Fairytale Tarot

Fairytale Tarot

The Fairytale Tarot is new from the talented creators of the Tarot of Prague and the Baroque Bohemian Cats' Tarot. Drawn in a Central European style, the cards have a Rider-Waite basis and illustrate stories from the well known Cinderella and Snow Queen to lesser known tales. Rachel Pollack also collaborated with the companion book.


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Fairytale Tarot Review by Bonnie Cehovet

We are blessed in many ways with the gifts within this deck. First and foremost, it is from Magic Realist Press (Karen Mahony and Alex Ukolov), in conjunction with Czech artist Irina Triskova. They are on solid ground here, having already birthed The Tarot of Prague and The Baroque Bohemian Cats Tarot. Each project was based on a specific concept: "The Tarot of Prague" combined the beauty that is Prague with old stories, such as the golem, a "created" figure from the mind of 16th century Rabbi Loew; "The Baroque Bohemian Cats Tarot" is based on the 18th century tradition of dressing cats in costumes (which I also did as a child, and so did my mother!).

The "Fairytale Tarot" is just that - a Tarot deck based on fairy tales taken from many diverse cultures. Technically, it follows closely the structure and intent of the Rider-Waite-Smith Tarot. In her foreword, Tarot author/wise woman Rachel Pollack makes a very astute comment on combining the Rider-Waite-Smith Tarot with a fairy tale structure, noting that artist Pamela Colman Smith's nickname was "Pixie" - an integral part of the fairy tale realm!

Pollack also notes that the fairy tales represented here are as true to the oral tradition as they can be. This is not a deck for children - the full strength of the fairy tales told here comes through, with no effort made to tone down any of their dark or violent qualities. The result is that we see clearly the archetypes within the stories/myths, and have the opportunity to use them as gateways to wisdom. It is also noted that in this deck, Karen worked from a position of strength by using the concepts and themes of the pictures on the Rider-Waite-Smith Tarot, and matching them to stories that exemplify those same qualities.

Pollack leaves us with her own gift - the gift of story. At the end of her foreword, she creates her own tale for the Ten of Coins, entitled "The Girl Who Was Too Shy". This story - in fact, the entire foreword - can be viewed on the Fairytale Tarot website.

The traditional suits have been used in this deck: Wands, Cups, Swords, and Coins; as well as the traditional court cards: Page, Knight, Queen, and King. The traditional titles are also carried through the Major Arcana. Below is a listing of the Major Arcana, and the fairy tales associated with them. From the book:

The Fool: The Poor Miller's Boy and The Little Cat
The Magician: The Storyteller at Fault
The High Priestess: Libuse
The Empress: Cinderella
The Emperor: The Emperor and the Nightingale
The Hierophant: The Five Wise Words of the Guru
The Lovers: Tatterhood
The Chariot: The Snow Queen
Strength: Beauty and the Beast
The Hermit: Bearskin
The Wheel of Fortune: Fortune and the Wood Cutter
Justice: The Juniper Tree
The Hanged Man: The Shifty Lad
Death: Godfather Death
Temperance: Water and Salt
The Devil: The Red Shoes
The Tower: Deirdre of the Sorrows
The Star: The Fairy of the Dawn
The Moon: The Nixy
The Sun: The Sunchild
Judgement: Snow White
The World: Many Fur

In her introduction, Mahony talks about what fairy tales are to her (and to many of us): they are a way of seeing past the material/mundane part of life into the life's deeper layers, the more magickal realms. They reflect universal wisdom and archetypal patterns, crossing both cultural and time barriers. I agree with her comments that how a particular story/tale is interpreted will depend upon the reader, and the conditions existing at the time of the reading. My personal opinion here would be that at times fairy tales allow us to discuss parts of life that we would otherwise keep to ourselves. They allow us to acknowledge the Wicked Stepmother, or the Foolish Person, and to do so in a safe environment.

In the telling of the tales in the accompanying book, Mahony tried to stay as close to the original tale as she could. The tales are from both Eastern and Western Europe, Asia, India, and the Middle East. It is noted that traditional tales tend to cover fairly standard motifs. In the presentation of the stories, Mahony has chosen to include the Aarne-Thompson types. Stith Thompson and Antti Amatus Aarne are folklorists who worked together to classify recurring motifs into distinctive types, and apply them to stories. Where she was able to locate this information, it was included in the summary of each card. Another step on the path to understanding the stories/tales, and placing them into our understanding/interpretation of the Tarot.

