun -
and mystery - of Tarot!
Footnotes: 1. ibid. pages 43-45.
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