While SinceWorld Tarot Day, created by the iconic Den Elder, a prolific writer, Tarot Grandmaster, and founder of The Church of Tarot, got the idea for World Tarot Day back in 2003. Every May 25th, the rest is history in the making as celebrations are growing more prevalent and elaborate every year.
In celebration of World Tarot Day, Shuffled Ink is debunking 3 common myths about tarot cards.
Word Tarot Day – Myth #1- There are strict rules to tarot (Trionfi) reading
There is no right or wrong way of reading tarot cards. Actually, there are numerous methods, strategies, approaches and traditions used. There is no secret tarot rulebook or club, it’s all about what you make of it. Like any hobby, learning how to read tarot takes time and practice!
World Tarot Day – Myth # 2 – Your first tarot (Tarocchi) deck has to be a gift
The origins of this commonly accepted myth are unknown. Tarot cards make an excellent gift. And, there is actually nothing wrong with purchasing a tarot deck for yourself! Tarot experts say that making sure you like the look of your tarot deck is important! Beauty is subjective, it’s important that you like the style and artwork of your deck to ensure proper practice!
Shuffled Ink actually knows how important creating a beautiful deck is. This is why we offer vivid colors and dozens of finish and cardstock options to ensure your custom deck lives up to its full potential and is the most grabbed on the shelf.
World Tarot Day – Myth #3: Tarot (tarock) is used only for predicting the future
Tarot cards alone do not be able to predict your future. Many people utilize tarot cards to determine divination. Some believe tarot cards have divinatory power, actually, many do not necessarily agree on the source of that power.
The cards are simply a tool to use to try to interpret and understand a future or present situations. Tarot decks are used in different ways and for many reasons. Tarot is seen as a tool to guide one spiritually, or provide clarity on your current situation. They are not just to attempt to predict your future.
There are many reasons people use tarot cards. Some people incorporate it into a religion they already practice, some users are completely non-spiritual. Non-religious use their decks for inspiration
Tarot users who believe tarot can tell the future, collectively believe that it tells one possible future, and that future is not absolute. “Negative” readings should not be of such great concern. Actually, every tarot card communicates positive and negative messages.
World Tarot Day, May 25 – every year, your tarot future says be there!
This article is the next installment of a two-part series about how playing cards were used in different ways in previous centuries. Before our modern deck obtained its traditional look, playing card decks were often highly customized, and used for a variety of different purposes. The previous article covered how playing cards were used in more typical ways: for playing card games, for art, and for education. But the past has also witnessed playing cards being commonly used for other purposes, like the ones described here.
For Fortune Telling
Fortune telling, or cartomancy, has a long history and association with playing cards. While a traditional deck is rarely used for fortune telling today, the connection between playing cards and cartomancy continues, even though playing cards were used for playing games long before they were ever used for fortune telling. Especially in some cultures, there continues to be a close relationship between cards and fortune telling, which is why in the popular mind gypsies are associated with fortune telling cards.
Despite what some people think, the origin of our modern deck does not lie in the fortune telling Tarot deck. Tarot cards appear to have been a separate and later development from a standard deck of playing cards, and rather than pre-date the traditional deck, the 78 card Tarot deck actually came a century or two later. In fact, historical evidence suggests that the additional 22 cards common to a Tarot deck originated as trump cards for more advanced games, and at some point the addition of these cards to a standard deck led to a larger Tarot deck. This was first used for more complex trick-taking games, but later began to develop a life of its own in the hands of cartomancers and occultists.
The rise of divination eventually did see the use of playing cards for fortune telling and cartomancy, and the earliest known fortune-telling deck is by John Lenthall and dates from around the late 1600s. While the legitimacy of fortune telling will be dismissed by most modern secularists today, it cannot denied that it has made an important contribution to the history of playing cards and also had an impact on its artwork. This is particularly the case with the larger Tarot deck, which soon became a tool of choice for cartomancers, and is still commonly used as such today. Many Tarot decks were created with all the cards having colourful images that depicted all manner of disasters or good fortune. Many different Tarot decks exist, and these often feature wonderful artwork, and continue to be popular with collectors worldwide.
For Magic
As we’ve seen already, playing cards were first used only by the aristocracy that could afford them, and it was only with the arrival of mass production that playing cards found themselves in the hands of the general public. Along with this welcome development came a less welcome one: gambling. Gambling soon became a real problem, especially because this is what the lower class chiefly engaged in when playing card games. It’s for this reason that the church frequently and strongly denounced card playing. And along with gambling came another dark activity: cheating.
But what about if cheating techniques are used to create illusions which are designed purely to amuse and entertain? That’s effectively what magic is all about, and so playing cards became an obvious tool for magicians to use, using similar techniques used by crooked gamblers. Magic as a performing art has a much longer history, of course, and sleight of hand existed long before playing cards, whether it was intended to cheat or to entertain. But playing cards did lend themselves very naturally to magicians looking for ways to create illusions, especially because they were a familiar item for the masses who used them for playing card games.
18th century Italian magician Giovanni Giuseppe Pinetti is often credited as being a pioneer that paved the way for playing card magic. His charismatic popularity made him a popular entertainer, and he was one of the very first to include card tricks in his official theater performances, and he even entertained royalty. Prior to this, the only place you could expect to see card magic was on the streets or in private rooms, and it didn’t have any real respect or credibility. Many famous magicians followed in Pinetti’s footsteps, such as the 19th century icons Robert-Houdin and Hofzinser, the latter being considered by some to be a father of card magic. From this time onwards, magicians began to include card tricks in their repertoire more and more, and card magic became a growing art form. Names like Dai Vernon, Charles Bertram, and Erdnase, are well known to magicians today, but these magicians played an important role in popularizing and shaping card magic as we know it.
Today we are building on the work of these pioneers, and magic with playing cards is often one of the places that beginners now start their journey in magic. Almost everyone has a deck of cards and is familiar with them, so they are an ideal starting point, requiring no real investment. Magicians tend to use cards extensively for practicing and performing, and the production of playing cards for working magicians represents one of the biggest shares of the playing card market in our modern era.
For Souvenirs
Playing cards have long served as an ideal souvenir, particularly when each individual card is used for a different picture. This turns a deck of cards into a mini photo album of 50+ individual works, making it perfect for depicting places or events. Souvenir decks started emerging in the 1890s, coinciding with the growing popularity of photography, which was at that time a very expensive undertaking. In contrast, a deck of souvenir playing cards allowed you to own a mini photo album of an exotic place or country you visited at a relatively low cost.
Special events have long provided a rich source of material for playing card artwork as well. Notable events such as various wars led to the production of commemorative decks of playing cards, to serve as memorials of the Napoleonic Wars, American Civil War, and many others. Royal occasions and other special state events have been commemorated in a similar fashion. Royal coronations and weddings have often featured on playing cards; so too anniversary celebrations of important discoveries or conquests.
Current events have also been a catalyst for new decks of playing cards, the First World War being a prime example. Some of these decks were used for the purposes of propaganda, with decks in Germany printing court cards that gave places of honour to the Kaiser and other leaders, while war scenes were depicted on other cards. Meanwhile playing cards reflecting Allied sentiments were produced in the United States, some featuring court cards depicting generals, officers, and other ranks. During the Second World War, a pro Allied deck produced by Van Mierle Proost included Churchill, Roosevelt, Stalin, and de Gaulle as Kings, while the Aces had outlines of Big Ben, the Statue of Liberty, the Eiffel Tower, and the Kremlin.
But souvenir decks aren’t limited to events, with many decks created that depict colourful images of towns, countries, and cultures, geared to serve the tourist industry in particular. This, too, doesn’t exhaust the potential, since playing cards can depict almost any hobby or interest under the sun, and so we have seen the production of playing cards with images of anything from house-cats to antique furniture. Decks have been created to commemorate all kinds of unique interests, from ancient mythology to modern bull-fighting. A good example of this is a deck that was produced to honour the medical profession, featuring doctors, nurses, chemists, and research workers in hospital gowns, along with the expected equipment of stethoscopes and medicines.
The scope of souvenir and hobby decks is limited only by the imagination of the creators. Today’s custom playing card industry continues to benefit from this, and decks that celebrate popular films, celebrities, or sports, have a ready market. And virtually anywhere you travel, you’re bound to find a deck of cards with pictures that you can take home as a souvenir of the place you’ve visited.
Other Uses
This list by no means exhausts the many ways that playing cards have been used. For example, an important secondary usage of playing cards in previous centuries was as a source of writing paper. Early playing cards didn’t have artwork on the card backs, and were simply blank on the reverse side. Given that paper was often expensive to produce, this made a deck of playing cards a valuable source of paper. Individual cards became a very handy resource, and could be used for writing notes or lists, and were even used more formally as invitations, calling cards, coupons, or as a record of financial transactions, debts, or currency.
Playing cards no longer have blank card backs, so that particular secondary use has all but vanished. But today we are seeing new uses for playing cards emerge, the most notable one being for card flourishing. Cardistry is a thriving industry, and since cardists tend to wear out their decks even faster than magicians, and because of the importance of visual aesthetics, there’s a growing demand for colourful and creative designs.
The Standard Deck Today
Our historical overview demonstrates that playing cards have been used for a variety of uses across the ages besides playing cards, and so it comes as no surprise that in the past there has never really been a “standard” deck as we often imagine it today. Customized decks have existed for centuries, and there are many fine examples of playing cards created especially for the purpose or art or education. This means that the typical Bicycle style card deck as we usually think of it is in reality by no means “standard”.
Even today there’s actually a great variety of different types of decks used around the world, not just in terms of style, but also in size. Most of these are localized in their usage, but you will find places where 32 card decks are very common, or 48 card decks, and even 100+ card decks. In many cases, the size of the deck is closely connected with games that are popular in a specific region, and these games can’t even be played with a deck of a different size.
And not only is the size of a deck non-standard, but so is the artwork. Given the multiple uses for playing cards across the centuries, it was inevitable that there would be a diversity of artwork and styles. In that respect the modern custom playing card industry is hardly new, and customized playing cards have existed for centuries.
Yet despite all this rich variation throughout the history of playing cards, there does remain a commonly accepted “standard” for playing cards today. This standard is primarily based on the French suits that swept Europe and spread across the globe in previous centuries. Today’s court cards largely go back to printer Thomas de la Rue of London. Mr de la Rue was granted a patent for printing playing cards by letterpress and lithography in 1832, and subsequently took control of the playing card market due to his enormous success. With prices and taxes dropping, his production and sales increased significantly. Smaller designers that produced custom decks simply could not compete with him, and slowly disappeared, leaving de la Rue with a monopoly.
For better or for worse, it was the fact that de la Rue effectively cornered the market that led to cards becoming more or less standardized. In his book Playing Cards, Roger Tilley gives this very unflattering assessment of this development: “To add insult to injury, the very expressions of the cardboard court have been crystallized in commercialism. The kings’ looks have become those of company directors, strained and indicative of ulcers, while the queens and knaves have taken on the air of the attendant secretaries: the personal are pawky, and the company ones circumspect … Thomas de la Rue was without doubt a very great printer; yet that very genius proved calamitous to this small branch of the graphic arts … it might be said of Thomas de la Rue that he found a small quantity of marble and left a great quantity of brick.“
Certainly there have been attempts from time to time to create new designs that break with tradition, by designing and producing playing cards that are more easily recognized or with fresh or more contemporary patterns. But these have always failed to receive any serious degree of general acceptance. Of interest is the fact that the De La Rue Company itself promoted a competition in 1957 for new playing card imagery for the court cards to help celebrate the company’s 125th anniversary. But while the prize winning efforts of Jean Picart le Doux were beautiful, they were a commercial failure.
So it could be argued that the history of playing cards has become somewhat stale in the last era, since there have been no significant alterations to the “standard deck” of playing cards for a long time. The dominance of the USPCC has also led to the Bicycle rider-back design becoming somewhat iconic, and its success has also stifled other designs somewhat. Perhaps that is changing given the enormous success of the custom playing card industry, and the gradual acceptance of custom playing cards in the world of professional magic. But for now, at any rate, it seems that custom playing cards will continue to remain somewhat of a novelty rather than becoming a new standard. Even cardistry demands and encourages constant novelties, rather than the adoption of a new accepted standard.
A Lesson from the Past about the Present
We are fortunate to live in a new era of history, which has witnessed the explosion of custom playing cards, and also a growing acceptance of these by the general public. It remains to be seen what future generations will consider to be our contribution to the ongoing history of playing cards. I believe that the increasingly high standards of modern printing techniques, and the ability of the internet to connect creators and consumers, means that we are living in a time that is unprecedented. Highly imaginative and attractive playing cards are being produced, the likes of which have never been seen before. Perhaps today’s biggest contribution to the history of playing cards lies in new abilities to produce high quality decks, and to connect creators with backers and buyers, while ensuring that the entire enterprise remains affordable. The result is a marketplace flooded with new and exciting designs. Not only are we witnessing some very imaginative designs, but we are seeing incredible innovation in the area of tuck box designs, with the use of unprecedented techniques that allow boxes to be created with embossing, metallic foil and inks. The final product of the custom decks we can buy today is often a real work of art, and no wonder collectors love them.
Perhaps for now the lesson of history is this: to consider ourselves privileged for the luxuries we enjoy today. The future will undoubtedly look kindly on what our era has been producing. May we have a real eye of appreciation for the rich heritage that has produced this wealth, and respectfully tip our hat to those who have gone before us, and to the designers, printers, and middle men that help get these works of art into our hands and onto our game tables today.
About the writer: EndersGame is a well-known reviewer of board games and playing cards. He loves card games, card magic, and collecting playing cards.
After the sudden loss of her grandmother, grief fueled 37-year-old Latoya Marquez’s tarot passion project.
In this exclusive Shuffled Ink Card Story, Latoya Marquez, Government Mortgage Specialist by day and tarot designer by night, shares how writing self-affirmations to cope with grief sparked a fresh approach to tarot design and healing.
Complete with a blend of modern-day imagery and traditional Rider-Waite tarot elements, this personalized deck belongs to the beholder.
During the first week of August 2021, Latoya launched her brand Shuffled World Tarot and first tarot deck, Shuffle Up!. The idea for this project stemmed from the passing of her grandmother, Petra Torres Marquez in November 2020.
This traumatic and unexpected experience filled the artist with grief and heartache, which eventually led to sleepless nights. As a Communications Graduate from the University of South Florida, Latoya has always loved to write and often used it as a therapeutic release. But what was originally a curative method, soon resulted in an incredible and inspiring year-long passion project.
Latoya Marquez, Shuffle Up! creator, posing at a studio shoot.
Creativity is the Wanderlust of Satisfaction
Latoya’s design journey began when she requested a complimentary sample pack in order to see and feel the quality of our cards, various card stocks and size options.
“(Shuffled Ink is) all of what I wanted to experience in dealing with a local USA company,” she said. “I’ve already recommended Shuffled Ink to other creators wanting to do the same type of project.”
The Design Process:
Step 1
Latoya spent several weeks writing down ideas to illustrate on each card.
Step 2
It took a total of 60 days to sketch more than 80 cards by hand. In the early stages of the drawing process, she saw her Taurean grandmother alive and vibrant in the Hierophant card.
“She loved the color purple, lit candles, blessing her altars. A very spiritual Widow,” Latoya said.
Step 3
Thirty days to color in each sketch with a thick watercolor sketch pad, drawing utensils and quality markers.
Designing your own tarot deck means applying creative liberties as you see fit. Most tarot decks follow a standard formula: 78 cards with 22 Major and 56 Minor Arcana.
Shuffle Up! holds 78 hand-drawn, unlabeled cards as well as one dedication, which reads:
For every day we blink and breathe, the sun will always set. And when the sun rises, we have a new day to reset and be better than we were yesterday.
“One of the biggest obstacles in choosing a tarot deck is finding a great set of cards to identify with,” she said. “My format for the reader of any skill level is to identify the image and develop their own perceptions. This way, each Intuitive Reader can bond with my deck card after card.”
A Glimpse into Latoya’s 3 Favorite Cards in the Deck
Devil
She waits for the next contract to arrive. In the background, a shadowed arm lingers, eager to let new souls inside.
Exhaustion from a hard day’s work is symbolized by the removed horns which now rest on the bar beside the Devil. But the day is not over; there is still ink left in her pen.
Queen of Swords
Also known as the Hardcore Nun, she takes down names for the next man to behead as blood drips from her sword.
High Priestess
Drawn to the card’s beauty, particularly the 7-day color candle in the right-hand corner and the blended scroll of parchment at the foreground.
Connect with Latoya Marquez
The first 30 decks sold on Etsy come with a soft release bridge-sized 2″ x 2″ deck called, Shadow Affirmations. This Mini Deck is an all-in-one combined oracle, affirmation & angel number divination in a 30 count card set.
Shuffled Ink is a multigenerational family business that specializes in printing custom playing cards, tarot & flash cards, packaging and more for businesses and individuals worldwide.
To receive complimentary samples of our card products, include your delivery address and phone number on your custom quote request form.
If we manufactured your card project and you would like us to share your Card Story on our blog, feel free to connect with our Marketing Team here.
Tarot and oracle cards, regardless of how they are presented, add to a film’s narrative in many forms. While we now use these cards for fortune-telling and other mystical services, they were once played as a card game.The Trionfi game rules came from the four tarot suits (Swords, Batons, Coins and Cups) as well as card motifs and themes. But this card game was short-lived once it grew into its magical essence. Tarot decks have reigned in popularity for about six centuries, so it’s not surprising that Hollywood producers would want to weave the Major and Minor Arcana into the storyline.Here are some tarot card readings in movies.
Touch of Evil (1958)
When a card is drawn, the tarot reader connects the card’s meaning to the recipient. This practice, whether you’re a believer or a skeptic, creates a riveting cinematic moment.“Your future’s all used up,” the fortune-teller (Marlene Dietrich) says to the anti-hero in Touch of Evil. There are a few important moments in this scene that must be analyzed. The reading is brief but nonetheless daunting, and the ambiance is shadowed. Every detail, from the psychic’s eerie dialogue to the way the man sloppily disassembles the deck, leaves a pit in the audience’s stomach.
