The Witches Tarot (Kit) (Llewellyn's Modern Witchcraft) (Bk.2) (Paperback)

~ (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

The Witches Tarot Kit
Created by Ellen Cannon Reed
Illustrated by Martin Cannon    
1-56718-558-4   •   $34.9.95 U.S.   •   $48.95 Can.
Boxed kit includes: 78 full-color cards   •   5 1/4 x 8, 320 pp. book   •    layout sheet   


What does the Tarot have to do with the Qabalah? What does either of them have to do with Witchcraft?  How can you possibly combine all three into a workable system?

The Witches Tarot is proof that it can be done. This unique Tarot explores the paths and spheres of the Tree of Life, the experiences they represent, and what they mean to Craft people and other Pagans.  In the course of this study, you will learn how the symbols of the Tarot deck relate to the paths and to the Craft.

The striking imagery of these cards uses symbols from the Qabalistic Tree of Life, yet is decidedly Pagan in nature. Creator and High Priestess Ellen Cannon Reed has replaced the traditional Tarot Devil with The Horned One, the Hierophant with the High Priest, and the Hermit with The Seeker.

The 320-page companion guide to The Witches Tarot included with this kit contains complete divinatory meanings for the cards, and an indispensable list of correspondences for each of the Qabalistic Paths with associated Tarot card, Hebrew letter, colors, astrological attribution, animal, gem, and suggested meditation.

The Witches Tarot kit also includes a large layout sheet for doing the Four Seasons Spread. It can be used anywhere, adding a special touch to your readings. However you choose to tap the unique powers of The Witches Tarot, it will open you to your deepest, intuitive self.

About the Author

Ellen Cannon Reed, High Priestess of the Isian tradition, was a student and teacher of the Craft and Qabala for fifteen years.  She and her husband (and High Priest), Chris, had been active in the Southern California pagan community for the last ten years.   When she was not teaching, working with her coven or writing, Ellen enjoyed embroidery, beadwork, and reading.  Ellen passed away in 2003.

Product Details

• Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Llewellyn Publications; Book, Map & Cards edition (June 1, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1567185584
• ISBN-13: 978-1567185584
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 5.6 x 2.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (21 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #192,666 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fantastic Deck!!, July 8, 2004

By	Acadia - See all my reviews

I've been reading Tarot since I was 13, and I've got at least 4 dozen decks. Of all those decks, the one I love the most is this deck. There are some things about this deck which make it different then most decks, most notably that the suits that represent the Air and Fire element in most traditional decks is switched around in this deck (instead of representing Air, Swords represent Fire). If you are a Witch or a Wiccan, you will understand the change and most likely welcome it, but if not, you can easily work around this change and use the deck as you would any other deck.

Another fairly large change (for me, anyway) is that when you deal a face card (a Court Card) you lay another card on top of it to clarify and add to a situation. Sometimes it is a behavior that you could expect from a person, sometimes it shows two steps to an ongoing situation, sometimes it just restates what the face card was telling you, it all depends on the reading. Either way, this is a fantastic way to read and interpret the cards.

I see a lot of people complaining about how the Court Cards look the same, and to that I have to say that people are not really LOOKING at the cards. While they are similar, they very clearly express different meanings and issues. Frankly, in this day and age where it isn't uncommon to buy a deck only to find that there is a fully illustrated Major Arcana and the cards representing the Minor Arcana strongly resemble basic playing cards, or aren't different even in the slightest, I think to throw away the deck because the Court Cards look similar is really nitpicking. The complaints about how some of the cards look silly also shouldn't be "complaints." In every Tarot Deck, there are cards that are less appealing to the reader, and the cards and reasons it is less appealing vary from person to person. Most people who read cards professionally or have a lot of experience in doing so can tell you that to find a card unappealing is part of the way the Tarot works, and that should be translated into the readings, because it's the cards way of personalizing themselves to you. So while you might find pictures to be goofy, that is actually a good thing, not a bad thing, and should be translated into your readings.

