POSTED UNDER Tarot

The Llewellyn Tarot

September 23, 2010 by Barbara Moore 4 Comments

Carl Llewellyn Weschcke wrote a lovely foreword to The Llewellyn Tarot Companion. Allow me to quote a bit here:

The tarot is the universe hidden in a secret book of cards. The universe is both “out there” and “in here.” As above, so below. The Llewellyn Tarot deck is the result of five years of intense study and creation by this artist, already knowledgeable and well-known for her creation of Legend: The Arthurian Tarot and for her illustrations to the Caseell edition of Le Morte D’Arthur edited by John Matthews.

Anna-Marie Ferguson created the Llewellyn Tarot to exemplify the very raison d’etre of Llewellyn as “bringer of light.” Llewellyn is named for Llew Llaw Gyffes—“the bright one of the skillful hand”—hero of the Mabinogion. He is a solar deity, and his festival is celebrated August 1. He is the essence of the zodiacal Leo, as was Llewellyn George, who founded Llewellyn Publications in 1901 and was called “Llew” by his friends.

The Llewellyn Tarot is a richly beautiful deck, not surprisingly, as it is a visual representation of some of the richest mythology that exists.

What I particularly like about the deck is that the Majors have a slightly grander feel than the Minors. They are more archetypal, if you will. They are more powerful, as I always think the Majors should be. The style of the Minors match the Majors but they are less painterly, less flamboyant. To me, this works very well in theory and in practice. Here are a few examples. What do you think? Are there other decks that employ this same technique?

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Written by Barbara Moore
The tarot has been a part of Barbara Moore’s personal and professional lives for over a decade. In college, the tarot intrigued her with its marvelous blending of mythology, psychology, art, and history. Later, she served as the tarot specialist for Llewellyn Publications. Over the years, she has ...