Sefirot: the Gilded Legacy

On clearing mist and the labyrinth ahead
5 months ago – Tue, Apr 21, 2026 at 07:04:31 AM

Stellar beings,

It’s been a long month since we parted ways at the end of our campaign, and we wanted to get in touch once again to supply you with some perhaps much-awaited updates. 

We have a generous timeline ahead of us, with fulfilment planned for early 2027. This timeline is certainly to our advantage, since we are facing, yet again, a global crisis in manufacturing and logistics. As you all know, the actions of certain notorious individuals have yet again plunged the world into chaos, and pretty much everyone is on the receiving end, including us. We are currently putting production on standby, since the situation might ease over time, but the immense increases in energy costs are certainly problematic for our efforts. Truly interesting times, those times we are living in.

To keep our minds focused, we are turning inwards. The guidebook is a sizeable undertaking, and our writer James Patton is already at it, one card description at a time. We are very excited to give you some first insights soon. As springtime progresses, we will share some of the drafts with you. We will also open up the BackerKit phase soon, but there are still some parameters to be clarified for that.

In the meantime, feel free to jump onto our socials, join our Discord or subscribe to our newsletter. This newsletter is for campaign updates and urgent news, but we share many Dioscoriaverse updates on our main channels.

Stay safe and stay connected,
The Card Master

On card backs, chariots and the end of it all
7 months ago – Fri, Mar 13, 2026 at 07:23:22 AM

Stellar beings,

The end is nigh. We are a day away from the end of our campaign, and we shall not go quietly. In the dark of the night, the new card back has finally arrived! Lo and behold!

We hope that this design is to your satisfaction. Should you be among those that read reverse meaning, alas, with this card back there is finally no more distraction by non-symmetrical card imagery. The design is still subject to smaller changes to polish some of the details, but consider it 96% finished.

In other news, we have a winner. A decisive one. We kindly asked you to vote for the additional print for the Gilded Legacy print set, and you’ve been giving your votes in the most resounding way possible to the Chariot. The Hanged Man and the Hierophant didn’t stand a chance; the Chariot left them in the rearview mirror without an iota of mercy. 

And that’s it. We shall spend the next day watching hours go down and hopefully numbers go up until the lights of this campaign go out. But while the sun will set for now, it shall rise again very soon, once we start working on delivering what we promised you. We will post regular updates via this campaign page, but feel free to alsofollow our newsletterfor more news on Sefirot, the Hidden Isle and other projects we are conducting. And of course, more fun and banter await youon our Discord and social media channels. 

Take care,

The Card Master 

On tricky decisions and end times
7 months ago – Mon, Mar 09, 2026 at 08:14:13 AM

Stellar beings, 

It is week 4 of our campaign, and, slowly, slowly, we are approaching the end of this glorious journey. To heighten the anticipation, we are rapidly approaching our next stretch goal, which is to create an additional print for the Gilded Legacy print set! As is customary, we shall gather our collective thoughts and wishes on what this additional print should be! 

We have picked three of our finest Major Arcana for this purpose:

The Hierophant, teacher of arcane lore, who bridges the worlds.

The Chariot, thundering down the path of life, forward, ever forward.

The Hanged Man, in a state of self-chosen pain, betterment through sacrifice. 

You may chose your favorite here: https://s.surveyplanet.com/03panhb1

Time is of the essence. This poll will close next Friday. And a day later, it’s all over. For now. 

But let’s not forget: The end is just the beginning. We are thrilled to travel with you. Our road will go on and on after the campaign ends. Do you desire more banter and exchange? Our socials or Discord are at your disposal.

Stay safe and stay connected,
 

The Card Master

On Foolish Guides
7 months ago – Fri, Feb 27, 2026 at 08:41:02 AM

Stellar beings,

Welcome to yet another mid-campaign update. 

Today's update comes per popular request, since some of you wanted some insights from our guidebook. 

This is not just a mere guide to the cards but a special Dioscorian guidebook that analyses the Tarot from the city’s perspective. Written in the voice of a Dioscorian scholar, the book draws on spiritual wisdom and Dioscorian culture, revealing the secrets of the city’s founding, the sacred wisdom of the deck’s symbolism, and the connection between divination, randomness and play.

And what would such a guide look like, you might ask? See for yourself, here is a draft for the Fool card. 
 

The Fool

Humanity unbound

Freedom ◆ Exploration ◆ Recklessness

A hopeful youth strides confidently through a doorway, out into the unknown. Lit by the sun, they wander through wastes, encountering playful creatures – or do they? For the sun frames their face like a halo, and the desert wastes flutter in their cloak like a mirage. The real journey, and the imagined adventure, are equally real as the traveller sets foot across the threshold. The only certainty is that they will not return unchanged. They stand for the raw potential of every human, and of the human race itself.

The Fool is festooned with the imagery of promise and growth: they walk with a slender staff (evoking the power of the Wands) entwined with flowers; the floral design of their clothing, and the flowers in their hair, promise budding possibilities. Their clothing is covered in bells: these could perhaps be seen as similar to Pentacles – both being circular yellow metallic objects – but the jingling of bells is lighter than that of coinage. The mirth of a bell is worthless (without value, or perhaps beyond price) compared to a coin’s fixed worth. The doorway’s inscriptions bear the signs of “Aleph” and “Algiz”: the first letter and the life-rune, promising a vibrant opening. A dog and bird frolic off to one side: the wildness of the Fool’s nature has been tamed, but only to the point of play – not fenced in, but invited to caper and prance.

