Wednesday, April 23, 2014

A to Z of Witches. T

T is for Tarot

Maybe it is when I grew up and was thinking about all this stuff (the late 70s early 80s) I associate witches and tarot cards.

There is no really overt connection, but they seem to go well together if you ask me.
I have used Tarot cards in my games and even made a suggestion on how to use them instead of dice while playing Ghosts of Albion.  Tarot decks work rather well for Unisystem since the dice mechanic is a straight d10 (1 to 10 roll).

I have a couple of tarot decks laying around and even a book or two, but I never really use them anymore.  Maybe I should.   I used to use them all the time when playing Ravenloft.

Do any of you use tarot in your games or books?

Tarot Witch of the Black Rose
Tarot Pinup by pziomek 
Another Tarot associated with witches is the famous, or infamous, Tarot Witch of the Black Rose.  Yeah I have talked about her a few times here and I won't lie, I find the comic to be a guilty pleasure.
Tarot is actually a good example of what I would call a Witch Guardian. She is a witch, yes, but has taken up the sword in order to protect her coven.

Typically though they wear more armor than this.

I know some people complain about Tarot's proportions. And yes they are ridiculous.
But they are also based on the artist's own wife, so maybe this is how he see's her.  Since she is one doing the coloring in the comic maybe she does as well.






Supernatural AtoZ

6 comments:

Tasha Duncan-Drake said...

Tarot is such a complex subject. I have several friends who use tarot in their everyday lives and one always says it's a great way to figure out what's important. It helps you sort out what you know.
Tasha
Tasha's Thinkings - AtoZ (Vampires)
FB3X - AtoZ (Erotic Drabbles)

Sophie Duncan said...

Those heels look *so* practical for sword fighting ;P I have several packs of Tarot cards and I have used them in stories, and you can always tell a writer who has researched the Tarot rather than one who is just looking at the names on the cards when they're used in a story, or a TV series - the people who wrote Lewis knew their stuff, they used The Tower and the Nine of Swords when things were looking bad, not the Death card.
Sophie
Sophie's Thoughts & Fumbles - A to Z Ghosts
Fantasy Boys XXX - A to Z Drabblerotic

Marci said...

I like that - maybe that *is* how he sees his wife! My husband CLAIMS he doesn't see my physical flaws and focuses on the parts of me that he likes :)

Also, I've had several tarot decks (although they are currently packed away and I can't tell you which versions they are), and I love the artwork and various takes on the deck. Very fun to play with - my mom and I used to do a lot of readings together! :)

Rich Howard said...

I tried using tarot when I was coming into my own spirituity in college, but never connected with one. Not surprisingly, the deck I did connect with was called Animal Cards by Jamie Sams and David Carson. The symbolism made more sense to me.

Sara C. Snider said...

The infamous bikini armor. ;) Pretty cool she's based on the artist's wife. I like to think that's how he sees her.

I fiddled around with tarot cards as a teenager, but that's about it. I think I mostly liked the artwork. :)

Mina Burrows said...

I always forget about the witches in the tarot cards.