The Tarot in fantasy literature: In the fascinating world of fantasy literature, where the magical and the mysterious intertwine with the everyday, there is an ancient element that often goes unnoticed but is fundamental in the construction of rich and deep narratives: the tarot.
Known for its beauty and complexity, this set of cards is much more than just a divination instrument. Its history, full of nuances and transformations, reveals a fascinating evolution from a simple pastime of the nobility to becoming a pillar of esoteric symbolism.
In this article we will explore together the origins and evolution of the tarot, discovering how these cards have not only influenced art and culture but how they have left an indelible mark on the fantasy genre.
The origins of tarot
The origins of the tarot date back to the mid-15th century, but what few people imagine is that these brightly colored decks that are often accompanied by beautiful illustrations were, for more than four centuries, nothing more than a card game. similar to the bridge called tarocchi. Between conspiracy and conspiracy, arranged marriages, social hunts, and recreation in the palaces, the Italian nobles used these cards to kill time and commissioned their artists to create the most beautiful illustrations as a symbol of status.
In any case, these cards did not begin to be associated with the art of divination until Etteilla, a French occultist, published a tarot reading guide in the 18th century, using the colorful decks as an advertising measure and contributing to each of them. an esoteric meaning.
This is how these letters, designed as simple entertainment, became an art form based on occultism that allows us to investigate people’s future thanks to the reader’s interpretive ability and intuition. Each of the tarot cards, divided into the large families of the major and minor arcana, interacts with the others and changes the meaning, building a narrative that the interpreter turns into a divination path.
The popularity of tarot: a card for each obvious symbolism.
Tarot has become incredibly popular in recent years, especially with the rise of the Wicca and pagan movement driven by the capitalist exploitation of the idea of the “witch” through large production companies and distributors of series and films. And despite this, we cannot forget that the enormous success of tarot is based on its ability to condense images, symbolism, and universal ideas through a simple image.
Tarot cards, especially the Major Arcana (which are the ones that all young witches begin to learn to read), usually present illustrations of immense quality that turn them, per se, into enormous works of art. Likewise, each image contains within it universal archetypes that are easily recognizable and can be extrapolated to everyday life situations such as the Hero (The Fool), the Mother (The Empress), and the Wise Man (The Hermit), making them resonate with people of all backgrounds. cultures because they reflect basic human experiences and roles.
The Major Arcana: the foundation of the tapestry upon which fantasy stories are written
What is interesting is how these Major Arcana that represent universal truths, symbols, and narratives (love, change, death, and conflict) are also widely used archetypes within fantasy novels and form the tapestry upon which The greatest works of fantasy in history have been built.
The Arcana in The Lord of the Rings
You don’t have to dig too deep into fantasy to see how most fantasy stories are built around a Wizard who represents wisdom and power (of the most recent and my favorite, Ancestral Lineage (RedKey Books. Adrian Tchaikovski) , an opponent such as the Devil, an Emperor or Empress and conflicts involving cards such as Wheel of Fortune, The Fool or The Hanged Man.
But let’s get into specific details with great classic fantasy works that will undoubtedly resonate with you, like The Lord of the Rings (JRR Tolkien. 1954) or The Hobbit (JRR Tolkien. 1937). Here we will find a large number of Major Arcana represented through mythical figures. Without going any further, Bilbo Baggins is the incarnation of the card The Fool, as it symbolizes innocence, freedom, and the beginning of a journey, representing the hero in his purest state and ready to enter the unknown.
The Empress, who also represents Mother Nature, powerfully symbolizes fertility, abundance, and nutrition, representing the maternal figure in her most idealized form and embodying the role of Galadriel, which condenses wisdom and connection with nature and whose attitude throughout the novels is about connection.
The Hermit, or the Lone Wolf, who seeks through introspection the inner truth would find his other half in Gandalf (as with the obvious Arcanum of the Wizard) and Aragorn is the perfect example of Temperance for his ability to balance different worlds and their focus on moderation and patience are central characteristics of this archetype.
The Major Arcana at Abercrombie, A Song of Ice and Fire, and other well-known fantasy novels.
Virtually every fantasy novel you can imagine has its counterpart character in the constructed narratives. For example, the Chariot represents the Conqueror, it symbolizes control, ambition, and the pursuit of war and victory, just like Stour Dusk in The First Law (Abercrombie), Daenerys Targaryen in A Song of Ice and Fire or even Kelsier in Mistborn (Brandon Sanderson. 2006)
It is evident that Bayaz The First Law (Abercrombie) finds its reflection in The Magician, but it is not unreasonable to understand that the search for inner truth and wisdom is manifested in a Rikke who spits peyote in the corners or who despite her violent past, Logen Ninefingers has an innocence and willingness to venture into the unknown typical of The Fool.
Sanderson’s works are also great examples of architecture supported by the figures represented in the Major Arcana: his protagonists such as Vin in Mistborn, Braid in Braid of the Emerald Sea, Yumi in Yumi, and the Painter of Nightmares, etc. They are built around the figure of The Star since despite adversity, they maintain hope and become a source of inspiration for others.
Patrick Rothfuss in his Kingkiller Chronicle presents Ambrose, the antagonist, as an ambitious and evil character who presents temptations in Kvothe’s path, much like the Devil and Rand al’Thor in The Wheel of Time represents The Judgment. Since his rebirth as the Dragon Reborn the critical decisions he must make reflect the themes of this arcana.
The tarot is a narrative element in fantasy works.
