Meet the Lighthouse
3 months ago
– Tue, Mar 10, 2026 at 06:44:05 AM
Laura here! It's now been a week since this project launched, and the response has truly blown me away. We can't thank you all enough for your excitement, enthusiasm, and support for The Lantern.
I know many of you are already familiar with my work and previous decks, but I would like to share a little more of the process - especially for those who may be unfamiliar.
People often ask me how long it takes to make a deck. It's really hard to measure as the bulk of the time actually goes into doing research and working out what needs to be included. My list of ideas for cards starts out much longer than what can possibly be shuffled - which is a large reason why it was quickly obvious that this project deserved two decks. (And still, not everything can make it in!) This process takes the greatest amount of time - spanning months and even years in this case. There's the stacks of books checked from the library, taking reference photos, visiting museums and sites, consulting friends with who are experts in their fields, as well asking as folks in general. The actual art happens much more quickly, once all of the information has been gathered.
When it came to selecting which lighthouse to feature for the Lighthouse card, I experienced some serious choice paralysis. There are approximately 200 active lighthouses in New England. How to choose? I didn't want to just do a generic lighthouse - I felt it had to be an active, real one.
Also, I'm no stranger to lighthouses. From ages 15-18, I worked at a gift boutique on the Ocean City, NJ boardwalk that sold these beautiful, detailed sculptures of famous lighthouses. I quickly became familiar with all of them - and quite a few of those are located in New England. I've had the pleasure of seeing and photographing many of them from ferry rides and adjacent shorelines. They're all special and interesting!
So I asked folks for which New England lighthouse was their favorite. It also needed to be iconic (for the card) and preferably a tad haunted (not actually such a tall order). After much deliberation I landed upon the Nubble Light House in York, Maine. What put it over the edge (besides satisfying my criteria) is that Nubble is just way too fun to say. This detail should give you an insight into my brain - I am all about the research and overthinking things, but I'm also delighted by words and names. Nubble. NUBBLE!
I decided to put it against a stormy sky and sea. There's nothing quite like a day when the sky is darkly brooding and the ocean turns this amazing and peculiar shade of murky greenish-blue. The depiction also makes us think about what we associate with lighthouses - they're often used to symbolize hope, a beacon, safe harbor. Which makes sense when you're on dry land. But in practice, a great many lighthouses were designed to warn ships of dangerous waters - stay away from these shores! When you're in the thick of things on the water, their purpose becomes evident. They often are something to help you navigate AWAY from a situation, versus toward. Which when you consider an oracle deck, that's a very distinct and important message.
Also, while the Nubble Light won the feature, there's still more cards were lighthouses may make an appearance in the background. Oh yes, I have a very long list! It's actually very tempting to play with the idea of a whole deck of lighthouses. Though I'm afraid the messages might be a bit too similar across the board: you are alone, steadfast, and probably haunted.
