Abundance Tarot Card Meaning? The 49 Latest Answer

: in large quantities The city has many good restaurants. The flowers grew in abundance.

This article is about the tarot card. For the children’s television show, see Ace of Wands (TV series)

The Ace of Wands is a Minor Arcana tarot card, Arcana being Latin for Mysteries. The minor arcana cards are considered minor compared to the major arcana because they deal with the minor mysteries of life, less important archetypes.[1] Modern tarot readers interpret the ace of wands as a symbol of optimism and inventiveness.

Introduction [edit]

Tarot imagery embodies intellectual, moral, and spiritual “lessons” that represent collective human experiences across times, places, and cultures. Tarot establishes this much-sought-after connection between “self” and “other,” similar to the famous “I-Thou” relationship in Martin Buber’s Metaphysics.[2]

The ace card in a deck is considered the trump card. This card in one reading signifies success in all aspects. Luck is behind the success. This combination of success backed by hard work and luck forms the basis of the Ace card in the tarot deck.

The element of the wand suit is fire. The keywords are passion, new ventures, success, good luck.[3] Therefore, wands are enthusiastic, inspirational, and spiritually minded. Wands correspond to the zodiac signs of Aries, Leo and Sagittarius.[4] The four suits related to the modern hearts, clubs, diamonds and spades are swords, cups, pentagrams and wands.[5]

An ace-ace pair shows that a new spirit is entering one’s life. It draws on the energy of the Ace of Wands: Creativity, Excitement, Adventure, Courage, Personal Power.[6]

history [edit]

The minor arcana consists of the suit cards. The leading French occultist of the late 19th and 20th centuries, writing under the name Papus, chastised some of his colleagues for using only the Major Arcana for divination and insisted that the entire pack was essential; and all the occult theories of those whom Papus rebuked agreed with the real facts better than he did. The suit cards are in no way unique to the tarot pack; their inventor can at most have endowed the trump card with esoteric meanings, since the others were not invented by him, but rather fairly faithful copies of the Islamic cards from which the European ones were derived.[7]

Ace of Wands dictionary [ edit ]

Arrien – The Fire Torch. A deep spiritual yearning and opportunity for self-discovery and self-realization that the individual must draw on for a year.

Cowie New Idea. have a new thought

Crowley – The Root of the Forces of Fire. The essence of the element fire in its formation. The primal energy of the Divine manifests in matter at such an early stage that it is not yet definitely formulated as will.

Eakins Force. Transformative high energy. Great energy of new beginnings. A newly discovered source of power. Excitement. exhilaration

Fairfield – A New Identity. Planting seeds for a new, public identity. Making a new name for yourself or taking on a new role in life.

Greer-Inspired Consciousness. Awareness raising. desire for self-growth. new idea power explosion. The first impulse and the passionate will to start.

Edel-The beginning of the fire spirit, the intuition, the energy. A rebirth of spirit. Passions are awakened and creativity is assured. Expansive activity and willpower for whatever one’s goals dictate.

Saithe – A gift of strength, power, great sexual energy and love of life. Or chaos and things falling apart.

Sharman-Burke positive new beginnings and ideas in the element of fire. Creativity, energy and initiative. Can symbolize a new business venture, new venture, new foundation and creative force with a lot of potential and ambition for progress and success.

Stewart Fire/Light. In a sense the burning flame, while in a higher octave the universal light is the energy of being. A balancing, affirmed force, an energy that increases in potency. The god of light in harmony and balance with the dragon power.

Waite – creation, invention, enterprise, the forces resulting from it; principle, beginning, source; Birth, family, origin and in a sense of masculinity behind it, starting point of companies; Money, wealth, inheritance. (The map) represents the critical factor in the germination of a new endeavor – perhaps unseen. An opportunity to be met with boldness, strength and enthusiasm. The herald of birth, invention or entrepreneurship. An innate and primal power is released. It can also indicate a surge in vitality, creativity, or fertility that can set things in motion.

Walker Power. Power and the masculine element of fire with its connotations of heat, power, aspiration, struggle, enlightenment and consumerism.

Wanless lighting. Purity, clarity and honesty. state of enlightenment. Understanding. Having the courage to change and expand. Knowing what gives you energy and vitality.

Riley-conjures up the Force. Invisible self-organization. The spirit rises from within. Drawing desire, passion, enthusiasm, creativity. Indicates some form of ego desire.[8]

Card description/Mythological image [ edit ]

There are different versions of the Ace of Wands, as well as different interpretations of its meaning.

One is that a hand comes out of a cloud and holds a flowering wand. In the distance is a mountain peak surmounted by a castle.[9]

Another says that the image on the Ace of Wands card is the rod Moses used to strike the water out of the rock, or the mace of Hercules.[10]

How the Ace of Wands is related to life[edit]

upright [edit]

When the Ace of Wands appears upright, readers often interpret it as a call for creativity and ambition.

Vice [edit]

When the Ace of Wands appears upside down, this is often seen as a circumstance that delays progress.[11]

work [edit]

Tarot readers often interpret the ace of wands as a sign of a new and positive future, especially in the realm of work.

love [edit]

If the reader is single, this card can be taken as an indication of the beginning of a new romantic relationship. If already committed, the Ace says the relationship will have a “fresh start” and those involved in it will rise to new levels of mutual understanding.

Finance [edit]

The appearance of this card has been interpreted as a sign of a change for the better in terms of fortune and wealth, and sometimes it can even portend gifts of money or inheritance from unexpected sources.

health [edit]

Readers often see this card as an allusion to new, positive levels of health and vitality.

spirituality [edit]

Because the mind and body are intimately connected, this card can indicate a new spiritual influence coming into one’s life.[12]

Ace of Wands Key Symbols Tarot Card Meanings[edit]

Clouds: The symbolic meaning of clouds deals with ambiguity, mystery and hidden things. Most of the depictions of this card show a hand holding a flaming torch that suddenly emerges from the clouds. This is a symbol of our ideas or energy emerging from the hidden places of our psyche. Clouds often deal with hidden agendas that may keep us on hold. They can also point to underlying beliefs that keep us from being our brightest selves.

Rivers: The meaning of river symbols deals with movement, direction and the flow of our thoughts as well as our lives. When the river in the Ace of Wands tarot card flows into our psychic vision, it is a message that we need to consider the direction we are taking in our lives. Since the ace of wands is related to passion and energy, we should consider where our actions are taking us. Take the time to reconsider your goals and have confidence that you are moving in the life direction you want.

Mountains: The symbolic meanings of mountains deal with challenges, acquisition, achievement and aspirations. Mountains are a symbolic allegory for us, because when we climb them, each step brings us closer to our highest point. That highest point, the top of the mountain, can be a spiritual goal, a physical goal, or anything else we want to achieve. The mountain is inflexible and inflexible. This makes it a reminder that only we can change how we approach challenges (because the mountain certainly won’t change for us). Because of this, we can embrace the lessons we gain by taking on the challenge of the mountain. We can also be sure that the climax will always be there as we strive ever higher toward our desired outcomes.[13]

Key meanings[edit]

The main meanings of the ace of wands:[14]

birth

beginning

creativity

inventiveness

New beginnings

References[edit]

Huson, Paul, (2004) Mystical Origins of the Tarot: From Ancient Roots to Modern Usage, Vermont: Destiny Books, ISBN 0-89281-190-0 Mystical Origins of the Tarot

Further reading[edit]

Banzhaf, Hajo. The Tarot Manual. Stamford, CT: U.S. Games Systems, 1993. Print.

Decker, Ronald, Thierry Depaulis, and Michael A.E. Dummett. A Wicked Deck of Cards: The Origins of the Occult Tarot. New York: St. Martin’s, 1996. Press.

Grey, Eden. The Tarot Revealed: A Modern Guide to Reading the Tarot Cards. New York: Bell Pub., 1960. Press.

Ivtzan, Itai. “Tarot Cards: A Literature Review and Evaluation of Psychic Versus Psychological Explanations.” Journal of Parapsychology (2007): 139-40. To press.

Shepherd, Leslie. Encyclopedia of occultism and parapsychology : a compendium of information on the occult sciences, magic, demonology, … with biographical and bibliographical notes and extensive indices . Detroit, MI: Gale, 1991. Press.

Semetsky, Inna. “Transforming Ourselves/Transforming Curriculum: Spiritual Education and Tarot Symbolism.” International Journal of Child Spirituality 14.2 (2009): 105-20. To press.

Riley, Jana. Tarot Dictionary and Compendium. York Beach, Me.: Samuel Weiser, 1995. Press.

Major Arcanum

The Fool is one of the 78 cards in a tarot deck. When reading tarot cards, it is one of the 22 major arcana, sometimes numbered 0 (the first) or XXI (the last). However, in decks designed to play traditional tarot card decks, it is not usually numbered as it is not one of the 21 trump cards and instead serves a unique purpose.

Iconography[ edit ]

A medieval allegory of stupidity painted by Giotto from the Scrovegni Chapel in Padua. This depiction is similar to the jester in the earliest surviving painted decks

The fool is titled Le Mat in the Marseille Tarot and Il Matto in most Italian language tarot decks. These archaic words mean “the madman” or “the beggar” and may be related to the word for “checkmate” in reference to the original use of tarot cards for gaming purposes.[1]

In the earliest tarot decks, the fool is usually depicted as a beggar or vagabond. In the Visconti Sforza tarot deck, the fool wears ragged clothing and stockings with no shoes and carries a cane on his back. He has what looks like feathers in his hair. His unruly beard and feathers may refer to the Woodwose or wild man tradition. Another early Italian image related to the tradition is the first (and lowest) of the series of the so-called tarocchi of Mantegna. This series of prints depicting social roles, allegorical figures, and classical deities begins with Misero, a depiction of a beggar leaning on a staff.[2] A similar picture is contained in the German Court Office Game; there the fool is depicted as a barefoot man in robes, apparently with a bell on his hood, playing the bagpipes.[3]

The Marseille Tarot and related decks similarly depict a bearded person wearing a jester’s hat; He always carries a bundle of his belongings on a stick (called a bindle) that hangs over his back. He appears to be chased away by an animal, either a dog or a cat. The animal tore his pants.[4]

In the Rider-Waite deck and other esoteric decks made for cartomancy, the jester is shown as a young man unknowingly walking towards the edge of a chasm. In the Rider Waite tarot deck, he is also depicted as having a small dog with him. The fool holds in one hand a white rose (a symbol of freedom from base desires) and in the other a small bundle of possessions representing untapped collective knowledge.[5]

In French decks that do not use the traditional emblematic imagery of Italian decks for the trump suit, the jester is typically depicted as a jester or bard, reminiscent of the joker often found in the standard 52-card deck.

history [edit]

In decks before Waite-Smith, the Fool is almost always numberless. There are a few exceptions: some old decks (including the 15th-century Sola Busca) marked the card with a 0, and the 18th-century Belgian decks marked the Fool as XXII. The Fool is almost always completely independent of the trump sequence in historical decks. However, there is historical precedent for it being considered the lowest trump and the highest trump.

