Tarot and Substack: a quick update
Actually, a big one
🇬🇧 🇺🇸 Fully handcrafted translation by AI, because it’s well known that French people are hopeless with foreign languages.
It’s been about 10 months now that I’ve been hanging around on Substack. Someone encouraged me to step in, it piqued my curiosity, and in the end… well… I’m still a bit wondering what I’m doing here ^^. I don’t usually structure my posts (too lazy), but I’ll try to make an effort (damn it /o\).
In the intro, I mention Substack, but actually, I’ll start with Tarot.
[Tarot] What got me into this game?
[Tarot] History and current status
[Substack] What am I still doing on Substack?
[Substack] Where is the French-speaking community? (counter DTC – for the French speakers in the room)
[Substack] Notes Vs Posts? War or complementarity?
I guess all that’s left is to try and come up with a conclusion
[Tarot] What got me into this game?
I’m not really into esotericism. At first, for me, Tarot was primarily a trick-taking card game, like Belote. I rarely play it, and usually with five players; with four, I find it boring. Like many, I knew about divinatory Tarot from afar, especially the Marseille deck, but before I got interested, it didn’t mean much to me. Still, before I even knew what the RWS Tarot was, I have to admit I had seen some pretty decks. Really nice-looking stuff, some downright beautiful. The aesthetics of certain decks are really appealing. That’s a good starting point to get interested in something, right?
If I keep crossing paths between aesthetics and cards, I was also a long-time Magic: The Gathering player—you know, that super complicated and expensive game with lots of pretty cards?
The real trigger was seeing someone working on an oracle deck and having, in a small way, participated in that process, at the risk of getting a little too involved in a work that wasn’t mine. I wouldn’t have minded, but it wasn’t my job. So, what was I doing with this project that had caught my interest? Making my own oracle? Honestly, that would have been a great idea, but it requires crazy amounts of work and I wasn’t patient enough for that. Not to mention work, sports, and friends on the side.
Well. Fair enough.
So, Tarot is ready-made archetypes. These are cards that tell the story of a life’s journey, of humanity, with its phases, successes, failures, and feelings. The script is already written; the first task is more about research than creation. That makes things a lot easier. Or so I thought... I’ve been at it for two and a half years, and I still haven’t finished uhuhuhu ^^
[Tarot] History and current status
So the starting point was someone else’s game. I also have a sister who’s interested in Tarot, which helped me a lot at certain crossroads (glory to her, may she be blessed for eons to come). The Tarot project came with a real desire to draw, in a cleaner way than what I could do before with just 90g A4 sheets, mechanical pencils, or Bic pens. I wasn’t very keen on setting up a full studio, especially since I have no background in the visual arts. Oh well, I work in IT after all! Why not get a graphics tablet? It’s cheap and doesn’t take up much space. It also gives me experience I can pass on to my (older) digital students. Fearing a useless investment, I got a pretty inexpensive one for about 40€, whose brand I barely remember. I don’t use it at home anymore, but I repurposed it at work: it still works very well, but you have to admit it forces an uncomfortable working position, keeping your eyes fixed on the screen while your hand is displaced. I gained good experience from it and the desire to upgrade to something more comfortable: a 400€ XP-Pen. I’d find it hard to do without it now; it has given me a huge amount of pleasure drawing. I still do my sketches on paper with a mechanical pencil, which I scan and then trace in Krita. If one day the technical side interests anyone, maybe I’ll go into more detail.
The first card was born on January 1st, 2023 (beautiful, isn’t it?). It was the Magician (at that time, my research and naming leaned towards the Marseille Tarot). I was really happy. Far from having a well-defined framework, I had a rough draft that allowed me to build on it. I had truly embarked on my first deck.
I must have spent six months on this deck. It was frantic, I think. That’s what kids do when they get a new toy: they wear it out to the bone. I had fun with this first deck, but in hindsight, I find it completely flawed ^^ Nevertheless, despite being full of clumsiness, I still have a certain fondness for it, because ultimately, even if unfinished, it turned out to be a rite of passage.
There is a complete set of this first deck, and even before finishing it, I started my second version. The frustration of not having created something I liked on the first try already pushed me to explore other grounds. And since I’m not comfortable with color, I decided on a black and white version while keeping the option to color some cards. The Sun and the Moon were the first arcana to see the light of day.
The main element that remains almost everywhere and comes from those early cards is the rounded-edge frame. It is now present on nearly all the designs, and I’d really like it to appear on some cards where I haven’t yet managed to include it. The Tarot deck is still what keeps me busy. Although I have a complete set, I feel like there’s so much to redo. I’ve ended up with 106 designs; most of those that have multiple versions are the major arcana, but I don’t want to neglect the minor arcana. In short, I have a lot of work ahead of me.
[Substack] What am I still doing on Substack?
I’m more of a Facebook user. Generation X, apparently. I stopped using social media for a few years—I needed a break at some point. That made me miss the Instagram wave, oh well, but I don’t regret it. I have an empty account there just to see what it looks like. But since I don’t check it, I don’t see anything, uhuhuhuhu. As for Twitter/X, I’ve never liked it. Sure, there are some great punchlines, but for me, it’s a troll tank that smells bad. As for everything else, I’ve only followed it through the news, which means I know next to nothing about it—just what others choose to share. From what I understand, a lot of people on Substack come from Instagram and LinkedIn.
