Tarot and Poetry Inspire Each Other

There is a unique connection between tarot and poetry. We tarot readers know that when we are giving a reading, teaching a class, or talking about a card, we often become more eloquent than we might be in normal conversation.

Tarot inspires the way we communicate.

There are many published books of tarot poetry. Sometimes the poems are written by poets who happened to be inspired by tarot. Sometimes they are written by tarotists who happened to be inspired to write a poem about a card.

The relationship between tarot and poetry goes back to early tarot history. In the 1500s tarot was a card came played by wealthy and influential people in Italy and France.

In Italy, the game of tarot led to a fad called “tarocchi appropriati.” In this game players would make up verses that were inspired by the cards and descriptive of one another.

Perhaps this was like the rap of the 1980s, where musicians used rhyme to speak of themselves, and of one another.

As the game of tarocchi appropriati developed, the verses became predictive, rather than simply descriptive. Many scholars believe that this is how fortuning telling with tarot first began.

It is easy to think of a particular tarot card and call to mind a poem or song lyric that matches it. I was recently reminded of a blog project I began and never continued called “Poetry in Tarot” where I related a poem to a tarot card.

I’ve also played with writing tarot poetry. I have two poems published in “Arcana: The Tarot Poetry Anthology”. My 78 Poems Project is far from complete, yet it is something that inspires me from time to time.

The question I have is this. Other than the connection between off-the-cuff verses inspired by early tarot cards in a popular game, why does there seem to be such a connection between tarot and poetry?

I decided to ask my cards this question. The card I pulled at random was the Queen of Cups, whom I often describe as “poetic”. When we look deeper at this card, we see it as a card that instructs us to nurture the heart.

The art of the tarot cards, along with the lessons and stories inherent in individual cards and in suits and groupings of cards, inspires us in so many ways. Poetry is one way we express that inspiration. That creativity begets creativity is a law of all nature.

Poetry, in turn, can help us make sense of the mysterious cards.

If you want to dig deeper into a tarot card, try writing a poem about it. Try to think of a poem or song lyric that reminds you of a card and use that to help you understand and remember that card.

Art and words go together in so many ways, and often enhance one other. The ongoing marriage of tarot and poetry is certainly a match made in heaven.

Let Me Justify Your Massive Tarot Collection

In many social media tarot groups, we joke about our ‘tarot addiction’ as we cheerfully order decks and show off pictures of our new decks as they arrive to our homes.

I don’t love the term ‘tarot addiction’, for a couple of reasons. First, psychic addiction is a real thing, and something that we professional readers need work to identify and discourage in our clients. Second, actual addiction to drugs and alcohol is grievous and life-destroying. Tarot deck collecting is joyful and healing.

Yet, sometimes we feel a bit guilty about the time and money we spend on our collections. Sometimes well-meaning loved ones might try to discourage us. I would argue that tarot-deck collecting can be relatively inexpensive, fun, meaningful, and healing.

So, here are nine reasons to justify loving and growing your tarot collection. You’re welcome!

Building Collections is a Popular Hobby

No one bats an eye at people who collect figurines, concert tee shirts or beer steins. We collected trading cards, collectible card games, Barbies, Bionics and Littlest Pet Shop sets as children; collecting tarot is simply the adult version of what brought us such joy when we were young.

Tarot Supports Artists

So often we bemoan the lack of support artists receive in our society. When you buy a new tarot deck you are very often supporting a living, breathing artist who needs and appreciates that support.

Tarot Supports Small Business

Even the larger tarot publishing houses are typically family-owned small businesses. When you buy a tarot deck, you are usually supporting a small business, or an independent entrepreneur.

Tarot Decks are Inspiring

Each tarot deck is a set of seventy-eight unique works of art. Most of us have in our collection many more decks that we actual use in readings. This is a reason that our loved ones might discourage us from buying decks, or that we might scold ourselves for buying decks we ‘never use’. Yet, there are many ways to use a tarot deck. Even if we rarely read with a particular deck, looking at its images may inform or inspire us.

Tarot Decks Help Us Become Better Tarot Readers

Tarot readers tend to divide into three categories. There are those who read with one deck and one deck only. There are those who read with multiple decks and allow each deck to speak with its own voice. Then there is the category into which I fall, where we allow each deck we know to inspire our readings, regardless of the deck we happen to be working with at the time.

Whichever category you fall into, the more decks you see, the more you will understand tarot, and the better your readings will be.

There are Multiple Tarot Traditions

Tarot breaks into three primary traditions, and several sub-traditions. While we may prefer to read decks that honor a particular tradition, collecting decks that represent all the traditions of tarot can help us understand tarot history, and tarot as a whole.

There are Other Cartomancy Decks

Why stop at tarot? There are oracle decks, Lenormand decks and Kipper decks. For those of us who love cartomancy, art, and mysticism, there is no end to the inspiration we can find as we enjoy the images and discover their meanings.

We are Always in Search of the Quintessential Deck

While it is fair to say that most of the decks we collect will not become a favorite reading deck, once in a while a new acquisition will earn that rare position in our hearts. We are always in search of that special deck, just as we may have searched for the rare Pokémon card as kids. Are we disappointed when a new deck doesn’t grab us the way we had hoped? Sure, a little. But that is part of the fun of collection-building, isn’t it?

