the blog of author, illustrator and designer Kris Waldherr

02.09

Holly Tucker guest post: The Facts of Life, 17th Century Style

Next up for my “Most Romantic Week on the Blogosphere” featuring the Love Tarot app, is a guest post by historian and novelist Holly Tucker, Ph.D. History geeks probably know Holly from her delightful website Wonders and Marvels. Holly is an Associate Professor at Vanderbilt University. Her upcoming book Blood Work (under contract with W.W. Norton) is about the politics of early medical experimentation in seventeenth century France and England.

Here, Holly offers us the other side of seventeenth century love to Sandra Gulland’s uber-romantic entry about love letters yesterday. Instead, she writes about the baroque era’s favorite sex manual (complete with a randy illustration from it). On top of that, today we’re giving away a copy of my illustrated novel The Lover’s Path to one blog commenter. Details at the end of this post.

Tomorrow’s post: Ruth Ann Amberstone writes about the sexiest card in the tarot.

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holly tucker

Forget Cosmo. Forget Maxim. Anyone looking for sex advice in the seventeenth- and eighteenth-centuries would head straight to Nicolas Venette’s The Mysteries of Conjugal Love Reveal’d.

Take a look at the two cupids uniting their hot torches to one another. That gives you a sense of the titillating tips that Venette’s books contained–all for the purpose of making babies, of course!

So where did babies come back then?

Until the late seventeenth century, humoralism was the primary way of understanding conception. Humoralism is associated with Galen, a second-century ACE Greek physician who lived in Rome. His work was substantially influenced by his predecessor Hippocrates.

Galen held that the body was governed by a system of fluids, of “humors”: blood, phlegm, yellow bile, black bile. Each body had a “complexion” that was specific to the individual–and reflected a greater tendency toward one of the four humors. This complexion helped determine the overall health of the person, as well as their character. “Sanguine” folks were upbeat and energetic. “Phlegmatic” folks were lethargic and sad. Yellow bile led to “choleric” folks who flew easily off the handle. And depressed “melancolics” suffered from an over-abundance of black bile.

Men and women were very different from one another. Men were hot and dry; women cold and wet. (This helps to explain why men have private parts outside their bodies, more on that another time.)

For Galen, both men and women contributed “seed” in the sex act. The seeds mixed–and their overall quality of the mixture would determine whether a girl or a boy would be born. The birth of a boy was proof of the father’s virility (his seed won the battle). The birth of a girl called the father’s macho-ness into question.

In fact, the birth of a girl was frequently associated with marital sterility in the early-modern era.

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TODAY’S GIVEAWAY: We have a copy of my illustrated novel The Lover’s Path, which inspired the Love Tarot! Set in sixteenth century Venice, The Lover’s Path is based on a true story of two sisters — one of which just happened to be the most famous courtesan of her time. (Learn more about it here or watch the YouTube video.) To enter, simply leave a comment for this post. For a double entry, tell us about your favorite love story from history.

The small print: You have until midnight EST on February 14 to leave your comment. Winner will be chosen at random and announced on this blog Monday, February 15, 2010. Sorry, but the giveaway is limited to U.S. and Canada only.

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Top art: Tristan and Isolde art from the Love Tarot app by Kris Waldherr.

More about the Love Tarot app: Considered to be the most romantic app in the App Store, the Love Tarot app offers gorgeous tarot readings inspired by famous love stories, such as Tristan and Isolde and Cupid and Psyche. This five star-rated app was recently relaunched to include a tarot journal for users to save their readings and other inspirations.

Available in Lite and Full versions, learn more here. Or download the Full version on iTunes now.

Filed under be-mused, blogs we read, friends and colleagues, giveaways and raffles, iPhone apps, lover's path, tarot and oracles | 20 Responses

08.06

Only Tarot podcast

The next stop on the Goddess Tarot app blog tour is now live! Check out a podcast with me here at Only Tarot. During this 20 minute interview we talk about everything from my first tarot deck to creating art; from the artists I admire to food porn.

(Yes, food porn! That’s what I call books and movies that glorify food-as-art. One recent example: Julie and Julia. Or the memoirs of Ruth Reichl.)

Only Tarot is hosted by Lucy D. I love that she describes her site as describes as “no magic, no mumbo jumbo -– just the tarot”. Simple and to the point.

I hope you’ll stop by and listen.

Filed under be-mused, blogs we read, goddesses, tarot and oracles | No Comments

08.03

Publishing Monday: Women of Wisdom book winner

Drumroll please! Here is the winner of Kris Steinnes’ Women of Wisdom anthology:

Congratulations to Mitzi! Mitzi wrote in her comment:

Thanks for the wonderful interview – the book sounds quite good as do the ones to follow it! Looking forward to all three of them. It’s great to know about the WOW conference too – please come to the Midwest!”

Mitzi, please e-mail me at kris [at] kriswaldherr dot com — I’ll arrange for your book to be shipped to you pronto. I hope it brings you much inspiration! And thanks again to Kris Steinnes for a throught-provoking interview and for offering the book giveaway.

