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In the Hearts family of card games, the queen of spades is usually considered an unlucky card; it is the eponym of the Black Maria and Black Lady variants of Hearts. The player who ends up with the queen of spades after a match scores 13 points (points are to be avoided in this game). The exception is when the player receives this card with all 13 hearts, in which the player is said to have shot the moon, and this player scores no points, while all opponents are scored 26 points.In cartomancy, the queen of spades is considered to be a sign of intelligence. It is representative of judgment that is practical, logical, and intellectual. It represents a woman who is creative and makes her plans ahead of time. The queen of spades (Q♠) is one of 52 playing cards in a standard deck: the queen of the suit of spades (♠). In Old Maid and several games of the Hearts family, it serves as a single, powerful card in the deck. In the seven card stud poker variant known as “The Bitch”, a face-up deal of the queen of spades results in the deal being abandoned, all cards being shuffled and a new deal starting with only those players who had not already folded when the queen of spades was dealt.

In the game of Old Maid, while any card can technically be used for this purpose, the queen of spades is traditionally used as a card that has no match, thereby making it the “old maid” card.

In French tarot and Droggn, the Fool is an excuse but in a rare circumstance it will be the highest trump. If the player who holds the Fool has won all the previous tricks, in the last trick the Fool becomes the highest trump.In many esoteric systems of tarot card interpretation, the Fool is interpreted as the protagonist of a story, and the Major Arcana are the path the Fool takes through the great mysteries of life. This path is known traditionally in cartomancy as the “Fool’s Journey”, and is frequently used to introduce the meaning of Major Arcana cards to beginners.In Grosstarock games, of which Danish tarok is the last survivor, the Fool can take the place of a missing card during declarations before play. However, a meld completed using the Fool is worth only half the points compared to a natural meld. Also, when leading a trick the Fool can turn into the weakest card of any suit the player chooses but it will be sent to the player’s trick pile just like an excuse. If, however, the opponents lack the suit named, then they may get the right to set the trick’s suit.In most tarot games originating from Italy and France, the Fool has 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 then takes back the Fool and adds it to their own trick pile and (in most games) gives the trick’s winner the least valuable card from that same pile. If there are no cards to give in exchange, the Fool is worth one point less and an extra point is given to the trick-taker. 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 can’t be captured but in some games it can be won in the last trick which may yield a scoring bonus.

The Tarot of Marseilles and related decks similarly depict a bearded person wearing what may be a jester’s hat; he always carries a bundle of his belongings on a stick (called a bindle) slung over his back. He appears to be getting chased away by an animal, either a dog or a cat. The animal has torn his pants.

In Troggu, the Fool is the highest trump but if it is the last trump in the player’s possession, the player can elect to throw in another card instead of following suit. Once this occurs, the Fool is no longer a trump but an excuse that must be reserved for the last trick.The Fool is titled Le Mat in the Tarot of Marseilles, 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 relation to the original use of tarot cards for gaming purposes.

