The Goblin Market Tarot - Victorian folklore without the sugar coating
Fairy tales for children show faeries as sweet little beings with wings. The older stories know a different version: clever, unpredictable, dangerous if you are not careful. The Goblin Market Tarot by John Matthews and Charles Newington builds on that second tradition.
The deck is based on the poem 'Goblin Market' by Christina Rossetti from 1862. In that poem, goblins seduce two sisters with strange fruits that bring addiction and ruin. The story turns on temptation, shadow and what you are willing to give for what you desire. That theme runs through the cards.
What you see on the cards
The imagery is dark and dreamlike at once. Overgrown forests, ruins in half-light, figures that are not quite human. Charles Newington draws with attention to detail: patterns in clothing, plants growing around the edges, faces you have to look at twice to understand what you are seeing.
The Major Arcana shows archetypes from the Otherworld: the Faerie Queen, The Sage, figures moving between worlds. The Minor Arcana uses symbols of fruits, flowers and objects you might buy at a market, but with a second layer of meaning.
The deck counts 80 cards instead of 78. Those two extra cards are theme cards that Matthews added to bring motifs from Rossetti's poem more directly into readings.
What this deck works for
This is not a deck for quick daily draws. It asks for time. The symbolism is layered, the mood is heavy, and the questions it raises are about shadow sides. What do you really want? What are you willing to give? Where are you lying to yourself?
The 176-page guidebook gives detailed interpretations for each card that reach back to Victorian folklore and the poem itself. Matthews explains how the symbols work and how you can apply them in readings about transformation, shadow work and recognizing illusions.
Draw a card when you feel something is not right. The imagery forces you to look further than what you see at first glance.
About John Matthews and Charles Newington
John Matthews is a writer and scholar of spiritual traditions. He worked earlier on decks like the Wildwood Tarot and the Arthurian Tarot, systems that translate folklore traditions into workable tarot structures.
Charles Newington illustrates. His style for this deck is detailed and atmospheric, with a dark color palette that fits the theme of cunning and temptation.
Specifications
- Number of cards: 80
- Guidebook: 176 pages
- Language: English
- Publisher: Watkins Publishing
- ISBN: 9781786785541
- Dimensions: 100 x 54 x 138 mm
- Weight: 553 g
- Author: John Matthews
- Illustrator: Charles Newington
Questions we often get
Does this deck follow the standard tarot structure?
Yes, with two extra theme cards on top of the usual 78. The Major and Minor Arcana are present as you know them from a classic deck.
What makes this deck different from other faerie tarot decks?
The tone. Many faerie decks are light and playful. This deck shows the older side of folklore: cunning, dangerous, double. It is based on a Victorian poem in which faeries are seducers, not helpers.