That one review, where the person launches off into a diatribe against Wicca and Witchcraft totally baffles me. Why would one buy a Tarot Deck by a Wiccan, aimed at Wiccans and Witches, if they thought the whole idea of Wiccans and Wicca was a joke?? As a Wiccan, I have to say that while this deck is fantastic, it doesn't go into the practices and beliefs of Wiccans (that belief, by the way, is not do what you want as long as it feels good), and if one were picking up this deck in hopes of becoming Wiccan or learning about Wiccan practices, they would be confused at best. Sure the Devil card is replaced by "The Horned God," but that is because Wiccans and Witches don't believe in the Devil. As such, the card is changed to "The Horned One" but the meaning is not changed significantly, since the Horned God is not an all good or all evil being... He represents great power and great happiness, but also the opposite of that. He represents all that is good and bad, the flow of nature. It is very easy to get the same meaning out of "The Horned One" card as one would have gotten from The Devil card; bondage to power and false happiness, upset of balance, disrupting the flow of positive by indulging in the flow of the negative. Remember, for most Wiccans, The Horned One is one half of the dualistic nature of the God and the Goddess... He by himself is not balance, and this card reflects that beautifully. I also have to wonder at what type of mentality one has when one looks at the strength card which has a nude female holding the leash of a lion and automatically assume it has anything to do with giving in to or endorsing bestiality... The card is highly symbolic and does not imply bestiality in any way, shape, or form, through the illustration on the card or its meaning.

There are faults with this deck. If one were to buy the deck apart from the book, I suspect they will not be satisfied with the explanations of the cards or the deck that are in the basic booklet that comes with the deck. Some of the meanings are a little hard to understand as written, and there is an inconsistency in some of the translations are a large paragraph long, while the explanation of the another card is only two or three words long. However, as with all things, if you buy the accompanying book separately (which is only about $9), a great amount of this deck and how it functions will be cleared up.

As with all Tarot Cards, if it is the deck for you or not depends on your relationship and one could find, as some on here have, that the deck is not for them. I would also go so far as to say that this deck may not be the best beginner deck, but I could be very wrong. Before buying this deck, people should venture online sites that feature samples of the decks, like Isis Books, and decide if this is a deck that they want to get to know.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Love the deck, but don't use the book, March 26, 2001

By	Carmen T. Ward "Carmen" (Los Angeles, CA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Although I love the witches tarot deck and use it for all my readings, I do not necessarily agree with the explanations in the book. The descriptions of each card (meaning and reversed meaning) are actually way too brief to conduct a decent reading. Hence, I would recommend the deck if it feels right, but not the book for it's interpretation.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars No RWS clone here!, January 25, 2006

By	Sharpchick (Mabelvale, AR United States) - See all my reviews

I was initially drawn to this deck by the stunning use of color in the artwork, which is crisp and clean. As I took my first look at the deck, I could tell it was one which would be easy to read intuitively, without the LWB or the companion book, also by Ellen Cannon Reed, as the imagery on each and every card is quite evocative.

This is not a RWS clone, and in my opinion, not a deck for a beginning reader. Those who have used RWS style decks extensively will find this deck quite different, as it combines tarot imagery with pagan and Qabalistic symbolism. Most of the Minor Arcana cards (along with a few of the Majors) are interpreted very differently from RWS style decks. I do not think one would need to be a master of the Qabala to read with the deck, although some basic knowledge of the Tree of Life would add to the reader's full use of the deck.

As with many pagan styled decks, the element of air is associated with Wands and fire is associated with Swords. The Devil has been replaced by The Horned One (the masculine force of deity) and The Seeker has taken the place of The Hermit.

The biggest challenge for me personally, and the only drawback to the deck I have identified in three weeks' worth of use is interpretation of the Courts. Court cards in this deck have no interpretation which stands on its own - instead, they are used to modify the card immediately after the Court card. For me, that means laying a spread face up - something which I do not like to do. I prefer to lay a spread with all cards face down, and turn them over one at a time, forming an initial impression of the spread as a whole, then going back to interpret each card in sequence. Still, this is certainly not a fatal flaw, and in time, I'm sure the Witches Tarot will number among my favorites of my modest collection.