Not only are the characters in fantasy novels built on the collective imagination of the world represented in the Major Arcana but there are many novels that use the tarot per se as a narrative element.
Without going any further, in The Moving Castle of Diana Wynne Jones (Night Ed. 1986), the novel that inspired Miyazaki for the famous Studios Ghibli film, the tarot is used by the witch of the Landes to predict Sophie’s future. Tarot cards help develop the plot and are a crucial element in predicting and destinies of the characters.
In The Amber Chronicles by Roger Zelazny, a unique tarot deck appears, known as the Amber Cards, which not only serves for divination but also as a means of communication and transportation between different universes. The characters in the series have their cards in the deck, which adds a layer of complexity and mysticism to the story. And in other, less niche works, such as Isabel Allende’s The House of the Spirits, the tarot plays an important role in the story. Clara, one of the main characters, uses the tarot to guide her decisions and understand the world around her.
The tarot as a symbolic element of the disaster in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince.
Although in JK Rowling’s “Harry Potter” series, the tarot does not take center stage, its presence in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince offers a significant and symbolic moment. In this installment, we meet Professor Sybil Trelawney, head of Divination at Hogwarts, who, in an attempt to predict the future, uses cards that appear to be part of a regular playing deck, not a traditional tarot. During one scene, Trelawney dramatically pulls out of her shawls the “lightning struck tower” card, announcing calamity and disaster. This reference to the major arcana of the Tower in the tarot, a symbol of sudden destruction and revelation, takes on a deep meaning when, later, Dumbledore meets his tragic end in the Astronomy Tower. Rowling cleverly uses this element of tarot to weave foreshadowing into the plot, showing how even a brief mention of these mystical cards can add a layer of depth and foreshadowing to the narrative.
The tarot in Good Omens by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman
In Good Omens by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman, the tarot appears in a subtle but significant way. The story, centered on the angel Aziraphale and the demon Crowley, who are on Earth to witness Armageddon, weaves a plot where the divine and the earthly intertwine in unexpected ways. Amidst the chaos and confusion over the arrival of the Antichrist, the tarot is briefly mentioned in two instances.
One of them is through Pepper, whose mother, a supporting character, performs tarot readings for nervous executives. The well-known woman named Madame Tracy is aware that most of her clients are not seeking deep contact with the occult, so she has eliminated most of the Major Arcana from her tarot deck to avoid disturbing others. her clients.
On the other hand, Agnes Nutter’s prophecies, recorded on index cards by Anathema Device, play a crucial role in the story. At one point, Anathema, having lost her copy of Agnes’s book, is forced to rely exclusively on these cards, which she shuffles and draws as if they were tarot cards, seeking guidance at a critical moment. This parallel between prophecies and tarot underlines the importance of divination and prediction in the novel.
The way Pratchett and Gaiman incorporate tarot reflects the often humorous and playful nature of their approach to serious and esoteric topics.
The tarot at Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell
In Susanna Clarke’s Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell, winner of the 2005 Mythopoeic Prize for Fantasy, the tarot plays a fascinating and multifaceted role in the plot. Set in early 19th century England during the Napoleonic Wars, the story revolves around two magicians: the scholarly and reserved Mr. Norrell and his more adventurous ward, Jonathan Strange. Among them, a secondary but crucial character emerges: John Childermass, Norrell’s businessman and astute tarot reader.
Tarot features notably in the chapter titled “The Marseille Cards,” where Childermass draws her own tarot deck, a unique set of cards created from memories and glued onto colored card stock. The originality and peculiarity of these cards reflect the unusual and mysterious nature of the magic in the novel. In a key scene, Childermass reads the letters to Vinculus, interpreting them as omens of a lonely journey, a message to be delivered, and a dangerous encounter he might not survive. This encounter with tarot cards leads Childermass to realize that Vinculus’s body is magically tattooed with the last and only book written by the Raven King, Uxglass.
The tarot cards continue to play a symbolic role throughout the novel. For example, at one point, Childermass’s cards transform, repeatedly showing the figure of a young dark-haired king with a large black bird at his feet, an allusion to the Raven King. Additionally, at several crucial moments, the letters provide Childermass with vital information, such as the survival of Vinculus or the existence of two copies of Strange’s book, one with Norrell and the other with Strange.
Clarke uses tarot not only as a narrative device to advance the plot, but also as a means to explore deeper themes such as destiny, power, and transformation. The interpretation of the cards and their mysterious change reflect the changing and often incomprehensible nature of magic in the world of the novel. “Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell” is a brilliant example of how tarot can enrich a fantasy story, adding layers of meaning and mystery to an already captivating narrative.
Conclusion
As we stop to reflect after this journey through the enigmatic and multifaceted world of tarot in fantasy literature, we realize that these cards are much more than mere esoteric symbols or divination tools. They are, in essence, a universal language of archetypes and symbolism that transcend time and space, breathing life and depth into the most beloved and admired fantasy narratives.
From the epic adventures in Middle-earth to the intricate magical mazes of Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell, the tarot acts as a mirror reflecting human complexities and eternal moral dilemmas. It reminds us that, at the heart of our favorite stories, there are universal truths that resonate with each card that is revealed. This fascinating interweaving of tarot and fantasy literature not only enriches our understanding of both but also invites us to look beyond the visible, to discover the layers of meaning that lie hidden in the folds of the fantastic.
And they guide us, more often than we think, along a path dotted with uncertainty and adventure.