This project is the result of a collaboration between some members of the community and artist, who created a tarot deck based on beings from World of Warcraft. This project has been in progress for years now with hundreds of hours put into it. It’s goal was to explore new experiences through playing cards, while also paying homage to Blizzard Entertainment’s video game franchise.
The “scariest tarot deck” is a project that was started by artists from the World of Warcraft. The project features Major Arcana based on the world’s most popular MMO, World of Warcraft.
The ‘Azerothian Tarot’ Project is the subject of today’s Community Spotlight. A tarot trump deck based on Azerothian deities has been made by artist Fredus-Rex. “A take on the tarot as if developed by and inside the world of Wow,” they say, “but with a functioning deck that contains parts of our Tarot.” These beautifully stylised Major Arcana cards, reminiscent of stained glass windows in a gloomy hall, represent the seriousness that a deck like this would have in a “real world” Azeroth.
Here is Fredus-Azerothian Rex’s Tarot, which includes their view on each card as it pertains to our Earth Tarot (with some modification for syntax and readability).
I am the Soul Keeper.
The Magician is the Earth Tarot’s equivalent.
The Magician is a Tarot card that represents initiative, conscious awareness, persuasion, knowledge, attention, and the power to materialize one’s wants and objectives. It’s also the card that connects to the divine or metaphysical realms, enabling access to the other side… and while we’re on the subject of ‘da other side,’ Bwonsamdi is the consummate conjurer, always striking agreements with mortals and forging a link between them and the divine. He epitomizes the card’s values like no other god, and therefore ‘the Keeper of Souls’ becomes the Major Arcana’s first card.
Mother of the Wisps II
The High Priestess is the Earth Tarot equivalent.
The High Priestess, the second card of the Major Arcana, represents intuition, healing, feminine strength, the possibility for stillness and unconsciousness, and is intrinsically tied to the Moon card. With these attributes, Aessina, The Wisp Mother was the only candidate for this position in our Azeroth Tarot. Elune is fundamentally tied to her, and she is the embodiment of all the other card attributes. The Matron of Restoration Druids replaces the Matron of Restoration Druids as the second card in our Deck.
The Life Binder, third edition
The Empress is the Earth Tarot’s equivalent.
The Empress represents feminine vigor and sensuality in the Tarot, as well as pleasure, abundance, creativity, nurturing, beauty, and art. She is the natural world’s keeper and lives in total peace with it. Few characters in the Warcraft world better represent these attributes than Eonar, hence she is the 3rd card in our Azerothian Tarot, The Life-Binder.
The High Father IV
The Emperor is the Earth Tarot equivalent.
In the Tarot, the Emperor represents the antithesis of the Empress, namely strength, authority, parenthood, leadership, and the power of reason, dogmatism, and Order. Aman’thul, Chief of the Titans and major head-figure of the forces of Order, is the best representation of those in the whole Wow world. As a result, he becomes the 4th card in our Tarot deck, The Highfather.
Prime V The Light
The Hirophant is the Earth Tarot’s equivalent.
The Hierophant has a number of connotations in Tarot, the most important of which are reverence, lessons, tradition and ritual, discipline, and higher ideals. Those things are a calming and unifying component of festivity and virtue on its higher polarity. On the other hand, they show how repressive, limiting, and inflexible customs and costumes can be, particularly when it comes to religious matters. The Naaru have offered direction in sparing humans from impending death in Azeroth, and the Light is a tremendous cosmic force for rectitude, healing, and guiding… There is, however, an oppressive, powerful element to it. Uncompromising and unwavering. As the most powerful incarnation of light we know, Xe’ra becomes The Light Prime, the fifth card of the Major Arcana deck.
The Twins, number six
The Lovers are the Earth Tarot’s equivalent.
This was the most difficult card to decipher. Although the lover in Tarot is often connected with sexual love, there are many other types of love. In truth, the Card symbolizes all types of love and relationships, as well as emotional completion and commitment. After much deliberation, I chose the Twins, Ursol, and the late Ursoc. Because sibling links are generally among the strongest and longest-lasting of all human interactions, the twins reflect the aforementioned virtues and serve as the deck’s sixth card.
