By Kristin Froneman
BLACK PRESS
Their cherub faces peek up from the colourful deck of cards. The divine feminine is featured strongly throughout. Their purpose is to offer solace and balance.
The practice of divination through tarot cards goes back centuries; however, one artist is giving a more personal face to those cards.
Artist Roxi Hermsen, a former Vernon resident who now lives in Salmon Arm, has recently released her new tarot deck called the Joy and Sorrow Oracle.
“It is intended to help people recovering from loss and trauma, those who need uplifting for self care and healing,” said Hermsen.
The cards, featuring Hermsen’s folk-art style of painting, have already sold worldwide in India, Thailand, New Zealand, the U.K. and across the U.S. and Canada.
This is the second tarot deck Hermsen has created.
Her original Pearls of Wisdom tarot came after the death of her young son, followed by her own health issues and the death of her mother.
Also resplendent in bright colours, symbolism and whimsical imagery, Pearls of Wisdom was recently re-released.
A former media arts teacher at Enderby’s A.L. Fortune Secondary School, Hermsen re-photographed her original paintings with a high definition Zeiss lens to create the new edition.
“The new deck has a borderless design and is high definition compared to the previous two published versions,” said Hermsen. “I also wrote new books to go with the decks and these two have sold worldwide.”
Hermsen’s son Bram, a digital designer and owner of Level Up Enterprises, did all the layout for the decks, along with the books and boxes. The decks are self-published through The Game Crafter in the U.S. and have been shipped internationally.
“If it weren’t for Bram, these decks would not exist,” said Hermsen, who has also worked with Vernon’s Okanagan Engraving to produce metallic prints and magnets showing images from her tarot decks.
Hermsen will speak about her cards, have samples on hand for people to order, and will also do readings at The Haberdashery, 3406 31st Ave., Vernon, Thursday, Sept. 22 at 5:30 p.m.
“(Haberdashery owner) Nicole Trefenko is excited to share my decks out to the world,” said Hermsen. “We will also have samples of prints on metal, magnets and cards on hand for orders to be taken.”
The Joy and Sorrow Oracle deck is also available at Armstrong Flowers and Gift Shoppe.