#Arcana of the Ancients

[macabremayhem]

The Arcana (head)canon.

I have a strong opinion: Valdemar, because of their antiquity, was born in the land that has a lot in common with ancient Egypt. Not only because of their antiquity: the developers (NH, of course) said themselves about their inspiration for the Tarot history.

Okay, Renaissance, Arabic, but... Egypt? I have never seen any specific Egyptian motifs in the visuals of the game. But what if...

Okay, okay, Valdemar is an ancient being born as a human. Somewhere in the ancient kingdom like the Ancient Egypt in the Arcana world. I'm absolutely sure!

Please don't tell me who they are: AMAB or AFAB, I really HATE THAT subject. And I really hate any kind of "AMAB Valdemar" or "AFAB Valdemar". They are NON-BINARY. They were non-binary as a human, they are non-binary as a demon and eldritch horror. That's it. Also, I love the fact that Vulgora and Valdemar are demons and have never considered that a "bad representation". Sorry, but as a non-binary person, I really want to have the ability to fully transition as an option. I want nothing to do with any option of human genitalia. And I have the strongest gender envy for the Vulgora and Valdemar. They're not human anymore, they can turn their bodies into anything they fucking want and they can live as they feel. Not AFAB. Definitely not AMAB. But Ȩ̵̙̟̬͚̊̿̉͌͜͠l̷̶̡͙̼̗̳̃̑̄͒͡d̶͒̍ͤ̓͏̴̦̮̲͓͝ŗ̛̯̪̠̤ͬͯ͂ͫ̕͠i̴̵ͪͥ̄̎͜͏̭͎͕̗ẗ̵̨̹̻̥̹ͥ̂̆͜͡ç̝͚̗̗̃̍̔ͬ͘͠͝h̆̌͛̔҉̴̧̦̲̘̪͢ ̵͚̤̲̮ͫ́̀̔̀͘͜H̴̡͙̥̩͔ͩ͛͐͛͟͞o̢̢̖̳͉͕͛͂ͫ͌͟͞r̵̞̮̮̮̄͑ͭ̃̕͢͟r̒͗̒̒͏̢͏҉̯̠̝͚o̯͔̭̝ͦ̔ͣͬ́̀͞͡r̍ͫ̔̄͝҉̛̺̺̗͔́ ̏͊̃ͮ҉̸̷̢͈̲͍̝.

Okay, let's go back to the Ancient Egypt theme. I'm sure - the developers should have had that reference, and maybe when they were building the Arcana world they had that thing in mind.

Also. I love learning something (or use my knowledge) and turning it into the Arcana reference. Ancient history is the best thing for that entertainment. So...

Meet the goddess Sekhmet. She's beautiful, she's angry. According to the myths, she wanted to destroy humans because they had humiliated her father, the Supreme God Ra.

And the goddess Sekhmet was a... patron goddess of medicine. She was a patron goddess of medicine, and the same time she had the power to command the diseases and especially the plague.

Plague!

That was her, shall we say, "crown curse sign". Medicine in ancient Egypt was also extremely advanced (for the ancient world, of course). The first time, I swear, I headcanoned Valdemar as a priest of Thoth (for the reasons). But the connection between medicine, plague and the goddess Sekhmet is amazing.

Thank you for coming to my Ted-Talk. :D With all my love for the world of Arcana, Lunatic Sun.

[agavegator]

I'm proud for what I am The guardian of the dead Appointed by the gods To be their final judge

[rasby]

I need more people in this fandom to understand that the arcana cast is old as dick

[fieriframes]

[Farewell vicious night. The Ancient Fire calls your name. The invisible spiral will always remember the responders to the Midnight Caller. The ones who write the stories. And to whom the stories go. Perhaps the eternal moon will rise again. Perhaps the darkness has reached its end.]

XIV - La Ville Invisible

Après être arrivé au lieu où se confondent existence et non-existence, une porte verte est apparue, invoquée là depuis les plaines pastorales de la plus ancienne Arcadie. J'ai chanté à la porte ces paroles qui précédaient les ténèbres : Daphnis ego in silvis, hinc usque ad sidera notus.

Des années de mystère m'avaient amené à ce seul paragraphe. Un voyage où, à chaque étape du chemin, j'espérais une conclusion, mais j'ai reçu davantage de questions à la place. Cette fois ne faisait pas exception.