Facebook still feels to me like a network you manage on the scale of friendship, and I’ve never tried to build any kind of influence there. I just see what my close ones post. Except now, it feels like hardly anyone posts anything anymore, and when they do, it’s often drowned in the noise of Facebook’s algorithms. And let’s be honest: Zuckerberg has become a real pain, and the more time goes by, the less you want to use his site without holding your nose. Let’s not mince words: Facebook is basically the scum lining the bottom of the toilet bowl. Okay… but what do we replace it with? (Facebook, not the toilet.)
So Substack became a new space for expression. Fair enough, but my friends aren’t here. I know just one person on the platform. The rest are all strangers. Well, okay, maybe I’ll stumble upon something like the forums of the 2000s (spoiler: nope). Are we supposed to talk about art here? No problem—I’m not an artist, but I do scribble on paper. That’s enough of a base to start networking. Are there lots of writers? Shit, I can’t tell stories without drawings. Phew—illustrators are tolerated (even welcomed).
Little by little, I’m exploring Substack. It seems nice, friendly, troll-free, with good vibes and all that. I’ve seen plenty of beautiful illustrations, quite a few lovely photos, and while literature isn’t my top interest, I’ve found things to read. I used to read Zeitgeist when it was free—I liked it a lot. I understand why it went paid; every effort deserves to be rewarded, especially when it’s high quality. But in all my wandering, well… I haven’t really felt like making connections. I haven’t found that spark that makes me eager to check someone’s latest post or note.
I think I’m just bored.
[Substack] Where is the French-speaking community? (counter DTC – for the French speakers in the room)
That must be why I’m writing a massive wall of text. I must be channeling the holy spirit of contradiction—responding to boredom with something boring (and I’m spending time on it, too!). And let’s be honest: Substack is a bit syrupy, a bit too agreeable… Hmmm… dare I say bland? Really? Really? Naaaaah… I feel like it’s the Francophone (and especially French) community that’s kind of sluggish. Can I explain it? Nope. Do I have any solutions? Nope. Is it really a problem? Nope. So why am I still here? Well… there are still quite a few cool illustrations, a lot of great photos, and things I never would’ve seen otherwise that are nice to look at. My English isn’t perfect, but it’s good enough to laugh or get into certain articles, and I even got to take part in sum flux, an English-language zine.
So, quick summary of the above: I’m bored in French, but I’m having fun with images and in English. Ah! That answers point #3! Now we know why I’m still on Substack!
Fun fact: I have about fifty followers (no idea how that happened, but thank you all, uhuhuhu). Most are English speakers, a few are Spanish speakers, and very few are French. Which probably means most people aren’t interested in what I write, but they look at my drawings—and that’s already something.
I know I kind of sound like I’m bad-mouthing the French side of things, but maybe this lack of patriotic investment just reflects the size of the community. Besides, lots of people seem content with what’s here, so really, my opinion can be shoved somewhere using spiked toothpicks.
I also notice the algorithm mostly sends me to English-language content, sometimes Spanish, and occasionally Dutch or German. So maybe Substack itself is playing dirty tricks on me?
I’ve tried getting some friends to check out Substack. It’s been a total flop—either because they already have all the social media they need (yay, Insta!) or because Substack comes off as too intellectual or elitist. That last point feels a bit unfair to me.
Special shoutout to life coaches and scammers: I’m pleased to say I’ve managed to avoid you—so far.
[Substack] Notes Vs Posts? War or complementarity?
I also wanted to share a few thoughts on Notes vs Posts.
When I first landed on Substack, the main mode of expression seemed to be the post/newsletter. Something a bit top-down, sure, but still a way to connect and network—and something that required you to put some real effort into your writing (yeah yeah, I know, I’m not exactly a role model here).
What stood out was the idea that newsletters went straight to your inbox—no need to visit Substack, your little magazine shows up with your slippers, right there in your email.
But now, it feels like Notes are taking over.
Less polished, more bite-sized, more… Facebook-like? Twitter-ish?
They let you reach a wider audience when used as teasers, which is great—but it also feels a bit like billboard advertising. And that kind of billboard feels almost mandatory now: no ad, no visibility. That’s kind of a bummer for a platform that’s supposed to be about writing.
Memes are popping up more and more too, which I find a bit of a shame. I already see memes on Facebook—I don’t really need Substack for that.
Notes feel like they’re encouraging doomscrolling. I’m not sure if that’s a bad thing or not, I don’t personally mind—but it does feel like the nature of Substack is changing.
Originally, Notes were meant to support and highlight Posts. Now Posts are getting buried by Notes.
I’ll admit I’ve also mostly been posting Notes lately, mainly to share my cards.
I guess all that’s left is to try and come up with a conclusion
In the end, I’ve tried to share a bit of my Tarot journey and how I feel about Substack.
Working on this Tarot project has brought me a lot—technically, and personally.
It’s something I do first and foremost for myself. I like showing it around, and it always makes me happy when someone tells me they enjoy what I do :)
Sure, it’s got nothing to do with professional-level work—but hey… I don’t really care ^^
I think it’s also taught me to organize myself more long-term, instead of just throwing out ideas as fast as they come. In that sense, Substack has been helpful too: even if there’s no big audience, it forces me to shape and order my thoughts. There’s a kind of “distillation” process that lets me bounce onto new ideas.
I’m probably still all over the place when I write—but that’s fine, I think I’m getting better anyway.
This Tarot project really matters to me.
And as long as boredom doesn’t fully take over on Substack, I’ll keep posting.
P.S.: Totally bummed that Substack doesn’t work properly on Firefox ;(