The Lord of the Forests, VII
The Chariot is the Earth Tarot’s equivalent.
In Tarot, the Chariot represents effort, willpower, honesty, and, most importantly, endurance. It represents a movement of perseverance in the face of adversity. It also represents sexual prowess and well-being. All of these emblems may be found in ‘The Lord of Forests,’ Malfurion’s master and patron of Cenarius, the druidic form named after him. Cenarius has never shied away from a challenge throughout its lengthy history, instead striding ahead to meet it straight on. It was often killed as a result of this, but under the care of its aunt in Ardenweald, it has consistently returned and persevered.
The Force is number eight.
Strength is the Earth Tarot’s equivalent.
Strength used to be known as the Force in the Tarot, and it has a very literal meaning in the Tarot: it refers to how strength may be employed constructively and for the greater good, or destructively for evil and horror. Sargeras was the Titans’ most powerful warrior. For millennia, this might was put to excellent use in a never-ending struggle against armies of demons from the twisted nether, but Sargeras lost sight of the purpose, fooled by the Nathrezim, and embraced despair. He went out to kill all of creation himself, believing that everything had already been lost to a destiny he regarded worse than death. He adopts his place as the 8th card of the Deck, reminding everyone of the two sides of Might. All of his vast strength was now misdirected towards a nasty and horrific objective, thus he assumes his position as the 8th card of the Deck, reminding all of the two faces of Strength.
The Primus (IX)
The Hermit is the Earth Tarot’s equivalent.
The Primus was a wonderful match for the Hermit, the Major Arcana’s 9th card, which represents reflection. The voyage inside teaches us that we, like the Primus, had all the answers all along. He set off on a quest, abandoning Maldraxxus, losing his memories and becoming a slave, and eventually discovering all answers inside himself once he was free.
X The Witch and the Hunter
The Wheel of Fortune is the Earth Tarot’s equivalent.
We have two characters, Vol’jin and Helya, as the Wheel of Fortune. Both began as mortals and eventually rose to the level of deity… yet, despite their identical circumstances, their fates could not have been more unlike. Helya, betrayed by Odyn, dead and forced to serve, became a goddess… but a twisted ghost of herself, obsessed by hatred and retribution. Vol’jin, on the other hand, had a good life and died fighting, his valor and bravery granting him divinity even after death when Rezan fused the rest of its essence with him.
Both became gods, yet their destinies were very different.
The Arbiter (XI)
Justice is the Earth Tarot’s equivalent.
For eons, The Arbiter, a Divine Automaton, administered justice by evaluating and choosing souls that entered the Shadowlands. Hers is a symbol of justice and fairness, despite the fact that she was destroyed at the conclusion of recent events. Justice is a tarot card that represents justice, equality, harmony, cause and effect, and balance. The Arbiter is our 11th card because no one in our Tarot could better exemplify such qualities.
The Martyr XII
The Hanged Man is the Earth Tarot’s equivalent.
The Hanged Man’s meaning in the Tarot is twofold: Sacrifice and Rebirth. This card represents transition and the notion of viewing the world from a new perspective, and so addressing it in a more magnified, altered way, shedding the old skin and emerging afresh. The greatest type of sacrifice is self-sacrifice, which is the only road to rebirth and ascension. All of these attributes are embodied by Sethraliss, the serpent Loa of Vol’dun, who gave her life to rescue the whole kingdom of Zuldazar from Mytrax. Her people would finally succeed in causing her reincarnation as an avatar, completing the martyr’s rebirth cycle. The Martyr thus becomes the Major Arcana’s 12th card.
The Winter Queen (XIII)
Death is the Earth Tarot’s equivalent.
The Winter Queen is the Major Arcana’s 13th card. Contrary to popular belief, the Death card in the Tarot represents rebirth, the death of something in order for something new to emerge. Who better to embody such a notion than the Queen of Ardenweald, who watches over the souls as they prepare to reincarnate in the realms of Life?
The Archon (XIV)
Temperance is the Earth Tarot equivalent.