Traditionally, the major arcana in tarot cards are numbered with Roman numerals. The fool is numbered with the zero, one of the Arabic numerals.

The Fool could be the prequel to The Joker.[7]

Examples[edit]

In tarot card games [ edit ]

Skus (right) of The two most common fool cards in tarot decks, l’Excuse (left) of the Tarot Nouveau and the (right) of Industry and Luck

When reading tarot cards, the Fool is usually considered part of the Major Arcana. This does not apply to tarot card games; The role of the jester in most games is independent of both the plain suit and trump cards, and the card does not belong to either category. Therefore, most tarot decks originally made for playing games do not assign the Fool a number indicating his rank in the trump suit. it has none. Waite gives the Fool the number 0, but in his book he discusses the Fool between Judgment, no. 20 and Die Welt, no. 21. The only traditional deck featuring the Fool 0 is the Tarocco Piemontese. Since the 1930s, Tarot Nouveau decks have often used a black inverted mullet as the corner index for the fool. In almost all tarot games, the fool is one of the most valuable cards.

As an excuse[edit]

In most tarot decks originating in Italy and France, the fool plays a unique role. In these games, the fool is sometimes called “the excuse”. Tarot games are typically trick-taking games; Playing the Fool card excuses the player from either following suit or playing a trump. At the end of the trick, the player takes back the fool and adds it to their own trick deck, giving (in most games) the least valuable card from the same deck to the winner of the trick. If there are no cards to trade, the fool is worth one point less and the trick taker gets an extra point. Or at the end of the hand, it can be awarded to a player or team that has won all the tricks. Usually the fool cannot be caught, but in some games it can be won in the last trick, which can give a point bonus.

In a minor variant of the French Tarot, a player has dealt trump 1 but no other trumps, or the fool can make trump 1 behave the same as the fool (petit imprenable). However, under the official tournament rules, a player in this situation must bid their hand and force a re-deal (petit sec).

As lowest trump[ edit ]

The 18th-century Piedmontese game of sedici and its variants treated the fool as the lowest trump.[11] Unlike most games, The Fool is only worth one point. This is similar to the role of the miseria trump in Sicilian tarocchi.

As the highest trump[ edit ]

In most Central European Tarot games, the Fool or Skus is played simply as the 22nd trump, making it the highest trump in such games.[12] In Königrufen the Fool can be beaten, but only if played in the same trick with trump 21 and 1, in which case trump 1 wins; this is called the Emperor’s Trick or the Fairy Tale Trick.[13] In Hungarian tarock, the player who loses trump 21 to the fool is traditionally required to wear a silly hat.

As an apology and top trump card

In French tarot and droggn, the fool is an excuse, but on rare occasions it is the highest trump. If the player holding the fool has won all previous tricks, the fool becomes the highest trump in the last trick.[15]

In Troggu, the fool is the highest trump, but if it is the last trump in the player’s possession, the player can choose to throw in another card instead of following suit. Once this happens, the fool is no longer a trump but an excuse to be reserved for the final trick.[16]

As an excuse and placeholder[edit]

Before and after the trick game of Tarocchini, the fool and the magician are called contatori (counters), a limited form of wild cards.[17] They can be used individually or together to fill in missing gaps in combinations or to extend them, but they cannot fill in two consecutive gaps in consecutive combinations.[18] They cannot replace the highest trump or kings. Both cards can be used in any sequence, but since the Fool cannot be captured while the Mage is vulnerable, the player holding the Mage would want to use it judiciously.[19]

In Grosstarock games, of which the Danish Tarok is the last survivor, the fool can take the place of a missing card during pre-game explanations. However, a meld completed with the Fool is only worth half the points compared to a natural meld. Also, when leading a trick, the Fool can transform into the weakest card of any suit the player chooses, but it is placed on the player’s trick pile as an excuse. However, if the opponents lack the named color, they can get the right to set the color of the trick.

Interpretations[ edit ]

In many esoteric systems of tarot card reading, the fool is interpreted as the protagonist of a story, and the major arcana is the path the fool walks through the great mysteries of life. This path is traditionally known in card reading as the “Fool’s Journey” and is often used to introduce beginners to the meaning of Major Arcana cards.[21][22]

According to the 1910 book Pictorial Key to the Tarot by AE Waite[23] the Fool card is associated with:

Folly, mania, extravagance, intoxication, delirium, frenzy, treason. [If the card] is reversed: negligence, absence, distribution, negligence, apathy, nullity, vanity.

See also[edit]

References[edit]

Sources[edit]

This article incorporates text from the 1910 public domain book Pictorial Key to the Tarot by Arthur Edward Waite. Please feel free to update the text.

Pregnancy, fertility, motherhood, sensuality, care, creativity, beauty, femininity, nature, harmony, art

The Empress

Upright Meaning Guide

The Main Meanings of the Empress Tarot Card:

General Meaning and Interpretation (Upright)​

The Empress Tarot is the Major Arcana card of Femininity and Motherhood. It is also one of the most powerful pregnancy cards in the tarot deck. When you are a mom, you will truly come into your own and find fulfillment. If you’re a father, The Empress encourages you to expand your communication with your children and show them your caring side. Even if you’re not a parent, when The Empress comes out the message is the same, you should embrace your softer side, allow yourself to explore the emotions you’re feeling and listen to your intuition. People will be drawn to you, especially those who need the empathy, compassion and caring you can offer.