What exactly is included in the category of fairy tale? Mahony lists the following four categories, developed by Joseph Jacobs in his book "Celtic Fairy Tales":

1. Tales or anecdotes about actual fairies, hobgoblins etc, told as natural occurrences.
2. Hero tales, stories of adventure told of national or mythical heros.
3. Folktales proper describing marvelous adventures ... in which there is a defined plot and supernatural characters (speaking giants, dwarfs etc)
4. Drolls, comic anecdotes of feats of stupidity or cunning.

In presenting the Major Arcana, Mahony makes reference to the "Fool's Journey", and to the sense that in fairy tales and stories, often a young person is seen taking a journey, working through the intricasies of life. In the companion book, each card from the Major Arcana is presented with a black and white scan, an accompanying fairy tale, the Aarne-Thompson type (which is of great use if the reader wants to take their interpretation from the story, as well as from the picture), keywords and phrases, and a short discussion of the card. From the book, with the fairy tale edited out for brevity, we have the following:

The Fool

Aarne-Thompson type 402, The Animal Bride

Keywords and Phrases:

Foolish wisdom * Chaos and freedom * Blind faith * Stepping into the unknown * Trusting in Fate and Fortune * Throwing yourself into the arms of luck * Taking a leap of faith * Fortune favors the innocent fool.

The Fool is a very familiar figure in fairy stories, and many tales centre on someone foolish, usually a young man (although interestingly in Russian tales such as "The Silver Plate and the Bi-coloured Apple" it is often a girl). Inevitably the fool is the youngest of a trio of family members or another close group - the number three tends to be important in these tales. The pattern is that the young fool is set a challenge, leaves home to go on a journey, and against all expectations succeeds in his task or quest. Aleister Crowley, writing in "The Book of Thoth" points out that in many fairy tales the young fool is an "ambitious stranger" who supplants the King and marries his daughter. However, the tale of the miller's boy is the fool at his most gentle, and no one is supplanted, although the miller himself is certainly put in his place, albeit gently enough, at t he end of the story.

So although Crowley points out the more violent udertone of many of the fools in fairy story, one could equally well argue that what makes these stories particularly interesting is that they tell us again and again that the fool is successful largely because of his kind, trusting, and "foolishly" unquestioning acceptance of everything and everyone he meets on the way - he is guileless and simply takes things as they as they appear - literally so in many instances. This should make him very vulnerable, and those around him certainly don't expect him to last two seconds in the harsh real world. Yet in fact his innocence acts as a protection, the fool avoids many dangers and pitfalls around him, without ever once using his brain, or anything much beyond his kind and trusting instincts.

What does this Fairytale Fool tell us? Well, in fact t here seems to be a definite guidance for foolish adventures in Faery:

* If you are set a challenge that involves leaving home, don't hesitate, no matter what anyone else says.

* When you meet someone who asks you to share what you have, do it, even if you don't have much for yourself.

* Don't get into fights. Ignore insults and baiting.

* When you are offered advice or help, particularly by an old person or an animal, accept it, even if it seems illogical.

In other words, the fool in fairy stories is irrationally trusting, accepts the opportunities, trials and tribulations that life throws at him, and is unfailingly cheerful, communal and optimistic. There is no logic to his success, and yet there is an odd inevitability about it. It seems he is truly blessed.

When this card comes up in a reading, it can be good to think not simply of the Miller's Boy tale, but also of all the other fools in fairy story. Again and again these stories tell us that kindness may be more important than cleverness, trust can get us further than suspicion, and an optimistic attitude may turn out to be the truest view of the future. All this may seem silly and at odds with our skeptical modern times, but remember that there are times where it's far, far better to be the fool than one of his older and wiser brothers.

In the introduction to the Minor Arcana, Mahony defines stories used for the suits as follows: those used for the suit of Wands tend to be optimistic adventures, often with a good dose of humour; those used for the suit of Cups touching, sweet, and funny; those used for the suit of Swords are odd, with unexplained elements, and can be violent and disturbing; those sued for the suit of Coins focus on domestic matters and practical skills.