In the Kyrian’s narrative arch, the Temperance card’s attributes of self-control, compromise, moderation, and virtue are all present. Kyrestia had always been self-controlling and noble, but the events of Shadowlands taught her compromise and moderation. As a result, she takes the place of this card as the 14th card of the Major Arcana in the deck.
The Jailor (XV)
The Devil is the Earth Tarot’s equivalent.
In Tarot, the Devil represents enslavement, destructive cycles, addictions, obsession, and manipulation. The card depicts how these things bind and enslave individuals to their own vices and harmful habits. The fact that the archetype’s major symbol is chains, chains that were originally supposed to imprison him and that he has now weaponized to bind and enslave the rest of creation before attempting to reverse it, tells volumes about how suited Zovaal is to represent this archetype.
The Sire (XVI)
The Tower is the Earth Tarot equivalent.
The dreaded Tower, the Major Arcana’s 16th card, foreshadows a tragic and unexpected shift… Who better to represent such a notion than Sire Denathrius, the source of the Shadowlands’ anima drought?
The White Stag (XVII)
The Star is the Earth Tarot Equivalent.
Inspiration, tranquility, quiet, respite, visionary advancement, and revelation are all represented by the Star. It is known as the “calm after the storm” since it comes after the Tower’s grief and shocks. Malorne, The White Stag, takes this place in our deck, not only because of its link to the following card (The Moon), but also because it represents the same archetype and attributes.
The Moon (XVIII)
The Moon is the Earth’s Tarot equivalent.
In the Tarot, the Moon card represents intuition, dreaming, illusion, mysticism, and esotericism, as well as the subconscious and unconscious mind’s influence over the conscious mind.
When it comes to the Azeroth world, there is no doubt about who should be the archetype. As a result, Elune is the Major Arcana’s 18th Card.
The Sun (XIX)
The Sun is the Earth’s tarot equivalent.
The Sun in the Tarot denotes joy, satisfaction, sharing, and progress, all of which are virtues that the Tauren possess in spades, which is why the Tauren’s sun god, An’she, is the best candidate for the Major Arcana’s 19th card.
The Prophet XX
Judgment is the Earth Tarot equivalent.
We have The Prophet, incarnated by Il’gynoth, as the 20th card of the Tarot, in the position of Judgment. Judgement was a difficult card to reimagine, but after considering its qualities of liberation, search for the truth, and the need to make definitive choices, I settled on our old friend, who has only ever told us the truth in its whispered prophecies, always urging us to make choices and warning us of impending dangers.
The World XXI
The World is the Earth’s Tarot equivalent.
We’ve finally arrived to the Tarot’s 21st card, The World. It means satisfaction, completeness, liberation, cosmic ascension, success, celebratory reward, and most importantly, feeling one with oneself and the cosmos.
She, of course, could play this position better than anybody else in the whole metaphysical realm of Azeroth. Because no one else could fill the position, Azeroth is our World.
The Hero (00)
The Fool is the Earth Tarot’s equivalent.
‘The Fool,’ despite its name, is not a bad card at all. The Major Arcana’s first card, in fact, is the journey’s principal character. In some ways, it reflects us, but it also represents naiveté, pure purity, optimism, new beginnings, and leaps of faith. The Fool is the protagonist of the ‘hero’s journey.’ It also has a direct link to the Arcana’s last card, The World, completing the cycle.
Nothing is more fitting than for us to take on the role of its depiction in our deck. We, the Heroes of Azeroth, who foolishly created our tiny avatars to live in that magnificent realm and lived our unique “hero’s journey” around this cosmos we chose to call home via them.
As a result, ‘The Hero’ becomes the Major Arcana’s last card, completing it.
These cards would be priceless if they were produced in a set. Perhaps Fredus-Rex could follow in the footsteps of Frenone and Kickstart a print run.
Visit Fredus-DeviantArt Rex’s page to see more of his work.
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The “aeclectic tarot card meanings” is a community-created project that provides an illustrated deck of Major Arcana based on World of Warcraft’s deities.
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