Into the Mystic…

I’ve always been into cards, not the playing kind, but the arty sort, and over the years have accumulated quite a collection. Many of them were acquired when I worked at Space Age Books in the 1970s. These cards are probably quite rare these days, as you don’t see them anymore in card shops, or anywhere else for that matter.

What brought this collection to my mind was a present I received for Christmas from a friend. It was a small, pretty, vintage decoupage suitcase.

Decoupage suitcase

As you can see it is quite delightful and, as it turns out, useful as well. I decided it would be ideal for storing my collection of cards. They actually filled it to the brim.

Hunting out all the cards, from various nooks and crannies, I rediscovered an unusual set of large (150 mm x 210 mm) cards depicting the astrological signs as mandalas, which I had completely forgotten about.

They date from 1975 and are quite spectacular, so I’ve scanned them for this post. The card designs are by A T Mann, and the cards themselves were published by Dragon’s World Ltd.

Click to enlarge the images for more details.

Aries – Stonehenge – Solunar Observatory

Taurus The great pyramid at Giza Astronomical Temple	Gemini A memory theatre Vitruvius Palladio – Dee, Fludd
Cancer Jambudvita World Diagram Jaina Cosmos	Leo Figura Intellectus, Magicosmic Mnemormandala (Giordano Bruno)
Virgo Sri Yantra -  Hindu Tantric Yantra	Libra I Ching, squared and encircled
Scorpio Tibetan Buddhist Mandala, Mahakala Gonpo-Magpo Chakra	Sagittarius Aztec Calendar Wheel Precious Fire Serpents

Capricorn - Kabbalah-Sephiroth, Tree of Life.

Aquarius Astrology, Cosmic Geometry	Pisces North Rose window, Chartres Cathedral

And finally for this blog post, the solution to the Christmas Crossword in my last post.