Je l'ai répété encore et encore dans mon esprit. C'était enivrant. Ça ressemblait à une incantation pour des esprits puissants, comme écrit dans les livres. Mais les esprits ne sont jamais venus à moi. Même mes rêves avaient commencé à échapper à ma mémoire, comme l'amnésie dans une berceuse.

J'ai appris autant que possible sur la partie la plus significative du paragraphe : Daphnis ego in silvis, hinc usque ad sidera notus. Je fus Daphnis, habitant des bois, d’où mon nom s’est élevé jusqu’aux cieux. Cette épitaphe qui apparaît sur de nombreuses pierres tombales arcadiennes. Les origines mêmes de l’expression Et In Arcadia Ego. Les mots qui ont précédé les ténèbres.

J'ai appelé Mars Éditions encore et encore, personne ne répondait. Je suis allé au 12 Rue Jacob, mais l'enseigne au néon était éteinte et il n'y avait personne à l'intérieur. J'ai appelé The Library of Babel à Londres où j'ai acquis Nuit Sans Fin, sachant exactement à quoi m'attendre. C'est-à-dire pas de réponse.

Il me semblait que j'étais vraiment seul.

Dès le début, on avait eu l’impression que quelqu’un, ou peut-être l’univers, essayait de parler sans voix. Si j'étais honnête avec moi-même, aussi fou que ça puisse paraître, j'avais l'impression que Leonora elle-même essayait de me dire quelque chose. Chaque fois que j’arrivais dans une impasse, j’avais l’impression de la laisser tomber.

Cette ultime impasse n’a fait qu’intensifier mon intérêt pour cette phrase latine particulière et tout ce qui l’accompagnait. J'ai plongé non seulement dans le monde de l'épopée romaine et de la mythologie celtique, mais aussi dans celui de Leonora et d'autres artistes surréalistes. Livres, expositions, cours du soir, documentaires, tout ce que je pouvais trouver.

Je dois admettre que le rayon de ce nouvel intérêt s'est élargi de jour en jour et j'ai découvert de nouvelles avenues et de nouveaux mystères à explorer. Remedios Varo, Dorothea Tanning, Noëmi Manser, Kati Horna, Hilma af Klint, Julia Soboleva ont tous transformé ma vie en un rêve ambulant et ont ajouté une touche de magie à ma façon de penser et de voir le monde. Comme si mes yeux s'étaient ouverts sur “l'autre Paris”, l'invisible, les passages secrets entre les couches.

Malgré cela, Leonora ne m'a jamais quitté. J'ai une obligation envers elle que je n'ai pas remplie. Je ne sais pas quand, je ne sais pas comment, mais j'espère plus que tout qu'un jour je pourrai répondre à l'appel. Que si je peux enfin être là pour elle. Pour son esprit. Pour jouer mon rôle. Il y a une raison pour laquelle elle m'a trouvé, mais je ne la connais pas encore.

En attendant, je la garde dans ma vie. Dans mes rêves, en cette nuit sans fin. 𑁍

[arizonasandwitch]

October 25, 2024: Judgement, Upright.

Today's Question: “Is there any general lesson that either I or the five of six people that have read my Tumblr need right now?”

My Tarot deck thinks she’s cute, she gave me the Judgment Card.

Judgment is the 20th card in the Major Arcana, and this is not a card about sitting in front of a judge for traffic tickets. Judgment, in this case, is more related to “looking at the things we have done in the course of our lives, such as when we enter the afterlife.”

There were a couple of reasons I chose Anubis. He is the Egyptian god of funeral rites, the guide to the underworld, and a protector of graves. In some myths, he was the god who held the scale that weighed the soul before entering the underworld.

Plus, if you have ever been a dog parent, you will understand this. Dogs can throw the most Judgey McJudgmental faces of a puppy when you aren’t sharing the food on your plate with them. Upright or Reverse, the Judgment card is not actually here warning us of death, but to tell us to take a look at our lives, reflect on our actions.

Since Anubis showed up Upright today, he is telling us to meditate on your current situation. Do you have a long-term plan? If not, this is a time to set one.

Anubis is here to remind you (Of the mess you left when you went away) with the decisions you made in your life. Let go of the bad things in your life, and move forward.

In Reverse, This would be Anubis to take a break from reflection and rub the dog belly. You need time to breath and stop being your harshest critic. Forgive yourself and stop living in the past.

