Tarot of the Divine sets the standard seventy eight card Major and Minor Arcana against a different world folklore, deity or fairy tale on every card, illustrated by Yoshi Yoshitani and published by Clarkson Potter in 2020. It keeps the traditional tarot's structure and sequence while drawing its imagery from cultures across the globe rather than a single tradition.
Facts
Deck
Cards in the Deck Pip CardsScenic pips: every suit card is an illustrated scene 1 Every minor arcana card illustrates a specific folklore or mythic scene (the Crane Wife, Fenrir, Oedipus and others). Trump NumberingStrength VIII, Justice XI (Golden Dawn and Rider-Waite-Smith order) 1 Strength VIII, Justice XI confirmed directly. Attributions
TraditionRider Waite Smith derived: the Aeclectic Tarot deck database records its Deck Tradition as Rider Waite Smith. Each card matches a Rider Waite Smith archetype retold through folklore, deities and fairy tales from more than 40 cultures. 2 Cult
Attributes and IconographyVibrant, flat colour illustration drawing a different world folklore, deity or fairy tale onto every card. 1 Identity
Publication Year Origins
Creator / Originator Method
How the Cards Are ReadRead upright and reversed, following the standard Major and Minor Arcana structure, each card keyed to a different world folklore or deity. 1 Learn More
A Different World Folklore on Every Card
Tarot of the Divine sets the standard seventy eight card Major and Minor Arcana against a different world folklore, deity or fairy tale on every card, illustrated by Yoshi Yoshitani and published by Clarkson Potter in 2020. It keeps the traditional tarot's structure, sequence and Golden Dawn and Rider Waite Smith trump order, Strength at eight and Justice at eleven, while drawing its imagery from cultures across the globe on a card by card basis rather than settling on any single tradition, pairing figures and stories from unrelated historical and cultural sources within one reading system.
That cross cultural, card by card approach differs from this catalogue's closest structural relative, Osho Zen Tarot, which draws its entire theme from one teacher and movement rather than varying its source with every card, and from Tarot of Sexual Magic's single sustained thematic lens across the whole deck. Yoshitani's vibrant, flat colour illustration style gives each card its own distinct visual treatment suited to whichever folklore or fairy tale it depicts, published the same year Sterling issued Modern Witch Tarot, both decks reworking the standard seventy eight card structure toward a more contemporary and culturally varied readership without departing from the underlying Major and Minor Arcana framework.
Connections
Authored By
Depicts
Fenrir, confirmed as one of the deck's named Minor Arcana inspirations from Norse myth.
Source Tarot of the Divine (Penguin Random House listing)Yoshi Yoshitani
Oedipus, confirmed as the Greek myth this deck draws on for its Swords suit material.
Source Tarot of the Divine (Penguin Random House listing)Yoshi Yoshitani
The Pandavas, confirmed as one of the deck's named Minor Arcana inspirations from Indian epic.
Source Tarot of the Divine (Penguin Random House listing)Yoshi Yoshitani
Sources
1. Tarot of the Divine (Penguin Random House listing)
2. Tarot of the Divine, Review (Aeclectic Tarot deck database)
Essays About This Entity (1 essay)
A 2020 Tarot Deck Is the Only Bridge to an Oath Broken in Bad Faith
The deck whose only bridge into beings and creatures is this one figure
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