In a reading

The Fool represents an immense burst of human energy and freedom: how we would all look without the rules and responsibilities of everyday life. They therefore return us to a childlike optimism, where anything is possible. The Fool may be travelling – may represent an impulse to move to new pastures – but the Fool does not care about the destination, only the impulse that drives them. They may be entering a state of madness or recklessness.

This card poses the question of what the Seeker has the capability to do: what inner spark or impulse they bear, and what it could do if embraced, and liberated. The Seeker should consider what context or situation they might be invited to leave: what would it look like to join the dog and the bird, and frolic miles from any judging eye? More importantly, how would it feel?

The Fool exacerbates and intensifies the cards around it, for good or ill. Their natural peers are the Pages: also waste-wandering youths, bright-eyed, seeking some new destination. They are the mirror of The Hermit, an aged, desperate figure seeking whatever truth the Fool once set out to capture. But their true, final apotheosis is into the World: another androgynous figure set against a broad landscape, but in a state of transcendence on their journey’s final step.

In Dioscoria

The Fool is a staple of countless Dioscorian stories, for they represent the core Dioscorian values of freedom, play, and risk-taking. To the serious-minded, the Fool is a reckless person or even an imbecile, eager to throw themselves into the wilderness or off a cliff. But all Dioscorians recognise the necessity of that impulse.

Folk-tales of foolish figures who are strangely blessed, such as Ivan the Fool from the Russian tradition, are often referenced in Dioscorian farces where the hero succeeds through their innocence and lack of self-consciousness (or, for comedic effect, their stupidity). This form was modified by the influence of French Romances, which depict the Fool as the only personage pure enough to achieve the ultimate test: reaching the Holy Grail, symbol of God’s favour. Dioscorian writers stripped this form of its religious context, creating the trope of the Holy Wanderer: a fool whose naivete and recklessness is a constant source of trouble and humour, but who serves as a channel for the Divine via their unfettered innocence. This manifests first as impossible luck, but later transcends to the level of a clear blessing, as the Wanderer overcomes impossible odds and discovers latent, unsuspected abilities, as though speaking with the voice of the Spheres themselves. This figure sometimes evolves, in the course of the tale, into the Hermit: the Fool’s wiser counterpart.

The other form of The Fool in folktales is the trickster, but they are not the devilish trickster of moralising Christian tales. Rather, the Foolish trickster is a jokester, victimising all with equal regard. All are at risk of their humorous pranks: offerings to the God of Laughter. But laughter sometimes expresses an irrepressible truth: an instinct that cannot be stopped. Here we find the kernel of the Wise Fool, that prankster who tells the unvarnished truth under the veneer of a joke. Here, again, foolishness enables truth. In the Dioscorian drama The Tyrant and the Fool this is directly dramatised when the Tyrant, laughing at the Fool’s mockery, doubles over and exposes a chink in his armour. The Fool’s lover dashes forward, pricking him with poison, but trips and pricks the Fool herself as well. The tyrant and the fool die in each other’s arms, laughing feebly.

The Fool is androgynous in this deck: deliberately so, for they stand for any person and their struggle for liberty. As the zeroth card, the Fool is held to be the first step of the Major Arcana – or rather, its protagonist. It is the Fool who traverses the Majors on their way to transformation, and the ultimate destination of The World. For this reason, on New Year’s Day, one Dioscorian is chosen to play The Fool in a grand, year-long play. Over the course of the year, this Fool will play out one scene for each Major Arcana as they progress through their journey. The role of The Fool is left up to a lottery: any Dioscorian citizen could be called upon to play this character, for it is the one character that is, most intimately, at the core of every citizen.

Now that we have filled your head with foolish thoughts of the best possible kind, here are even more beautiful things from a fellow creator to consider:

The gifted illustrator Jack Brutus Penny is currently running a campaign on Kickstarter for his new card decks, the Arcane – Luxury Tarot and Art Playing Cards. They come in the form of both a playing card and a fully fledged Tarot deck. To quote the author and illustrator himself:

“Arcane Wildlife Tarot is a journey of questions, inspired by animals far more knowledgeable than us. Animals that understand natural cycles, climates, dangers, when to rest, and when to cause trouble. They do not overthink. We will try to (not) do the same.”

The campaign is running for another 14 days, back it now to not miss out on these gorgeous cards.

And that’s it for our mid-campaign update. Don’t forget to join our socials or Discord, if you require additional banter and exchange. 

Stay safe and stay connected,

The Card Master

On recent winners and roads ahead
7 months ago – Fri, Feb 20, 2026 at 03:56:15 AM

Stellar beings,

While the campaign is slowly running its course, we already have our first winner. Hundreds of you have cast their votes for either Defiance, Scribe or Fellowship, and one came out on top. But it was so, so narrow.

Without further delay, I give you the winner: The Scribe. 

Here’s a reminder what this new card will stand for:

The Scribe attempts, page after page, to write the perfect text: a seamless description of the world. Their pages of efforts have captured people, cities, worlds, in textual form, and their messages permit communication across continents and millennia. But words are never a perfect mirror of the world, and the text remains unfinished.

We still have more votes ahead of us, but for that, more stretch goals need to be reached. We are some distance away from an additional print and quite some distance from new cards. We therefore would be more than delighted, if you could share our campaign far and wide so that we can pick up some momentum. 

Fin de partie for now. Do you desire more banter and exchange? Our socials or Discord stand at the ready.

Stay safe and stay connected,

The Card Master