When everyone started signing up for the Collaborative effort, I had fleeting thoughts about the Death card and the symbols I would use if I were brave enough to try and create something. I decided I wasn't brave enough, not to mention the very fact that I have software at my disposal but the only way I've used it is to scan, resize and change some pictures to a sepia tone. Originally when the collaborative started, I got out my colour pencils and did a quick sketch. Well, I had a play with the software and discovered layering! I then searched my clipart package for the images I had in my head and plopped them all together (with a few swear words thrown in) and got this. I especially like that little glimmer of light coming off the scythe, (way cool!) and I discovered that by accident when playing with the multitude of effects possible in the software. I'm looking at it now and I'm laughing at myself because it is a very "balanced" card.

Ok, so we have a sunset signalling an ending, a scythe signalling a time to reap a harvest or a cutting of things that are outmoded (with who knows holding it because we don't always know when change is on the way or in which form it will show itself) travelling through a wheat field, again, harvest, and with all the plants I was thinking growth. In the foreground we have poppies, signifying remembrance and analysing issues from the past, and a white rose. An eagle (associated with Scorpio) flies above and a butterfly (transformation) flits over the scene. In the original sketch it had a snake lying in the foreground but the perspective wasn't right in this computer made card to include it in the same placement. I thought I might curl it round the handle of the scythe, but I just couldn't get that to work out so gave up on that idea. There were other things I thought I could add, but I ran out of room. I tried also to get either a skeletal hand holding the scythe, or a skull showing in the wheat, but that didn't work and anyway, I was hoping for an image that wasn't scary, I think I did that by not showing any grim reaper type images.

I used Adobe® Photoshop® Elements for the creation and sourced my ClickArt Infinity software for all the royalty free images. For research, I used the following books:

Pictures from the Heart
Sandra A. Thomson
© 2003, St. Martin's Press
ISBN: 0-312-29128-0

The Complete Book of Dreams and Dreaming
Pamela J. Ball
© Arcturus Publishing Limited/Pamela Ball
ISBN: 1-84193-151-9

The Complete Idiot's Guide to Tarot and Fortune-Telling
Arlene Tognetti and Lisa Lenard
© Alpha Books, 1999
ISBN 0-02-862737-7

And looked at this site for symbol information: mysticeye.com tarotsymbols

I looked at various depictions of this card on the web.

A big thank you to those who said I should.
Bea.

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