China Tarot

Rendered in the rich style of traditional Chinese artwork, the vibrant colors and clear messages of The Chinese Tarot Deck offer an aesthetic and accessible tarot experience. Jui Guoliang has created elegant ink and watercolor designs that skillfully blend archetypal symbols of Ancient Chinese literature, legend, philosophy, and culture. The Major Arcana draws upon the benevolent wisdom and insight of inspirational figures such as Confucius, Kuan Yin, and Chang Tao Ling, the Heavenly Master. The fully pictorial Minor Arcana are equally endowed with the lessons of Chinese history. The booklet by Stuart R Kaplan offers a description of each card's symbolism, with both upright and reversed meanings.

This book introduces a new version of Tarot cards derived from Chinese culture. There are five suits named and numbered according to the Generating Arrangement of the Chinese Five Elements. The fourth suit incorporates a Chinese version of the Major Arcana. Many concepts from Mahjong and Chinese traditional playing cards have been utilized. There are 144 cards not counting the Major Arcana fool which is number zero. This corresponds with the 144 tiles of Mahjong. The pack can be shortened to 108 cards (not counting the fool) which is a significant number in Chinese Buddhism and Daoism as well as in Hinduism. All of the cards were illustrated by the author. Each suit has a theme from Chinese history or culture. Suit 1 Swords corresponds with the Chinese element Wood and the ancient Greek element Air. It has a martial arts theme with images of famous swordsmen and women. Card 10 depicts Fu Hao the female commander-in-chief of the Shang Dynasty Army born around 1200 BC. Cao Cao (155-220) king of Wei is card 14 of this suit and his queen Bian Shi is card 13. Suit 2 Batons or Clubs represents the Chinese and Greek element Fire. The images on its cards are of the philosophers Lao Zi, Confucius, Mencius and others and its king is Liu Bei (161-223) of the kingdom of Shu, the previous card being his queen Gan Fu Ren. Suit 3 Coins or Pentacles relates to the Chinese and ancient Greek element Earth and displays merchants on the ancient Silk Road and Grand Canal as well as an image of the Earth God Tu Di Shen and his money tree. Suit 4 is the Major Arcana, or Da-Mi-Yi in Chinese, represented by the Greek element Ether or Spirit and the Chinese element Metal of Gold. Its Wheel of Fortune becomes the Tibetan Wheel of Life while the Magician becomes the Alchemist Wei Bo Yang (100-170). Suit 5 is the suit of Cups which equates with the Chinese and Greek element Water. It has images of China's famous ancient mariners including Xu Fu (born 255 BC) who may have sailed as far as Japan or even America and Fa Xian (337-422) who returned to China by sea from India. Then there are images of the Four Great Heavenly Kings of the 4 Directions found in most Chinese temples and the Earth god makes a fifth card. The Four Seasons, Four Flowers (Orchid, Bamboo, Chrysanthemum and Plum Blossom), Four Pastimes (Music, Chess, Calligraphy and Painting) and Four Professions (Fisherman, Woodcutter, Farmer and Scholar) also appear. The Cat, Mouse Cockerel and Centipede are there too. There are also cards with images of the Five Auspicious Animals (Qi Lin or Kylin, Golden Money Toad, Fortune Cat, Pi Xiu and Dragon Tortoise). The Five Stars of Good Fortune (including Shou Xing the God of Longevity, Xi Shen the God of Happiness and Cai Shen the God of Wealth) and their symbols of prosperity as well as their lucky animals, the bat, deer, crane, magpie and fish appear too. Finally there are the 8 Immortals and their 8 ritual implements. Earlier in the book a brief history of Chinese and Western playing cards is followed by several pages telling why and how I designed this Tarot pack. There are large clear diagrams explaining the suits and at the end of the book 131 pages are devoted to detailed descriptions of all of the 145 Chinese Tarot pictures, placing them in their cultural and historical context. In essence, this book is an introduction to some of the more interesting aspects of Chinese history and civilization. My hope is that readers could develop an appreciation of Chinese culture and find auspicious outcomes therein.

A profusely illustrated history of the occult nature of the tarot from its origins in ancient Persia • Thoroughly examines the original historical source for each tarot card and how the cards’ divinatory meanings evolved from these symbols • Provides authentic 18th- and 19th-century spreads and divination techniques • Reveals the divinatory meanings of the cards as understood by diviners in the Middle Ages and Renaissance The origins of the tarot have been lost in the mists of time. Most scholars have guessed that its origins were in China, Egypt, or India. In Mystical Origins of the Tarot, Paul Huson has expertly tracked each symbol of the Minor Arcana to roots in ancient Persia and the Major Arcana Trump card images to the medieval world of mystery, miracle, and morality plays. A number of tarot historians have questioned the use of the tarot as a divination tool prior to the 18th century. But the author demonstrates that the symbolic meanings of the Major Arcana were evident from the time they were first employed in the mid-15th century in the popular divination practice of sortilege. He also reveals how the identities of the court cards in the Minor Arcana were derived from a blend of pagan and medieval sources that strongly influenced their interpretation in tarot divination. Mystical Origins of the Tarot provides a thorough examination of the original historical source for each card and how the cards’ divinatory meanings evolved from these symbols. Huson also provides concise and practical card-reading methods designed by the cartomancers of the 18th and 19th centuries and reveals the origins of the card interpretations promoted by the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn and A. E. Waite.

To the casual observer, they're just a pack of playing cards. But to initiates, the mysterious figures of the Tarot deck symbolize the keys to ancient wisdom. The 78 cards can be employed to unlock the secrets of the universe and to foretell the future — but only by those who comprehend their esoteric truths. A pillar of occult science, The Tarot of the Bohemians provides a theological element to the work begun by Antoine Court de Gébelin, Etteila, and Éliphas Lévi, and advanced by A. E. Waite, the distinguished scholar and designer of the most widely known deck. Geared toward initiates, its topics include an introduction to the study of the Tarot as well as its symbolism and applications. This revised edition includes a Preface by Waite in addition to illustrative plates, charts, and tables.

Journey into the far reaches of Dragonland with the Dragon Tarot book. Discover how mythical dragons can lead you to a better understanding of yourself and your life.

A practical, hands-on guide for using tarot to connect with your ancestors and gain access to their insights for healing, self-protection, and personal powers. With a tarot deck in hand, readers will learn how to identify and access ancestral gifts, messages, powers, protectors, and healers. Tarot expert Nancy Hendrickson guides readers through the basics of finding recent ancestors, and navigating the confusing maze of DNA and ethnic heritage. As a longtime tarot enthusiast, she shows readers how to incorporate a metaphysical tool into a world of tradition. Ancestral Tarot spreads are included in relevant chapters. Each chapter includes three journal prompts that lead readers into self-discovery around ancestral gifts, wounds, and patterns they may have inherited. The better we know our ancestors, the better we know ourselves.