Love & Relationships (upright)​

The Empress Tarot in a Love Tarot Reading is a very positive card. If you are single, get ready to meet up because The Empress indicates that real love and romance is on the way. If you are in a relationship, it is an indicator that a committed relationship is getting deeper and more loving and loving. The empress is also an indicator of good sex. For those who enjoy the romance that the Empress card can bring, you must also remember that the Empress card is a strong pregnancy indicator. So if you’re not ready for parenthood yet, take the right precautions!​

Money & Career (upright)​

When the Empress appears in a tarot reading in a career context, you will feel very creative and inspire those around you with your passion. You will be full of new ideas. For those who are choosing a career or thinking of a career change, this is usually an indicator that you would do well in a creative field like the arts. From a financial standpoint, this is a good time for cash flow. It’s also a good time to follow your intuition about investing. As you reap the benefits, remember to share your wealth with those in need.​

Health (upright) ​

The Empress is a strong pregnancy indicator and a very good omen of success for those who are actively trying to conceive. On the other hand, if you are not planning to conceive and you could become pregnant, The Empress is a warning to be very careful and take the right precautions! If pregnancy isn’t a factor in your health concerns, The Empress is an indicator that you need to take more care of yourself and listen to your body’s signals. Watch your energy levels, take time to relax and unwind.​

Spirituality (upright)​

When the Empress appears in a tarot reading in a spiritual context, it indicates that your intuition is telling you something and you need to slow down and take the time to listen. Your instincts will be on point and it is a good time to start or continue on a spiritual path as you will find it easy to connect with your higher power and all will flow well for you. It indicates that now is a good time to cultivate your spiritual and creative gifts and connect with Mother Earth.

Reverse meaning guide

The main meanings of the reverse tarot card Empress:

Insecurity, infertility, lack of confidence, lack of growth, overbearing tendencies, disharmony, neglect,

General meaning and interpretation (reversed)

When the inverted empress appears in a tarot reading, she again challenges you to embrace your feminine qualities. This also applies to men. We are all a mix of masculine and feminine qualities. Reverse Empress indicates that you have suppressed or neglected your feminine side and need to embrace it in order to balance your masculine and feminine energies. You may be overly focused on the material and mental aspects of life rather than the emotional and spiritual when this Major Arcana card appears. The disharmony indicated by The Empress Reversed can take many forms. You may put the needs of others ahead of your own to your detriment. Or you feel so emotionally overwhelmed that you neglect those who are important to you. You may also feel unattractive and unwanted, and your confidence may have taken a hit. You need to shift focus and ground yourself to correct this imbalance. For the parents of adult children, it can be a sign of Empty Nest Syndrome. It can also be an indicator of maternal issues affecting you, depending on its placement in a tarot spread.​

Love & Relationships (vice versa)

In a Love Tarot reading, if you are single, the Empress inversion can indicate that you will have many potential partners chasing you, but you don’t necessarily have to show the world who you really are. Don’t try to be someone you’re not just to gain other people’s approval, especially when it comes to romantic relationships. If you are in a relationship, this may indicate that you are not expressing your true feelings and are repressing them to try to keep your relationship balanced. You may fear rejection or a negative reaction if you’re honest with your partner about how you’re feeling. You need to take the time to figure out why you are suppressing your emotions. Beware of becoming overbearing towards those around you as you may have this tendency at the moment. It’s just a symptom of the insecurities you’re feeling inside, so shift the focus back to yourself and it will stop. Trust your intuition and let it guide you to be the beautiful, confident and inspiring person you were born to be!

Money & Career (vice versa)

In a career context, The Empress reversed may indicate that you find your work unfulfilling or monotonous and long to do something that inspires you creatively. You may not feel valued in your work. Again, this is not necessarily the case. It has more to do with your insecurity. Now is not a time for knee-jerk reactions or big career decisions, it’s a time to stop and wait until you feel ready. Again, take some time to get to the root of your feelings and resolve them. In terms of finances, you have everything you need, although you may not be sure that there is an abundance of money. As long as you continue to make responsible choices, have confidence that you are financially secure. Don’t waste your money.​

health (vice versa)

In terms of health, the Empress generally tells you to take care of your health in a productive way while managing your emotions. It may indicate that emotional conflict can cause laziness, apathy, lethargy, or binge eating. You need to play sports and do activities that make you feel good. Your health will be all the better for it. Empress inverted in a tarot reading can also indicate fertility/pregnancy issues. This can be an unwanted pregnancy, a difficult pregnancy, a miscarriage, an abortion, or problems conceiving, depending on the supporting cards.​

spirituality (vice versa)

The inverted empress appears in a tarot reading in a spiritual context, it indicates that you have disconnected from your intuition affecting other aspects of your life. You need to reconnect with Spirit, it’s the missing link to help you out of your current crisis. Turn to spiritual women for inspiration and guidance on your spiritual path. Listen to the wisdom of the mother figures in your life.

Would you like to continue learning the meaning of the tarot cards with The Tarot Guide? On to the next card…

Grounded in self-care

As an archetype, the empress is familiar to most of us. A life giver, a creator, a source from which all life has sprung. The Empress represents the desire in every living being to grow and prosper. It represents the world that brings you forth and asks you to just be.

