Harry Potter Tarot

Arnnaria

Harry Potter Tarot

I love Harry Potter, and there are probably many Potter fans in here. If you haven’t finished the books or just want to wait to see the movies. SPOILER ALERT: we will be discussing plot lines in here and all that jazz.

If we were to hypothetically develop a Harry Potter Tarot, what would the Major Arcana and Court Cards be? Minor Arcana are harder to do. I think we should discuss and come to a consensus. I have my suggestions listed here, but they are far from “right.” Tell me what you think.

0. The Fool: Ronald Weasley

Ron Weasley is charming, innocent, charismatic, and not aware of his own power or potential. There is something about Ronald that is just fantastic.

-OR-

0. The Fool: Young Harry Potter

Harry receiving his letter that he can go to Hogwarts and is a wizard. Taking off on his journey with Hagrid.

I. The Magician: Albus Dumbledore

Dumbledore is an amazing character. He is the one person that He Who Must Not Be Named fears, yet still has an innocence to him that calms and soothes people.

II. The High Priestess: Sybil Trelawney

When I thought of Trewlawney as the High Priestess I giggled with excitement. Her mystery as a seer is quite amazing, and like the High Priestess, she speaks in riddles and rhymes.

III. The Empress: Molly Weasley

No one is more of a mother figure to young Harry Potter than Molly Weasley. She is loving, caring, and compassionate.

IV. The Emperor: Minerva McGonogal

My first “controversial” choice. Minerva McGonogal might not be male, per se, but she embodies The Emperor. Loyal, steadfast, and follows the rules. Professor McGonogal follows the archetype of this card.

V. The Hierophant: Severus Snape

Rules. Procedures. Tutelage.

VI. The Lovers: Madam Maxime & Rubeus Hagrid

-OR-

VI. The Lovers: Lily Potter & James Potter

VII. The Chariot: Harry riding his Firebolt chasing the Golden Snitch

Sometimes we just have to do things. In Quidditch, Harry doesn’t think about distractions or outside forces. He just does.

VIII. Strength: Dobby [Knocking down Lucius Malfoy, “You will not harm Harry Potter.”]

Such a strong individual who doesn’t see it. Dobby (and all the house elfs for that matter) contains power beyond his wildest dreams.

IX. The Hermit: ?

?

X. Wheel of Fortune: The Sorting Hat

Fate, destiny? How does the Sorting Hat work? We don’t know. But we accept its judgments just the same.

XI. Justice: ?

?

XII. The Hanged Man: Sirius Black

Sirius Black is the definitive Hanged Man...at least for Harry Potter. Harry thought he was his most hated enemy and he became his most important comrade. A change in perception was all he needed.

XIII. Death: Fawkes

Fawkes dying and rerising from his ashes. Need I say more?

XIV. Temperance: Severus Snape mixing potions

Snape will attest, mixing potions is a tricky business. You must concentrate, have the right vessels and amounts, and

XV. The Devil: He Who Must Not Be Named

Again, the pure evil being of the one who was once Tom Marvelo Riddle.

- OR -

XV. The Devil: The Dementors

Never feeling happy again...

XVI. The Tower: The Shrieking Shack

The Shrieking Shack has a scene in which Harry’s world comes tumbling down. He finds out Pettigrew was the one who betrayed his family, he finds out that Sirius Black is his closest ally. The Shrieking Shack, someplace he feared, is also a place where his father spent his youth.

XVII. The Star: Lily Potter

Harry's mother and a warm, caring energy.

XVIII. The Moon: Remus Lupin [Howling at the moon and transforming.]

Despite the fact that he’s a werewolf, Remus Lupin embodies the moon. He trains Harry to fight Dementors (which express his deepest fears), but also has secrets to keep.

XIX. The Sun: James Potter

Harry's father and an optimistic energy.

XX. Judgment: ?

?

XXI. The World: ?

Court Cards

I divided each of the four groups of students (Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff, Gryffindor, and Slytherin) into the different suits.

Chalices: Ravenclaw

Why Ravenclaw? All the characters love interests are in there. Cho Chang, Penelope Clearwater, and Luna Lovegood (even though she hasn’t explicitly shown interest in Ron).

Page of Chalices: ?

