The Threshold Tarot
A tarot deck has been on Lucian’s to-do list (and high on his “when will you do an [x]” request list) for over a decade, but great desire and interest had previously intimidated him away from embarking on such an undertaking. Lucian’s 2019 began with the death of a close friend, and it took him until Midsummer to feel sort of normal again. While he was in Sweden for Midsummer that year, it was revealed to him exactly what he wanted to do with and get out of a tarot project, and how he would go about doing it. Lucian began work immediately. Following on from the world and people introduced in An Ode to Divine and Dirt, he wanted to explore the magical energetic cycle of the tarot (following Crowley’s workings in the Book of Thoth, as his own first introduction to tarot was through the Thoth deck) through the stories of and relationships between the people therein. However, upon returning home from Sweden, all afire with inspiration and energy, Lucian’s workplace abruptly began making him redundant – a cruel six month process which precipitated a mental health crisis, during which he could not produce anything at all.
Upon release from this torment just before Christmas, Lucian was able to process and start to heal from it. The production of the artwork for the Threshold Tarot recommenced in earnest. He explored again the world and people inside his spirit, and rooted himself in amongst them, laying out his own pain, understanding and healing in the cycle of the tarot. It is possibly his most personal, honest and fun work to date.
The deck comes with a small illustrated study booklet that explains the symbolic language used in the card artwork, a printed recycled card tuck box, absolutely no cellophane anywhere whatsoever, and a brown hessian deck bag, hand painted by the artist with a mixture of black ink and ritual ash from his fire pit. Each bag is completely unique. Feedback is that they smell great, too.
The first edition of the Threshold Tarot is a major arcana only and entirely sold out. The forthcoming second edition will be a full deck.
