Tarot and Dragons: The Dragons Tarot by Toraldo and Baraldi (3 of 3)

Furthermore, I am sensitive to the violence that is depicted in some form on many of the cards.  For example, The Lovers (VI) of the Major Arcana depicts the Norse legend of Sigurd and the Dragon Fafnir of the Volsunga Saga.  Sigurd is bathing in the dead dragon’s blood.  Meanwhile, the Eight of Chalices shows two dragons in deadly combat, and Seven of Chalices depicts an attempted rape.  I found the illustrations of this deck to be too extreme to gain much meaning in any of my readings.

Comparing this deck to “The Celtic Dragon Tarot” (Conway and Hunt) is a lesson in opposites.  Conway regards dragons to be co-magicians and wise teachers, not agents of chaos.  Toraldo’s views of the dragons representing the elements also differ from Conway’s.  She sees dragons connected to the elemental powers of earth, air, fire, and waters.  Therefore working with the dragons will help a person to tap into this spiritual energy.  Meanwhile Toraldo writes, “It represents a vision of the four elemental realities in a single animal.”  In his view, dragons are only “representations” and not actual conduits.  However, both authors agree that dragons need to be approached with respect.

Although “The Dragon Tarot” (Donaldson and Procownik) does share a similar title to “Dragons Tarot” (Baradi and Toraldo), their points of view about dragons differ greatly.  The Lovers (VI) of Toraldo’s deck represents “the pact with the dragon (which) is the primordial marriage with the forces of nature.”  While Donaldson does regard dragons to be a force of nature, to him they are much more.  The Lovers (VI) of the Major Arcana of “The Dragon Tarot” shows two dragons loving each other.  Donaldson writes, “Two Dragons…gaze at each other in a moment of Union.  Above them shines the Yin-Yang symbol indicating that all love is in a state of constant evolutions.”

Donaldson sees dragons as separate, full-blooded entities who may or may not guide humans.  The only way to find out who will is for the person to go on a magickal journey to Dragonland.  Along the way, they will meet the dragons who are disposed to teaching humans.

Meanwhile the dragons of “Dragons Tarot” are the archetypes of chaos, with many warring with humans.  However, there are those who will meet humans, half-way, as a form of compromise, but these dragons are still a contrast to the people they are with.  For example, the dragons of the Court Cards protect the humans in their care, but seem more subservient to the human. 

I see this deck used as a springboard for learning dragon stories from around the world.  Each culture has its own vision of dragons that is hinted at in “Dragons Tarot”.  Use the cards as prompts to find out more about cultural differences on dragon-human relations.  The stories can lead to a more in depth exploration of dragons.

Works Used:

Bartlett, Sarah, “The Tarot Bible”, Sterling: New York, 2006.

Breeden, David, “The Adventures of Beowulf: an Adaptation from the Old English”, Culture Café, 5 March 1999, http://www.lone-star.net/literature/beowulf/,

Colum, Padriac, “Nordic Gods and Heroes”, Dover: New York, 1996.

Conway, D.J. and Lisa Hunt, “The Celtic Dragon Tarot”, Llewellyn: St. Paul (MN), 2005.

Donaldson, Terry and Peter Pracownik, “The Dragon Tarot”, U.S. Games: Stamford (CT), 1996.

Fontana, David, “The Essential Guide to the Tarot”, Watkins Publishing: London, 2011.

Toraldo, Manfredi and Severino Baraldi, “Dragons Tarot”, Lo Scarabeo: Torino (IT), 2006.

Tarot and Dragons: The Dragons Tarot by Toraldo and Baraldi (2 of 3)

For the Minor Arcana, I chose the Nine of Wands which depicts order and chaos as a unified whole.  This card shows an African chieftain solving a problem with the help of an African dragon.  This dragon has ignited a controlled fire for the chieftain to use in divining for an answer.  Toraldo writes, “The warrior discovers the truth in the fire supplied by the dragon”.  (One of the traditional Tarot meanings for the Nine of Wands is “developing strength through self-awareness.”) 

Toraldo describes his version of African dragons as “descending into black Africa, we have representations of large lizards that embody the great force of nature.”  The Nine of Wands demonstrates how that great force of nature can work in harmony with humankind.  The Nine of Wands presents order and chaos at rest with each other, which fits more with my view of dragons.

These two cards, Justice (XI) and Nine of Wands, present the many facets of dragons, both as destructive forces and as benevolent forces.  These cards demonstrate that dragons are not to be trifled with, and must be approached with caution.  As Toraldo indicates, they are a force of nature. 