[firestorm717]

Lex Arcana

Head's up to my tabletop gamer friends: Lex Arcana is on sale now on Bundle of Holding! It's an Italian-made RPG set in an alternate universe ancient Rome, featuring mysterious cults and mythical monsters and fascinating historical figures. You play as a member of the Cohors Auxiliaria Arcana, an elite team tasked by the Emperor to confront arcane threats at the edge of the Roman empire, using a solid mix of combat and investigation skills. Lots of detailed lore - the Encyclopedia Arcana alone is worth the price as a reference book! - that can be applied to any campaign/dice system. I'm personally planning to use the setting material in a Cthulhu Invictus campaign.

Anyway, definitely check it out: https://bundleofholding.com/presents/LexArcana

The creators are releasing a setting book for Britannia and another book of short adventure modules, which I'm gonna pick up too ^_^. (Tag me if you're interested in playing Lex Arcana; I really wanna play/run a campaign).

[totentnz]

have to write a whole ass story for class... might just insert my blorbos into it to make it easier

[comparativetarot]

Four of Cups. Art by Katherine Hillier, from A Totally Unofficial Adventure Time Tarot Deck.

[macabremayhem]

The old sketch of human (or not?) Valdemar.

Because of their antiquity, I came up a headcanon about their origin. So, what about a country near the great river and with the great pyramids? Many lands of the Arcana world have references from India, Arabic region or Mongolia – so, Ancient Egypt? Why not? I can't decide, maybe this is ancient Zadith? There is nothing about Zadith in the canon, just a note in the ArcanaWiki:

"The homeland of Asra's parents, Zadith lies across the Malvent Strait from Vesuvia. This is a country where both science and magic are highly respected. Those who combine both disciplines are known as alchemists."

I think this short description is suitable for the heritage of such civilization as Egyptian.

I’m sad that the history of the world is so poorly developed, but I still love the lore so much. And I’d be happy to read (only from the original writers), say, a brief history of the world. But since there's no any history, I'm taking the liberty (and, a bit, my history degree) to assume: Zadith is the inheritor of some ancient civilization like the Ancient Egypt.

I'm not good at naming, so I will provisionally call it "Deshret" – Egyptian word for "red land, desert". Valdemar spoke about "millennia of existence", describing their antiquity, so I'm pretty sure: they have been born as a human in the ancient kingdom, like the Ancient Egypt. Also, note that red beetle brooch at the neck: similar motives were common in the Ancient Egypt. And, I think, Valdemar had this beetle brooch long before the Plague.

Okay, maybe developers in Portia's route (flashback scene with Prospero and foundation of Vesuvia) just showed Valdemar to us as we know them, because of developing another (kinda "more ancient") sprite and costume for the short scene is not viable. But anyway: we have what we have. What if we imagine that "red beetle brooch" of the Courtiers is rooted not only in the Red Plague? What about a, merely my headcanon, the Egyptian "scarab" motif?

So, there's the old traditional sketch I have. When I drew this pic, I imagined Valdemar just after their first deals with the Devil. Just look at their eyes.🫀

And – of course, they are in the tomb. Maybe as a priest? Who knows, fellow humans.

[devotedlystrangewizard]

oh no i have been caught by the imagining-my-ocs-in-a-visual-novel disease

[svenwall20]

Egyptian-Inspired Major Arcana

The Fool – Set, the Wanderer

Set, the god of chaos and change, represents a journey into the unknown, rebellion against established order, and the untamed wilderness of life’s possibilities.

The Magician – Thoth, God of Wisdom and Magic

Thoth, the ibis-headed god of writing, knowledge, and magic, represents mastery over the elements and the power to shape reality through knowledge and willpower.

The High Priestess – Isis, Goddess of Magic and Mysteries

Isis, the goddess of magic, motherhood, and mysteries, represents hidden knowledge, intuition, and the nurturing yet secretive forces of the universe.

The Empress – Hathor, Goddess of Fertility and Love

Hathor, the goddess of love, beauty, and fertility, embodies abundance, creation, and the nurturing aspects of life, symbolizing growth and prosperity.

The Emperor – Ra, God of the Sun

Ra, the all-powerful sun god and ruler of the cosmos, represents leadership, authority, and the life-giving energy of the sun. He embodies power, structure, and the divine order of creation.

The Hierophant – Amun, God of Kings and Priests

Amun, the hidden one, represents religious authority, tradition, and the conduit between the gods and humanity. He symbolizes wisdom and guidance through spiritual institutions.

