Tarot Flora

Tarot Flora - botanical archetypes in 78 cards

Flowers have always carried meaning. In Victorian times you could conduct an entire conversation with a bouquet. This deck brings that language back to tarot.

Every card in Tarot Flora is built around a specific flower. Not chosen at random, but selected based on mythology, literature and age-old traditions. The Fool carries different flowers than the High Priestess, and those choices are not decorative. They say something.

The deck follows the classical tarot structure of 78 cards. Major and Minor Arcana, four suits, court cards. What differs is how the archetypes take shape. Where other decks work with figures or landscapes, this deck works with flowers as protagonists.

What you see on the cards

Massimo Alfaioli draws with the precision of a botanist. The flowers are not stylized or abstracted. You see stamens, petals, leaf shapes as they occur in nature. That is because Alfaioli is himself a rose grower. He knows plants not only as images, but as living organisms.

The colours are bright and saturated. Each flower fills the card, sometimes with additional symbols, but always with the flower central. The format is large: 158.75 mm. That gives space to the details, and there are many.

The 192-page guidebook explains why which flower belongs with which card. Maria Eva Di Maggio describes the mythological background, the literary references, the symbolic charge. Not a loose word list, but developed texts that give context.

How this deck relates to other tarot decks

This is not a Rider-Waite-Smith clone with flowers sprinkled over it. The cards follow the RWS structure, but the visual language is completely different. No human figures, no scenes. Only flora.

That asks for a different way of reading. Those used to interpreting body language or facial expressions must here look at form, colour, direction of growth. It can take some getting used to. It can also be refreshing.

Draw one card and see which flower appears. Look up that flower in the guidebook and read not only the meaning, but also the botanical context. Some flowers bloom at night, others wilt quickly. Those properties colour the reading.

About Massimo Alfaioli and Maria Eva Di Maggio

Massimo Alfaioli is an illustrator and botanist. He publishes internationally and grows roses. His work combines artistic freedom with scientific accuracy.

Maria Eva Di Maggio is a literary critic and collector of tarot decks. Her expertise lies in connecting symbolism with literature and myth. For this deck she wrote all the texts in the guidebook.

Specifications

• Number of cards: 78
• Guidebook: 192 pages
• Language: English
• Card size: 158.75 mm (large format)
• Weight: 907 g
• Publisher: Fair Winds Press
• ISBN: 9780760391457
• Illustrator: Massimo Alfaioli
• Author: Maria Eva Di Maggio

Questions we often get

Are there also human figures on the cards?
No. Each card shows a flower or floral composition. Sometimes with additional symbols, but never with human figures or scenes as in the RWS tradition.

Is this deck usable if you do not know much about flowers?
Yes. The guidebook gives all the context you need. Alfaioli's botanical knowledge is embedded in the cards, but you do not need to be an expert yourself to work with them.