Japanese Rune Cards: The Elements

Monday, September 6, 2010

For quite some time I've wanted to create various sets of rune cards, and I finally completed the first set:  “The Elements”.  There are 9 cards in this set:  Earth, Air, Fire, Water, Wood, Stone, Metal, Light and Darkness.  All of these are painted on Artist Trading Cards, 3˝" x 2˝", with watercolor, gouache, ink, and on the “Metal” card, liquid leaf.

Japanese Rune Card: Earth
Earth

Japanese Rune Card: Air
Air

Japanese Rune Card: Fire
Fire

Japanese Rune Card: Water
Water

Japanese Rune Card: Wood
Wood

Japanese Rune Card: Stone
Stone

Japanese Rune Card: Metal
Metal

Japanese Rune Card: Light
Light

Japanese Rune Card: Darkness
Darkness

You might be wondering why I chose these particular elements.  First of all, we have the 4 traditional Greek elements:  Earth, Air, Fire, and Water.  The Chinese omit Air and include Wood and Metal.  I combined these two sets, and figured that if we're going to have Earth, Wood, and Metal, we should have Stone, too.  And, coming from a gaming background, I threw Light and Darkness in there for good measure.  Anyone who has ever had to do battle against a Shade will understand completely.

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Faith is a rational response to the evidence of God's self-revelation in nature, human history, the Scriptures and his resurrected Son.
— W. Bingham Hunter
The God Who Hears