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Jocu wrote:The rumours are true!

The Wheel of the Year turns for the penultimate time as Yule and Ostara launch on Kickstarter this Tuesday 21st February.

Sacred festivals revered by the Anglo Saxons and observed too by the Celts, Yule and Ostara see us delve into some little-known mythology that has important longstanding effects on our present day culture and language.

The origins of modern Christmas and Easter and even the days of the week are explored in this project, with the deities Eostre, Tiw, Woden and Frige all still to come in the remaining Wheel of the Year decks.

Don't miss your chance to get the early bird rewards in what will, like Samhain and Imbolc, be a simple and straightforward campaign as we prepare to finish the Wheel of the Year series by the end of 2023.

I'm excited for these. I've loved what they've done with the series so far and these look like they'll continue that.

Thanks for sharing!

I'm really excited for these two. There's something about the three of us all coming together on these particular two festivals that has brought out a lot of great ideas for the artwork and storytelling.

It's actually a much tougher research prospect - little is known about Anglo Saxon mythology as it was stamped out by the Romans and the catholic church, and making parallels with Norse mythology which is absolutely likely to be almost identical is very risky for two reasons. One, it's simply a different region and just considering differences between Welsh, Irish and Scots Celtic mythology you have to believe that the Scandinavians had some important differences.

Secondly, even with everything we know about Norse mythology it comes primarily from two sources, both of which were Christian writers and as such have a certain bias towards certain aspects of the mythology.

One of the gods included, for example, has no parallel in Norse mythology and only one mention of him exists. But the fact that his worship was explicitly forbidden in this church text alongside Woden (Odin) and Tiw (Tyr) suggests that Saxneat was revered highly by the Anglo Saxons... and yet we know literally nothing else about him.

The same goes for Frige, Woden's consort, from who we get the day of the week Friday. We DO know that her Norse counterpart has a rich and interesting mythology. But we cannot simply say 'they are the same'. And so we know. nothing else of her.

This also means that it's impossible to add Loki to the Anglo Saxon pantheon, despite his importance in Norse stories, as there is no trace of him having been known on the British Isles.

So it's all been good fun, plus Yule and Ostara are very much like Christmas and Easter, and the symbolism and traditions have remained very similar or the same. And who doesn't love Christmas and Easter eggs??

EDIT Oh! And this will be the campaign where we start to see designs for the collector's boxes.

They won't be available until he final campaign, but we will share some designs. and get feedback soon.

We have two options as requested - a wooden box with a transparent lid which allows you to see the decks lined up inside with their spine artwork, alongside a more wallet-friendly but no less luxury creation with Boschiero and Newton which will also have a transparent lid.

Very excited about these, here is how the side design is likely to look. (This is part-photo-park-mockup so ignore where the design doesn't link up perfectly)

I have been waiting for the continuation of this series. It literally can't come soon enough. So excited to get these in hand. Wheel of the year is amazing.

As a Patreon, is this included in my subscription or should I pledge for these like normal?

vasta41 wrote: ↑Fri Feb 17, 2023 9:03 am As a Patreon, is this included in my subscription or should I pledge for these like normal?

Hi! Kick-starters are always separate, as we fund these decks with KS funds and member decks with subscription funds, so no definitely won't be included in any packages.

We occasionally do special items and things for IC related to KS campaigns but with the wheel of the year we're trying to keep the campaigns simple, no stretch goals, just straightforward for everyone and low-stress.

I always enjoy a nice relaxing campaign

Anything to make it less cam-painful is much appreciated.

kevork wrote: ↑Fri Feb 17, 2023 2:22 pm Anything to make it less cam-painful is much appreciated.

Ha!

For sure, especially with this series it's all about the artwork and the history behind it. No gilded variants, nothing to upgrade - tucks are already specced out as always and the decks follow the same format as always.

It's better for us too, honestly I hate the pageantry and overhype of most campaigns. Just let me show you what we're making and you can decide to support it or not. If the design needs gilding, cold foil and so on we'll do it from the off.

Under the Moon showed us we can pretty much do anything from the get go, and more than 3 variants per campaign is a headache for both backers and us. I'm looking forward to more simple campaigns like this going forward

kevork wrote: ↑Fri Feb 17, 2023 2:22 pm Anything to make it less cam-painful is much appreciated.

A 1x8 Custom Carat Case like for the Planets series by Vanda would be dope btw.

We're live! Now... who knows how to do that magic link thing in the first post?

Jocu wrote: ↑Tue Feb 21, 2023 2:34 pm Now... who knows how to do that magic link thing in the first post?

Done

hsbc wrote: ↑Tue Feb 21, 2023 2:44 pm

Jocu wrote: ↑Tue Feb 21, 2023 2:34 pm Now... who knows how to do that magic link thing in the first post?

Done

My personal space was invaded! Thanks hsbc

Signed up for the EB mythology tier.

I went for the Mythology Bundle, but not the Mythology so far bundle as I already have several of the other decks.

It is one of my least favorite Jocu decks, but then again it is still drop dead gorgeous. I am still amazed that even a deck that doesn't get me super excited is still so amazing.

Jocu wrote: ↑Fri Feb 17, 2023 2:53 pm

kevork wrote: ↑Fri Feb 17, 2023 2:22 pm Anything to make it less cam-painful is much appreciated.

Ha!

For sure, especially with this series it's all about the artwork and the history behind it. No gilded variants, nothing to upgrade - tucks are already specced out as always and the decks follow the same format as always.

