The Heat of Summer and the King of Wands

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Just completed the King of Wands–at over three feet square it’s the largest assemblage for the Tarot of Bones thus far! I confess the frame is not one of my original pieces; I got it secondhand at a shop in the Hawthorne district of Portland a few years ago. Still, it made a fantastic backboard for this piece, centering on a pronghorn skull and bone slices, and a sun made from embroidery thread and homespun yarn, both secondhand.

It may seem a little odd to have an herbivore as the bold King of Wands. However, these antelope are lithe and strong; they evolved to outrun the now extinct North American cheetah. And they’re keenly adapted to their high-speed lives, being able to corner tightly and accelerate quickly, both mirroring the active energy of this card. And the males will fight, locking their horns together and each trying to overpower the other in order to win a chance to mate with a group of female antelope. So don’t let those skinny legs fool you–this animal is a truly swift and powerful King in his own right!

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