Tarot Decks are Tradable and Sellable

If we end up with a deck we really don’t care to have as part of our collection, we can easily trade or sell it. When we do that, we might make another tarot enthusiast very happy, and we might make a new friend!

How Sacred are Tarot Archetypes?

A question comes up often amongst tarotists about what denotes a tarot deck. Tarot author Diane Wilkes has created a helpful term to describe card oracles whose structure is tarot-based, but whose adherence to the traditional archetypes is too loose to be tarot. She calls them “taroracles.”

There are many opinions, and many arguments, about whether there is a “one true tarot,” and, if so, which tarot tradition that might be. When we look at the three primary tarot traditions, Crowley-Harris-Thoth, Rider-Waite-Smith and Tarot de Marseilles, we see that, although the differences between these decks are vast, the basic concept of each archetype remains fairly consistent.

In contrast, many modern deck artists and authors rename the Major Arcana cards. The Devil becomes “Chains” or “Materialism.” Judgment becomes “Rebirth.”  Death becomes “Transition,” or “Release.” The Tower becomes “Life Experience.” The Hierophant becomes “Faith.”

Some deck creators may have a desire to replace words that are not in our daily vocabulary, like “Hierophant,” with words that are. To me, this seems like an unnecessary “dumbing down” of tarot. It should not be a stretch for a budding tarotist to have to learn a few new words.

Some deck creators are “softening” the darker images. They may want to appeal to tarot readers and clients who would prefer not to see dark and dire images, or have to confront words like “death.”

There are two questions we need to ask.

Does the dumbing down or cheering up of tarot make tarot less effective? 

Does the re-imagining of tarot archetypes make a deck any less a tarot deck?

I think the answers to both of these questions are entirely subjective. Different tarotists will have different opinions. Perhaps acquiring enough tarot knowledge to formulate an opinion is what qualifies us to claim a title like “tarot expert.”

I find value in the darker cards, and in the traditional titles. I wince a little when I see a tarot deck that seems watered-down, or that clearly does not adhere to traditional archetypes.

However, I do not think that such decks harm the body of tarot overall. I worry that new readers may get a skewed understanding of tarot if they begin with a non-traditional deck. On the other hand, I think non-traditional decks bring some people to tarot who would not have otherwise been open to the cards.

In the end, I think every tarot deck, even those I don’t personally enjoy, brings value to the body of tarot knowledge, and to our community.  The tarot archetypes are indeed sacred. However, no true damage is done when an artist chooses to express them in an unusual way. There will always be enough traditionalists in the world to preserve the historic and original integrity of tarot.

That some people are inspired to create a next generation of tarot art is testament to tarot’s ability to be a constant and fresh source of creative and spiritual inspiration. There are decks I don’t like. There are decks of which I do not approve. However, there is no deck that could be created that would not, in some way, add value to the world of tarot for someone.

Love for the Tarot Artists

_{Photos: (top) Christiana with Lisa Hunt, (below) Christiana with Ciro Marchetti}

I’m a creative person. I can’t play an instrument well or draw a straight line at all. But I am creative. It’s just that all the ways I am creative rely on someone else’s creativity first. I love to dance, but I need music. I am a secondary creative person.

There is no other area in my life where this is truer than with tarot. Sometime I feel that I can really make a tarot deck sing – I know I can make it talk. With a tarot deck I can summon spirits, create healing, give business advice and help you find love. With a tarot deck I can create stories and games. I can write books and help you discover truth about yourself.

This is why I am so grateful for the tarot artists who create beautiful decks that inspire my creativity. Without them, my creative, spiritual and business life would be much less than what it is. I can’t imagine what it is to conceive and execute seventy-eight pictures to create a tarot deck – and many of the great artists of our time have created more than one tarot deck!

Of course the first ladies of tarot art are Pamela Colman Smith and Lady Frieda Harris. They set the standard for much of what modern tarot art has become. In the past forty years many wonderful artists have joined them in working with that standard and in creating new standards.

Sometimes I am surprised by new tarot decks. The art is so radically different from what I have come to expect. To me some of these decks don’t even feel like tarot. But for every deck there are plenty of readers who are able to feel the art and hear Spirit whispering through the images.

The diversity in tarot decks reflects our diversity as a community. Tarot is unique in that there is a set structure and specific archetypes. The way that structure is expressed and the way those archetypes are represented can vary a great deal. The talents and imaginings of the artists allow tarot readers to use and expand our own creative and spiritual gifts.

A tarot deck is more than a bunch of pictures. It’s a spiritual tool. Tarot images help us to tap into our intuition and our natural psychic abilities. Tarot images each carry an energy with which we can do magick.

No tarot reader will love every deck. Most of us won’t even love every card in a deck we treasure. Tarot is so personal we can sometimes become ultra-picky about each image. It's important to remember that the artists in our community render each card from their perspective of the archetype. Sometimes it will match our own perspective perfectly, sometimes it won't. But can you imagine our tarot world without the rich selection of tarot decks we enjoy today?

Let’s all show some love for our tarot artists, past, present and future. Without you our lives would be much less colorful, much less creative and much less fun.