Wands themselves are seen as carrying fiery, active energy, and are associated with the element of Fire; Cups carry the energy of inner feelings, emotions, and creativity, and are associated with the Element of Water; Swords carry the energy of intellect and the mind, and are associated with the element of Air; Coins carry the energy of work, skills, money, and practical matters, and are associated with the element of Earth. In the companion book, the Minor Arcana is presented int he same manner as the Major Arcana, with a fairy tale, the Aarne-Thompson type, keywords and phrases, and a discussion of the card.

At the end of the book is a section on how to read the cards, with several spreads presented that were developed specifically for this deck, including the five card Prague "threshold" spread; the six card Fairytale Fool's Story; and a five card reading for Fairy blessings and Fairy curses. there is also an inclusive bibliography for the sources of the Fairy Tales.

The cards themselves are 3" by 5", of good quality, glossy cardstock. The backs have a 1/4" solid blue border, followed by a solid thin cream colored border, and a 1/2" blue and white patterned border, which is followed by another solid thin cream colored border. The central portion of the card is cream colored, in a pattern.

The face of the cards has a solid, thin, cream colored border, followed by a golden colored patterned border. On the bottom of the card we see a white scroll, with the title of the card in large gold letters, with the title of the fairy tale under it in small gold letters.

The artistry shows very fine detail, with a scene appropriate to each fairy tale. The colors used are intense, and vary from the pastels seen in cards such as the Hierophant, The Lovers, and the Two of Cups to the darker tones seen in the Emperor, the Hermit, Death, the Moon, the Eight of Wands, and the Four of Swords.

Many of the cards in this deck reflect the scenes from the Rdier-Waite-Smith Tarot, such as the Fool, the Magician, the High Priestess, the Chariot, the Lovers, the Hermit, the Tower, the World, the Two of Cups, the Four of Cups, the Six of Cups, the Ten of Cups, the Two of Swords, the Six of Swords, and the Eight of Coins. Cards that differ significantly would be the Emperor, the Wheel of Fortune, Justice, Temperance, the Devil, the Sun, the Three of Swords, the Eight of Swords, the Nine of Swords, the Ten of Swords, and the Seven of Coins. Cards that carry a great deal of "fairy tale" imagery are the Empress, the Chariot, the Ace of Cups, the Knight of Cups, the Eight of Coins, Justice, Judgement, the Two of Wands, the Four of Wands, the Five of Wands, the Six of Wands, the Seven of Wands, the Eight of Wands, the King of Wands, the Two of Cups, the Ten of Cups, the Ace of Swords, the Five of Swords, the Eight of Swords, the Nine of Swords, the King of Swords, and the Seven of Coins. There are some very interesting touches to some of the cards, such as the Hanged Man being held, by one leg, over the edge of a turret, with his hands loose; the figure in the Death card being held hostage by a boundary of lit candles; seven little "Kids" holding off the Wolf with their wands in the Seven of Wands (the "Kids" are animals); male figures used in the Three of Cups; and two figures being used int he Seven of Coins - a Giant, seen listening to a human male figure.

Through whimsy, humor, and sometimes the grit of life, the "Fairytale Tarot" does an excellent job of opening a gateway to archetypal wisdom. I would not recommend this as a beginners deck, but it is highly usable, for readings, as well as meditation, visualization, ritual and ceremonial work.

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Fairytale Tarot Review by Solandia

"We wanted very definitely to make a deck for adults, a deck that acknowledged and appreciated these tales as they were originally told – complete with shadows and, sometimes, a dark sensuality." ~ Karen Mahony, Magic Realist Press

From the creators of the classic Tarot of Prague and quirky Baroque Bohemian Cats’ Tarot comes the Fairytale Tarot. A blend of traditional fairytales and Tarot archetypes, the 78 cards illustrate retellings of Asian, Indian, Middle Eastern as well as European tales. The stories, all with definite magical elements, are as authentic as possible to the oral tradition and have not been modernised or sanitised.

The cards are each linked with a fairytale, and show a scene from the tale rather than a typical Tarot scene. As Karen Mahony puts it: ‘They’ve been shaped around the story, rather than the story being shoehorned into the ‘standard’ archetype.’ The art is illustrated, rather than the photo-college familiar from previous Magic Realist Press decks, and has strong colours and bold outlined drawings. It could be the illustrations for a children’s book of fairytales – but these cards are for grown children.