This empress embodies the impulse to nurture and nurture. This is fertility and growth. This is the ability to plant a seed and give it everything it needs until it grows into a plant or tree that produces its own seeds. It is nature that nourishes us. It is we who feed nature. They are cycles of life and death and rebirth. It’s a celebration of all that surrounds us, rolling in golden fields of barley and sucking up the abundance of everything. This is unstoppable, flowing life force.

This card is all about care. Self care and care for others. Compassion. Friendliness. It ensures that your own needs are met and you meet the needs of others. It is a dear friend showing you support. It is the careful creation of safe spaces. Create nurturing space. Bringing people together and encouraging them to grow together.

There is radical self-acceptance here, a willingness to be in your own skin and allow others the same freedom. Empress says: “I am here and I love myself. i belong here There’s room for me here. There is room for you too.”

That, too, is sensuality, sexuality, body love, body freedom. Skinny Diving. Strut your stuff. Wear what you want. Tenderly enjoying the body you have, its unique beauties, its strengths, its limits. Work on a healthy relationship with your physicality, play with it, try new things.

It is a physical engagement with the world that is anything but ordinary. It’s finding the magic that exists all around us, it’s the pleasure of touch, taste, smell, sound and sight. It’s a rose garden and a deep, hot bath. It’s cake or leather or whatever turns you on. The Empress is luxury.

Holding room for a friend, cooking nourishing food, or running a hot bath for a weary lover express the energy of the Empress. If you prioritize self-care and attend to your material needs, express the empress. When you tend a garden or put on your fanciest/sexiest/comfortable outfit and express what you are made of through your clothes or makeup, you are channeling the energy of the Empress. Feeling the restorative power of nature, practicing herbalism, talking to trees, camping, picking flowers for your table, watching a sunset or sitting in the park, you will experience the energy of the Empress.

Advice from the Empress

As you’ve probably gathered, the Empress wants you to love and take care of yourself – unconditionally. Since Empress energy is earthy, grounded stuff, we’re talking about making sure your physical needs are met. Concentrate on your surroundings, your home, your workplace – are these comfortable and pleasant places to stay? Nutritious food, clean linens, access to green space—these are mundane aspects of our lives, but the Empress will tell you they are the foundation of happiness. It’s easy to get distracted by “higher” pursuits – spirituality, intellectualism – but your physical world is important too. The Empress celebrates the magic of these foundations.

We all deserve to feel loved and cared for, it’s not something we have to “deserve”. The Empress can represent meeting your own needs and she can represent receiving or caring for others. Playing a nurturing role, being caring, being a parent, showing up for friends or strangers. The Empress represents these types of roles and asks you to focus on your relationship with them.

It’s important to remember that the Empress has this in balance. This is not a person who only cares about others and neglects himself. Also, this is not a person who only focuses on their own needs. There is a lot of generosity, a lot of give and take here in this card. So if you see the Empress in your readings, you should check if you are on a two-way street in terms of giving and receiving care and support.

The empress stands for perspective. When a seed is sown, the harvest doesn’t come the next day – a lot of love and care goes into bringing each plant to fruition. So Empress is about taking that time and making a commitment to support processes that are slow and organic. Whether it’s work, a relationship, a transition, a journey, the message is the same. Treat it with love and tenderness. Give him what he needs.

This is also a map of abundance. It can come up to remind you how much beauty there is in your life or to encourage you to get outside and breathe some fresh air. It’s a card that celebrates the simple things – but also one for luxury. Treat yourself (or go shopping), spoil yourself, indulge yourself.

Finally, and perhaps most obviously, the Empress is about nature. Be in touch with the world around you. Get out of the cabin and see the sky. We all know that spending time in nature is physically, emotionally, and mentally restorative. Remind yourself that you were born of this earth and will return there, that you belong here. Remember that nature loves you and you don’t have to prove anything.

keywords and terms

Self-love and love for/from others

Creativity and self-expression in all forms

abundance, wealth

Nature, cycles, feeling in tune with the seasons and nature

To be in the river

Sexuality, sensuality, joy in physicality

fertility

life force

A mother figure in your life

Some common symbols

Gift season is upon us, and if you’re looking for the perfect gift for your metaphysically inclined friend, our guide to the best tarot decks has you covered. While we may have already rounded up the best gifts for our witch sisters, we felt the tarot deserved its own complete guide.

As a must-have divination tool for the modern-day witch (and, hey, curious non-witches too), we’ve rounded up 14 of the most collectible and unconventional tarot decks.

Whether it’s for a seasoned card reader looking to complete their Rider-Waite deck or a friend looking to delve into the world of mysticism for the first time, these tips are sure to be a crowd-pleaser. Not only do they get the job done, but these interpretations of the major and minor arcana are true works of art. Just take a look at Serpentfire’s glorious She Wolfe deck by artist and writer Devany Wolfe, or artist Morgan Claire Sirene’s ultra-feminist Slutist Tarot if you need some convincing.

Bonus? Some of these decks come with their own tarot instructions, making them ideal for any newbie.

Your friends’ (ahem, or your own) journey into the occult awaits in our deck picks below.

Photo courtesy of Leila + Olive

Leila + Olive, Ophidia Pink Tarot, $48, available from Leila + Olive.

Photo courtesy of Small Spells

Small Spells Tarot Deck, $50, available from Small Spells.

