Description & Symbolism
The original base for this card was a scanned image from the Hoi Polloi deck, one of the many Rider-Waite variants, and now, I believe, out of print. All that remains of the original is the head of the king, and the grapes and vines at the bottom.
Except for the "lightning from a clear sky", which I see as one of the metaphors for the magical side and thus for pentacles, and the eclectic touch in the foreground, this is actually a fairly straight graphical reinterpretation of the original card. I'd been thinking of pentacles in terms of Masonry since I did the Knight, and thus the Masonic compass. The King here is the Master Builder, both of real and virtual structures.
Card Meaning
The King is the Master Builder, both of real and virtual structures. What
is built under his aegis will withstand the tests of time. Uncompromising,
spare of ornament and clean of line, what is built with his help may not be
grand and glorious, but you will be able to live comfortably in, and with,
the final product.
Artistic Media
The lightning, the texture patterns, and the array of eclectic icons were done with Kai's Power Tools, the Pentacle with CorelDraw, the mountains with Bryce, and the rest with Adobe PhotoShop. The compass shape was taken from a Masonic site, which offered a range of copyright free graphics.
Artist's Bio
My degree is in mechanical engineering, my background in just about everything including horse training, psychology, sales analysis, programming, and web design and my hobbies range from the medieval through science fiction - eclectic enough? Oh, yes, and I've been reading the Tarot since about 1973 (minor detail!).
Go back to the project index, read the traditional card meaning, or get a free automated reading.
|