on Celtic Mythology and the Druidcraft Tarot

Mythology is what originally sucked me into the world of tarot. My first deck was the original Mythic Tarot and ever since working with this deck I’m inclined to bring mythology into all my decks. For me, myth and symbolism go hand in hand and I love the way connecting cards to mythic characters adds additional layers to readings.

During a period when I was really trying to get my head around the world of Celtic myth I hunted around for a tarot deck reflecting this theme. While there are many Celtic themed decks none of them really worked for me in the way I‘d hoped for. The Celtic Wisdom deck was a great help in providing me with a structure to learn and explore the myths, but it didn’t work as well for me as reading deck.  You can see my review of the Celtic Wisdom deck here: http://www.aeclectic.net/tarot/cards/celtic-wisdom/review.shtml. (It's the second one).

I had always loved the artwork of the Druidcraft deck and yet as an actual tarot I felt it fell short of the mark for me. In my desperation, one day I pondered the idea of linking the gods and goddesses of the Celtic pantheon to this deck and promptly set to work. What follows are my own correspondences after much reflection and time working with the deck. I don’t suggest that anyone else should take on board what I’ve done. I am writing this purely because it may have been helpful for me to see what someone else had done when I was developing my own system.

I used the Celtic Wisdom set and the Druidcraft companion book as a starting point and then read up on the myths and made the connections that felt right to me. My aim was to match the mythic characters to the card archetypes and I have used a broad range of myths such as Welsh, Irish and Arthurian to draw from. I have also made links to the four aces.

For what it’s worth, here is what I came up with:

The Fool – Gwion Bach
The Magician – Merlin / Math
The Priestess – Rhiannon
The Empress – Anu
The Emperor – Arthur
The Hierophant – Taliesin
The Lovers – Tristan and Isolde
The Chariot – Maeve / Epona
Justice – Brigh
The Hermit – Merlin
The Wheel of Fortune – Arianrhod
Strength – Brigid
The Hanged Man – Green Man
Death – Cerridwen / Morrigan
Temperance – Brigid
Cernunnos – Cernunnos
The Tower – Taranis
The Star – Sulis
The Moon – Mannanan
The Sun – Mabon / Belenus / Epona
Rebirth – Taliesin
The World – Guinevere

King of Wands – Lugh / Llew
Queen of Wands – Scathach
Knight of Wands – Fionn mac Cumhaill
Princess of Wands – Aine

King of Swords – Nuada
Queen of Swords – Macha
Knight of Swords – Gwydion
Princess of Swords – Blodeuwedd

King of Cups – Ogma
Queen of Cups – Nimue / Morgan le Fay
Knight of Cups – Aengus mac Og
Princess of Cups – Coventina

King of Pentacles – Daghdha
Queen of Pentacles – Rosmerta
Knight of Pentacles – Goibniu
Princess of Pentacles – Damara

Ace of Wands – Airmed
Ace of Swords – Lady of the Lake
Ace of Cups – Boan
Ace of Pentacles – Nematona

I have found that the whole process of making these connections between the card archetypes and the myths really helped to personalise this deck for me.  It's another way to add layers of meaning to your deck and a great way to learn more about mythology too.