One of the first people to see the Quantum Tarot will be none other than acclaimed tarot author Rachel Pollack, who will be taking an advance copy with her on her upcoming tour of Australia.
Rachel is the author of many books, including my favourite, 78 Degrees of Wisdom, and the fascinating A Forest of Souls. She has kindly agreed to review the Quantum for us, and will be road-testing the deck in her Australian tour from 7th July onwards (the Tarot Guild of Australia has more details about Rachel's workshops).
Having previously attended one of Rachel's workshops, I can whole-heartedly recommend them if you're in the vicinity (or even if you're not!). Her teaching style is playful, intelligent and informative and at the one I attended I was lucky enough to receive a reading from her (a reading I remember to this day).
And of course if you go, you'll also get an early sneak peak at the Quantum (before it's authors I might add!).
The Quantum Tarot will be published in September 2008 by Kunati.
Pre-order now from:
Amazon.com
Amazon UK
Amazon Canada
Chapters (Canada)
Amazon Japan
Amazon Germany
Amazon France
Dangling by a thread
XII The Hanged Man – The Uncertainty PrincipleThe development of the uncertainty principle in the late 1920’s was a key moment in the evolution of quantum theory. German physicist Werner Heisenberg realised that it was impossible to know the exact position of a subatomic particle and its momentum at the same time with total accuracy. This is because subatomic particles exhibit both wave- and particle-like behaviour, and so cannot be completely defined as either. Heisenberg found a way of stating the problem mathematically, combining Planck’s constant (see the Justice card) and the inexact science of probability.
The uncertainty principle, like the Hanged Man, turns everything upside-down. Physicists in the early 20th century, trained to think in terms of precision and exactitude, were understandably resistant to the idea that the stuff of our universe is, at a fundamental level, imprecise and inexact. The Hanged Man card represents a state of existential confusion, where our old ways of thinking and being don’t work anymore. The image of a man dangling (apparently willingly) from his ankle is a resonant and complex one; the essential message is that something must be willingly relinquished in order to gain something greater. It symbolises the difficult moment when the old has been sacrificed but the new has yet to be born.
Hanged Man Questions: What has been turned upside-down? What strategy has stopped working? What habit or way of thinking do you need to let go of? What are you uncertain of? What are you getting hung up on?
Hanged Man Things to Do: Absolutely nothing. Meditate. Get a tarot reading. Give something away.
Hanged Man Quotes: Sacrifice is nothing other than the production of sacred things. Georges Batailles
There’s only one effectively redemptive sacrifice, the sacrifice of self-will to make room for the knowledge of God. Aldous Huxley
In a minute there is time
For decisions and revisions which a minute will reverse. TS Eliot, The Love Song of J Alfred Prufrock
When a contradiction is impossible to resolve except by a lie, then we know that it is really a door. Simone Weil
Hanged Man Movies: Breaking the Waves “Everyone has something they're good at. I've always been stupid, but I'm good at this.”
The Sixth Sense “They used to hang people here.”
Jacob’s Ladder “There is no out of here. You've been killed, don't you remember?”
21 Grams “We have lived on a fraud a long time.”
Quantum Tarot back from printers
This week I received word from Kunati that the finished version of the Quantum has arrived back from the printers. Chris Butler and I are now eagerly awaiting are own advance copies.
This picture gives a clear idea of the sturdy packaging for the deck - as you can see, the cigar box design provides a solid container for both deck and book. You can also see that the accompanying book, with its vivid colour cover, is much much more than a standard "little white book." It contains black-and-white illustrations, detailed interpretations for all the cards, plus scientific background for those who want to delve deeper into the quantum universe.
It's wonderful to see the finished article so gloriously realised - I can't wait to hold it in my hands!
The Quantum Tarot will be published in September 2008 by Kunati.