Knight of Chalices: ?

Queen of Chalices: Cho Chang

Emotional, secretive, and mysterious. Cho Chang has a power to her that we don’t always realize.

King of Chalices: Professor Flitwick

Head of Raveclaw house, Professor Flitwick has power in spades.

Pentacles: Hufflepuff

Page of Pentacles: ?

Knight of Pentacles: ?

Queen of Pentacles: Professor Sprout

Professor Sprout teaches Herbology and is the head of Hufflepuff house.

King of Pentacles: Rubeus Hagrid

Teacher of Care for Magical Creatures and a very earthly fellow, to say the least.

Wands: Gryffindor

Page of Wands: Ginny Weasley

Warm, charismatic, powerful, loving, and above all else, brave beyond words. Ginny embodies all the characteristics of the a true Gryffindor at such a young age.

Knight of Wands: ?

?

Queen of Wands: Hermione Granger

Powerful, motivated, and fun to be around. Hermione may seem like a bookworm on the exterior, but she is arguably the most powerful in regards to magic for the trio.

King of Wands: ?

?

Swords: Slytherin

Page of Swords: ?

Knight of Swords: Draco Malfoy

Cutting, wiseass, but also truthful. Draco shows no fear when speaking his mind.

Queen of Swords: ?

?

King of Swords: Lucius Malfoy

Father of Draco, Lucius sees the world in right and wrong - most notably what he believes in is right and everything else is wrong.
 

Kaylee Marie

I wondered how long it would be until someone suggested this. :) I'm usually not one for kitchy decks, but I'm so enamored by Harry and the lot that I can't resist -- love the idea!

Many of the question marks will likely be filled in by the 6th and 7th books, so I don't think we could seriously map out the entire deck for a few more years. Also, as characters grow and change, positions will need to be altered. For instance, I sense that Harry is entirely over Cho and there is an even greater love in his future. I therefore don't think she deserves to be the Queen of Cups.

And where is Hagrid? Can't believe you missed that giant of a man! He could be the Hermit, living away in his shack. The kids go to him for information, insight. He also took a journey to discover his roots. Or he and girlfriend (her name is slipping my mind at the moment) could be the Lovers. How cute would that be?

Also, Harry should be the Magician. This would allow Dumbledore to be Hierophant. And where is Hermione in the majors? We definitely need to find a place for her there, being such a major character. Justice could be Rowling herself, carefully weighing and deciding everyone's fates.

Okay, lunch break ended 10 minutes ago. Back to work...
Kaylee
 

Kaylee Marie

Oh, just noticed that Hagrid is King of Pentacles... must have skimmed over that part. I'd still prefer to see him in the majors, though.

Okay, really back to work now. ;)
 

Webwitch

Okay, well just a suggestion, but I would put Ravenclaw as Swords (intellectuals who strive for perfection)

Slytherin as chalices (because they display all the negatives of chalices).

But then, what do I know, I'm only beginning to learn the cards.

Cheers,
Webwitch :)
 

Ulfdis

Yay! Harry Potter and Tarot!
I actually would see Professor Snape as the Heirophant. He truly has Harry's best interests at heart, and is one of "the good guys", but he will not ever make the path easy or comfortable.

McGonagle as the Emperor is a very good match. I always see a lot of my grandmother in the Osho Zen Emperor, so I don't see much of a conflict as far as gender roles go.

And Hagrid and Olympia(?) would make wonderful Lovers!

With the Queen of Swords' LWB reputation for being a nag, maybe Aunt Petunia? LOL!

7 of Cups could be the Mirror of Erised, for it "does not do to dwell on dreams... and forget to live."

5 of Pentacles... maybe the cupboard under the stairs?

I've just started to reread the series again, so more ideas to come, I hope!
 

ocho8s

I really like this thread
since I am a Harry Potter fan and waiting anxiously for the 6th book
this is my suggestion

lovers - HArry Potter parent's


Bendiciones
Anaoly
 

augursWell

ocho8s said:
lovers - HArry Potter parent's
I was also going to suggest Harry's parents for the Lovers card but more importantly I think Harry's mother could be the STAR card. To me STAR is feminine and a source of hope and guidance. Harry's parents play this role for him in the movies at least. So I am torn between whether they would be good as the LOVERS or STAR.