The Lovers – Osiris and Isis

The divine union of Osiris, the god of the underworld, and Isis, the goddess of magic, represents love, harmony, and the balance between life and death, as well as the eternal bond between partners.

The Chariot – The Solar Barque of Ra

The Solar Barque, Ra’s divine ship that sails across the sky and through the underworld, represents willpower, determination, and triumph over obstacles in the journey through life.

Strength – Sekhmet, Goddess of War

Sekhmet, the fierce lion-headed goddess of war and healing, embodies inner strength, courage, and the raw, primal power needed to overcome adversity and find healing.

The Hermit – Anubis, Guardian of the Dead

Anubis, the jackal-headed god who guides souls through the afterlife, represents solitude, introspection, and the search for deeper truths beyond the physical realm.

Wheel of Fortune – The Scarab Beetle

The scarab, symbol of Khepri, the god of the rising sun, represents the cyclical nature of life, death, and rebirth. It embodies fate, change, and the eternal cycle of transformation.

Justice – Ma’at, Goddess of Truth and Balance

Ma’at, the goddess of truth, justice, and balance, is the ultimate arbiter of cosmic order. She represents fairness, balance, and the weighing of souls in the afterlife.

The Hanged Man – Osiris’s Sacrifice

Osiris, who was killed by Set and later resurrected, symbolizes sacrifice, surrender, and the acceptance of life’s cycles. He represents the need for personal transformation through letting go.

Death – The Judgment of Anubis

Anubis weighing the heart against the feather of Ma’at represents the transition from life to death, transformation, and the passage to the afterlife. It is the end of one phase and the beginning of another.

Temperance – The Nile Flood

The annual flooding of the Nile, which brings life to Egypt, symbolizes balance, moderation, and the necessity of harmony between opposing forces to create a thriving life.

The Devil – Apep, the Serpent of Chaos

Apep, the chaos serpent who battles Ra each night, represents bondage, temptation, and the destructive forces that can entrap the soul in darkness and confusion.

The Tower – The Fall of the Pyramid

The destruction of the pyramid represents sudden upheaval, collapse of long-held beliefs or structures, and the inevitable downfall of those who seek to defy divine order.

The Star – Sopdet, the Star of Sirius

Sopdet, associated with the star Sirius, is a beacon of hope and renewal. She heralds the rising of the Nile and the promise of rejuvenation and prosperity after hardship.

The Moon – Khonsu, God of the Moon

Khonsu, the god of the moon and time, represents intuition, dreams, and the unconscious. He guides travelers and the lost through the darkness, shedding light on the hidden.

The Sun – Horus, the Falcon God

Horus, the falcon-headed god of the sky and sun, represents triumph, success, and vitality. He embodies the victory of light over darkness and the power of divine protection.

Judgment – The Weighing of the Heart

The heart is weighed against the feather of Ma’at in the afterlife. This card symbolizes reckoning, self-reflection, and the call to higher judgment in both life and death.

The World – The Ennead

The nine gods of the Ennead, creators and rulers of the world, represent completion, unity, and the culmination of all things. This card symbolizes cosmic harmony and the eternal cycle of existence.

[slobbered]

My Dying Bride - Scarborough Fair

[rhianna]

Egyptian Tarot (Falconnier) 02.png

Le Sanctuaire / Arcane majeur / Illustrateur : Wegener, Otto (M.ce) / Livre : Les XXII lames hermétiques du tarot divinatoire, : exactement reconstituées d'après les textes sacrés et selon la tradition des mages de l'ancienne Égypte... / Auteur : Falconnier, Robert / Éditeur : Librairie de l'art indépendant (Paris; 1896)

Robert Falconnier; Maurice Otto Wegener

[ratbits]

S. Elizabeth on Karen Kuykendall's Cat People from the Outer Regions

S. Elizabeth, author of The Art of Darkness, The Art of the Occult, and The Art of Fantasy as well as the incredible Unquiet Things blog, tells us about painter Karen Kuykendall and growing up with the beautifully surreal Tarot of the Cat People. Major Arcana from The Tarot of the Cat People//image:@Karen Kuykendall Captivating, Curious, Chimerical: Karen Kuykendall’s Cat People from the Outer…

[mruschdraws]

GIFTED ARCANA Return Date

*crashes through the window*

Hello! GIFTED ARCANA is updating on Webtoon Canvas November 11th (Saturday night). See you there!

Catch up on "The Hermit" episode on the Webtoon app, or here!