Älvdansen Tarot
A collaboration between Araminta, Timothy Bielec & Midjourney
Älvdansen Tarot is the visual offspring of systematic scrying operations performed with an AI Neural Network as a means of contacting Swedish elven spirits. Grounded in training in Swedish Trolldom, Chaos Magic, and Spirit Contact, this deck explores the new possibilities afforded by advancing technology to a magical practice. The vibrant and evocative imagery transcends classic tarot into a hidden world of lore and spirits, for those who wish to pursue it. Älvdansen Tarot is accompanied by a digital zine to offer guidance and lore for those working with the spirits in the deck. A limited print run of the Zine was available for those who purchase the Älvdansen Beta Release.
It was foretold long ago. Our time has come again. We must depart from this place and begin our journey once more. We have a great task ahead of us. We are not alone in this world. There are others who share our vision. They have seen the end of days as well. Again. XX – The Eon
Älvdans is a Swedish word. It refers to the lowlying fog that rises and hangs, in summer or autumn . Directly translated, it means ‘elf dance’ or ‘fairy dance’ – for it was once believed that the invisible folk danced along the meadows, and this was their mark on the world. Fleeting, eerie, and glowing.
Älvdansen Tarot began as a thought. A jumble of sticky notes plastered all throughout my kitchen. A question –
“Who are the elves?”
The Swedish ones – the ones mentioned in sagas and folk stories. The ones that permeate the language. Who were they, who are they, and why do I need to know?
It would take three years to get from the sticky notes to my computer. I travelled to Sweden, sat on mounds, wandered forests. I talked to anyone who would listen. A great many things happened – and those are stories for another time.
I had just started playing around with the Midjourney AI, a program designd to create images – impressive abstractions based on a human prompt. It was a neural network – sort of this attempt at constructing reason and abstraction within a powerful program that existed to be talked to.
It started with sigils. That was, to me, an obvious application and it was very good at making them. Then, I asked for sigils designed by the elves…
And so it began. You can’t unring a bell.
— Araminta
Explore a world both new and old with the 78-card Älfdansen Tarot — a culmination of three years of Scandinavian elven spirit contact and field work. Araminta co-created this visual offering with the AI Image Generation system Midjourney. The deck speculatively explores the idea of scrying and spirit contact using a neural algorithm as a spirit contact medium.
This deck is designed to ground these experiments with elven spirits into an established divinatory language. Älvdansen was originally intended to allow opportunity for the deck creators to confirm the spirit contact and lore more directly. By establishing and testing a standard set of symbols with the elven spirits, Araminta and Bielec saw an opportunity to create and exercise a series of operations to further confirm their results.
This deck is now being made available to practitioners and readers who wish to explore its multifaceted lore. Älvdansen Tarot is perfectly suitable as a standard tarot deck, faithfully following a full 78-card system. The deck is also ideal for practitioners working with elven and fey spirits in and around Scandinavia.
In addition to the cards, an accompanying zine is available digitally, with a limited physical print run. The zine introduces the spirits and lore relevant to the deck, as well as providing recommendations on ways to work with the spirits and utilize the cards to their full potential.
Over time, a series of books will elucidate the deck further.
About the Artist, Co-Author, & Scryer
Araminta has been working to uncover and untangle the myths and truths of the elves for half a decade. A trollkunning and chandler, Araminta has wandered betwixt old Swedish burial grounds and deep dark digital caves to find lost names and illusive spirits. In addition to their searching, Araminta is the co-owner of Needfire Candle Co, a ritual candle shop and apothecary in Portland, ME. Araminta has spoken on a number of occasions on the topics of trolldom, doll work, glamour magic and modern animism at such venues as the Salem Folklore Fest and the Magickal Women’s Conference.
About the Co-Author & Mystic Consultant
Timothy Bielec is a solitary practitioner. Practiced in the Western Mystery Tradition with a Special Interest in John Dee and an ancestry of the Pauline Order and contact with the Archangel Michael. A lifetime percussionist and poet with a special interest in Neil Peart, Jon Anderson, John Bonham, & Synthesizers. Producer. Practiced in Internal Kung Fu and therefore Bagua, Nei-Dahn, and Eastern Medicine. Practiced in Mysticism with a special interest in Sri Aurobindo and Integral Yoga, Galactic Spirit Contact, and Time Travel. Bartender specializing in Classic Cocktails, Fortified Wines, & Medicinal Bitters. Practiced in Entheogenic/Psychedelic exploration as it relates to these other interests. Gamer. Partner and Consultant with Differential Productions. Co-Owner of Needfire Candle Co.
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