Many of the stories are completely new to me; I only recognised a few of them – the Snow Queen, the Six Swans, Cinderella, Beauty and the Beast. That made this deck quite a learning experience – I know the Tarot archetypes, but this deck has a whole other layer of fairytale archetypes intertwined with them. Some of these add quite a twist to traditional cards, such as the Six of Wands which is linked with the Emperor’s New Clothes, and The Empress, a scene of Cinderella where the Empress herself is the Fairy Godmother (thought to be Cinderella’s dead mother in some versions of the story). The man who tries to cheat Death appears on that card as buffoonish and wide-eyed next to a Death who seems to be cynically smiling at us. The Eight of Swords is Rapunzel letting her hair down the tower – and from her perspective, it seems like a long way.

In structure, the deck broadly follows the Rider-Waite, but with 'significant variations' in imagery and meaning. It’s Rider-Waite (RWS) based because that’s what the majority of people use, and the ‘narrative’ structure of the deck, along with illustrated scenes on all the cards, lend itself well to being combined with fairytales. But it does not exclude people who might use other systems, by being flexible with the ordering of the major arcana – they are not numbered on the cards - and using Coins instead of Pentacles. There are also no suit emblems or symbols on the cards; in fact all cards are devoid of extra symbols, numbers or otherwise, excepting the title and story name. There’s no astrology, Hebrew, Roman numerals; just Tarot and fairytales.

The Fairytale card stock is thin and very flexible and seems like it might be fragile. The reality is otherwise - the back of the box is says it is a "special card stock to protect against bends or tears" - a stronger stock meant for playing cards that has been coated with a light varnish. The cards have been cut to the same size as the Baroque Bohemian Cats’ Tarot (what I consider the perfect size - big enough to see detail on the cards, small enough to shuffle with ease). The borders also have the same feel as the BBC deck but differ in detail - where it has florals, this deck has knotwork – and are curved at the top, as though we see the Tarot scene through an archway. The backs are a filled-in reversible grey-blue fretwork, with an outer royal blue border. My copy of the set came with two Temperance cards, a title card, and an extra, unexplained, beautiful card with just a piece of artwork featuring a peacock and other birds, which I found out was an illustration from an antique book from the early twentieth century.

The complete box set contains the 232-page book and cards set into a cardboard inset. The companion book has been written by Karen Mahony but for a special introduction and small essay, ‘The Girl who was Too Shy (Ten of Coins)’ by Rachel Pollack. The book explains the cards’ concept and background, an introduction to fairytales, and a short rendition of tarot history. For each Tarot card, there is a page-length rendition of the fairytale for those unfamiliar with it - quite detailed for its size - then brief keywords and phrases to summarise its meaning, then information on the tale’s development or changes over the years. This last part analyses scenes in more detail, relating them to the tarot card and its interpretations. The back of the book has a basic how-to-read section plus some unique spreads (and sample readings to illustrate them – always nice to see).

The Fairytale Tarot shows the attention to detail, originality, and thought that goes into all decks from Magic Realism. Designed primarily for story-telling and dream work, the connection with fairytales brings an extra depth to the cards when used in readings. To get the most out of this fascinating deck, take some time reading the companion book and become familiar with the magical stories.

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Fairytale Tarot Review by Queen of Disks

I had seen the Fairytale Tarot deck on the Internet and thought that if I saw the deck anywhere, then I would buy it. Well, eventually, I did, (on the same day I viewed the “Diana: A Celebration” traveling exhibit, no less) and it is a very powerful and accurate deck. I can only review the cards themselves, since the store I bought the cards from did not have the full set with a book (and beggars cannot be choosers…).