Photo courtesy of Slutist

The Slutist Tarot Tarot Deck, $50, available at Slutist.

Photo courtesy of The Wild Unknown

The Wild Unknown. Tarot Box Set, $40, available at The Wild Unkown.

Photo courtesy of Serpentfire

Serpentfire, She Wolfe Tarot Deck, $65, available at Serpentire.

Photo courtesy of Amazon

Tarot Del Fuego, tarot deck by Ricardo Cavolo. $20.43, available on Amazon.

Photo courtesy of Holly Simple Studio

Holly Simple, Tarot Deck, $40, available at Holly Simple Studio.

Photo courtesy of Aina Studio

Aina Studio, the Minimalist Tarot Deck, $40, available at Aina Studio.

Photo courtesy of Bandcamp

The Black Power Tarot, Tarot Deck by King Khan and Michael Eaton, $60, available at Bandcamp.

Photo courtesy of The Starchild Tarot

The Starchild Tarot, Akashic Tarot Deck, $65, available from The Starchild Tarot.

Photo courtesy of Wanderer’s Tarot

The Wanderer’s Tarot, Midnight Edition $45, available from Wanderer’s Tarot.

Photo courtesy of Two Side Tarot

Light Gray Tarot, 78 Artist Deck, $48, available from Two Side Tarot.

Photo courtesy of Inner Hue

Inner Hue, Lumina Tarot, $70, available from Inner Hue.

Photo courtesy of Amazon

The Linestrider Tarot, Tarot Deck by Siolo Thompson, $21.31, available on Amazon.

Cards used for games or divination

Not to be confused with taro

Trump selection from the Tarot de Marseilles, a typical 18th century game

Deck of 22 Major Arcana cards inspired by the Marseille Tarot but with the author’s graphic style

The Tarot ( , first known as Trionfi and later as Tarocchi or Tarock ) is a playing card deck that has been used in various parts of Europe since at least the mid-15th century to play games such as Italian Tarocchini, French Tarot and Austrian Königrufen. Many of these are still played today. In the late 18th century, some tarot decks were used for divination through tarot reading and card reading, resulting in custom decks designed for such occult purposes.

Like the usual playing cards, Tarot has four suits that vary by region: French suits in northern Europe, Latin suits in southern Europe, and German suits in central Europe. Each suit has 14 cards: ten number cards from one (or ace) to ten and four face cards (king, queen, knight and jack/jack/page). In addition, the tarot has a separate 21-card trump suit and a single card known as the fool. This 22-card section of the tarot deck is known in divination circles as the Major Arcana. Depending on the game, the fool can act as top trump or be played to avoid following the suit.[2] These tarot cards are still used throughout much of Europe to play traditional decks of cards without occult connotations.

In English-speaking countries where these games are not as widespread, tarot cards are used primarily for novelty and divination purposes, usually using specially designed packs.[2] Some who use tarot for card reading believe that the cards have esoteric connections to ancient Egypt, Iran, Kabbalah, Indian Tantra, or the I Ching, although scholarly research has shown that tarot cards were partially invented in northern Italy in the 15th century (16 v the modern 22 Major Arcana cards) and combined with a four suit deck, the ‘Mamluk Deck’. The Mamluk deck followed the invention of paper from Asia to Western Europe and was invented in or before the 14th century (see Playing Card – Egypt and the following sections). Towards the end of the 13th century, Europeans produced the Mamluk deck with variations on the suit symbols and “face cards”.

Although some believed that the use of tarot for divination did not begin until the late 18th love”[4] (Fernando de la Torre’s “Juego de Naypes” deck of Spain, 1450, which first featured an extra trump card and a 32-card deck that contained four suits[5]).

history [edit]

c. 1500. Milanese Tarocchi, 1500.

Playing cards first came to Europe in the late 14th century, but the origin is unknown. The first records date back to 1367 in Bern and seem to have spread very quickly across Europe, as the records show, mainly about the ban on card games.[6][7][8] Little is known about the appearance and number of these cards; the only significant information is provided by a text by Johann von Rheinfelden in 1377 from Freiburg im Breisgau, which, among other versions, describes the basic pack with the still current 4 suits of 13 cards, with the courts usually being the king. Ober and Unter (“Marshals”), although Dames and Queens were already known by this point.

An early pattern of playing cards that developed was one with the suits of batons or clubs, coins, swords and cups. These suits are still used in traditional Italian, Spanish, and Portuguese playing card decks, and are also used in modern (occult) tarot divination cards, first appearing in the late 18th century.

The first documented tarot decks were recorded in Milan, Ferrara, Florence and Bologna between 1440 and 1450 when additional trump cards with allegorical illustrations were added to the common four suit deck. These new decks were called carte da trionfi, triumph cards, and the additional cards known simply as trionfi, which became “trumps” in English. The earliest documentation of trionfi is found in a written declaration in the court records of Florence from 1440 regarding the transfer of two decks to Sigismondo Pandolfo Malatesta.

