Category Archives: Behind the Scenes

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No LWB in the ToB?

Hi, folks! You may have noticed that the Tarot of Bones does not come with a Little White Book. That’s for a couple of reasons:

  1. I was trying to cut down on paper usage, hence doing a simple tuck box instead of something more elaborate. (I tried to have the printer not plastic-wrap the decks, but they said not doing so could cause damage to the decks during transit.)
  2. The information that you would find in a LWB–basic meanings of the cards, both upright and reversed–is already available for free on the website in the Card Art Gallery. Just click on each individual card (you can narrow things down to the Major Arcana or one of the suits with the menu above the images in the main gallery) and you’ll get several images of the assemblage for that card as well as the final card art, along with information on what materials are included (including species of skulls, etc.) I’ve also included brief upright and reversed meanings.

Generally speaking, the species of bones used in the Pips don’t really matter; I just used whatever I had on hand that worked well in the assemblage. For example, I used a deer leg bone in the Ace of Wands, but the fact that it’s deer didn’t really factor into the card’s meaning when I was designing it. Rather, the leg bone was the right size and shape for the assemblage. With some of the Courts and Majors I go into a little more detail on species, as with Temperance here.

Additionally, the Daily Draws aren’t just for promotion. They’re also for you to see the cards in action, and how I interpret them.

I know that this deck often departs quite a ways from traditional RWS-style art, and if you didn’t pick up the Tarot of Bones Companion Book you may be feeling a little lost. I am always happy to help you as best as I can if you want to know more about a given card. Just email me at lupa(dot)greenwolf(at)gmail(dot)com

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Mid-March Check-in–and ADDRESSES!

Hiya, folks!

So I just got done with MythicWorlds, one of my bigger events for the year–that’s one Big Project out of the way. I’m at the coast today, Portland tomorrow just for the day so I can run this month’s edition of Still Death, and then back coastward so I can get some studio time. I still have other big projects on my plate–finishing my Master Naturalist course, cowriting an ecotherapy curriculum, and OMG TAXES, but I’ll also continue my efforts toward getting Tarot of Bones IndieGoGo packages out the door.

By the way, I’ve already had a few packages returned to me with addresses that were no longer up to date. I’ll be contacting those of you who were affected later this week. In the meantime, can my IndieGoGo backers pretty please (with cherries on top!) make sure your address is up to date? It means you’ll get your package more quickly 🙂 This link explains how to update your address in your IndieGoGo account.

Alright, folks, back to work here–happy Spring (or Fall) Equinox to all of you!

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A Quick IndieGoGo Shipping Update

Hiya, folks! I wanted to check in real quick with a shipping update.

First, thanks to everybody who stopped by the Green Wolf booth at the Northwest Tarot Symposium last weekend to pick up your goodies! Some of you I’d already met, but some were fresh, new faces, and it was really awesome to get to meet a few of my backers in person 🙂 I honestly wish I could thank all of you face to face, but I’ll settle for a small handful who were close enough by and whose schedules allowed a visit.

Second, I am prepping the next round of packages to go out. A bit of transparency: My life is ridiculously complicated right this moment–in addition to Tarot of Bones stuff, I am also getting new assignments and readings every week in my Oregon Master Naturalist class, I’m co-writing an ecotherapy curriculum that I’ll be co-teaching next month, I’m working on the packages for my Patrons on Patreon this month, and I’m preparing to vend MythicWorlds weekend after this one. Oh, and also getting ready for having my taxes done, which always takes a couple of days to prep for (whee, self-employment and receipt wrangling!) This in addition to keeping up with my training/workouts at the local dojo, answering emails, doing the Tarot of Bones daily draw, and also sometimes eating and sleeping 😉 It’ll ease up as I knock tasks off my to-do list.

However–I’m getting some help next week! My partner is coming to visit me at the studio for a couple of days early next week, and I’ll be voluntelling him to help me get some packages taken care of. A lot of the packing process is full of picky little details that only I can attend to, but I can at least get him putting stuff into envelopes and taping shipping labels to said envelopes.

Finally, a note on perks: I have completed all the plain leather pouches that will be sent out to those who pledged for them. However, I have not yet had a chance to get into the more complex custom pouches some of you requested, or the art made with leftover bones and bits from Tarot of Bones assemblage work. I’m hoping to get going on those in the last bit of March. Also, regarding t-shirts and prints, I’ve been ordering samples from a couple of different printers because I wanted to be sure I was happy with the result, and I *think* I’ve finally got a combination of file and printer that I like. So I’ll be placing orders for shirt and print perks and should be able to start mailing those out by early April.

Thank you folks for your patience as I continue in the Great Work of mailing all this stuff out!

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Shipping Is Underway!

Two photos for ya, folks!

The first one is the big pile of packages I just took to the post office this afternoon, including the first batch of packages from the 2015 Tarot of Bones IndieGoGo Campaign! Those of you whose packages are in that batch should have gotten an email with a tracking number. They should start arriving later this week, so keep an eye on your mailboxes!

The second picture is a pile of packages that I haven’t yet labeled, but are otherwise ready to go! These are all going to be IndieGoGo fulfillments. With 250 people backing the 2015 campaign, and over 120 the 2016 campaign, I still have a LOT of packages left, and I need to work them into other obligations, like getting ready for the Northwest Tarot Symposium this weekend, and working on this week’s coursework for my Master Naturalist certification.

So please be patient–but I wanted to let you know that the shipping has begun 🙂

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THE DECK IS HERE!!!!!!!

