DISCLAIMER: I wholly and heartily support trans rights. Joanne Kathleen Rowling is a TERF, radicalized by an echo chamber of wealth and power she hasn’t earned. Harry Potter is a story that no more belongs to here than to any of the hundreds of people who’ve added their parts to it over the decades, and less than to the fans whose lives it shaped.
I have two different Harry Potter decks (No money going to She-Who-Shall-Not-Be-Named). I liked the first most in a walkthrough featuring four (HP Tarot by ellygator), but I discovered later that it leaned heavily toward the Thoth system. I’m learning that, too, but thought it might be easier to have a RWS, the tradition my other decks are in. I’ve learned a lot already from having Buffy and Game of Thrones decks. The second deck (Wizards Tarot by Paperdelune) was harder to track down. ellygator’s justifications are available on their DeviantArt page, and I haven’t located PdL’s (Note: this was written nearly a year ago. I can read okay with HP Tarot, but the rest stands. Except GoT tarot kinda sucks, though it has an excellent LWB.)
With some of the Minors, I think the creator just picked their favorite scenes. Conflict/Aggression= the Seamus explodes stuff bit? Some I can justify—Sirius in the Prophet upended everyone’s worldviews. Some I can’t. Six of Cups—roughly nostalgia, Pleasure in Thoth—is….Skele-Gro? It doesn't make any more sense as the Six of Cups--nostalgia, childhood innocence, regrowing a broken bone in an arm that feels like a droopy glove?
Three of Pentacles, collaborative work or Work—a headstone, I love the Seven of Pentacles art for the Ten of Wands. The Knight Bus apprentice card/prudence? Maybe. I can sort of see that with Stan as someone learning a trade--but it's a stretch.
Their Court Cards! There are portraits for every Page, and I…don’t get them. Associating characters to Court Cards is a great way to learn them. The Fat Lady is…the student of the mind? I think the Page of Wands is Mr. Ollivander, in which case….if you’re going that literal, um…King.
Most of the Cups make little sense to me. Professor Sprout is the Page, when she was made to be the Queen of Pentacles/Disks. I’d think she was going for all Hufflepuffs, with Cedric as the King of Cups, but Arthur Weasley is the Knight. (Real epitome of the fiery romantic, there.) Trelawny as the Page of. The earth suit? I’ll take Lockhart as the King, but where was he at the Seven of Swords?
In no way is Molly Weasley the Queen of Swords. Pentacles, sure. Cups, okay. Swords, no.
Pentacles are practical, related to material goods. Sybil Trelawny could not be more opposite to that. Speaking of:
I could almost accept him as the Knight of Pentacles, because he'd be in the pursuit of wealth. But the Kingh of Pentacles is honest, stable, and--NOT AN AIRHEAD
Here, I start to wonder if this creator thinks Pentalces are associated with communication and intellect. The abundance of letters could work then--from Vernon's perspective it is the Ten of Swords. You can--I'm learning--make a zodiac-based because the card is Virgo in Mercury--and maybe that explains some of the other choices, but when this is otherwise presented as an RWS deck, it's a strange thing to do.
And the courts still don't make sense.
Fred and George as “the Fool” could work, but I wonder if was done just because their birthday is 4/1. Look at that Hermione! Strength, right? Oh. The Star…? Okay.
Back at HP Tarot, I wouldn’t have assigned the Malfoys to Cups, but when I consider it, yes. They care deeply for each other.
Someone explain Death to me. Is that the Dark Mark? Compare to The Veil. Temperance….did we misunderstand Ginny’s temper?
PHOTO NEEDED
Both use Fawkes for The Sun, and here I can say I love the Wizards Tarot choice. I also like their Justice. When they do experimental things like that, it’s great. Lovers too shows the same idea in different ways.
These two parallels basically sume it up for me. The choice that made me buy the HP Tarot was Lily holding baby Harry as the Empress. WT uses James as the Emperor. But the Empress…? As much as my mind wants a doe, that’s a unicorn. For the symbol of fertility.. There's something so much more visceral about seeing Lily holding Harry, and James standing, the lion, steadfast. The Lovers being Remus and Tonks--possibly in both?--is perfect, especially as we know it is both a union of love and of choice. But the skeletons are painful, and don't read right with a deck that uses Draco's stick figure drawings in the Ten of Swords.
All of that said, The Wizard's Tarot has its moments. This, for instance:
Dobby is a free elf.
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