Six of Coins 1.1

The Six of Coins was a kind of a tricky card to shoot- we were in a bit of a rush, and an essential element of the card is that we had to have at least two other people in the image as beggars/hangers-on to make our portrayal work. Fortunately, even though it was rather last minute, we were able to get our friend Zane (@thisistheZ) to agree to be a pair of hands, and then roped my long-suffering husband Kyle into being the other pair.

Six of Coins 2.2

The six is another card that Stephanie and I tend to read a bit differently- I’ve always read it as pretty straight forward generosity and largess. The rich caring for the poor, the better-off giving alms. Whether the querent is on the giving or receiving end can vary depending on the spread, but I see it as charity and giving of wealth. Stephanie reads it more cautiously, and you can read her full take on it here. The imagery of the hands hanging on to her, and implying a certain force in their request, is from her understanding of the card, not mine.

Six of Coins 3.1

It was dark, and so we couldn’t shoot outside. I also don’t really have bare walls, so we couldn’t shoot against one of those. So our best idea was to try and shoot with one of my “fancier” rugs as a backdrop. I also only wanted Zane and Kyle’s hands in the shot, so that they were more “anonymous recipient” instead of recognizable persons. All of that led to me on a chair for half the pics, repeatedly saying things like “ok, now, step back. No, your other foot’s still in. Back… more… ok. Hold it!”

Six of Coins 4.1

You can even see my hand in one of the shots! Don’t forget to check out the full Flickr set here, and our website, Black Widow Honey. We’re also on Facebook, at facebook.com/blackwidowhoney.