The Four Suits

Before I could hit the ground running with this project I had to decide on a cohesive look for all the cards. The hardest part was nailing down the designs for the objects that represent the four suits because they would determine the look of everything else. I went through a lot of iterations before I found something I liked for each of them.  This is a breakdown of my thought process and the meanings behind my choices.

In general, I wanted each of them to have a gem that corresponded to the specific element they represent to go with the prism theme. Then I thought it made sense for them to all be made out of some kind of metal setting for the gems. 

Cups

I chose a chalice shape for the cup because that's the glass my favorite drinks traditionally come in. For the metal, I chose pewter because it reminded me of a medieval goblet and has a bluish hue. It can also reflect color without being too shiny and distracting. The shape of the gem is an upside down triangle, which is the alchemical symbol for water. It is inspired by aquamarine.

Pentacles

Pentacles are traditionally represented as a coin or some kind of currency, so I thought that a star cut gem in a brass setting would work nicely. I created a faceted star gem and gave it an earthy green color like Peridot. The setting is hammered brass because I wanted it to look rustic and hand crafted.

Swords

The sword is made of pearl and platinum. Its heft is mitigated by the fuller down its center and further balanced by the wings on its sheath. I wanted to visually represent the balance between the lightness of air and the burden of intellect. The gems are yellow, the color of air, and are inspired by citrine.

Wands

The wand was the hardest for me to design. I knew I wanted the red, rhodolite garnet inspired gem to be in the shape of a flame to represent fire, but the shaft took a lot of time to get right. It's made of twisted bronze, reminiscent of vines sprouting upward to symbolize growth and expansion.