Pre-order now from:
Amazon.com
Amazon UK
Amazon Canada
Chapters (Canada)
Amazon Japan
Amazon Germany
Amazon France
Nothing but the Truth
XI Justice – Planck’s constant Max Planck, a German physicist, was the first to use the term “quanta” in physics. He was trying to solve a problem to do with how heated objects give off electromagnetic waves. According to Newtonian physics, when an object is heated it should produce ever-increasing amounts radiation. However, what actually happens is that the radiation peaks at a certain point then tails off rapidly. Planck explained this by dividing radiation into quanta (or little packets), giving each quantum a specific energy E, related to its frequency f. Then came the clever bit; he came up with a new mathematical constant, ħ, commonly referred to as “H Bar”. H Bar, or Planck’s constant, is a very tiny number that has gone on to play a huge role in the development of quantum theory. Planck managed to demonstrate that E = ħf. It turned out that only quanta with a certain amount of energy – not too much, not too little – contributed to the radiation produced by heating an object. Think of it like currency; bank notes come in certain amounts – quanta – of £5, £10, £20 etc. Other amounts of money exist, such as £3, £7, £12 etc, but you can’t get bank notes in those quantities.
Planck’s constant helped to make sense of something that otherwise seem paradoxical. Similarly, the Justice card brings truth and clarity to the contradictory or confusing. It shines the cool light of objective truth, a truth that may not always be palatable. In a reading, the Justice card asks us to take a big step back and look at ourselves honestly and dispassionately.
Justice Questions: Can you open your eyes and see what’s really going on? What is the truth of your situation? What needs re-balancing? Where do you need an objective opinion?
Justice Things to Do: Hire a lawyer. Write a will. Get a second opinion. Don’t ask your friends, get someone you don’t know. Be honest with yourself. Forgive yourself. Forgive others.
Justice Quotes: “Judge not, that ye be not judged. For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again.” Bible, Matthew 7:1-2
“Justice is rather the activity of truth, than a virtue in itself. Truth tells us what is due to others, and justice renders that due. Injustice is acting a lie.” Horace Walpole
“If we do not maintain Justice, Justice will not maintain us.” Francis Bacon
“The truth must dazzle gradually
Or every man be blind.” Emily Dickinson
Justice Movies: Twelve Angry Men
“…wherever you run into it, prejudice always obscures the truth.”
A Few Good Men
“You can’t handle the truth!”
To Kill a Mockingbird
“You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view... Until you climb inside of his skin and walk around in it.”
Erin Brockovich
“Look, I don't know sh*t about sh*t but I know right from wrong!”
Quantum Tarot Back Design
The design for tarot card backs is often something that is neglected, ignored or left until the last minute. It's an area of tarot design that does not seem to be given much thought. As a result, tarot backs range from the very simple to the over-elaborate, ridiculous and (most commonly) downright boring! Publishers may also have their own agenda, imposing a house style so that the back designs their decks have some consistency.OK, it's most important to get the card images right. But when you think about it, the users of the deck are going to spend, on average, a lot more time looking at the backs of your cards than the individual images. A clumsy or inappropriate back design is a constant irritation if you're reading with a deck frequently.
With all this in mind, we strove for a back design for the Quantum that was both in keeping with the theme of the deck. We wanted something that was not boring, but not so complicated that it would fight for attention with the cards themselves. We battled through several incarnations before Chris Butler came up with the above design. I feel it strikes just the right balance. It's fairly simple, but gives a good impression of the overall theme of the deck and doesn't crowd out the actual card images.
I hope you like it as much as I do. :)
The Quantum Tarot will be published in September 2008 by Kunati.
Pre-order now from:
Amazon.com
Amazon UK
Amazon Canada
Chapters (Canada)
Amazon Japan
Amazon Germany
Amazon France
What goes around comes around
X The Wheel of Fortune – Quantum MechanicsQuantum mechanics is an attempt to grapple with the seemingly paradoxical nature of the subatomic world. Central to this is the fundamental difference between two types of phenomena; waves and particles. A particle can only occupy a single space at any single instant in time. Waves on the other hand are spread out in space, like waves of water across a sea. They cannot be pinned down to a particular place and are described in terms of size and frequency (like radio waves).
