The New EP, Part Two
Quick recap + moving ahead + . . .
First, a special welcome to new readers. You’ve arrived during a reset period at EP, so I wanted to catch you up on that process.
Recently (July 2), I realized that after almost three years (!) EP had reached an unplanned but exciting milestone:
That was the catalyst for a more comprehensive re-think. First, about EP specifically. The basic outcome? On July 11, I announced a plan that includes a new publishing schedule and the addition of paid options. For details:
7.11.23: Welcome to the New EP
On July 22, the new schedule got off to an excellent start, with a mixture of mycological Tarots and philosophical musings:
That brings us to now (July 28), and some further explanation of the EP reset. Which I hope will be interesting in its own right—but since I like to include at least a bit of “lore” in every EP post, we’ll close with another brilliant project at Tarot Sheet Revival.
A Look Ahead
Here are some notes I wrote to myself, during the above-mentioned “re-think.”
I want to keep writing and publishing EP—but I also want to make progress on a lot of other projects.
Several are Tarot-specific, like:
Revising, updating, and publishing my course, Tarot in Four Dimensions.
Finishing and publishing the new edition of The Tarot: History, Mystery, and Lore.
Finishing and publishing Symbols and Synergies, the third volume of my Tarot trilogy.
Continuing work on the “Tarot Time Capsule.”
Creating audio posts that will feature excerpts from my writing, along with notes on updates and revisions.
One is Tarot-adjacent:
I’m working out a method for recognizing/interpreting the meaningful intersections that shape our lives, and reflect underlying synchronicities.
If you’re thinking that sounds like a lot—me too.
And that’s just the Tarot list. I’ll say a bit more about one of my other projects soon, but for now, I want to stay focused on how changes to EP will fit into the Tarot agenda.
Monthly subscribers will receive chapters of my new book, Symbols and Synergies, as they are finished. Like a serial! This will enable me to begin sharing the book now, instead of waiting til it’s completed. And you’ll get newsletters on the 11th and the 22nd.
Annual subscribers will also have access to my 4D Tarot course.
Founding subscribers will have all that, PLUS several extras I’ll announce very soon.
That’s the basic outline as I see it now. All free subscribers will continue to receive an EP newsletter on the 1st of every month, plus occasional Daily Notes. Also, they’ll have access to core content from the archives, including the “Tarot Time Capsule” posts.
And of course—everyone who has subscribed since May 1 will have a free month in August. Going forward, new subscribers will have a free trial month.
I’ll be tweaking the plan over the next few weeks, so stay tuned! And this Sunday (July 30), I’ll preview some of the stories and new features I have in mind for EP 2.0.
To everyone who has been with me for a while on the EP journey . . . I’m enormously grateful for your interest and support. Writing for you has sharpened my thinking about Tarot, and pushed me to places I might not have gone otherwise.
I look forward to offering even more value in this second phase—and to sharing more aspects of my work.
Late-Breaking Lore
Friend of EP, and astrologer + cultural commentator
recently shared news of another brilliant deck from Tarot Sheet Revival.
As explained by TSR: “The GS Chosson is a faithful restoration of the oldest existing version of a Tarot de Marseille Type II. It bears this name because it was produced in Marseille by François Chosson around 1736, but the plates of cards were engraved much earlier, in 1672, by someone identified only by the initials ‘GS’.”
In case you aren’t familiar with TSR, here’s what I wrote about that project in one of my first EP posts:
Recreating a legacy
Looking back much further — if you are intrigued by very early Tarots, you might want to own a facsimile copy. The Visconti-Sforza deck has been available for many years, of course, and commercial versions of the Marseilles type are plentiful. But if you’d like something special — consider a hand-crafted deck from Tarot Sheet Revival.
These very old designs have been seen mainly in stained and faded sheets, barely salvaged from scraps re-used by bookbinders. So I didn’t really appreciate their aesthetic interest until I visited the TSR website.
Tarot Sheet Revival is a research laboratory for the rediscovery and implementation of techniques inspired by master cardmakers and wood engravers. A variety of tailor-made techniques, preparations and materials contribute to the creation of each TSR tarot — including:
handmade envelopes
original engravings
natural glues from ancient recipes
hand-glued cards made from laminated sheets
hand-cut stencils and hand-painting
In short: Through painstaking craftsmanship, TSR is recreating printed Tarot decks as they would have looked centuries ago, when the designs were fresh and vibrant.
The result seems to be much richer than other facsimiles I’ve seen — and you can watch their new work in progress on Facebook. You can also read more about the artist behind TSR, and how the cards are created, in this article from Tarot Heritage.
I’ll see you this weekend, with more updates and some new tips for enjoying Substack. In the meantime—if you haven’t taken one (or several) of my Tarot Surveys, it’s never too late! C