Represented by: Red-legged seriema
Upright meaning: triumph, success, victory, winning. It’s indicative of pride and high self esteem.
Reversed meaning: losing, failure, loss of self confidence and self assurance.
I really wanted a red-legged seriema in my original major arcana but when I was designing the deck, it just didn’t fit naturally to any of the trump cards. When I was thinking about birds that feel victorious and triumphant, the perfect bird presented itself and finally I could draw my seriema.
Since I designed my major arcana, I’ve had a lot more experience and have gained a lot more knowledge about birds. For my birthday last year I had an educational experience at Gauntlet birds of prey where I got to handle their seriema called Kevin. Seeing this bird up close and seeing his movement allowed me to channel a bit more motion into my depiction in the card.
Seriema’s are terrestrial birds of prey from South America. They have a loud call that they use to alert other seriema of approaching danger. They are also used by farmers to protect their livestock by using their call to alert the farmers of danger. What struck me (forgive the pun) was the brutal way these birds eat their prey, they repeatedly smash them on the ground to break their bones, they’ll do this to frogs and small mammals but also to snakes. This card depicts the seriema’s victory over the snake!
My last, but maybe coolest fact about Seriemas (of which 2 known species exist) is that they are the last members of the terror bird (phorusrhacids)family who I’ve been obsessed with since I was a kid watching walking with beasts.
Hey I thought you weren’t doing a minor arcana for Occult Ornithology!?
Welllll… I get multiple messages a week about adding a minor. I’ve played around with the idea for years and finally felt compelled to have a go. Maybe I’ll finish? Maybe I’ll give up halfway through? Regardless it’s a great way for me to practice drawing and return to a style I’ve enjoyed and feel like I’ve improved on. I’m hoping to post more cards as I design them on Tuesdays, probably not all of them but some of the more fun designs.
The Art of Katie Whittle 