Before and after trick-play of Tarocchini, the Matto (Fool) and the Bégato are called contatori (counters), a limited form of wild cards. They can be used separately or together to fill missing gaps in combinations or extend them but they can’t fill in two consecutive gaps in sequential combinations. They can’t replace the highest trump or kings. Both cards can be used in every sequence but as the Fool can’t be captured while the Magician is vulnerable, the player holding the Magician would want to use it only judiciously.In the decks before Waite–Smith, the Fool is almost always unnumbered. There are a few exceptions: some old decks (including the 15th-century Sola Busca) labelled the card with a 0, and the 18th-century Belgian decks labelled the Fool as XXII. The Fool is almost always completely apart from the sequence of trumps in the historic decks. Still, there is historic precedent for regarding it as the lowest trump and as the highest trump. In the Rider–Waite deck and other esoteric decks made for cartomancy, the Fool is shown as a young man, walking unknowingly toward the brink of a precipice. In the Rider–Waite Tarot deck, he is also portrayed as having with him a small dog. The Fool holds a white rose (a symbol of freedom from baser desires) in one hand, and in the other a small bundle of possessions, representing untapped collective knowledge. In tarot card reading, the Fool is usually considered part of the Major Arcana. This is not true in tarot card games; the Fool’s role in most games is independent of both the plain suit cards and the trump cards, and the card does not belong to either category. As such, most tarot decks originally made for game playing do not assign a number to the Fool indicating its rank in the suit of trumps; it has none. Waite gives the Fool the number 0, but in his book discusses the Fool between Judgment, no. 20, and The World, no. 21. The only traditional game deck that numbers the Fool 0 is the Tarocco Piemontese. Since the 1930s, Tarot Nouveau decks often use 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.In most Central European Tarock games, the Fool, or Sküs, is simply played as the 22nd trump, making it the highest trump in such games. In Königrufen, the Fool can be captured but only if it is played in the same trick with trumps 21 and 1 in which case trump 1 wins; this is called the Emperor’s trick or Fairytale trick. In Hungarian Tarock, the player that loses trump 21 to the Fool traditionally has to wear a silly hat.

The Fool is one of the 78 cards in a tarot deck. In tarot card reading, it is one of the 22 Major Arcana, sometimes numbered as 0 (the first) or XXII (the last). However, in decks designed for playing traditional tarot card games, it is typically unnumbered, as it is not one of the 21 trump cards and instead serves a unique purpose by itself.In a minor variant option of French tarot, a player dealt trump 1 but with no other trumps or the Fool can make trump 1 behave the same as the Fool (petit imprenable). However, in official tournament rules, a player in this situation must declare their hand and force a redeal (petit sec). Folly, mania, extravagance, intoxication, delirium, frenzy, bewrayment. [If the card is] Reversed: Negligence, absence, distribution, carelessness, apathy, nullity, vanity. In the earliest tarot decks, the Fool is usually depicted as a beggar or a vagabond. In the Visconti-Sforza tarot deck, the Fool wears ragged clothes and stockings without shoes, and carries a stick on his back. He has what appear to be feathers in his hair. His unruly beard and feathers may relate to the tradition of the woodwose or wild man. Another early Italian image that relates to the tradition is the first (and lowest) of the series of the so-called Tarocchi of Mantegna. This series of prints containing images of social roles, allegorical figures, and classical deities begins with Misero, a depiction of a beggar leaning on a staff. A similar image is contained in the German Hofämterspiel; there the fool (German: Narr) is depicted as a barefoot man in robes, apparently with bells on his hood, playing a bagpipe.

The first documented tarot decks were recorded between 1440 and 1450 in Milan, Ferrara, Florence and Bologna, when additional trump cards with allegorical illustrations were added to the common four-suit pack. 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 statement in the court records of Florence, in 1440, regarding the transfer of two decks to Sigismondo Pandolfo Malatesta.

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

The terms “Major Arcana” and “Minor Arcana” were first used by Jean-Baptiste Pitois (also known as Paul Christian) and are never used in relation to tarot card games. Some decks exist primarily as artwork, and such art decks sometimes contain only the 22 Major Arcana.

