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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