# Tarot Trails Deck — Art System

Diagrammatic Modern. Tarot as construction drawings — architectural / sacred-geometry plates, not figurative illustration.

## Colour tokens

| Token   | Hex       | Role |
|---------|-----------|------|
| Bone    | `#F3EEE4` | Card face background |
| Chalk   | `#E8E2D6` | Gallery / section surfaces |
| Ink     | `#1C1B19` | Linework, numerals, type |
| Copper  | `#8C4A2F` | Focal accent: **one fill node + one meaning-bearing stroke** per card |

Stroke weights: **0.75–1.25px**. Ambient construction lines at ~25–45% opacity; primary motif ~70–95%. No fills on geometry except the copper node. No gradients, glow, or purple.

### Copper rule

Copper = **node + one meaning-bearing stroke** (exactly):

1. **Node** — small filled circle (`#8C4A2F`) at the composition’s focal point.
2. **Stroke** — exactly one line, path, or circle outline that carries the card’s primary structural idea (`stroke="#8C4A2F"`, stroke-width ~1.05–1.2, opacity ~0.9, `fill="none"`, marked `class="copper-line"`). Not the outer frame, crop marks, or numerals.

All other motif strokes stay ink charcoal (`#1C1B19`). Do not copper-fill shapes.

## Card format

- ViewBox: `0 0 300 520` (~classic tarot portrait)
- Double frame: outer plate + inner hairline margin with corner ticks
- Numerals: top-left + rotated 180° bottom-right
  - Majors: Roman `0` … `XXI`
  - Minors: `Ace`, `2`–`10`, `Page`, `Knight`, `Queen`, `King`
- Type on cards: Instrument Sans, tracked small caps feel via letter-spacing

## Suit geometry language

| Suit | Grammar |
|------|---------|
| **Wands** | Vertical vectors, ascending shafts, flame as acute chevrons / triangles |
| **Cups** | Vesica, bowls as U-arcs, horizontal water levels, overlapping circles |
| **Swords** | Vertical spine, blade tips as triangles, crossguards, sharp diagonals, crisp cuts |
| **Pentacles** | Circles, pentagon / pentagram constructions, nested squares, material grids |
| **Majors** | Unique constructions — richer than minors; each unmistakable at thumbnail size |

## Meaning → geometry (majors sketch)

| # | Card | Construction idea |
|---|------|-------------------|
| 0 | Fool | Cliff edge + leap path + open circle of the unknown |
| I | Magician | Altar square, lemniscate, vertical axis, four tool marks |
| II | High Priestess | Pillars + veil horizontals + lunar circle on central axis |
| III | Empress | Vesica abundance, crown ticks, diamond heart |
| IV | Emperor | Hard throne square, cross of rule, stepped base |
| V | Hierophant | Triple pillars, papal triple-bar, crossed keys |
| VI | Lovers | Twin verticals, choice fork, unifying triangle |
| VII | Chariot | Chassis, dual wheels, forward chevron |
| VIII | Strength | Concentric composure + radial tension + gentle yoke |
| IX | Hermit | Staff + lantern circle + mountain path |
| X | Wheel | Rim, spokes, hub, station ticks |
| XI | Justice | Sword + balance beam + pans |
| XII | Hanged Man | Gallows beam, inverted triangle, head-down halo |
| XIII | Death | Threshold doorway, scythe arc, ground cut |
| XIV | Temperance | Two vessels, diagonal pour, balance triangle |
| XV | Devil | Inverted pentagram, bound twin circles, pedestal |
| XVI | Tower | Tall rectangle, lightning zig, falling blocks |
| XVII | Star | Guiding circle + 7 orbital nodes + water arcs |
| XVIII | Moon | Crescent (paired circles), twin pillars, winding path |
| XIX | Sun | Large circle + sparse rays + garden square |
| XX | Judgement | Trumpet triangle, rising verticals from ground line |
| XXI | World | Wreath + mandorla + four corner stations + central cross |

## File naming

```
deck/
  SYSTEM.md
  build_deck.py          # regenerates SVGs + manifest
  manifest.json
  index.html             # gallery
  cards/
    00-fool.svg … 21-world.svg
    wands-01.svg … wands-14.svg   # 11=page … 14=king
    cups-01.svg … cups-14.svg
    swords-01.svg … swords-14.svg
    pentacles-01.svg … pentacles-14.svg
```

## Manifest schema

```json
{ "id", "arcana": "major"|"minor", "suit": null|"wands"|…, "number", "name", "file", "numeral" }
```

## Hard avoids

No faces, hands, crystals, star-spam decoration, Midjourney painterly look, gold foil, Cinzel/Cormorant display costumes, glassmorphism, emoji.

## Regeneration

```bash
python3 build_deck.py
```

Motifs are authored in `build_deck.py` as distinct constructions — not a shared stamp with a number overlaid.


## Card back (verso)

Single shared reverse: **Metatron’s Cube** (Fruit of Life centres + complete connection set). Copper node at centre; copper accent = containing circle (the field). File: `cards/back.svg`.