Aleister Crowley, who devised the Thoth deck along with Lady Frieda Harris, stated of the tarot: “The origin of this pack of cards is very obscure. Some authorities seek to put it back as far as the ancient Egyptian Mysteries; others try to bring it forward as late as the fifteenth or even the sixteenth century … [but] The only theory of ultimate interest about the tarot is that it is an admirable symbolic picture of the Universe, based on the data of the Holy Qabalah.” However, the origin of the Tarot pack is now well documented, showing that it was invented in Italy in the early 15th century and has no connexion with any “Holy Qabalah”.(see history section above).Like the common playing cards, tarot has four suits which vary by region: French suits are used in western, central and eastern Europe, Latin suits in southern Europe. Each suit has 14 cards: ten pip cards numbering from one (or Ace) to ten; and four face cards: King, Queen, Knight, and Jack/Knave/Page. In addition, and unlike standard packs, the tarot also has a separate 21-card trump suit and a single card known as the Fool. Depending on the game, the Fool may act as the top trump or may be played to avoid following suit. These tarot cards are still used throughout much of Europe to play conventional card games. In Florence, an expanded deck called Minchiate was later used. This deck of 97 cards includes astrological symbols and the four elements, as well as traditional tarot motifs. The earliest known mention of this game, under the name of germini, dates to 1506. In 15th century Italy, the set of cards that was included in tarot packs, including trumps, seems to have been consistent, even if naming and ordering varied. There are two main exceptions:Tarot cards, then known as tarocchi, first appeared in Ferrara and Milan in northern Italy, with a Fool and 21 trumps (then called trionfi) being added to the standard Italian pack of four suits: batons, coins, cups and swords. Scholarship has established that the early European cards were probably based on the Egyptian Mamluk deck invented in or before the 14th century, which followed the invention of paper from Asia into Western Europe. By the late 1300s Europeans were producing their own cards, the earliest patterns being based on the Mamluk deck but with variations to the suit symbols and court cards.

Some people today use Tarot cards as a tool for self-exploration and development and some psychologists use Tarot cards as a complementary care therapy. Through Tarot cards, it is claimed that the exploration of the inner self leads to greater freedom within the individual.The original purpose of tarot cards was to play games. A very cursory explanation of rules for a tarot-like deck is given in a manuscript by Martiano da Tortona before 1425. Vague descriptions of game play or game terminology follow for the next two centuries until the earliest known complete description of rules for a French variant in 1637. The game of tarot has many regional variations. Tarocchini has survived in Bologna and there are still others played in Piedmont and Sicily, but in Italy the game is generally less popular than elsewhere.

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

Although a Dominican preacher inveighed against the evil inherent in playing cards, chiefly because of their use in gambling, in a sermon in the 15th century, no routine condemnations of tarot were found during its early history.In English-speaking countries where these games are not widely played, only specially designed cartomantic tarot cards, used primarily for novelty and divination, are readily available. The early French occultists claimed that tarot cards had esoteric links to ancient Egypt, the Kabbalah, Indic Tantra, or the I Ching, claims that have been frequently repeated by authors on card divination. However, scholarly research demonstrated that tarot cards were invented in northern Italy in the mid-15th century, and confirmed that there is no historical evidence of any significant use of tarot cards for divination until the late 18th century. Historians have described western views of the Tarot pack as “the subject of the most successful propaganda campaign ever launched… An entire false history and false interpretation of the Tarot pack was concocted by the
occultists; and it is all but universally believed”.

The use of tarot playing cards was at one time widespread across the whole of Europe except the British Isles and the Iberian Peninsula. Having fallen into decline by the 20th century, they later experienced a renaissance in some countries and regions. For example, French Tarot was largely confined to Provence in the 18th century, but took off in the 1950s to such an extent that, in 1973, the French Tarot Association (Fédération Française de Tarot) was formed and French Tarot itself is now the second most popular card game in France. Tarock games like Königrufen have experienced significant growth in Austria where international tournaments are held with other nations, especially those from eastern Europe that still play such games, including Hungary, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia. Denmark appears to be the only Scandinavian country that still plays tarot games, Danish Tarok being a derivative of historical German Grosstarock. The game of Cego has grown in popularity again in the south German region of Baden. Italy continues to play regionally popular games with their distinctive Tarot packs. These include: Ottocento in Bologna and Sicilian Tarocchi in parts of Sicily. Meanwhile Troccas and Troggu are still played locally in parts of Switzerland.