It's better for us too, honestly I hate the pageantry and overhype of most campaigns. Just let me show you what we're making and you can decide to support it or not. If the design needs gilding, cold foil and so on we'll do it from the off.

Under the Moon showed us we can pretty much do anything from the get go, and more than 3 variants per campaign is a headache for both backers and us. I'm looking forward to more simple campaigns like this going forward

And this is why I respect Jocu for being a humble card brand

Bradius wrote: ↑Tue Feb 21, 2023 5:42 pm I went for the Mythology Bundle, but not the Mythology so far bundle as I already have several of the other decks.

It is one of my least favorite Jocu decks, but then again it is still drop dead gorgeous. I am still amazed that even a deck that doesn't get me super excited is still so amazing.

It's really appreciated Brad thank you!

It's one of the difficult things to juggle really in that we don't want to always do the same style which requires branching out and creating decks that won't necessarily always resonate with our supporters whilst always retaining that soul that keeps the decks consistent.

I think of it like a tree growing out branches. If we start from Fillide (quite apt for the metaphor I guess) we couldn't have gone straight to say, The Heritage Series as it would've been too jarring. So we had to find our way there through The Green Man and with plants and flowers then Hops & Barley using these plants to create something concrete and human... then Heritage didn't seem so unusual as we had this human link and a classic deck. Then ONDA is its own branch related to the mythology of Fillide but the colours and nature of The Green Man, then Essential branches off somewhere between The Green Man and Hops & Barley as it mixes plants and their uses.

I like the idea of eventually having various series, all different in style and theme but still connected to that same tree that started everything off, so never so out there that it doesn't feel like a Jocu deck but diverse enough that it keeps things fresh and allows us to explore a lot of different areas.

Just added some new artwork to the campaign page and freshened things up a bit.

Thank you to everyone who helped us get to 200%! We're going to reward backers of this campaign and those who pledged for all of the series with some unique variant options for the display box, so do get involved to help us make this project as strong as possible rather than wait for aftermarket (plus you save a bit of money )

I was going to make a plug for the Essential Oils decks (Calendula and Lavender so far) gilded versions. For patrons, the gilded were only like 25 euro each for a magnificently gilded version, plus your patron discount made it a steal. The Clendula gilding really is stunning and one of my favorite gilded decks ever.

They were on sale for a long time, but I see now they are sold out. If you get a chance to get the next ones, consider it carefully, they really are nice decks. I was going to recommend purchasing them, but I am too late. The standard editions are still available though, and again really nice decks.

Bradius wrote: ↑Sat Mar 04, 2023 3:42 pm I was going to make a plug for the Essential Oils decks (Calendula and Lavender so far) gilded versions. For patrons, the gilded were only like 25 euro each for a magnificently gilded version, plus your patron discount made it a steal. The Clendula gilding really is stunning and one of my favorite gilded decks ever.

They were on sale for a long time, but I see now they are sold out. If you get a chance to get the next ones, consider it carefully, they really are nice decks. I was going to recommend purchasing them, but I am too late. The standard editions are still available though, and again really nice decks.

Ah thank you! That reminds me they were only out of stock in the states but have been restocked. Not that there are loads left (200 run) but there should be a few there now.

Glad to hear your feedback, our gilder is now back up and running after taking some time off to improve his machines so I’ll let you know when we have something else with him.

Edit - only sold out for general folks I think. There’s stock on the IC store for members though. Lavender all gone though.

Yes, I believe I bought all the Lavender gilded

Jocu wrote: ↑Sat Mar 04, 2023 5:52 pm

Bradius wrote: ↑Sat Mar 04, 2023 3:42 pm I was going to make a plug for the Essential Oils decks (Calendula and Lavender so far) gilded versions. For patrons, the gilded were only like 25 euro each for a magnificently gilded version, plus your patron discount made it a steal. The Clendula gilding really is stunning and one of my favorite gilded decks ever.

They were on sale for a long time, but I see now they are sold out. If you get a chance to get the next ones, consider it carefully, they really are nice decks. I was going to recommend purchasing them, but I am too late. The standard editions are still available though, and again really nice decks.

Ah thank you! That reminds me they were only out of stock in the states but have been restocked. Not that there are loads left (200 run) but there should be a few there now.

Glad to hear your feedback, our gilder is now back up and running after taking some time off to improve his machines so I’ll let you know when we have something else with him.

Edit - only sold out for general folks I think. There’s stock on the IC store for members though. Lavender all gone though.

I can't see a listing for the Calendula gilded on the site.

Same, logged in as inner circle I only see the standard

And no, I wasn’t intending on buying one, just checking for the last poster - but had they been there…

I think the standards just disappeared on me - he may be fixing things as we speak

I just logged in and I see them.

Can you post the url you are at for that? Because I can't see it no matter where I go on their site.

Odd - I’m seeing the standards again now too but still not the gilded - whats the page link?

https://www.jocu.cards/product-category/essential

What is weird is I do not see it on the main shop page. If I click on the IC store I see it if I am not logged into my acct. If I log in to my acct it disappears.

I'm really confused. I'm logged in and it doesn't show up for me there.

Log out. Go to the main page. Then click IC store at the bottom. Don't log in.

Shoot this might be easier

https://www.jocu.cards/product/essentia ... on-1-200-2

brownsl wrote: ↑Sat Mar 04, 2023 11:13 pm Log out. Go to the main page. Then click IC store at the bottom. Don't log in.

I have no idea why that worked, but it does. However it removes it from my cart as soon as I log in to check out.

edit: welp, I was able to check out, but only if I didn't log in. Not sure what's going on.