The Old Gods Tarot

The Old Gods Tarot - octagonal tarot cards rooted in world mythology

Very few tarot decks make the research as visible as the imagery. The Old Gods Tarot by Cilla Conway is one of them. Two years of work, dozens of cultures, and a card shape that signals immediately this is not a standard set.

Conway is a Dutch-British artist previously known for a dreamy, painterly style in oils. This deck marks a departure: everything is digitally painted in Photoshop, built up in layers to carry complex symbolism. The result is denser, more demanding, and constructed around a clear idea: deities are not cultural property, they are archetypal forces that appear everywhere.

What you see on the cards

Each Major Arcana card combines at least three deities from different world cultures sharing the same theme. The Fool, the Tower, the Star: each one has multiple gods as its bearers. The cards have gold borders, and the compositions work on several levels at once.

The Minor Arcana uses adapted suit names: Sceptres (Fire), Chalices (Water), Blades (Air) and Orbs (Earth). A goddess heads each suit. The numbered cards are pips, not fully illustrated scenes. That is a deliberate choice from Conway, who normally works figuratively throughout. The Minor Arcana carries silver borders.

Then there is the shape: the cards are octagonal. That sounds like a detail, but it changes how the cards sit in your hands. Shuffling feels different. Laying them out feels different. The card backs are almost but not quite symmetrical, for those who work with reversals.

What the guidebook contains

The guidebook runs to approximately 170 pages and includes colour illustrations, an explanation of sacred geometry and numerology, and source references. That last element is rare in a tarot guidebook. It shows Conway accounts for her choices: which deities, why, and from which tradition.

This is not a guidebook you read once and file away. Reviewers regularly describe the deck as an educational work on world religions alongside a divination tool. The guidebook actively supports that reading.

Who this deck is built for

The symbolism is layered and the imagery assumes a willingness to study. The guidebook provides grounding, but the deck is not designed as a starting point. Those drawn to deep symbolism, mythology from multiple cultures and a visually dense body of work will find a great deal to engage with here.

Collectors regard this as Conway's most complex work to date. It is also her most ambitious in terms of concept.

The octagonal shape is not a stylistic choice for its own sake: it genuinely changes how you hold and place the cards. Worth getting used to before you attempt a full spread.

About Cilla Conway

Cilla Conway is a Dutch-British artist who has created several oracle and tarot decks. Her earlier work is characterised by a dreamy, painterly quality in oils. The Old Gods Tarot is her first fully digital deck, born from two years of research into global mythology and sacred geometry.

Throughout the deck she has woven in subtle humour and an explicit acknowledgement of feminine power, a thread that runs through her wider body of work.

Specifications

• Number of cards: 80 (standard 78 + two Fools + Wild God card)
• Guidebook: approximately 170 pages, with colour illustrations, source references, and explanations of sacred geometry and numerology
• Language: English
• Illustrator and author: Cilla Conway
• Card shape: Octagonal
• Major Arcana borders: Gold
• Minor Arcana borders: Silver
• Minor Arcana style: Pip cards (no fully illustrated scenes)
• Card backs: Near-symmetrical (suitable for reversals)
• Technique: Digitally painted in Photoshop

Questions we often get

How does this deck differ from a standard Rider-Waite-Smith deck?
The structure follows the classic tarot model of 22 Major Arcana and 56 Minor Arcana, but almost everything else departs from it. The card shape is octagonal, the suit names are adapted, the numbered Minor Arcana uses pip cards rather than scenic illustrations, and each Major Arcana card layers deities from multiple cultures. Rider-Waite-Smith imagery is not the foundation here.

Are the numbered Minor Arcana cards fully illustrated?
No. The numbered cards are pips: symbolic representations without figurative scenes. Only the court cards of the Minor Arcana are fully worked out. Anyone used to a Rider-Waite-Smith or a fully illustrated deck will notice that difference immediately.