But at the subatomic level, this difference between waves and particles does not apply. Subatomic particles sometimes behave like particles and sometimes like waves, depending on how they are observed or measured. For example, light behaves like a wave when two light sources overlap. The two light waves interfere with each other, producing “ripples,” or interference phenomena, like overlapping ripples of water in a pond. However, Einstein pointed out that light could also behave like a stream of tiny particles – photons – in his explanation of the photoelectric effect (an electric current induced by shining light on a metal plate). This can only be possible if light is a stream of particles that hit the surface of the metal, agitating and dislodging electrons to form the current.
What does all this have to do with the Wheel of Fortune? Well, quantum mechanics introduced the language of chance and probability into physics. One can only claim that a subatomic particle has a probability of being in a particular place at a particular time – but no more. Outside physics, of course, the concepts of chance and probability are nothing new. The Wheel is familiar to us in many guises, from the ancient Roman goddess Fortuna to roulette wheels. It is a symbol of how perceived outside forces such as fate or luck seem to determine the course of our lives.
But perhaps there is another alterative. They say that successful people create their own luck. Even if we feel cursed by bad circumstances, we still have choices. Why not step off the wheel altogether, stop being a victim of chance, spun round by external circumstances? It is up to us to determine whether to approach life as a victim of chance, spun round by the wheel like a sock in a washing machine, or to take a big leap of awareness and get off the merry-go-round.
Wheel Questions: Where are you up? And where are you down? Do you fear that any success will be followed by failure? Or do you always believe that “the sun’ll come out tomorrow”? Can you take a big step back and look at how you are being churned around?
Wheel Things to Do: Visit a funfair. Play the stock market (no, actually, don’t!). Play a computer game. Look at where you’ve been lucky in your life and count your blessings.
Wheel Quotes: Fate, Time, Occasion, Chance, and Change? To these
All things are subject but eternal Love. Percy Bysshe Shelley, Prometheus Unbound
There is no fate that cannot be surmounted by scorn. Albert Camus
But if you know that you are a man too, and that even such are those that rule, learn this first of all: that all human affairs are a wheel which, as it turns, does not allow the same men always to be fortunate. Herodotus, The Histories
What we call luck is the inner man externalized. We make things happen to us. Robertson Davies
Wheel Movies: The Cincinnati Kid “Gets down to what it's all about, doesn't it? Making the wrong move at the right time.”
Ocean’s 11 “All right, you proved your point. You broke into my vault. Congratulations, you're a dead man.”
Casino “In the casino, the cardinal rule is to keep them playing and to keep them coming back. The longer they play, the more they lose, and in the end, we get it all.”
Sliding Doors “Not only does he own a personalized matching set of crocodile-skin luggage, but his favorite TV program is Baywatch. So you see there's always someone sadder than you.”
Kunati named Publisher of the Year
Kunati, publisher of the Quantum Tarot, has just been awarded Independent Publisher of the Year by ForeWord Magazine. The award was presented at the recent Book of the Year awards in Los Angeles, where ForeWord are celebrating their 10th anniversary.ForeWord's Victoria Sutherland said:
"In a word, or eight, Kunati inspired us to create this award. I hope the recognition inspires others to follow in their new but large and welcoming footsteps."
This is a remarkable achievement for a publisher that released its first titles only 2 years ago. Kunati have blazed a trail in the sedate world of publishing through their pioneering use of New Media. Their innnovative approach to marketing, including book trailers (check out the wonderful trailer for the Quantum here), eye-catching cover design and active mining of the blogosphere, have all contributed to make them, as their strapline claims, "a publisher to watch."
The Quantum Tarot will be published in September 2008 by Kunati. Pre-order now from Amazon.com, Amazon.ca and Amazon.co.uk
Quantum Tarot soars to #8 on Amazon
How to be a bestseller without even being published!I couldn't be more pleased, not to say amazed, as we're still four months away from publication.