The 18th century saw tarot’s greatest revival, during which it became one of the most popular card games in Europe, played everywhere except Ireland and Britain, the Iberian peninsula, and the Ottoman Balkans. French tarot experienced another revival, beginning in 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.The tarot (/ˈtæroʊ/, first known as trionfi and later as tarocchi or tarocks) is a pack of playing cards, used from at least the mid-15th century in various parts of Europe to play card games such as Tarocchini. From their Italian roots, tarot playing cards spread to most of Europe evolving into a family of games that includes German Grosstarok and modern games such as French Tarot and Austrian Königrufen. In the late 18th century, French occultists made elaborate, but unsubstantiated, claims about their history and meaning, leading to the emergence of custom decks for use in divination via tarot card reading and cartomancy. Thus there are two distinct types of tarot pack in circulation today: those used for card games and those used for divination. However, some older patterns, such as the Tarot de Marseille, originally intended for playing card games, are occasionally used for cartomancy.

From the late 18th century, the south German states manufactured German-suited packs labelled ‘Taroc’, ‘Tarock’ or ‘Deutsch-Tarok’. Today these survive as ‘Schafkopf/Tarock’ packs of the Bavarian and Franconian pattern. These are not true tarot packs, but standard 36-card German-suited decks for games like German Tarok, Bauerntarock, Württemberg Tarock and Bavarian Tarock. Until the 1980s there were also Tarock packs in the Württemberg pattern. There are 36 cards; the pip cards ranging from 6 to 10, Under Knave (Unter), Over Knave (Ober), King, and Ace. These use Ace-Ten ranking, like Klaverjas, where Ace is the highest followed by 10, King, Ober, Unter, then 9 to 6. The heart suit is the default trump suit. The Bavarian pack is also used to play Schafkopf by excluding the Sixes.

The word “tarot” and German Tarock derive from the Italian Tarocchi, the origin of which is uncertain, although taroch was used as a synonym for foolishness in the late 15th and early 16th centuries. The decks were known exclusively as Trionfi during the fifteenth century. The new name first appeared in Brescia around 1502 as Tarocho. During the 16th century, a new game played with a standard deck but sharing a very similar name (Trionfa) was quickly becoming popular. This coincided with the older game being renamed tarocchi. In modern Italian, the singular term is Tarocco, which, as a noun, is a cultivar of blood orange. The attribute Tarocco and the verb Taroccare are used regionally to indicate that something is fake or forged. This meaning is directly derived from the tarocchi game as played in Italy, in which tarocco indicates a card that can be played in place of another card.The three most common decks used in esoteric tarot are the Tarot of Marseilles (a playing card pack), the Rider–Waite–Smith tarot deck, and the Thoth tarot deck.Because the earliest tarot cards were hand-painted, the number of the decks produced is thought to have been small. It was only after the invention of the printing press that mass production of cards 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 Tarot of Marseilles, of Milanese origin.A lost tarot-like pack was commissioned by Duke Filippo Maria Visconti and described by Martiano da Tortona, probably 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 with 16 cards having images of the Roman gods and suits depicting four kinds of birds. The 16 cards were regarded as “trumps” since, in 1449, Jacopo Antonio Marcello recalled that the now deceased duke had invented a novum quoddam et exquisitum triumphorum genus, or “a new and exquisite kind of triumphs”. Other early decks that also showcased classical motifs include the Sola-Busca and Boiardo-Viti decks of the 1490s. While the set of trumps was generally consistent, their order varied by region, perhaps as early as the 1440s. Michael Dummett placed them into three categories. In Bologna and Florence, the highest trump is the Angel, followed by the World. This group spread mainly southward through the Papal States, the Kingdom of Naples, and finally down to the Kingdom of Sicily but was also known in the Savoyard states. In Ferrara, the World was the highest, followed by Justice and the Angel. This group spread mainly to the northeast to Venice and Trento where it was only a passing fad. By the end of the 16th century, this order became extinct. In Milan, the World was highest, followed by the Angel; this ordering is used in the Tarot of Marseilles. The earliest evidence of a tarot deck used for cartomancy comes from an anonymous manuscript from around 1750 which documents rudimentary divinatory meanings for the cards of the Tarocco Bolognese. The popularization of esoteric tarot started with Antoine Court and Jean-Baptiste Alliette (Etteilla) in Paris during the 1780s, using the Tarot of Marseilles. 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 mostly by cartomancers.Now selling The Darkness of Light Tarot at Earthly Secrets in Long Island, New York. If you’re in need of a crystal or Darkness of Light Tarot deck and live in the tri-state area, this is the place to be!