The cards themselves are around five inches by three inches, which is a good size (not too big or too small). The cardstock is of decent quality, although I would be careful with it. My Six of Cups has already been dented, and my Sun card has a wrinkle in it (I suppose from ordinary shuffling. Not good.) The backs of the cards have an off white Rococo-like lacy design with mermen, birds, and faces in them. This is surrounded by a blue border with a similar design. The edges of the cards have a blue border. The card backs are almost entirely reversible, except for the faces in the design of the blue border. However the user will not notice if he or she does not look too hard. The Little White Book that comes with the deck has keywords for the meanings, as well as advice on how to read Tarot cards. The LWB is generally nicer then some of the other ones out there. (US Games comes to mind…)

The deck uses a scene from a different fairy tale from all over the world to illustrate the aspects of each card. An arch shaped, lacy cream colored border surrounds each scene. The name of the card and the name of the fairy tale are listed on a scroll at the bottom of the card. The Fairytale Tarot deck uses the Rider Waite Smith system, but the scenes on the cards do not really show the suits (Pentacles, Swords, etc) or the standard RWS images for the most part. Fortunately, the different scenes fit the meanings of the cards well enough that they are easily readable (although knowledge of the RWS system can help.) Examples include the Four of Swords (Sleeping Beauty, sleeping be her spindle), the Devil (The Red Shoes) or the Six of Cups (Hansel and Gretel). I have found that the deck is good for intuitive readings, and that the lack of RWS images helps me read the cards however I want to.

The style of illustration reminds me of children’s books about fairy tales-a bit primitive and brightly colored, but that’s not a problem. The cards do not downplay the fairytales’ creepier aspects by any means. Examples include the Nine of Swords (The Little Mermaid, loosing her voice) and the Page of Wands (Vassilisa the Beautiful, leaving Baba Yaga’s house with a skull on a stick). The tearjerker tale of the Nightingale and the Rose eloquently illustrates the Three of Swords and its heartbreak and sadness to a tee. I love the Seven of Coins (The Brave Little Tailor) with the Tailor’s waistband cheerfully advertising “SEVEN AT ONE BLOW”. The Chariot (The Snow Queen, in her sleigh) and the Eight of Swords (Rapunzel, standing in a window behind eight swords, letting down her hair) are particularly beautiful cards.

Also, knowledge of fairytales helps (but not entirely necessary) in reading these cards. At this point, having the book that goes with the deck can be very helpful. For those of us who do not have the book, the deck’s website, www.fairytaletarot.com, has links for many (but not all) of the tales. My copy of Grimm’s fairytales helped me as well. For example, I could not understand the Justice card. The tale is the Juniper Tree, and the card shows a large bird carrying a millstone, a pair of red shoes, and a gold chain around its neck, flying over a house. A man, a woman, and a young girl stand outside and gawk at the bird. I did not understand this card-until I read the story. (Read it for yourself. It is a really nasty fairy tale.)

I have had this deck for a little over a week, and the deck has proved to be accurate to the point of being literal. The reversed Two of Wands (The Billy Goats Gruff) corresponded with a plugged toilet. The classic incident was when the reversed Queen of Cups (The Prince and the Tortoise) came up in my daily one card reading. I work in retail, and I have found that reversed court cards (and sometimes certain reversed trump cards) often indicate unhappy customers. That day I had a situation with an unhappy female customer and teacups!

When I have read other reviews of the Fairytale Tarot, I noticed one had described the Empress card (Cinderella) as Cinderella’s three sisters cutting off pieces of their feet to fit the glass slipper. However, my Empress card shows the Fairy Godmother about to turn the pumpkin into a carriage. I’m not sure if I read this correctly, or if the card was changed in a later addition. I would like to see what the earlier card looked like, if this is true.

I highly recommend the Fairytale Tarot. It may not be the best for most beginners (although they may work for some), but the cards work on an intuitive level. I can actually sit and read the cards and know what they mean, and not have to resort to a Tarot book every five minutes. The cards are beautiful and accurate, and have been a joy for me to (carefully) use. Magic Realist Press has done an excellent job once again!

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Complete Details of Fairytale Tarot

Creators: Alex Ukolov, Karen Mahony, Irina Triskova
Publisher: Magic Realist Press 2005
Deck Type: Tarot Deck
Cards: 78

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Similar Decks to Fairytale Tarot

Theme: Fairy Tales
Creator: Baroque Bohemian Cats' Tarot, Bohemian Gothic Tarot, Fantastic Menagerie Tarot, Tarot of Prague, Victorian Flower Oracle, Victorian Romantic Tarot by Karen Mahony Baroque Bohemian Cats' Tarot, Bohemian Gothic Tarot, Fantastic Menagerie Tarot, Tarot of Prague, Victorian Flower Oracle, Victorian Romantic Tarot by Alex Ukolov






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