As I have already indicated, much of the artwork of this deck was disturbing to me.  I do not know whether it was because of the conflict between my sensibilities and the authors’ European sensibilities.  I did not appreciate the depictions of many naked women but few naked men.  Perhaps, I am too politically correct in my thinking, but I also noticed the lack of clothing in the illustrations for Africans and Native Americans also.  I think that my feeling of distaste stems from Toraldo’s reference to “black Africa” instead of Sub-Saharan Africa, and Native Americans as “red-skinned populations.”  Since he regards dragons to represent the conflict between the male and female principles, I do understand that the naked females are representing the “yin” ideals.  However, it is jarring to me to see naked Queens of the Court Cards cavort with dragons, whilst the fully clothed and enthroned Kings sit sedately with their dragon allies.

Furthermore, I am sensitive to the violence that is depicted in some form on many of the cards.  For example, The Lovers (VI) of the Major Arcana depicts the Norse legend of Sigurd and the Dragon Fafnir of the Volsunga Saga.  Sigurd is bathing in the dead dragon’s blood.  Meanwhile, the Eight of Chalices shows two dragons in deadly combat, and Seven of Chalices depicts an attempted rape.  I found the illustrations of this deck to be too extreme to gain much meaning in any of my readings.

Tarot and Dragons: The Dragons Tarot by Toraldo and Baraldi (1 of 3)

“Dragons Tarot” Manfredi Toraldo and Severino Baraldi, Lo Scarabeo: Torino (IT), 2006.

Choosing a card from “Dragons Tarot” was difficult for me, since I found the themes of this deck to be quite unsettling.  Since the authors’ view on dragons differs greatly from mine, I had difficulty responding to the themes of the deck.  Toraldo and Baraldi explain that the role of dragons is to represent “nature’s pure primordial energy, the wild part, instinct, chaos.”  Referring to the dragon as “it”, Toraldo continues with, “It represents the conflict between male and female principles.”  My point of view about dragons is that they are sentient beings who command respect, and have lives outside of people. 

Moreover in “Dragons Tarot”, Toraldo and Baraldi focus not on the dragons but on the human reactions to them.  Therefore this deck is human-centric rather than dragon-centric.  What made choosing cards also hard was that many showed humans killing dragons, about to kill dragons, dragons killing dragons, or dragons killing humans. 

Finally, I decided to focus on Justice (XI) of the Major Arcana.  This card shows a scene from the Anglo-Saxon poem of “Beowulf”-- the dragon fighting the hero Beowulf.  This angry dragon had raged about the countryside seeking justice for the theft of his treasures.  The humans of Beowulf’s kingdom had broken their pact with the dragon, and stole from his treasure hoard.  To protect the town and his kingdom, Beowulf has to fight the dragon.  Although both die, justice is obtained by the dragon for the crimes of the guilty humans, and by Beowulf for the crimes against innocent humans.  I see in this card humans and dragons presented as equals in their own spheres.  They then meet on a “level playing field” to address their grievances.  Both speak and are heard by the other, which for me is justice in action. 

A subtext to this card is the maintenance of the delicate balance between order and chaos.  One cannot exist without the other, and both are needed for the world to go on.  The two spheres are held in stable tension, for although Beowulf (order) is killed, we also know that the dragon (chaos) will also be killed.  Since equilibrium is maintained through the constant adjustments between order and chaos, the twin destinies of Beowulf and the dragon to fight each other.  Justice (XI) captures that eternal moment when order and chaos are in balance. (Toraldo states that additional meanings to this card are “Equilibrium, Adjustment, and Destiny”.)

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Tarot and Dragons: The Dragon Tarot by Donaldson and Pracownik (2 of 2)

The difference between “The Dragon Tarot” and “The Celtic Dragon Tarot” (Conway and Hunt) is the role of humans amongst the dragons. Both decks are constructed for the seeker to go on a spiritual journey with dragons. However, “The Celtic Dragon Tarot” places greater emphasis on the activities of humans. Although a few cards feature only dragons, many of them stress human interaction with the various dragons. In fact, Conway writes that dragons act as our astral guardians. She writes, “…how wise and wonderful dragons can be. They are some of the best co-magicians….They can be good friends, powerful protectors, and wise teachers.” Moreover, she stresses that humans and dragons should work together as co-magicians.

Meanwhile, “The Dragon Tarot” is dragon-centric, and in fact humans are absent from the cards. Instead, Donaldson takes people to meet the dragons in their homeland. He writes, “The Dragon is there to tease us, to provoke us, to stimulate us to a higher plane of being, to force us to look within.”  As I see it, the dragons will challenge humans and be their guides, but not necessarily be their co-magicians. The dragons will meet humans but only on their own terms and at their own choosing. Some will be indifferent to people, whilst others will be friendly towards them.