I’ve been hearing from good customers there are fake copies of the Darkness of Light Tarot on the internet, this certificate of authenticity will help combat plagiarism.

Now selling The Darkness of Light Tarot at The Cauldron Black in the heart of witch nation, Salem, Massachusetts. This store is the real deal, stop by next time you’re making a pilgrimage!Samantha’s Keys gives a wonderful overview of the Darkness of Light Tarot Deck and shows off some of the artwork in her latest YouTube unboxing video. Watch to learn more.

This is the official site of the Darkness of Light Tarot Card Deck, created by artist and designer Tony DiMauro, and published by Wavelength Laboratory, LLC.

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Tarot has a rich history that dates back hundreds of years. What began as the leisurely game of Tarocchi in 14th Century Europe evolved to encompass elements of French occultism, Egyptian lore, and mystic Hebrew Tradition. From knights gambling, to creating a narrative, to collecting the art, to seeing your future – the Tarot can be used in many ways!Cookies help us to provide our services. Our website also allows the sending of “third-party” cookies, including profiling cookies. For further information, as well as how to refuse the consent: more information. By continuing the navigation you consent to the use of cookies.

The Dark Wood Tarot is a dark deck of gothic horror, black humour and sinister fairy tales. Its 78 borderless cards are elegant and come as part of a box set with a 291-page companion book.The Tarot Gothica has 78 darkly themed cards, with digitally manipulated images created from the artist’s photographs of real people in goth attire and costumes.

The Deviant Moon Tarot has surreal, very unique, and sometimes disturbing moonlit artwork. It’s inspired by (and incorporates) images of cemetaries and mental asylums, and designed to illuminate deeper parts of the subsconscious. The talented illustrator is also a tarot student, and the deck is the result of three years of artistic work. Available now in a borderless edition!

The Royo Dark Tarot is an expanded and updated version of Luis Royo’s original Black Tarot. Now with larger cards, better quality images, and most importantly – fully illustrated minor arcana.

The Alchemy 1977 England Tarot is a darker tarot with a horror edge. Many of the scenes on the majors feature grinning skeletons, while the court have a dark fantasy feel. The minor arcana don’t have scenes, but the suit elements are decorated to fit the theme.A tarot of the depths – not only the superficial aspects – of the Vampire mythos. Sensual, violent, spiritual, and somber, the Gothic Tarot of Vampires is dark and contemporary and, yes, sometimes bloody.The Strange Wonders Tarot is a horror-themed tarot based around thoroughly creepy dolls. The dark and sinister cards feature complete dolls in the major arcana, but just doll heads in the minor arcana. Self-published and available from The Game Crafter.

The Zombie Tarot is from the creator of the Housewives Tarot. This 78-card deck is a retro oracle of the undead, where ‘wands become limbs, pentacles are biohazard symbols, and the Major Arcana is full of shambling corpses’.The Deck of the Dead has 78 cards created from vintage etchings and prints, all themed around Death. Each card has been edited to fit the Rider-Waite system and the minors are fully illustrated. Self-published by the artist, it’s available in three different sizes.

The Nightmare Before Christmas Tarot is the 78-card Tarot version of Tim Burton’s animated Christmas classic. Characters from the film become the major arcana, while moments and scenes become the minor arcana.The Book of Azathoth is an homage to the American sci-fi and horror author, H.P. Lovecraft. The 78 card deck is designed to give the feel of being of Lovecraft’s universe, as used by one of his characters. Self-published and available from the artist.

