Magical Hours Tarot - time and plants as guideposts for the 78 cards
Most tarot decks use elements, planets or seasons as their underlying system. This deck chooses a different entry point: every moment of the day has its own energy, and each card belongs to a specific hour or part of the day.
The Major Arcana are linked to individual hours, from midnight to late evening. The Minor Arcana follow the four parts of the day and work with groups of herbs rather than single plants. The whole system is designed to make you aware of time as a ritual tool.
What you see on the cards
Artist Fabiana Belmonte has worked with collage. The style is surrealist, dreamlike, sometimes dark. Human figures drift among plants, letters, ornate spirals and celestial bodies. The colours range from soft pastels to deep night tones.
The result feels less classical than poetic. This is not a deck you learn by dissecting the symbolism, but rather by observing what the images call up in you.
How this deck is structured
Each Major Arcana stands for a specific hour and a plant. The Fool, for instance, is linked to 00:00 and jasmine. The Sun to 12:00 and sunflower. It sounds schematic, but it works intuitively: the mood of the hour matches the meaning of the card.
The Minor Arcana are divided across morning, afternoon, evening and night. Each group has an associated herbal family. This makes the system clearer than if all 78 cards had their own individual plant.
Draw a card and note the hour it falls on. Pay attention to that hour during the day and notice what happens or what you feel. It works surprisingly well as a daily ritual.
Who this works for
This deck is designed for those who want to combine tarot with plant knowledge, nature rituals or time awareness. The 128-page guidebook explains the system and gives a description for each card, the associated plant, and suggestions for use.
You do not need prior knowledge of herbs. It does help if you are open to a less traditional way of working. This is not a Rider-Waite structure with different pictures. It is its own system.
About Cecilia Lattari and Fabiana Belmonte
Cecilia Lattari is a theatre educator and herbalist. Her background in plants and rituals forms the foundation of this deck. She chose the plants, devised the link with time, and wrote the texts.
Fabiana Belmonte draws and makes collages. Her work has a dreamlike, mystical quality that suits the themes of time and nature.
Specifications
- Number of cards: 78
- Language: English
- ISBN: 9781646712632
- Publisher: U.S. Games Systems, Inc.
- Weight: 737 g
- Card size: 76 × 127 mm
- Finish: Glossy cardstock
- Guidebook: 128 pages with colour illustrations
- Artist: Fabiana Belmonte
- Author: Cecilia Lattari
Questions we often get
Do I need to know anything about plants to work with this deck?
No. The guidebook describes the symbolism of each plant and how it relates to the card meaning. You learn as you go.
How does this deck differ from a classical tarot deck?
The structure of 78 cards and the division into Major and Minor Arcana are the same. What differs is the underlying system: time and plants instead of elements and astrology. The imagery is surrealist collage, not traditional symbolism.