The creators.
Symbolon cards are the brainchild of Peter Orban and Ingrid Zinnel. For the design they called upon Thea Weller, artist. The game came to life when the two writers found themselves performing their main activities at the interface of therapy and astrology. This combination has proven to be a fruitful one. It was as though the content of the images was conceived by a man and a woman, and brought into this world by an artist, Thea Weller.
The background
The basic idea consists of the belief that every human being is made up of 12 individuals, each with their own essential characteristics. These individuals have traditionally been described as archetypes (12 months, 12 zodiac signs, 12 knights of the Round Table, 12 tribes of Israel, 12 gods of Olympus, 12 deeds of Hercules, etc.) but not as inner personalities. In this view, all humans are multiple beings. You experience not only 12 different individuals, but also the combinations thereof. If you consider the number of possible combinations of the number 12, you end up with 78 (12 + 11 + 10 + 9 + 8 + 7 + 6 + 5 + 4 + 3 + 2 + 1). This is how the 78 Symbolon cards originated.
The use
You can use the game as a game of Memory with or without knowledge of astrology. Every interpretation of the horoscope gives a statement about the inner self. Those who know their horoscope will be able to clarify complicated issues.
An example for those who are familiar with astrology: if there is a square (90 degrees) between the Sun and Uranus, there would be a connection with the Symbolon card “The Fall”, which is the card that has close ties to the zodiac signs Leo and Aquarius. The expressive power of the theme helps the individual to better approach the content of this constellation. It is not really about planets and zodiac signs, although they are depicted on the cards. Planets and zodiac signs are merely aliases for figures and structures deep within the soul. And that's what it’s all about!
Even without a horoscope the cards can be used quite intuitively. The images speak for themselves: one is no longer required to make the correct translation on the basis of symbols, like would be the case with tarot cards. The cards speak directly to the soul.