The Savage Tarot is a deck of 78 cards with imagery of the dark underworld – the savage beauty and macabre aspects of life. Self-published in a limited edition of 100 decks.The Night Sun Tarot has created a symbolic shadow language through a synthesis of diverse cultures, tarot systems and correspondences. The geometric artwork on the 78 cards is an interesting blend of the primitive and the futuristic.

The Secret Tarot has card scenes and costumes that are a mix of eras from medieval and Renaissance to the 19th and 20th centuries. The art is a little comic-book-ish and features female nudity, but is very atmospheric.

The Darkana Tarot “combines a modern grunge style with non-traditional tarot symbolism”. It’s a full 79-card deck from the creator of the Inappropriate Tarot Readings group, with an extra major arcana card – the Badass.The Bohemian Gothic Tarot is the dark sister of the Victorian Romantic Tarot. It’s a deck of the shadows; dark, beautiful, a little melancholy and mysterious. The editions of the deck and a deck-and-book set are now out of print.

Tarot of the Haunted House is loaded with tropes and archetypes from vintage horror movies and cheesy gothic romance novels. The 78 card deck is structured around the heroine’s journey through a mysterious haunted house – and dark night of the soul. Dreams and Nightmares – Oracle of the Night is an 108-card deck inspired by shamanic journeys and visions. There are 54 square picture cards with photographic collage illustrations and 54 text cards, and it’s designed to be used by picking one card of each type. The Singing Serpent Tarot is based firmly in tradition, with a ‘unique twist, coil and slither’. The 78 black and white, hand-drawn cards each have a serpent present on the card, and are deliberately simply styled. Self-published by the artist and due for release at Samhain 2014.The Vertigo Tarot is a modern, slightly surreal and very gothic Tarot deck with dark artwork. By comic-book artist Dave McKean, it is a very popular deck and has been hard to find – but is to be republished in 2008.

The original Baphomet Tarot, also known as the H.R. Giger Tarot, has been reprinted in book and deck set. Fans of H. R. Giger’s dark imaginings (like the aliens of the movie of the same name) will like this deck, but it may be difficult for others.

The Daemon Tarot is a 69-card divination deck drawing upon The Infernal Dictionary, a 19th century collection of daemon lore. The deck links 69 daemons and their attributes with each card, and assists in accessing their energies.The Dracula Tarot has 78 cards based completely on Bram Stoker’s famous novel, Dracula. The major arcana feature characters from the book, while the minor arcana follow key storylines. The deck and companion book have been self-published by the author.

The Mini Royo Dark Tarot is the very small-size version of Luis Royo’s Royo Dark Tarot, which is in turn the updated and fully illustrated version of the Black Tarot. These miniature cards measure 4.4 x 8 cm.The Cruel Thing Tarot is a darkly elegant gothic tarot deck, printed entirely in black, white and red. The minors aren’t fully scenic but have more interest than plain pips. The Tarot of the Night is a dark and gothic deck from Richard Shadowfox of the ShadowFox Tarot and Tarot Deck of Heroes. This 78-card deck is illustrated in a 3D graphics style and has a horror movie feel. It almost seems like Tim Burton helped with the Vampire Tarot. Full of elegant vampires, bloodied fangs, full moons and desolate landscapes, it’s refined and only slightly macabre.The Vampire Tarot draws together tarot, Bram Stoker’s novel Dracula and vampire myths over the ages. From Robert M. Place, who created the Alchemical Tarot and Tarot of the Saints, it is a well-researched and deep look at the links between tarot and vampires, and is illustrated in his distinctive artistic style. The set also includes an excellent companion book.The Victoria Frances Gothic Oracle has 36 stunning cards of romantic melancholia. The illustrations, by Spanish artist Victoria Frances, are seductive, sinister, poetic and darkly evocative.The Magick Bones of Tarot is a 33-card oracle deck designed to reveal your blind spots and dark secrets and uncover your ultimate inner truth. It has stark images of arrangements of skulls and human bones on black backgrounds.

