ImperialTarot
Imperial Tarot
\\ by glamourweaver
The Tarot deck was created a few centuries ago within the Realm by an Air
Aspected Occultist who just couldn't make it as an Immaculate Monk. The
decks were so popular that the wealth it garnered for his (now fallen) family
bought him back into their good graces after the embarassment of his exunt
from the Immaculate Order. The decks are recognized (and regulated) by the
Immaculate Order. Monks and Occultists consider it bad taste and a sign of
foolishness to use the decks as playing cards, but that is slowly becoming
their most common usage in Dragonblooded high society and amongst
circles of human street kids alike. The decks get revised by the Immaculate
Order usually in response to new House rising or falling, making older decks
more and more precious collectables (though occultists argue that the old
decks are based on the Divine Blood of the Elemental Dragons as it once
flowed, not as it does flow; and as such are useless for soothsaying).
If anyone's curiouse, I'll go ahead and say now that Sidereals consider the
"Tarot" decks a hilarious joke. That ofcourse hasn't stopped more than a few
decisions by Imperial lords from being made based on the cards.
The Deck has 101 cards (this never changes, revisions will drop minor cards
from some suits if they have to, but there are always 101 cards). They are
devided into 5 suits. Each suit is equal, there are no major or minor Arcana.
Each Suit contains 20 Cards. The extra card is a blank card that has been
used at different times in the deck's life to mean different things (its also
usually the first to go when the Houses demand it, but its currently in use).
The only thing it consistantly represents is Calibration.
If you haven't already guessed, the 5 suits represent the 5 Elements. The
recognized order of the suits is as follows:
- Earth
- Wood
- Fire
- (the blank card)
- Air
- Water
As I said, each suit has 20 cards. The Suits subdivide into 4 "Courts" each.
Unsurprisingly each Court is made up of 5 cards. The first is the Immaculate
Court, representing the Dragons themselves, the Seasons, and all things of
the Immaculate faith. The second is the Celestial Court, which represents the
Gods and their affairs, a necissary part of any form of occultism &/or
soothsaying. The third is the Terrestrial Court which represents geographic
and mortal affairs of Creation. Finally there is the Imperial Court, which
represents the Dragonblooded themselves as the noble affairs of the Empire.
Most (but not all) the Cards have numerical values assigned to them. These
go from 2 to 15. The first card in each suit (and the first card in each
respective Immaculate Court) is the respective Dragon Card. This would
roughly correspond the Ace which the reader I'm sure is more familiar with.
After Card 15 in each Elemental Suit is the Imperial Court. These lack official
numerical values, though a firm hierarchy of them exists (much like the royal
house, with the Tarot and playing cards in the real world). The Blank Card
would be roughly the equivalent of the Joker in real world playing decks.
Ok so the easiest way to do this I think is to go by Court rather than by Suit so you can get the themes of each Card I'm going for.
The first card in each suit, and the first card of the Immaculate Court, is the respective Dragon Card. Earth is Pasiap (memory), Wood is Sextes Jylis (creation), Fire is Hesiesh (climax), Air is Mela (perfection/fruition), Water is Daana'd (introspection/completion).
The next 3 Cards in each suit are ofcourse numerical (2 of Earth, 3 of Earth, 4 of Earth, 2 of Wood....) they represent the Seasons themselves. Moving through the cycle of the seasons (which begins with the second season of the year), you have (2) Ascendent Earth, (3) Resplendent Earth, (4) Descendent Earth. The same is true for each other suite. They represent the arrival, fruition or continuation, and departure of an element's virtues. They also can represent the months themselves.
When the blank card is placed as the sixth card of an Immaculate Court, it represents Calibration.
Any ideas for the Fives?
The 6 through the 10 make up the Celestial Court. The first card of each Celestial Court is known as the Maiden Card. Terrestrial occultists (somewhat laughably) associate the 5 Maidens as beholden to different elements. The 6 of Earth (the suite of preperation and beginnings) is Mercury. The 6 of Wood is Venus. The 6 of Fire is Mars. The 6 of Air is Jupiter. The 6 of Water is Saturn.
Any ideas for the Sevens?
8 through 10 of Each of suits are interestingly interelated. 8 represents a
threat from outside Creation than embodies some negative aspect of the
element in question. 10 represents a mighty god, who though not worshipped
is honored at the proper times for their contribution to the element in question.
The god in question is believed by savants to be somehow involved in
holding back the threat represented by the Eights. The Nines represent that
constraint.
The Eight of Earth represents imprisonment, constraint, inslavement, and
denial. In other words the Yozis. The Ten of Earth is the fundamental
underlying of Creation, its bedrock: Gaia. The Nine that stands between them
is Jade.
I'm not sure what to do about the the Eight of Wood. Any ideas? The 10 of
Wood is Unconquered Sun (who rises in the EAST). Standing upright, the
card represents glorious rebirth. Inversed it is the Great Curse: the
overripening of self and/or power to the point of decadence and corruption.
The Nine of Wood is therefor ofcourse Orichalum. Once again, any ideas on
the Eight of Wood?
The Imperial Courts lack numerical values. They procede upward as follows
(using Earth as the example)
The Lady of Earth (internal affairs of the Houses)
The Lord of Earth (external affairs of the Houses)
Houses of Earth (2 cards of equal value, one representing Ragara, one
representing Mnemon)
The Earth Empress
The 20th card of each suit is the Empress, who was believed to have moved through all 5 Aspects in her life.
When the Blank card is used as the 6th Card on an Imperial Court, it is considered of the level of a House Card and represents House Nellens.
Well what do you think?
Any ideas for: - The proper Age of Sorrows name for the Tarot deck? (I'm thinking it should come from the name of the now fallen House of its creator) - What to do with the Fives? (Immaculate Court) - What to do with the Sevens? (Celestial Court) - What to do with the Eight of Air? (otherworldly threat held back by Yu Shan) - What to do with the Eight of Wood? (otherworldly threat held back by Unconquered Sun)
Rather reminds me of the imperial tarot used in the warhammer 40k fiction perhaps theres something there you could use? Ageis
I have no idea how to help you with the symbolism, but holy wow, would I love to help actually design and do the images. Perhaps the fives could be the elemental poles? --Dissolvegirl