Every tarot reader has his/her personal signature. Perhaps it’s the manner that they lay out the cards or how they explain a card’s meaning. In this case, Dr. Terror asks the recipients to tap the cards three times prior to the reading. He uses his tarot cards, which he calls the House of Horrors, to predict the death of five men aboard the train.Upon explaining that the first four tarot cards chosen will predict their destiny, the men are clearly skeptical. While they crack jokes about past experiences with gypsies, Dr. Terror interjects. “The tarot deck is a serious matter. The cards predict the truth, the supernatural truth. Always.”(Reading begins at 5:27. Full movie available below).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OqW4t4IbNWg
Dead Alive (1992)
It’s unsurprising that horror films and thrillers often feature tarot. The unsettling feeling before a reading does add a nice touch on the big screen. Discussions about one’s future, particularly when it relates to death and misfortune, is anything but delightful.In the film Dead Alive, a young woman is seeking clarity on her love life. An interesting bit to mention is that once the cards are drawn, they take the form of both the woman herself as the Queen of Swords and her future love as the Knight of Swords. But this is nowhere near a fairytale story.
To ease the terrifying tarot tension portrayed in the previous films, here’s an episode of Friends that shows Phoebe shuffling and placing tarot cards on the table. Now, she doesn’t actually give a reading during this episode but simply having the cards in the background while Rachel is discussing hypnosis methods for Chandler to stop smoking is enough to draw accurate conclusions. This adds to Phoebe’s spiritual personality and pushes along the narrative that with the presence of tarot cards and the use of a hypnosis tape, Chandler’s bad habit will end.https://youtu.be/MldH09kaSoQ
The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones (2013)
This action and fantasy film, which is based on the first book in the series The Mortal Instruments, uses tarot cards in both a comedic and dramatic way to drive the plot. This reading unlocks the protagonist’s past, which was stolen from her memories. Clearly a non-believer, she reminds the tarot reader that she doesn’t believe in psychic readings. But this wariness soon dissipates. The scene uses tarot as a tool for self-discovery and even implements magic as well, showing the tarot card lift into the woman’s palm without any manipulation.(Reading begins at 18:49. Full movie available below).https://youtu.be/gMyCfg8MZw8
In the Palm of Your Hand
The art of tarot is specific to its creator. No deck is entirely the same, which is why we offer complete customization options. From custom card sizes to your personal artwork, we produce quality tarot cards and related accessories that reflect all of your individual styles and desired preferences. Here’s a look into our process.
Select your own artwork or photography,
or use pre-existing images.
Choose from top-quality paper, PVC or plastic card stocks with smooth, linen or matte finishes.
Use your unique card size or shape.
Apply your design to both sides of every card.
Pick the custom-printed packaging (tuck or setup boxes, cases, tins, etc.) that’s right for you.
To receive complimentary samples of our card products, include your delivery address and phone number on the custom request a quote form.
Shuffled Ink is a multigenerational family business specializing in printing custom playing cards, tarot & flash cards, packaging, and more for businesses and individuals worldwide.To receive complimentary samples of our card products, include your delivery address and phone number on your custom quote request form.
● Official Shuffled Ink website: ShuffledInk
● Make Your Own Custom Tarot Cards at: ShuffledInk
Stories are told in many ways. Writers use poems and novels; artists put paint on canvases. The history between tarot and literature is prominent and continues to inspire both art forms.
THE OLDEST TAROT DECK
Francesco Petrarca’s series of poems called Trionfi, or Triumphs (1351), mirrors the oldest tarot deck, Visconti di Modrone (15th century). The poem’s title is featured in the deck with 11 Triumph cards. Whether inspiration stemmed from Petrarca’s anthology is up to interpretation. Nevertheless, there are additional notions that lead many to believe his poetry inspired the earliest tarot designs because of his descriptions on Love, Chastity, Death, Fame, Time and Divinity.The Visconti Tarot collection, available at Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Yale University can be found here.
The Fool & Shakespeare
William Shakespeare’s various ‘fools’ characters are suspected to have influenced the tarot card that shares the same name: the Fool. In Shakespeare’s plays, the fool’s role is to entertain while cleverly commenting on the drama. In other words, this sensible character acknowledges nonsensical life events. With tarot, this card emulates the journey through life. The number 0 on the card reveals the unlimited potential to travel either to the beginning or end of the Major Arcana. The Fool’s spontaneous life experiences create a wise and free soul.
TAROT IN LITERATURE
Allegorical tarot figures often appear in literary pieces and vice versa. There are quite a few poets and writers who assemble their story’s theme(s) and characters based on tarot card meanings.William Butler Yeats, an Irish poet and avid tarot reader, was a member of an occult society called Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn. Yeats deliberately tied tarot imagery into his poems like Blood and the Moon and The Fool by the Roadside.