Strikingly vibrant, the Bosch Tarot deck depicts humans, monsters, and visions as Tarot cards. The art style is modelled on that of Dutch artist Hieronymous Bosch and has elements from his paintings. Fascinating.The Barbieri Tarot is a vibrant, powerfully illustrated 78 card deck from Italian artist and master of the fantasy genre, Paolo Barbieri. Selections of his dark, fiery and detailed art have been chosen to fit the tarot archetypes.The Diary of a Broken Soul Tarot is an elegantly gothic deck in mostly black and white, and is the manifestation of artist Ash’s shadow work. This 22 card limited edition is available from Adam McLean, and there is also now a full 78 card edition.The Dark Carnival Tarot is based around dark circus imagery, inspired by the juggalo subculture and musical genre in America. The 78 cards have a traditional basis, illustrated with an urban graffiti feel. The Raven’s Prophecy Tarot is the creation of author and artist Maggie Stiefvater, writer of the Raven’s Cycle books. The 78 non-traditional cards are stark and brooding, with dark and enigmatic artwork. The Vampire Tarot of the Eternal Night is another vampiric deck – this one from Lo Scarabeo. It has photo-real images with an edge of horror by Davide Corsi, and a companion book by Barbara Moore. The Mortem Oraculum – the Death Oracle – has 22 cards evoking the beauty and inspiration of death. The cards, rich in animal imagery and alchemical symbols, were hand-painted in human blood. The Diary of a Broken Soul Tarot, an elegantly gothic black and white deck, is the manifestation of artist Ash’s shadow work. Now self-published in a 78 card edition, there is also a slightly different 22 card edition. The XIII Tarot is very literally a dark deck; illustrated in greys and blacks with highlights in red. The artwork on the major arcana is a little gothic and a little Giger-esque, while the minor arcana have simple arranged pips without scenes. The Gothic Tarot by Joseph Vargo is a slick and elegant 78-card deck conveying a dark gothic mood with images of vampires, gargoyles, ghosts and angels. The actual cards don’t have copyright symbols.The Oracle of Shadows and Light is a cute and quirky little oracle of 45 cards. It features large-eyed faeries, ghosts and angels that are reminiscent of Blythe dolls, each with a slightly shadowy personality or theme. The Lunatic Tarot has 78 cards with expressive, artistic character illustrations in brownish hues. On the back is the corresponding card from the Rider-Waite and its title in English. The large size ‘portfolio’ edition – approximately five by ten inches – has cards bound together with thin, tearable plastic binding, but can be separated for use. Now also available in a regular card-sized edition with titles in English and Chinese. The Favole Tarot features gothic art by Spanish illustrator, Victoria Frances. The cards are dark and romantic but somewhat depressing – even the Sun card has a feeling of bleakness. While the deck has lushly illustrated majors, it follows the European tradition in the minors and has repetitive pip cards instead of tarot scenes.The Black Tarot is a dark gothic fantasy deck by comic book artist Luis Royo. It is meant to be used for exploring the darker side of the psyche. Now also available in a fully-illustrated version as the Royo Dark Tarot.

The Corneal Edema Tarot is an art tarot celebrating the gothic lifestyle. The images are composed of posed photographs, graphically edited to embed them into a textured space. The 22 majors have now been published in a limited edition of 50 decks.Anne Stokes Gothic Tarot is a 78-card deck from the same artist as the Necronomicon Tarot. The cards are filled with a dark fantasy mix of dragons, unicorns, skulls, vampires and bats. The minor arcana cards just show arranged suit elements, rather than illustrated scenes.