If you haven’t read the interview yet, check it out here. Make certain to read the comments — they’re really beautiful. Want to know more? Learn more about Kris’s Women of Wisdom foundation here and her new book here.

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As I wrote yesterday, I’m traveling with my family on the west coast right now. Nonetheless, I’m virtually visiting Arwen Lynch’s tarot blog today, as the first stop on The Goddess Tarot app blog tour. I’ve written a post about tarot in the digital age — I hope you’ll stop by to comment! On top of that, we’ll be offering a giveaway.

(It’s just all giveaways all the time these days!)

Filed under blogs we read, friends and colleagues, giveaways and raffles, goddesses, publications, tarot and oracles, travels | 4 Responses

08.02

You’re invited: The Goddess Tarot app blog tour!

goddess tarot app It’s summertime, so I’m currently on the road until mid-August. During this time, I hope to catch up with family and friends who live on the West Coast. Nonetheless, I have my semi-trusty laptop with me and will be posting periodic updates.

Along with this, I’ll be visiting blogs in August to celebrate the launch of The Goddess Tarot app. Already, I’ve gotten some press for the app — check out this article on Brokelyn.com in which I am queried about how to make an iPhone app. But for the tour, there will be much more: articles, interviews, even a podcast, along with giveaways galore!

Without further ado, here is a list of the blogs taking part in The Goddess Tarot app tour:

Monday, August 3rd — Tarot by Arwen

Tuesday, August 5th — New Age Journal

Thursday, August 6th — Only Tarot

Monday, August 10th — The Tarot Dame

Friday, August 14th — At Brigit’s Forge: A Blogue by Lunaea Weatherstone

Tuesday, August 18th — Art NYC: Marshall Sponder on the NYC Art Scene

Thursday, August 20th — Joanna Powell Colbert’s Gaian Tarot blog

Saturday, August 22nd — Owl’s Wings: The Blog of Beth Owl’s Daughter

Tuesday, August 25th — Elizabeth Genco

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BTW, if you haven’t downloaded The Goddess Tarot app yet, here are links to download the free Lite version and the paid Full version. You can find out more about the app’s features and visuals here.

Though it’s only been on the market for a week, already The Goddess Tarot app is garnering great reviews on iTunes. Here are excerpts from what people are saying about the Full version:

I’ve gotten a few tarot card apps so far and none of them can touch the Goddess Tarot for beautiful layouts and smart interactivity. It even has an animated shuffle — so clever!… Be sure to get the full version which has a variety of layouts.”

“Even if you’re not into tarot, this deck is for you. The artwork is enchanting. This is one of my most favorite decks and now it’s even better.”

“This cool app did not disappoint! As well as giving good readings — uplifting without being fluffy — there is also the opportunity to learn about the belief systems and goddesses from all over the world.”

“Kris Waldherr’s lush visuals and intuitive programming make this one of my favorite apps.”

“Beautiful images and soulful interpretations! It offers me a sense of wonder and magick — and it’s conveniently available in my iPod.”

Learn more at GoddessTarot.com.

GODDESS TAROT LITE VERSION

GODDESS TAROT FULL VERSION

Filed under blogs we read, events, friends and colleagues, giveaways and raffles, goddesses, mythic living, publications, retail therapy, tarot and oracles | 5 Responses

05.20

Pop Tudors guest post up!

Have you been watching this new season of The Tudors? I’ve been! I’ve really been enjoying the over-the-top concoction of fact and fancy that each episode brings. We even have viewing parties at my house, replete with red wine and talking back at the tv.

This season has been especially queen-heavy, starting with Jane Seymour and onto Anne of Cleves, played by a very appealing Joss Stone. (Last season’s Natalie Dormer was superb as Anne Boleyn.) Next week introduces Henry’s midlife crisis queen Catherine Howard, who is being played up by the good folks at Showtime as a Lolita-in-a-corset strumpet. (Alas, I’m sure this will upset Alisa Libby, author of the revisionist The King’s Rose.)

Anyway, Showtime’s Pop Tudors fan site has asked me to do a guest blog about Henry’s doomed queens. After thinking it through, I have one piece of advice for these maritally-challenged women: They should cover their heads!

My advice has nothing to do with showing obsequience to God or King. Rather, it’s based on common sense. If one looks at Henry’s wives throughout seasons of The Tudors past, it’s clear that the more covered up the queen’s head, the less likely she is to bite the dust.

Read the rest of my Pop Tudors post here.

PS: Last chance to win a copy of Sandra Gulland’s MISTRESS OF THE SUN. Enter our giveaway here.

Filed under be-mused, blogs we read, queens | No Comments

Holly Tucker guest post: The Facts of Life, 17th Century Style

Only Tarot podcast

Publishing Monday: Women of Wisdom book winner

You’re invited: The Goddess Tarot app blog tour!

Pop Tudors guest post up!

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