What is important in “The Dragon Tarot” is taking the Journey to the Tree of Life to gain wholeness. The author writes, “What is not important is being ‘right’ or ‘correct’. What is important is enjoying the experience of traveling in your Journey.” Unlike Conway who stresses the correct spiritual process, Donaldson celebrates the wonder of being in the presence of dragons, as they go about their daily lives.

In deciding between the two decks, I would choose “The Dragon Tarot” over “The Celtic Dragon Tarot”. The dragons of the former are alive and separate from us whilst the dragons of the latter seem to be elusive and imaginary. In addition, Conway stresses how dragons can be called upon to help us to do whatever. She writes, “Because of the ancient wisdom of dragons, they are also valuable to call upon when performing any type of divination.” Perhaps Conway does not mean this, but she seems to imply that dragons can be our cosmic bellhops. In contrast, Donaldson presents dragons who are independent of humans, and who chose what they wish to do.

Since I have a strong visual side, the artwork of Tarot cards is also important to me.  The artwork of Lisa Hunt for me seems to be sketchy and misty for me.  Meanwhile, the art of Peter Pracownik is more full-bodied and interesting. His dragons are approachable and real. Moreover, I can obtain more meaning from Pracownik’s images that I could that from Hunt’s.

Lastly since I had such a strong reaction to the cards of “The Dragon Tarot” and not “The Celtic Dragon Tarot”, I would choose the former. Rarely I have reacted so strongly to a Tarot deck, and want to explore this further. Since the card images of this deck act as portals to Dragonland, I can see myself going through them with the Fool acting as my guide. I could gain a lot from using “The Dragon Tarot”.

Works Used:

Bartlett, Sarah, “The Tarot Bible”, Sterling: New York, 2006.

Conway, D.J. and Lisa Hunt, “The Celtic Dragon Tarot”, Llewellyn: St. Paul (MN), 2005.

Donaldson, Terry and Peter Pracownik, “The Dragon Tarot”, U.S. Games: Stamford (CT), 1996.

Fontana, David, “The Essential Guide to the Tarot”, Watkins Publishing: London, 2011.

Tarot and Dragons: Celtic Dragon Tarot by Conway and Hunt (2 of 2)

In the Minor Arcana, the Ten of Swords has two contradictory meanings.  One is the final end – there is absolutely nothing beyond this point.  The other meaning is to go through the end – seeing what is left after total annihilation, and moving beyond the end to a new beginning.

The Ten of Swords, as D.J. Conway presents it, differs slightly from the traditional R-W meaning.  She writes, “The woman and her dragon companion have fought a good fight against the negative events of life, but are temporarily defeated despite their courage and skills.”  The author continues, “Then the woman warrior and the dragon will draw upon deep reserves of energy from the four Elements and rise up to continue their spiritual energy.”

Conway’s version of the Ten of Swords reflects a transition rather than finality.  The woman and dragon are severely wounded but not dead.  Instead of an end, there is only a long period of struggle.  This card reminds me of the saying, “I am hurt but not slain. Let me lay down and bleed awhile, and then I will rise and fight again.” (Originally from “The Child Ballads: 167A: Andrew Bartin”)

Without reading the author’s description, I would not have guessed that the distant rocks were for healing.  Faint in the background, these stones only seem to be a part of the harshness of the Ten of Swords.  The only indicator of hope for me is the yellow amongst the grey sky.  (I wonder if this is a sunrise.)

My view of the Ten of Swords of the “Celtic Dragon Tarot” is one of waiting and constriction.  The light green and grey tones indicate eventual healing but not the finality of death.  At the moment all is dark and difficult, but there is hope and help in the future.

In the “Celtic Dragon Tarot”, both The Fool (0) and the Ten of Swords seem to be about hope and new cycles.  Full of hope, the Fool stands at the crossroads of his spiritual journey.  Anticipation and promise exude from this card, while hidden dangers lurk waiting for the Fool to commit a misstep.

Meanwhile, the Ten of Swords is the mature Fool with her dragon companions.  In their travels, they were set upon by their enemies.  They fought valiantly, but are sorely wounded.  Hope lurks in the stones waiting for the two to seek their healing.  Afterwards, they will rise as like Wounded Warriors to continue their journey, full of renewed wisdom and strength.

Works Used:

Bartlett, Sarah, “The Tarot Bible”, Sterling: New York, 2006.

Child, Francis, “The Child Ballads: 167A: Andrew Bartin”, Sacred Texts, 2011, http://www.sacred-texts.com/neu/eng/child/ch167.htm,

Conway, D.J. and Lisa Hunt, “The Celtic Dragon Tarot”, Llewellyn: St. Paul (MN), 2005.

Drury, Neville, “The Tarot Workbook”, Thunder Bay: San Diego, 2004.

Hart, Francene, “Sacred Geometry Oracle Deck”, Bear & Co.: Rochester (VT), 2001.