Blood and the Moon:
The Moon tarot revolves around illusion. The card’s artwork depicts a moon that sits in between two towers. This describes a misunderstanding or the inability to accept the truth.Yeat’s poem references the moon’s innocence and how it cannot be stained by blood:The purity of the unclouded moonHas hung its arrowy shaft upon the floor.Seven centuries have passed and it is pure,The blood of innocence has left no stainThe Tower tarot often symbolizes danger, crisis, unanticipated change and liberation. It is believed that in this poem, the tower symbolizes Yeats himself:I declare this tower is my symbol; I declareThis winding, gyring, siring treadmill of a star is my ancestral stair
The Fool by the Roadside:
Fool by the Riverside is brief and follows the rhyme scheme AABCCB, which is categorized as simple, juvenile, and in a way, foolish.In this poem, the Fool believes that life can spool backward and forward. This strongly relates to the Fool tarot card, which can appear either at the beginning or end of a deck. It is clear that both Yeat’s character and the tarot symbol are similar in the sense that they can exist in any direction or environment.When all works that haveFrom cradle run to graveFrom grave to cradle run instead;When thoughts that a foolHas wound upon a spoolAre but loose thread, are but loose thread;When cradle and spool are pastAnd I mere shade at lastCoagulate of stuff Transparent like the wind,I think that I may findA faithful love, a faithful love.W.B. Yeats is one of the most influential tarot poetry writers. He sought to implement allegorical imagery in a subtle way. This is because his involvement in Golden Dawn was a secret and exposing the organization and its members were strictly not in the cards.
The Waste Land by T.S. Eliot
While a poet may intentionally create specific themes, concepts and imagery, most of the time the poem’s deeper meaning and overall analysis fall on the reader to interpret. That is the beauty of literature; we speculate and dissect a piece until it makes sense to us.For example, in the poem “The Waste Land,” some believe that the drowned Phoenician Sailor is a reference to the Ten of Swords card and the Lady of the Rocks is the Queen of Cups. But the more obvious tarot indications by Eliot are the mention of The Hanged Man and the Wheel (The Wheel of Fortune).
The Connection
There are various ways to read poetry, but the basics include identifying the narrator and the tone as well as interpreting the deeper picture and overall theme.While reading poetry, you discover themes, understand the basic text and find a deeper meaning. Tarot cards have visuals, symbols and meanings presented to you. Both tarot and literature require you to interpret beyond what you are given. You are urged to find connections amid the metaphors, images, text, archetypes and more.Their similarities allow you to use one art form, like poetry to better understand the other: tarot.
Caos del Triperiuno
Among the first writers to feature tarot in poetry was Teofilo Folengo. In 1527, he wrote a poem called Caos del Triperiuno. The poem itself revolves around a poet who accompanies four people into a room where they each choose a fate-related tarot card. The poet then writes a poem that connects the person to the tarot card drawn.Tarot Cards Featured in Folengo’s Poem:
The 22 Major Arcana, or trump cards: The Fool (0), The Magician (I), The High Priestess (II), The Empress (III), The Emperor (IV), The Hierophant (V), The Lovers (VI), The Chariot (VII), Strength (VIII), The Hermit (IX), Wheel of Fortune (X), Justice (XI), The Hanged Man (XII), Death (XIII), Temperance (XIV), The Devil (XV), The Tower (XVI), The Star (XVII), The Moon (XVIII), The Sun (XIX), Judgement (XX), The World (XXI)
Major Arcana Meaning: A tarot reading with these cards use one’s soul to explore their long-lasting life changes.
The Breakdown:
Mary K. Greer, writer and professional tarot consultant, labeled each tarot card mentioned in Folengo’s poem:Love, under whose Empire many deeds (VI; IV)go without Time and without Fortune, (IX; X)saw Death, ugly and dark, on a Chariot, (XIII; VII)going among the people it took away from the World. (XXI)She asked: “No Pope nor Papesse was ever won (V; II)by you. Do you call this Justice?” (XI)He answered: “He who made the Sun and the Moon (XIX; XVIII)defended them from my Strength. (VIII)“What a Fool I am,” said love, “my Fire, (O; XVI)That can appear as an Angel or as a Devil (XX; XV)can be Tempered by some others who live under my Star. (XIV; XVII)You are the Empress of bodies. But you cannot kill hearts, (III)you only Suspend them. You have a name of high Fame, (XII)but you are nothing but a Trickster.” (I)
Judgment & Devil
Now, here is my insight into a couple of the tarot card meanings that are included in the poem above:That can appear as an Angel or as a Devil (XX; XV)The Judgement tarot card’s keyword is crossroads has always reminded me of Robert Frost’s poem, The Road Not Taken. Here’s an excerpt from the 1915 piece:Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—I took the one less traveled by,And that has made all the difference.At the end of Frost’s poem, the speaker has realized that both paths cannot be taken. The Judgement tarot card advises that a decision must be made. The message encourages you to not allow anything to hold you back; you should release the parts of you that are unnecessary and untrue. In Folengo’s poem, the speaker is struggling with good and evil, where he/she transitions between both expressions transparently. Eventually, the speaker must decide if they will follow a light path or the dark one. This is a difficult choice being that the Devil card embodies entrapment and illusion. The only way to break free is to remember who your true self is, which brings us full circle in seeking guidance from the Judgement card.
Temperance & Star
can be Tempered by some others who live under my Star (XIV; XVII)The following sentence uses the Temperance card to reassure that although the choice between acting as an angel or a devil is difficult, you will find peace and balance through the people who love and care about your soul. This reveals that you need assistance from the people who you trust. Your life will transform as well as those who follow close to you. After all, our life decisions impact every single person in our circle or Star.
The Empress, The Hanging Man & The Magician
You are the Empress of bodies. But you cannot kill hearts, (III)you only Suspend them. You have a name of high Fame, (XII)but you are nothing but a Trickster.” (I)The Empress tarot card connects you to the natural world. Our soul consists of the Empress’ teachings and strength, but our self-expression is not always filled with positivity. The connecting theme throughout this poem is Love and Death, where Death has control over suspending the physical body (The Hanging Man card), but Love can never die. The speaker refers to Death as a Trickster or a fraud. This embodies the Magician tarot card, which manifests dreams and magic into one’s reality.
Tarot Poetry
Poetry and tarot have leaned on one another to further develop their respective craft. Without poetry, the modern tarot cards we use today may look completely different, or perhaps not exist at all. And without tarot, literary storylines, themes and characters would lack allegorical symbols and meanings. After all, when we allow art to inspire art, we gain access to groundbreaking work.Here are some of our clients’ custom tarot card designs, equipped with personalized designs, number of cards, instructions and more.
The Spiritful Tarot deck is complete with 78 custom-designed cards, an instructions booklet and a two-part box.
This nature-themed deck follows the conventional Tarot layout. Featured above are the King of Pentacles and the Page of Pentacles.
The Dark Exact Tarot deck — Illustrated and designed by Coleman Stevenson. The cards above are the Fool, the Magician and The High Priestess.
At Shuffled Ink, we manufacture both Tarot and Oracle cards. The designs and creative interpretations of these allegorical cards stem from our client’s profound vision.And as Halloween creeps just around the corner, “spooky” season begins to settle in. Naturally, personalized tarot and oracle cards go hand-in-hand during October.Whether you visit a fortuneteller for a card reading or read the cards yourself, have you ever wondered the difference between Tarot and Oracle cards?
When you create a Tarot card deck, you are following a standard structure: a set of 78 cards that follow the Major and Minor Arcana. The deck consists of 22 cards following the Major Arcana and 56 cards represent the Minor Arcana.The Major Arcana portrays picture cards, numbered 0-21. These cards depict the realm of the material world, intuitive mind and change. Some of the titles given to each picture card include ‘The Fool (0),’ ‘The Magician (1),’ ‘The High Priestess (2)’, etc.
The Minor Arcana are issued into four groups with 14 cards in each: Wands, Cups, Swords and Pentacles. Unlike the Major Arcana, the Minor represents your daily-life happenings.
Oracle cards differ from Tarot cards because they do not follow a straight and narrow arrangement. Someone who customizes their own oracle deck of cards can create their own rules: how many cards go in the deck, the shape of the deck, the card’s images and meanings, the purpose of the deck. While you customize your oracle deck, you are also customizing your own theme.Oracle decks typically come with an interpretation booklet. This allows the reader to understand the images and words that you have created. When it comes to choosing whether you want to create a Tarot or Oracle deck, it’s all about preference. If you enjoy a preset structure to meet your creative needs, then Tarot Cards are the way to go. But if you would rather start from scratch and draw on your own rules and images, then the Oracle deck is a better route to pursue.
Shuffled Ink is a multigenerational family business specializing in printing custom playing cards, tarot & flash cards, packaging, and more for businesses and individuals worldwide.To receive complimentary samples of our tarot-card products, include your delivery address and phone number on your custom quote request form.
