Lua Tarot's Emperor

Discovering the people in the Lua Tarot. This is not Jesus. I know he looks like him, but this is from a photograph of a Persian man from the late 1870s. (That’s a laurel wreath on his head.)   
  
As a deck creator, particularly one who excavates 19th century photographs & engravings, I seek out images that fit intuitively & functionally with the collages I create.   
  
It’s hard to explain, but there’s a whole process. I get into a “space” for the card I’m designing and open to a particular flow of creativity. This is often a magical merging of serendipity, intention, and intuition.   
  
It can be challenging to find the “right” images for the cards. But when I do, there’s a feeling, a deep knowing.    
  
When I found this one, I “knew” this would be the The Emperor for the Lua Tarot. One big reason is because he looks a lot like my partner, David, who is an Aries. And, The Emperor card is associated with Aries.  
  
I considered that some people might see Jesus in the card, since any man with long hair and a beard like this seems to be identified as Jesus. But our global ancestors are full of men who wore their hair and beards like this. I wanted to turn this idea on its head. 
  
So, the Lua Tarot Emperor is not Jesus, but if you see Jesus, and you resonate with him being your Emperor, that’s great! (Interestingly, there are some who believe Jesus was born in early April, making him an Aries!)  
 
The tarot cards are open to your intuitive messages to come through. Reading the cards is YOUR mirror, your life experience. Your feels. There’s no judgment, just observing what comes through.   
  
There are many choices that we deck creators have to make for our cards. These choices are not always going to resonate with everyone.   
  
I ADORE this Emperor because he reminds me of my beloved Aries partner. I’m the Empress (my soul card). He’s my Emperor.    
  
  
I thought I’d take this moment to share about this card. I didn’t have space in the Lua Tarot companion booklet to include this extra information, as I have in my past projects.   
  
If you’re interested in seeing more posts like this, I’d be happy to share more. Let me know if there’s a card you are curious about!

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