mangapriestandpriestess

I included this deck just to try and make your brains explode. This is another compelling deck designed by my friend Riccardo Minetti. In this deck he plays with the idea of gender and how it influences our understanding of the cards.

In the Manga Tarot, all the cards that are traditionally male are depicted as female and vice versa. Arcana V becomes The Priestess, and looks very much like a traditional High Priestess card. Arcana II becomes The Priest. For ease of discussion, I’ve pictured them together here.

Many of us blend associations of the card’s number in with the name, image, symbolism, and other associations together to create a card’s meaning.

When a deck renames or renumbers cars, do you incorporate the alterations into your interpretations or stick with what you usually use?

How does renumbering The Hierophant from V to II affect its meaning? With traditional decks we speak of I, The Magician as being the active masculine principal or the anima and II, The High Priestess as the receptive feminine principal or the anima. Can Arcana II be portrayed by a male figure? Conversely, can tradition or teaching (Arcana V) ever be receptive and passive?

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Written by Barbara Moore
The tarot has been a part of Barbara Moore’s personal and professional lives for over a decade. In college, the tarot intrigued her with its marvelous blending of mythology, psychology, art, and history. Later, she served as the tarot specialist for Llewellyn Publications. Over the years, she has ...