Welcome back to White Rose of Avalon my Darlings.   Today’s post is another tarot-centric one, specifically taking a deep dive look at the Major Arcana of The Arthurian Tarot by Caitlin and John Matthews.

~0 THE SEEKER: THE FOOL~

~I love that this Celtic-based deck did not call the unnumbered card of the Major Arcana the Fool, instead referring to it as the Seeker.   Instead of the traditional image of the Fool’s Journey, if you decide to undertake the Arthurian Tarot Hallowquest Journey, you will be the Seeker in the Wasteland!    This is the card of optimistic beginnings and seeking new insights.

~I MERLIN: THE MAGICIAN~

~No other figure could have been chosen to grace the Magician card.    Merlin is the ultimate Druidic Magician and High Priest figure in all of the legends.    He is just the right magickal practitioner and advisor to see you through the first step on your journey through the Wasteland.   

~II THE LADY OF THE LAKE: THE HIGH PRIESTESS~

~I view this card as both depicting Morgan le Fay and Nimue, as they decided to simply call the card The Lady of the Lake.    A perfect choice of this deck to embrace the magickal and Avalonian energy of the High Priestess!

~III GUINEVERE: THE EMPRESS~

~The wife of Arthur and Queen of Camelot is the obvious choice for the Empress.   She is the fertility, sexuality, and abundance of the land of Camelot made manifest!

~IV ARTHUR: THE EMPEROR~

~Obviously, Arthur himself is the only logical choice to be on the Emperor card!    He is the King of Camelot and a semi-divine figure in his own right.

~V TALIESIN: THE HIEROPHANT~

~The Greatest of All Bards of Wales is the ideal figure to choose to represent the teacher energy of the Hierophant!

~VI THE WHITE HART: THE LOVERS~

~Erec and Enide are the figures depicted on this card, famous lovers brought together after the White Hart came to Camelot to begin the Quest Erec would go on!

~VII PRYDWEN: THE CHARIOT~

~Arthur’s ship which was sailed down to the Underworld in a tale from The Mabinogion is a great choice to give an Arthurian spin to the classic forward direction and action of The Chariot!

~VIII GAWAIN: STRENGTH~

~The nephew of King Arthur is truly an impressive figure amongst the Knights of the Roundtable.    He is a great representative of both types of strength, physical and emotional, exemplified by this card!

~IX THE GRAIL HERMIT: THE HERMIT~

~A Hermit in the woods ready to teach all comers, in this case, he is the one-time Teacher of Merlin himself!    It is the ideal way to represent this potent initiatory energy.

~X THE ROUND TABLE: THE WHEEL OF FORTUNE~

~The Round Table is often said to have been a gift from Guinevere’s father, which led to the creation of the Knights of the Roundtable.    The Knights held the highest of fortunes and the lowest of fortunes in turn, making an obvious reference to the changing wheels of fate!

~XI SOVEREIGNTY: JUSTICE~

~The Lady of Sovereignty is depicted next to her magickal waters.   She is the one who tests Knights and initiates Kings in their right to protect and rule the land, for she is the land made manifest in physical form!

~XII THE WOUNDED KING: THE HANGED MAN~

~The Wounded King, or Fisher King, or Grail King, as he is known as all three, is the King who must be healed in order for life to return to the Wasteland.    His plight is much like the restriction and torment the Hanged Man faces in order to gain his insights.

~XIII THE WASHER AT THE FORD: DEATH~

~What better representation of the Death card than an Omen of Death?   The Washer at the Ford is much akin to the Irish Banshee, for she is seen washing the clothes of warriors who are destined to die in battle!

~XIV THE CAULDRON: TEMPERANCE~

~The Cauldron is cooled by the breath of the Nine Maidens of Annwn, they are tempering what is being boiled within.   This is obvious balance being wrought, which is why they are depicted on the Temperance card!

~XV THE GREEN KNIGHT: THE DEVIL~

~The counterpart to Gawain in the famed Middle English Arthurian poem, the Green Knight was Glamoured by Morgana to scare Guinevere to Death, but instead ended up being a way to test Gawain’s worthiness as a Knight and possible future King as a successor to Arthur!    He truly does test the human propensity for addictive behavior within Gawain, which is much what the Devil represents in Tarot, the binds that tie us to our addictive behaviors.

~XVI THE SPIRAL TOWER: THE TOWER~

~This is another rather obvious one, it is a magickal tower that is able to show us the possibility of destruction being necessary and cleansing the old and unneeded to make room for new growth!

~XVII THE STAR: THE STAR~

~The Star which heralds a prophecy is also a herald of hope, just as the Star card is always a pleasant and hope-filled tarot message!

~XVIII THE MOON: THE MOON~

~In this deck the Moon depicts The Mabinogion tale of the search for the missing son of Goddess Modron, Mabon.   That is why the Moon also features a baby.   The confusion over whether or not what you see is true, as the night is dark and full of terrors, but also the association with psychic ability (in this case the ability to find a missing son) is a common vision of the Moon card in tarot!

~XIX THE SUN: THE SUN~

~The Sun is the grown Mabon in his Solar God glory!   This is the ultimate depiction of the Divine Masculine in its most warm and golden glow!

~XX THE SLEEPING LORD: THE LAST JUDGEMENT~

~This is the rest period before the ultimate conclusion of the Seeker’s Journey through the Wasteland.    Rest is called for in order to be ‘judged’ and tested to see if you are ready to progress to the end of your journey!

~XXI THE FLOWERING OF LOGRES: THE WORLD~

~All is right in the World!   The Flowering of Logres refers to one of the ancient names of Britain.    It is the time when the Seeker has helped to heal the Wasteland and it is now flowering and beautiful again!   This is the end of the journey before your next journey begins again, as in truth this is a cycle of renewal and changes!

~I hope you have enjoyed this walkthrough of this great deck’s Major Arcana.   Are you a fan of this deck?   Let me know your thoughts in the comments below!

Note on Image: The image at the top of the post is the old cover of the guidebook for the Hallowquest.   I found the image on https://www.amazon.com/Hallowquest-Tarot-Magic-Arthurian-Mysteries/dp/0850309638.

Tarot Note: I have a page offering tarot and oracle readings for those interested in these services!    I am very happy to be offering these readings to my treasured readers at White Rose of Avalon!  Link to page: https://whiteroseofavalon.life/tarot-and-oracle-readings/

Further Reading

• The Complete Arthurian Tarot by Caitlin and John Matthews with cards Illustrated by Miranda Gray