(If you would like to see more cards or more about the deck, check out my post history!)
Hey everyone! I find that I’m always learning on this sub, especially from experienced readers.
I’ve been doing my own readings for 4+ years and I’m a professional illustrator for about 12 years. Because I’m a former an editorial artist, I always wanted to illustrate cards that have that magical feel of illustrated storybooks. This deck is of course based on the RW system.
I illustrate my work on Photoshop with my little wacom tablet, same way I always did since 2014. 😅
So I wanted to share my thought and creative process in the cards shown here. I would love any feedback, seing how people connect with my cards is one of my favorite things!
IX The Hermit: Finding your own light
I wanted to make The Hermit is surrounded by a dense, overwhelming forest. The trees are enormous, their trunks intertwine, and the path ahead isn't clearly visible. Many artistic choices were carefully done.
The darkness: It represents the unconscious, uncertainty, solitude, or the complexity of one's inner world. The Hermit isn't necessarily lost; he has deliberately entered a place where answers aren't immediately obvious.
The small glowing lantern: This is the only concentrated source of warm light in the image. I interpret it as inner wisdom, intuition, and the ability to find direction without seeing the entire path.
The enormous trees: Their scale makes the Hermit appear small. This symbolizes humility before life's mysteries, but also the wisdom that comes from recognizing how much remains unknown.
His quiet posture: He isn't struggling against the forest or rushing to escape it. He is comfortable moving slowly through uncertainty.
Three of Wands: Trusting the wider horizon
This card feels almost like the visual opposite of The Hermit which I found pretty interesting!
Instead of a closed forest, I made a huge open landscape. Instead of darkness, golden sunlight. Instead of a figure facing inward toward a mysterious environment, we see someone looking outward toward the horizon.
The expansive sea: It represents possibilities, opportunities, exploration, and a future that has not yet unfolded.
The ships: Traditionally associated with trade, expansion, and ventures already underway; to me, ships suggest that something has been set in motion! The person is now waiting to see what those efforts bring.
The elevated cliff: The figure has gained perspective. Unlike someone standing at sea level, they can see farther and understand the broader landscape.
The three upright wands: They are like anchors of intention, representing plans, commitments, or foundations that allow the person to look confidently ahead.
The warm orange and golden palette: It conveys optimism, possibility, ambition, and anticipation.
Five of Cups: The landscape of grief
I really wanted to make the whole composition to feel quiet and melancholic.
Unlike traditional depictions of the Five of Cups, where grief is communicated primarily through the figure's posture and spilled cups, the entire landscape participates in the sadness.
The three overturned cups: They represent something that has already happened and cannot simply be undone. The spilled contents have disappeared into the ground, suggesting loss, regret, or emotional energy that cannot be recovered in its original form.
The two standing cups: These are very important. They remain just behind the figure, yet the figure doesn't turn toward them. This illustrates how grief narrows our attention, making it difficult to recognize what remains.
The distant castle: Traditionally, the Five of Cups suggests a bridge and a possible way forward. Here, the castle could symbolize safety, belonging, or a life that still exists beyond the immediate experience of loss. But it feels emotionally distant.
The winding river: This is one of the most meaningful elements. The river continues to flow, regardless of the person’s sadness. It represents time, emotional processing, or life's ongoing movement.
The gray sky and muted greens: These colors create an atmosphere of emotional heaviness without making the landscape completely lifeless.
And there's something subtle about the person’s position.
The person isn't crying dramatically or reaching toward the overturned cups… They're simply standing there, looking downward.
I’m emphasizing the quiet, suspended quality of grief. That moment when someone is not yet ready to move forward, even though a path still exists.
XVII The Star: The return of trust
The Star is visually very different, but its emotional meaning becomes much richer when placed next to the Five of Cups.
Both images are quiet and both take place beside water. Both feature a solitary person. But The Star doesn't feel lonely at all! I wanted to make it feel peaceful.
The very big central star: Its brightness dominates the composition, meaning guidance, spiritual clarity, and hope. Unlike the Hermit's lantern, which illuminates only a small area, this light belongs to the entire universe.
The surrounding stars: They create a sense of order and connection. Even in darkness, the woman exists beneath something vast, beautiful, and harmonious.
The two vessels: Unlike the Five of Cups, where the cups have fallen accidentally or through some past event, the woman pours water deliberately. The act is conscious, gentle, purposeful…
The water flowing into two places: One stream returns to the larger body of water, while the other appears to nourish the shoreline. This symbolizes restoring balance between the emotional and physical worlds, or between inner healing and outward life.
The white clothing: It creates an impression of vulnerability, purity, openness, and emotional renewal.
The woman’s reflection: I really wanted to include this detail. It means self-recognition, emotional integration, and the ability to encounter oneself without fear.
In both Five of Cups and The Star, the vessels are being emptied. But in the Five of Cups, the emptiness is experienced as loss.
In The Star, emptiness becomes an act of generosity, trust, and renewal.
The physical action is almost the same, but the emotional relationship to it has changed completely.
Anyway, thank you so much if you took the time to read my interpretation of these cards, or even if you just took some time to see my artwork!
Do you feel connected with it and does it speak to you?