The Shadow Animal Oracle Cards take a selection of the more unsavoury members of the animal kingdom – like tapeworms and leeches – to see what lessons might hide behind the mandibles and slimy exteriors. The deck is still in development.The Necronomicon Tarot is the completion of author Donald Tyson’s trilogy that draw on the mythology created by H.P. Lovecraft, the occult writer. It’s a dark deck (as you might expect) with 78 cards fully illustrated with computer-generated art. Also comes with a companion book.

The Surrealist Tarot is a very strange and surreal, 78-card self-published deck. It’s based on the LaVey Personality Synthesizer Clock as well as Crowley, Waite and Sprague’s systems.Dark and gothic Tarot cards and decks, featuring vampires, shadows, and outlandish fantasies. These Tarot decks focus on the darker side of life and imagination.

Colourful, super-real and in-your-face, the Italian-published Solleone Tarot cards have a medieval style and occasionally use bloody and violent imagery.The Ritual Abuse Tarot is a dark and satirical tarot with 78 cards drawn in charcoal. It’s an homage to children’s illustrator Stephen Gammell, who was famous for his unsettling images in a series of horror short stories. Self-published by the artist.

Tarot de la Nuit is a selection of 79 art pieces from a body of work by French artist Alexandra V. Bach, chosen to match the tarot archetypes. Her art is glossy and darkly romantic, with influences from modern pop culture – Game of Thrones, Vikings, Black Swan and Dracula, to name a few.The Book of Kaos Tarot is a compelling self-published 80-card deck. The imagery uses pagan and tribal imagery and its pen-and-ink art varies from simple to complex across the cards.

Not your regular tarot deck, the major arcana cards of the Shadow Tarot are based on the 22 Tunnels of Set as described by Aleister Crowley. The deck is intended to assist contact and integration with our shadow energies, facilitating access to unexplored territory in the psyche. Now available in a 78-card edition through The Game Crafter. The Dark Grimoire Tarot takes its inspiration from magical texts of fiction and legend – the Necronomicon and other grimoires. The 78 cards have non-traditional scenes of horror and nightmare. Often strange, they’re also sometimes disturbing, particularly in the literal Hanged Man. The Fallen Angel Oracle Cards has 72 cards for insight and prediction. “Every legendary villain has a story ultimately more fascinating than his hero counterpart. These fallen angels are no exception: cast out from heaven, the subversive spirits in this deck have committed at least one of the seven deadly sins to secure their place in the legions of the damned.”

The Ludy Lescot Tarot is a mysterious deck from the perspective of Ludy Lescot, “a young esoteric and student of the arts, whom one could meet on the steamy streets in the New Orleans French Quarter”. It’s an expressive 78-card deck that’s a bit different.

The Hush Tarot is a deck of the beautiful and the unpredictable, combining Victorian romanticism, gothic aesthetic, and a dream-or-nightmare vibe in its 78 expertly illustrated cards.

The Dragon Age Inquisition Tarot is a fully-illustrated 78 card deck based on the characters and artwork of the role-playing video game of the same name. While it’s primarily for fans of the game, the deck does have some tarot background. Currently only available bundled in a special edition of the video game.The Dark Goddess Tarot features 78 goddesses and mythical women, figures who might be considered dark, shadow or challenging. The clear, striking art is visually consistent, yet stays true to each goddess’s origins. It’s a deep and well-made deck.The I Ching Dead Moon has 64 cards, illustrated by artist Luis Royo. The cards are darkly atmospheric, with the I Ching hexagrams inset at the base of each card. There are also 15 instruction cards included with the deck, explaining the I Ching and the hexagram meanings.

Hand illustrated and painted, Raven’s Tarot has a very contemporary and slightly gothic and alternative look. Some cards are titled, others have only numbers, but all have a thin white border around the tarot scene.The Dark Angels Tarot is a gothic tarot focusing on heaven’s outcast angels. “Achingly beautiful, mysterious, and undoubtedly wise, these unearthly creatures have much to teach us of our own shadow selves.”