Do you know what this pile of boxes is? It’s about 500 Tarot of Bones decks! Yes, those are some of the decks on the top of the cardboard there. They arrived earlier this week, and there are another twenty-ish boxes stashed back in Portland. I just got back to the studio yesterday evening, and I’ve been so exhausted from traveling to, being at, and coming home from PantheaCon (to include narrowly avoiding flooding in California and snow and rockslides in the Siskiyou Pass) that I just didn’t have the energy to post last night.

So this means that I’ll start packing up decks and books in the next few days; I am still waiting on some printed perks to arrive like prints and shirts, so it’s going to take me a few weeks to get everything sent out, especially as this is mostly a one-Lupa operation here. Again, I’m planning to ship out IndieGoGO orders first, and then website preorders. Also, I do need to keep a few balls rolling along to get rent and bills paid (all the money from Tarot of Bones preorders is going into defraying expenses, as I haven’t yet broken even, but we’re getting there!) So it’s going to be a matter of working on packing and shipping Tarot stuff, then going to work on something else for a while, and also being at a couple of events (Northwest Tarot Symposium, and Mythic Worlds) during March.

But I’m excited to get these out to you FINALLY, and I will email people as their packages are sent out. Please be patient, and keep your eyes peeled here for updates 🙂 And if you haven’t yet ordered your Tarot of Bones, get yours at https://thetarotofbones.com/shop/

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The Tarot of Bones Companion Book is here!

Do you know what that is? That is FIVE HUNDRED COPIES of the Tarot of Bones Companion Book! (Well, okay, 499, because I took one for myself.) The stack of boxes on the right is about four feet high. Over 200 of them are already spoken for via the IndieGoGo campaigns and other preorders, but that means there are still plenty left (and I can always order more.) You can order the Tarot of Bones deck and book (together or separately) at https://thetarotofbones.com/shop/

The decks are supposed to arrive sometime in the middle of February; once they do, I can start packing and shipping IndieGoGo orders and preorders! I do have PantheaCon in the middle of the month, and the decks are supposed to arrive just before I leave, which may affect when I’m able to start shipping, but as soon as I am home I’ll be focusing primarily on those efforts.

 

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Acknowledgements and Thank Yous

Hey, folks! Just a quick note to let you know that I’ve added a couple of pages of interest:

—The acknowledgements page is full of thank yous to all sorts of people who helped me make the Tarot of Bones happen, from those who helped supply me with materials for the assemblages, to those who supported the project financially through the two IndieGoGo campaigns, as well as those who were instigators in others ways. I know a page of thank-yous isn’t nearly enough to convey my gratitude to everyone, but it’s a start.

–I added a special page just for the photographer who brought the assemblages to life, Sandra Swan. You can find out about her and her art on her bio page, About the Photographer.

And, as always, you can find out more about the Tarot of Bones, and even pick up a set for yourself, at the official Tarot of Bones website.

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The Tarot of Bones Book is On Its Way!

AHHHH I AM SO EXCITED!!!!!! I just received the final proofs for the Tarot of Bones companion book, complete with the cover I designed and everything! It looks AWESOME, and I am so happy with it!

I have gone ahead and ordered 500 copies, more than enough to cover the preorders so far and have some left over for a while. They should arrive the end of the month. I will NOT be shipping the books out until the decks arrive in February, and again, I will be fulfilling preorders from the two IndieGoGo campaigns first.

You can, however, go ahead and preorder the book and deck (either together, or just the deck or just the book) at the Tarot of Bones site at https://thetarotofbones.com/shop – my goal is to have all the preorders sent out before March ends. Keep in mind I have several hundred preorders to fulfill, so that’s a LOT of packages to ship, but I will work as quickly as I can 🙂

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A Quick Status Update

Hey, everyone! Just wanted to give you a quick status update on the Tarot of Bones!

–I have uploaded the final book cover and interior files to CreateSpace and ordered a printed proof which should show up later this week. If all goes well I can order the first round of books, including all of the ones that have already been pre-ordered.

–The deck printing and shipping are paid for, and I’m just waiting for them to arrive! They are supposed to hit my doorstep on or around February 10. I have PantheaCon down in the Bay Area the following weekend so I’ll be bringing some with me, but in the meantime as soon as I get them I’ll start sending out IndieGoGo orders. Please remember that I got several hundred orders between the two IndieGoGo campaigns, so it will likely take me a few weeks to get them all sent out, even with a little help with packing and shipping. I’ll keep you posted.

–I am working on the other IndieGoGo perks, like the leather pouches and so forth. If you had something customizable, like the jewelry or art made from bones left over from making the assemblages, I’ll be in contact soon to get details.

This is so exciting–we’re so close to being done!!! Thank you again to everyone who has supported this project; I couldn’t have done it without you.

And as always, you can preorder the Tarot of Bones at https://thetarotofbones.com/shop/ 🙂

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THE SAMPLE DECK IS HERE!!!

THE SAMPLE DECK IS HERE!!!! Pardon the not-great pics; with all the lights and darks in the colors it’s damned hard to get a good shot of the whole deck together, and I was too excited to take the time to poke at it in GIMP much. But isn’t it BEAUTIFUL? I am so, so, so happy and it feels like all the work over the past two years has been totally worth it! I’ve okayed the print run, and we’re still on track for me to have the decks in hand in February.

Aaaaand you can still preorder the deck and book at https://thetarotofbones.com/shop/ too! If you have any issues preordering, please contact me at lupa.greenwolf(at)gmail(dot)com.