Scott Schultz wrote: >>>>What does the Dragaeran Tarot represent? In the real world, Tarot >> >> operates >>>>on several levels. At the highest level, it's a symbolic guidebook of >> >> the >>>>stages of life and enlightenment and a kind of philosophical teaching >> >> aide. >>>>At the middle level it's a semi-magical apparatus full of arcane >> >> symbology >>>>(how much depends on the agenda of the publisher of any particular >> >> deck) >>>>which lends itself to divination of various sorts. At the lowest >> >> level, it's >>>>simply a fancy deck of playing cards. It's rather amusing to look >> >> through a >>>>modern Tarrochi deck because the cards are duplicated vertically in >> >> the same >>>>fashion as a deck of standard playing cards. The Hanged Man, for >> >> instance, >>>>becomes nothing more than two pairs of disembodied legs joined at the >> >> waist. >>>> >>>> >> >> That's funny. The trouble with comparing arcana of our world with that of Brust's universe is that ours evolved from various religions and religious-type beliefs. We have no way of checking to see if one fantasy works and another doesn't - so we end up with a mismatch. In a world where divine beings can actually be called with measurable responses, such confusion messes things up. One god will not want to be confused with his enemy god. Rules that don't work - can have bigger consequences than losing paying customers. >>>>I guess the biggest question to answer is whether this is to be truly >> >> a >>>>"Dragarean Tarot" or if it's simply a standard Tarot illustrated with >>>>Dragaeran imagery. The latter would be easier to create, while the >> >> former >>>>would be of more interest though to a possibly narrower audience. >> >> (There are >>>>plenty of people who collect "standard" Tarot decks who might be >> >> interested >>>>in a Dragaeran Tarot.) >>>> >>>> >>>> >> >> I would expect people who believe in Tarot to be unwilling to accept a completely alien mythos. But I suspect that most of us who attend SF conventions are like those characters in _Charles Fort Never Mentioned Wombats_, we separate out our fantasy out from the world. I have to admit I have zero patience with people who believe in Tarot and astrology in our world. There's really no reason that Dragaeran Tarot has major and minor arcana, Fools, hanged men or any of the things that have evolved into current Tarot. (How long have our current Tarot been stable anyway - if nothing else, time will change things). But those might be selling points for people who collect such. Still, it might be more interesting to come up with a completely new deck with new rules that matched Dragaeran reality.