The oldest surviving tarot cards are the 15 or so Visconti Sforza tarot decks painted for the rulers of the Duchy of Milan in the mid-15th century.[12] A lost tarot-like packet was commissioned by Duke Filippo Maria Visconti and probably described by Martiano da Tortona between 1418 and 1425, since the painter he mentions, Michelino da Besozzo, returned to Milan in 1418 while Martiano himself died in 1425. He described a 60-card deck containing 16 cards with images of the Roman gods and suits representing four types of birds. The 16 cards were considered “trumps” since Jacopo Antonio Marcello recalled in 1449 that the late duke had invented a genus novum quoddam et exquisitum triumphorum, or “a new and exquisite kind of triumphs”.[13] Other early decks that also showed classical motifs are the Sola Busca and Boiardo Viti decks of the 1490s.[2]

An extended deck called Minchiate was used in Florence. This 97-card deck features astrological symbols and the four elements, as well as traditional tarot designs.[2]

Although a Dominican preacher railed against the evil inherent in the cards (mainly due to their use in gambling) in a 15th-century sermon[14], no routine condemnations of the tarot have been found during its early history. [2]

Because the earliest tarot cards were hand-painted, it is believed that the number of decks produced was small. It was only after the invention of the printing press that the mass production of maps became possible. The expansion of tarot outside of Italy, first to France and Switzerland, occurred during the Italian Wars. The most prominent tarot deck version used in these two countries was the Marseille Tarot of Milanese origin.[2]

Etymology[ edit ]

Three cards from a Visconti Sforza Tarot deck. Also present: Ace of Cups, Queen of Coins and Knights of Staff.

The word tarot and German Tarock derive from the Italian tarocchi, the origin of which is uncertain, but taroch was used as a synonym for stupidity in the late 15th and early 16th centuries. The decks were known exclusively as trionfi in the 15th century. The new name first appeared in Brescia around 1502 as Tarocho.[17] During the 16th century, a new game played with a standard deck but with a very similar name (Trionfa) quickly became popular. This coincided with the renaming of the older game to Tarocchi.[2] In modern Italian, the singular term is tarocco, which as a noun refers to a variety of blood orange. The attribute tarocco and the verb taroccare are used regionally to indicate something is fake or counterfeit. This meaning derives directly from the Tarocchi game as played in Italy, in which Tarocco indicates a card that can be played in place of another card.[18] [19]

Gaming decks[ edit ]

A French Tarot deck in session

The original purpose of tarot cards was to play games. A very cursory explanation of the rules for a tarot-like deck can be found in a pre-1425 manuscript by Martiano da Tortona. Vague descriptions of gameplay or game terminology follow for the next two centuries to the earliest known complete description of the rules for a French variant in 1637 .[20] The tarot game has many regional variations. Tarocchini survived in Bologna and there are others played in Piedmont and Sicily, but the game is generally less popular in Italy than elsewhere.

The 18th century saw the greatest revival of tarot, during which time it became one of the most popular card games in Europe, played everywhere except Ireland and Britain, the Iberian Peninsula and the Ottoman Balkans.[21] French tarot saw another revival from the 1970s and France has the strongest tarot gaming community. Regional tarot games – often known as Tarock, Tarok or Tarokk – are widely played in Central Europe within the borders of the former Austro-Hungarian Empire.

Italian decks[ edit ]

This was the oldest form of tarot deck made and was first developed in northern Italy in the 15th century. Three decks in this category are still used to play specific games:

The Tarocco Piemontese consists of the four suits of swords, batons, cups and coins, each led by a king, queen, cavalier and jack, followed by the pip cards for a total of 78 cards. Trump 20 is better than 21 in most games and the fool is numbered 0 even though it is not a trump.

The Swiss 1JJ Tarot is similar but replaces the Pope with Jupiter, the Pope with Juno and the Angel with the Judgment. The trumps rank in numerical order and the tower is known as the House of God. The cards are not reversible like the Tarocco Piemontese.

The Tarocco Bolognese omits the number cards two through five in single suits, leaving it with 62 cards, and has slightly different trumps, not all of which are numbered and four of which are of the same rank. It has a different graphic design than the two above as it is not derived from the Marseille Tarot.

Italo-Portuguese deck[ edit ]

The Tarocco Siciliano is the only deck that uses the so-called Portuguese suit system, which uses Spanish pips but slices them like Italian pips. Some of the trumps are different, like the lowest trump, miseria (lack). It omits the two and three of the coins and the digits one through four in clubs, swords and cups: it thus has 64 cards, but the ace of coins is not used as it is the bearer of the former stamp duty. The cards are quite small and irreversible.[9]

Decks with French suits[ edit ]

The French suit illustrations of tarot trumps depart significantly from the older Italian suit design, eschewing the allegorical motifs of the Renaissance. With the exception of novelty decks, French suit tarot cards are used almost exclusively in card games. The first generation of French color tarots, depicting animal scenes on the trumps and hence called ‘animal tarots’, appeared around 1740. By the 1800s a greater variety of decks were being produced, mainly with genre art or veduta. Current French suit tarot decks come in these patterns:

Industrie und Glück – The art tarot deck of the Industrie und Glück (“Diligence and Fortune”[a]) genre in Central Europe uses Roman numerals for the trumps. It is sold with 54 cards; the 5 through 10 of the red suits and the 1 through 6 of the black suits are removed. There are 3 patterns – Types A, B and C – of which Type C has become the standard while Types B and C come in limited or special editions.

– The tarot deck of the genre (“Diligence and Fortune”) in Central Europe uses Roman numerals for the trumps. It is sold with 54 cards; the 5 through 10 of the red suits and the 1 through 6 of the black suits are removed. There are 3 patterns – Types A, B and C – of which Type C has become the standard while Types B and C come in limited or special editions. Tarot Nouveau – also called Tarot Bourgeois – has a deck of 78 cards. It is commonly used for tarot games in France and for Danish tarok in Denmark. It is also sometimes used in Germany to play cego. His genre art trumps use Arabic numerals in corner indices.

