The Art of Tarot
Tarot has a long artistic tradition beginning in the renaissance. Each card includes very specific images that symbolise the meaning behind the card (to help the card reader remember the meaning). If you are using tarot cards in your body of work, start with the classic Rider-Waite tarot card deck [http://www.learntarotonline.com/tarotmeanings/tarotmeaningsmain.html] because it every single detail has a specific meaning. This will help you understand how symbolism works in the cards as well as learn about what the cards actually mean. Please be careful to ignore all the advertising on free tarot sites and don't get sidetracked into actual fortune-telling!
Once you understand the meanings of the tarot cards, these decks might be inspirational:
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The Marselle Tarot (1760) You'll notice a lot of images and symbols that are incorporated into the Rider-Waite tarot. The explanations of symbols on this site are excellent.
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Tarrochina Milanese a Doppia Figura (1880)
This is the first tarot deck to have double-headed images (like we have on ordinary playing cards) |
Mantegna Tarot (1460)
This deck is interesting as it includes cards based on the arts and sciences of the times (ie. things like Rhetoric and Poetry which were important university subjects!) |
Modern Tarot Decks
Peanuts Tarot This page explains how they chose the symbols for the suits.
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Afro-Brazillian Tarot
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Tarot decks based on artists/ art movements
Harmonious Tarot (based on illustrator Walter Crane)
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Tarot decks based on literature
Further Reading
You may also wish to explore different sorts of mythology to get ideas for symbols (you don't have to use their traditional meanings - you're the artist so they could mean anything you like!). The Alchemy Website [http://www.alchemywebsite.com/amclglr6.html] has hundreds of traditional images and a few explanations of how they were used. It includes a page of "Art Tarot" decks [http://www.alchemywebsite.com/Tarot/tarot_weblog.html]. Ms Carmyn also has a couple of books in this area. See her if you'd like to borrow them.
The Modern Eden Gallery had an exhibition of art based on the tarot.
Ms Carmyn has a couple of different books about tarot, but you might begin by looking at the following on Googlebooks:
Mystical Origins of the Tarot [https://books.google.com.au/books?id=D3JnAwAAQBAJ&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false]
The Modern Eden Gallery had an exhibition of art based on the tarot.
Ms Carmyn has a couple of different books about tarot, but you might begin by looking at the following on Googlebooks:
Mystical Origins of the Tarot [https://books.google.com.au/books?id=D3JnAwAAQBAJ&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false]