"I'm not surprised at all...The popularity of Tarot decks continues to surge in general, and unique and evocative decks such as Quantum Tarot always move to the top of the collector's lists. But this isn't just a deck for collectors. It's a deck that speaks to users."
The Quantum's strong showing, is due not least to Kunati's sterling efforts on our behalf, as well as their recent win at ForeWord magazine's awards, where they were voted Independent Publisher of the Year.
I must also thank all my friends over at the Aeclectic Tarot Forum, who have been supportive of the Quantum throughout it's gestation.
So here's the fiery Quantum Ace of Wands to celebrate.
Shine a Light
IX The Hermit – Subatomic Particles
About 100 years ago scientists thought that atoms were the smallest constituents of matter. They visualised atoms as tiny, solid little balls, like billiard balls. But the early decades of the 20th century saw a series of discoveries that revealed a whole new subatomic world. Atoms were not fundamental particles but miniature solar systems, made up of a sun-like nucleus of protons (positively charged) and neutrons (neutral), with one or more negatively-charged electrons whizzing round in orbit. Further discoveries in the Sixties revealed that protons, neutrons and electrons weren’t fundamental particles either, but were made up of still smaller clumps of weird little particles known as quarks.
The Quantum Hermit represents this idea of a hidden world just waiting for discovery. He shines his light into mysterious dark corners and leads us far away from the crowds into reflection and contemplation. He may signal a physical withdrawal from the world or a more subtle realigning of attention away from the everyday into the deeper mysteries of the inner universe.
Hermit Questions: Where do you need to refocus your attention? Are you attending to your inner light? Are you happy to be alone? What mysterious territory are you drawn to explore?
Hermit Things to Do: Go on a retreat. Stay in bed. Meditate. Research or discover a subject by yourself. Go for a walk alone.
Hermit Quotes: The thoughtful man becomes a hermit in the thoroughfares of the marketplace. Henry David Thoreau
I am alone here in my own mind.
There is no map
and there is no road.
It is one of a kind
just as yours is. Anne Sexton
What call’st thou solitude?
Is not the earth
With various living creatures, and the air
Replenished, and all these at thy command
To come and play before thee? John Milton
There is a pleasure in the pathless woods,
There is a rapture on the lonely shore,
There is society where none intrudes
By the deep sea, and music in its roar:
I love not man the less, but nature more. Lord Byron
Hermit Movies: Cast Away “I couldn't even kill myself the way I wanted to. I had power over *nothing*. And that's when this feeling came over me like a warm blanket. I knew, somehow, that I had to stay alive. Somehow. I had to keep breathing. Even though there was no reason to hope.”
The Shawshank Redemption “That's all it takes really, pressure, and time.”
Into the Wild “Some people feel like they don't deserve love. They walk away quietly into empty spaces, trying to close the gaps of the past.”
Boxing Clever – Packaging the Quantum Tarot
Presentation is at least half the battle with any tarot deck. Many beautiful decks have been diminished by thoughtless, over-elaborate border design, shoddy cardstock, badly-proofed text and downright crappy back designs.
This is not going to happen with the Quantum Tarot!
Our publishers, Kunati, have made it clear from the start that they’re really going to push the boat out. Borderless cards (with a strip across the bottom for the card title), gilt edging, an illustrated booklet and a sturdy, solid cigar box showing images from the deck, as well as part of the card back design.They have put a lot of love and care into the design for the Quantum and it’s wonderful to see a project that’s as cherished by its publisher as it is by its author.
Perhaps this is one reason why Kunati have just been named Independent Publisher of the Year by Foreword Magazine.
The Quantum Tarot will be published by Kunati in September 2008. It can be pre-ordered from amazon.com or amazon.ca Please also join me on Facebook, where there is a Quantum Tarot news and discussion group with pictures and information about the deck, or visit my website.
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