Pagan Tarot

Pagan Tarot - witchcraft in the city

Tarot cards often show forests, temples and medieval castles. This deck chooses a different setting. The Pagan Tarot shows what spirituality looks like in a flat, on the street, among concrete and traffic lights. The deck is drawn by Cristiano Spadoni and designed by Gina M. Pace, who is known within the Wicca community as Wicce. Pace bases the cards on her own experience as a Pagan priestess in a modern city. No romanticised images of witchcraft, but recognisable scenes: a candle on a kitchen table, a ritual in a small apartment, spiritual choices in the middle of a busy existence.

What you see on the cards

The imagery is direct. Characters wear contemporary clothing, settings are urban. Spiritual symbols are present, but embedded in everyday situations. A witch invoking the elements does not do so in an open field but in a space that everyone recognises. The colours are vivid and the lines clear. Spadoni draws realistically, without excessive symbolic detail. That makes the cards quick to read. The scenes speak for themselves.

How you work with it

Because the cards show contemporary situations, they are easy to remember. The Hanged Man in a classic deck asks for interpretation. Here you see a character in a scene that immediately evokes a feeling. That works well for people who are just starting with tarot, but also for those who want a deck that does not ask for a symbolic translation every time. The guidebook contains basic explanations in five languages. No deep philosophy, but enough to get started with the cards. The deck follows the Rider-Waite structure, so anyone familiar with that will have no trouble with the sequence.

Draw a daily card and notice how literally the scene can connect with what happens that day. Precisely because the images are so recognisable, they often feel surprisingly direct.

About Gina M. Pace

Gina M. Pace writes about Wicca and tarot, and works as a spiritual practitioner. Her starting point for this deck was to show ancient traditions as they appear in daily life. Not a nostalgic reconstruction, but a translation into the present. Cristiano Spadoni drew the cards. His style is realistic and accessible, without excessive drama.

Specifications

• Number of cards: 78
• Guidebook languages: English, Spanish, French, Italian, German
• Publisher: Lo Scarabeo
• ISBN: 9780738708461
• Format: standard tarot format
• Design: Gina M. Pace
• Illustrator: Cristiano Spadoni

Questions we often get

How does this deck differ from a classic Rider-Waite deck? The structure is the same, but the imagery is modern and urban. Where Rider-Waite uses medieval and symbolic scenes, this deck chooses contemporary settings and characters in modern clothing. Do you need to be a Wicca practitioner to use this deck? No. The images are based on Wicca traditions, but the scenes are so recognisable that the deck also works if you do not know the background. The cards tell their own story.