Noonan Todaro Tarot - RWS tradition through 15th-century Italian imagery
The Rider-Waite-Smith tradition sits at the root of most modern tarot decks, but not every deck does the same thing with it. The Noonan Todaro Tarot takes a specific angle: the cards look like illustrations from 15th-century Italy, with figures that meet your gaze and make gestures you recognise from real people, not from ceremonial woodcuts.
The deck is published by US Games Systems and expected in January 2027, with a 108-page guidebook by author Julia Noonan.
What you see on the cards
Anna Todaro translated all 78 classical tarot archetypes into a style built around natural emotion and posture. Where many historically inspired decks can feel remote, Todaro and Noonan made the opposite choice: faces that express something, figures that exist rather than pose.
The atmosphere is Italian Renaissance, but not academic or heavy. Anyone drawn to the painting of that period will find a lot familiar, without needing art history knowledge to read the cards.
The guidebook
Julia Noonan wrote the 108-page guidebook. Noonan's background is in picture books and poetic storytelling, and her writing tends toward accessibility and emotional attentiveness. The guidebook covers card meanings, symbolism and thematic context.
About Julia Noonan and Anna Todaro
Julia Noonan is an author and illustrator best known for her work in children's books. Her writing is empathetic and clear, which in the tarot context translates into card descriptions that explain meaning without stacking jargon.
Anna Todaro is an illustrator and visual artist whose work is characterised by an atmospheric style with close attention to emotion and character. For this deck she translated classical tarot archetypes into figures with a recognisable, human quality.
Specifications
- Number of cards: 78
- Guidebook: 108 pages
- Language: English
- ISBN: 9781646713219
- Publisher: US Games Systems
- Box dimensions: 76 x 127 mm
- Card dimensions: 70 x 121 mm
- Author: Julia Noonan
- Illustrator: Anna Todaro
- Expected release: January 2027
Questions we often get
Is this a fully RWS-based deck or does it depart significantly from the tradition?
The deck follows the classic Rider-Waite-Smith structure with 78 cards. The departure is in style, not in structure: the scenes are recognisable, but the figures are rendered in a 15th-century Italian visual language with natural facial expressions.
What language are the cards and guidebook in?
Both are in English. The guidebook runs to 108 pages and covers card meanings, symbolism and thematic depth.
