Lord of the Rings Tarot Deck and Game

by
~*~Velvet Angel ~*~

Lord of the Rings Tarot

~*~ This deck is suitable for any question you wish to ask of the Tarot. ~*~

Deck by Terry Donaldson

This is a theme deck which joins mythological symbolism of the Hobbit and the Lord of the Rings. Each card shows scenes from the Middle-earth, the setting of J. R. R. Tolkien's famous trilogy. The text at the bottom of each card describes the scene which corresponds to the meaning of the card. I found the text to be one aspect in particular that drew me to the cards. Not being really familiar with Tolkien's stories myself, this text and the information in the accompanying book was a great help to me in correlating the story with the cards. And because I am not well-versed in the story line, I will not attempt to compare the stories to Tarot, other than what I've seen from reading parts of the book that correspond with the cards.

The cards include a lot of night and evening scenes, and this accounts for some of the dark coloring in the cards. This deck is richly detailed as well . . . so much that it seems the cards are really too small to do the imagery justice. The result is "small" pictures, especially when adding in the fact of the cards' borders. The borders do add a nice touch, but I think this is a deck that may have done well being printed as a larger or over-sized deck -- in order to have preserved all of the effects within the cards' imagery.

The left side of each border has a brick wall with a wooden board that bears the name of the card. The large bottom border contains the short text for each card and represents the main idea for the card.

In the accompanying 268-page book, author Donaldson includes a detailed biography of Tolkien as well as information concerning the plot and characters of The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit. In the book, he explores the myths incorporated in the stories, and this is especially helpful for those who don't have a great deal of knowledge on these stories. With the descriptions, explanation, and Tarot interpretations for the Major Arcana, astrological correspondences are also provided. The Minor Arcana, unfortunately, are explained in a lot less depth and detail than the Majors, but this is quite common in Tarot books.

One of the hang-ups readers have with this deck (me included) is that the story lines are not always well-matched to the interpretations offered for each card . . . and the interpretations are traditional, for the most part. Thus, it seems that some of the cards are quite a stretch to make the scenes "fit" Tarot.

In addition to Tarot, this deck can also serve as a card game for 2 - 6 players. The theme of the game involves good vs. evil. Players start out as Free Peoples of Middle-earth on a journey to Mount Doom with hopes of destroying the One Ring so it won't fall into the evil hands of Sauron. I have not played this game and probably will not ever do so, but it is supposedly easy and fun and may be of interest to children or teens who enjoy this kind of story line.

There are some symbols and color themes on the cards which I feel I should mention, although these symbols and colors are related to the card game rather than Tarot interpretation. All the cards are named at left on a wooden board that resembles rough timber off-cuts: red-brown for neutral cards, dark-brown for good cards, and light-brown for negative cards. Again, keep in mind that this coloring theme is related to game playing with the cards, so in concepts of Tarot, the coloring should not be used to specify "good" and "bad" cards in a reading.

Similarly, the cards all feature a colored swirly background that surrounds the text of the card and extends around the top beneath the stone wall portion of the border. Green represents good, red for bad, and gold for neutral. The symbols in the top right corner show either a yellow wheel for good, a red and grey shield for bad, or a blue and gold plaque bearing both insignias for the neutral cards. All of this is intended for game play aspects, so should not be confused in traditional Tarot interpretation.

I would consider this deck to have a "masculine" feel to it -- especially since The Lord of the Rings seems to draw more interest from guys than it does gals . . . but of course, some gals like the story equally. And then there are others who won't like this deck at all, especially anyone who dislikes the stories behind the deck's theme. I would not recommend this deck to a beginning Tarot student. But for the Tarot newbie who is really into the Lord of the Rings and wants to use this deck, my recommendation is to get a Rider-Waite deck or another traditionally structured Tarot deck and work with it as the primary deck for learning. The Lord of the Rings deck could be used as a secondary deck. This study technique can actually help to expand one's knowledge and understanding of Tarot . . . but a firm foundation of Tarot is really essential in order to get the most out of theme decks, such as Lord of the Rings.

Although this is not a deck among my personal favorites, I can work with it, and it is an interesting deck. I think the art is good -- a lot of detail went into the cards . . . but again, it seems that some of the detail is lost in the small picture area. However, as the deck is also intended to be a card game, the dual purpose results in some compromises.

I would recommend this deck for Tolkien fans, fantasy lovers, and of course for the Tarot deck collector.

Number of Cards in Deck: 78 (22 Major/56 Minor)

Size of Cards: 2-3/4" x 4-3/4"

Included with deck: LWB (Little White Book) that also includes instructions on how to play the game with this set of cards. The Deck/Book set also includes a 268-page book that tells the story and how the cards relate to the theme. Each card is discussed and includes a Tarot meaning for all cards in the deck.

Major Arcana:
Fool, Magician, High Priestess, Empress, Emperor, Hierophant,
Lovers, Chariot, Strength, Hermit, Wheel of Fortune,
Justice, Hanged Man, Death, Temperance, Devil, Tower,
Star, Moon, Sun, Judgment, World

Suit Names: Wands, Cups, Swords, Coins (Pentacles)

Court Cards: King, Queen, Knight, Page

Back Design of Cards: