Our designs for the Aces are ready to tease. Here are the four Aces, all representing different interpretations of The Green Man. Each has specially chosen plants for the season represented by the suits (as per folklore, and the same as Fillide) and each plant has been chosen for its particular legendary properties.
The companion booklet this time is likely to be much longer even than that of Fillide (40 pages) as it will not only explain the plants and stories that appear in each court card, but also a summary of the mythology behind every plant chosen for the rest of the deck. I anticipate there to be over 60 different plants or herbs in the end, with a brief summary of why they've been chosen and what the legends say about their properties and uses.
Here is our Queen of Hearts, although this is only a first draft and the colours need to be decided. i mainly wanted to share to see if people liked the new half border - instead of full borders they remain but details can spill into the rest of the card.
This card is a good example of why we have chosen certain plants for certain characters. For example, the main berries you see in this image are from the Elder tree, which was believed to house a witch. In old wives tales you ran a huge risk picking its berries without protecting yourself or thanking the tree. However a wand made of elder wood was said to be the most powerful. The olive tree is associated with the goddess Athena, and the one that was planted in ancient Athens in her honour is mentioned in texts for hundreds of years before being destroyed by invaders. Running short of cash? Put some leaves of the basil plant under your pillow and your financial situation will improve*
Let me know what you think!
*not guaranteed