● Official Shuffled Ink website: ShuffledInk
● Make Your Own Custom Tarot Cards at: ShuffledInk
● Make Your Own Custom Flash Cards at: ShuffledInk
We are extremely excited that E! Online featured one of our favorite clients’ Rebel Deck on Necessary Realness with Morgan Stewart!Shuffled Ink is honored to have been working with Shannon Gomez, the creator and founder of the Rebel Deck, from day one of her incredible Rebel journey. We are so proud of the partnership we have established and her amazing success!Check out her story and all of her awesome products!Also, be sure to follow her on social media:Instagram: @rebeldeck // Facebook: REBEL DECK Cards
● Official Shuffled Ink website: ShuffledInk
● Make Your Own Custom Tarot Cards at: ShuffledInk
This is a guest post from the wonderful Jane Sandwood.
A tarot card reading can really help us to understand who we truly are inside. 79% of people found that this level of self-exploration gave them a sense of wellbeing, and in turn improved their mental health. Tarot can reveal so much about the decisions we make in life, pushing us on the path towards a successful future.
Having this insight into our inner self means that we can be completely true to our feelings. It helps us to connect to the world around us on a spiritual level, and be happy and contented. So what can tarot cards teach us about ourselves?
THE PAST
Using a classic, three card reading, the first card is representative of the past. The past is something that we can learn from, and in turn, it helps us to grow and mature. Even painful experiences shape the perspective and outlook that we have. When you turn over a card that represents your past, you should use it as an opportunity to address any unresolved feelings that you have. Memory is a powerful thing, it can be unhealthy to repress memories. Learning to move forward from your past is better for your mental health.
THE PRESENT
With the busy lives that we lead, sometimes it can be difficult to see the wood from the trees. Perhaps you might be unhappy about your job, but find it tricky to pinpoint why you should make a change. Or perhaps you want to move your relationship to the next level. The tarot card that represents the present can help you to pinpoint the current issues in your life, and work out what to do. Making pertinent changes to the present will help you to have a better future.
THE FUTURE
The tarot card that represents the future is all about your dreams and aspirations. It can teach you about what you really want in life, and how you can achieve it. You should be asking yourself where you want to be in six months, a year, or even ten years time. How can you make these dreams a reality? It is only by understanding ourselves that we can learn what we want. This means both spiritually, and in terms of financial or personal goals.
Tarot cards can teach us so much about the type of person we are, and who we want to become. We can use this knowledge to move forward and be true to ourselves.
This is a guest post from the wonderful Jane Sandwood.
The practice of reading tarot cards can be traced back to 1377. These tiny sheets of paper have served many different purposes for many different people over the years. One major use is to give spiritual advice to people questioning their life path.
Known as tarot readings, this method arose in the late 18th century and has become one of the most popular tools of divination in the world. Its growing popularity hasn’t always been used for good, though. Some people have taken advantage of the art to make a quick buck.
It’s important that you and your wallet stay safe, so here are some unique tips on how to avoid being scammed by a tarot reader.
YOUR TAROT READER IS CONSTANTLY FISHING FOR INFORMATION
Your reader should not be asking more questions than you. Remember, the purpose of a tarot reading is to gain insight into your future. You can’t do this if the reader is asking two hundred questions, while you’re only asking five.
There is no time limit for when your reading is “valid.” Marketing methods like time sensitive readings are simply gimmicks. They’re an attempt to get the most people to waste the most amount of money.
A reader should never tell you when you need a reading. You should be the one that determines when you need to go.
YOU ARE CURSED
One of the oldest psychic scams in the book is when a tarot reader tells you that you have been cursed by a dark presence. They will then tell you that you need to visit as soon as possible to defeat the evil spirit. Remember the time sensitive scam from above? This is simply one variation of it.
No one can put a curse on you, so don’t fall for this hack. You’ll end up wasting your time, money, and emotional security. That is the exact opposite of what tarot readings are all about.
THE READER GOES TO GREAT LENGTHS TO MAKE YOU KEEP YOUR READING A SECRET
Tarot readers are not part of a secret organization and should never ask you to keep your reading private. This means that the reader is clearly up to no good.
Be sure to do your research when selecting a tarot card reader. You can check review sites to make sure your reader is legitimate and see how others fared during their reading. Before agreeing to the reading, talk to the reader and have a conversation about what they’ll perform for you. You can also talk to them about their knowledge of tarot cards and judge for yourself if they seem like the real deal.
WHAT TO DO IF YOU ARE SCAMMED
If you find yourself the victim of a scam, be sure that you take these steps to not only get your money back, but to warn others as well.
Ask the scammer for a refund
If they won’t give you a refund, reach out to your bank to try and stop the transaction
Report the scammer to the police
Post a review on Yelp and other business rating sites to warn others of the scammer
Call the scammer out on social media
If you take the right steps, you may get your money back and help others to avoid the same scam.
Major Arcana Images by 
Art & Divination
Divine Oracle Peele Card
Personalized: Magickal Tools, Candles, Chakras