– also called The – has a 78-card pack. It is commonly used for tarot games in France and for Danish tarok in Denmark. It is also sometimes used in Germany to play cego. His genre art trumps use Arabic numerals in corner indices. Adler-Cego – this is an animal tarot that is used in the Upper Rhine Valley and in adjacent mountain regions such as the Black Forest or the Vosges. It has 54 cards structured like the Industry and Luck packs. Its trumps use Arabic numerals but within centered indices.

– this is an animal tarot that is used in the Upper Rhine Valley and in adjacent mountain regions such as the Black Forest or the Vosges. It has 54 cards organized like the playing cards. Its trumps use Arabic numerals but within centered indices. Schmid-Cego – this package from F.X. Schmid has genre scenes similar to those of the Tarot Nouveau, but the Arabic numerals are centered as in the eagle cego pack.

German suitable decks[ edit ]

Previously, the German states produced a variety of 78-card tarot decks, today there are only two: both designs of the Cego deck – Cego Adler by ASS Altenburger and Cego with genre scenes by F.X. Schmid, both of whom are French-suited. However, there are cards that have been and are marketed as “Tarock” cards. These are standard 36-card German suit decks of Bauerntarock, Württemberger Tarock, and Bayerischer Tarock. They are not true tarot/tarock packs, but a Bavarian or Württemberg pattern of the German suit standard decks with only 36 cards; the number cards range from 6 to 10, Under Knave (Unter), Over Knave (Ober), King and Ace. These use an Ace-Ten ranking, like Klaverjas where Ace is highest, followed by 10, King, Ober, Under, then 9 through 6. The heart suit is the standard trump suit.[2] The Bavarian deck is also used to play Schafkopf by excluding the sixes.

Spanish decks[ edit ]

Spanish-suited playing cards have four suits, and a deck usually consists of 40 or 48 cards (or even up to 52 in the oldest versions). It is categorized as a Latin-suited deck and shares strong similarities with the Italian-suited deck in that both are derived directly from the Mamluk cards. The oldest mentions come from the 14th century, making it one of the oldest in Europe.

Spanish-suited cards are used in Spain, southern Italy, parts of France, Hispanic America, North Africa, and the Philippines. The four suits are bastos (maces), oros (literally “gold”, i.e. golden coins), copas (cups) and espadas (swords). However, the suits differ in style depending on the region and time. The following patterns (and their suits) are derived from the oldest Spanish suit: the Castilian pattern, the Spanish national pattern (old Catalan pattern), the new Catalan pattern, the Franco-Spanish pattern (suit Piacentine and suit Romagnole), Madrid pattern (suit Sicilian and suit Neapolitan), Sardinian pattern and the extinct Portuguese pattern.

Like the Italian tarot, the deck is used for both gambling and card reading. The Spanish deck has been widely considered part of the occult in many Latin American countries, yet they continue to be commonly used in card games and gambling, particularly in Spain.

Castilian suit cards

Spanish deck printed in Valencia

Spanish national pattern

Piacentine suit cards

Sardinian suit cards

Unsun karuta deck from Japan, developed from the extinct Portuguese pattern

Map reading[edit]

justice card. An early prototype for Ettella’s Tarot (1785). The map.

The earliest evidence of a tarot deck used for reading comes from an anonymous manuscript from around 1750 that documents rudimentary divinatory meanings for the Tarocco Bolognese cards. The popularization of the esoteric tarot began with Antoine Court and Jean-Baptiste Alliette (Etteilla) in Paris in the 1780s with the Tarot of Marseille.[25] French tarot players abandoned the Marseilles Tarot in favor of the Tarot Nouveau around 1900, with the result that the Marseilles pattern is now used primarily by card readers.

In occult parlance[edit]

Etteilla was the first to issue a tarot deck specifically designed for occult purposes, around 1789. Consistent with the unfounded assumption that such cards came from the Book of Thoth, Ettella’s tarot contained themes related to ancient Egypt.[25]

The 78-card tarot deck used by esotericists consists of two distinct parts:

The terms “major arcana” and “minor arcana” were first used by Jean-Baptiste Pitois (aka Paul Christian) and are never used in reference to tarot decks that operate under their own set of rules.[26] Some decks exist primarily as artwork, and such art decks sometimes only feature the 22 Major Arcana.

The three most common decks used in esoteric tarot are the Marseilles tarot deck, the Rider Waite Smith tarot deck, and the Thoth tarot deck.[25]

Aleister Crowley, who developed the Thoth deck with Lady Frieda Harris, said of the tarot: “The origin of this deck is very obscure, dating back to the fifteenth or even the sixteenth century… [but] the only theory of ultimate.” What is interesting about the Tarot is that it is an admirable symbolic picture of the universe based on the data of the Sacred Kabbalah.”[ 27]

Tarot in literature[edit]

Above all, the tarot deck has inspired imaginative writing

See also[edit]

Notes [edit]

^ “Industriousness and fortune” is the contemporary meaning of the phrase industry and fortune. See, for example, Placardi, Carl (1766). The Imperial Language and Dictionary, Cölln am Rhein: Metternich, p. 72 and 83.

References[edit]

Bibliography[edit]

Further reading[edit]

Media related to Tarot Cards at Wikimedia Commons

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