Hermione should definitely be in the Majors somewhere.
 

Kaylee Marie

I agree that Harry's parents should be the Lovers, and see nothing wrong with having each parent appear separately on other cards. Individuals are not the same as a couple united; there are different energies to be expressed in each. Harry's mother as the Star is a wonderful idea. Now where does his father fit in? The Sun?

Personally, I see Hermione as Strength instead of Dobby. Hermione is strong of mind, of will, of courage, of magic. Like the traditional female on the Strength card, her strength comes from within.

Ulfdis -- I love your ideas for the 7 of cups and 5 of pentacles!! And Petunia really is a nag! :D We definitely need to find a way to fit in all those annoying Muggles, and animals too! I adore Hedwig and Crookshanks (and even Neville's toad) and can't wait to find the perfect place for each.

A few other suggestions:
The World: Hogwarts grounds and castle
10 of Pentacles: Diagon Alley
10 of Cups: A feast in the great hall, focused on one house table -- a rainbow of delicious foods laid out in front of a joyful and exhuberant family (house); alternately, a feast at the Weasley's house

No one has mentioned Aces yet, so let me throw my idea out there: I see Harry holding each suit as he is first introduced to it -- his wand (duh), the Griffindor sword, the House Cup, and a gold coin symbolizing when he first realized he was rich and all that awaited him in the magical world. The last one is a bit of a stretch, but that's as close as I could come up with. Maybe someone else will have a better suggestion for Pentacles. :) Or maybe a pentacle will present itself in Book 6 or 7. (Harry's broomstick could also work for the wands suit, but I just prefer the actual wand. Also, the Winner's Cup and the Goblet of Fire are alternatives for the cups suit.)

I can't decide if the actual scene for each should be depicted or just Harry and the object. If the scene is shown, I picture it faded in the background, with Harry and the object lit up and brightly colored.

Matching suits to houses is a good idea, but a tricky one. Webwitch brings up an excellent point that Ravenclaws are the intellectuals. And Slytherins do seem rather high-strung and emotional. I hate to put them with the cups though, as I can't think of any Slytherins that could represent the positive side of the cups suit. And after all, the swords suit is all about life's tests and nobody tests Harry more than they. There is also an argument to assign Slytherins to the Pentacles suit, as they are very materialistic.

So I don't really have an answer to this question. Griffindor should definitely be fire, Slytherin could be any other suit, and we really don't know much about Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff, as there are only minor characters in each of those houses. Thoughts, anyone? :confused:

One more thought before I go... has anyone considered putting Harry as the Fool? This is HIS journey, after all. I see the young Harry, just setting out for the magical world. He doesn't know what to expect, but adventures surely await. I know this runs counter to my earlier suggestion of having Harry as the Magician... I have no problems with Dumbledore keeping his position there. Or perhaps the Magician could be Year 7 Harry? Doesn't make sense, I know... And then there's the problem of where else to put Ron in the Majors, if not the Fool, since he definitely belongs up there... I just think that Harry should be either card 0 or 1, since this is the HARRY POTTER Tarot.

Smell ya later,
Kaylee

(ooh... a Simpsons Tarot -- now wouldn't that be grand ;) )
 

FaeryGodmother

Not to rain on anyone's parade but...

J.K. Rowling is notoriously protective of the world she has created for Harry Potter. I would love to see what she would say about the idea of a Harry Potter Tarot deck. Personally, I could imagine she would like the idea.

Remember the uproar in certain schools that kids were reading about witchcraft and magic? Imagine those same parents reactions when their kids say "mum, dad, I want to get this tarot deck!" lol, oh my goodness.

That said, I love the suggestions made so far for this deck. My suggestion would be the Dementors for the Devil card. They carry the theme of imprisionment and negativity, "feeling like I would never be cheerful again" I think Ron said about them. I guess this is because I don't see the Devil card as evil like Voldemort. I agree with Kaylee for Hermione for Strength. Also would you include The Ministry of Magic in there somewhere? Maybe as Judgement? As the MoM is the highest authority? Ok, maybe thats a stretch.

FGM
(adding her 2cents worth :))
 

Arnnaria

The Ace of Swords, for me, is Fawkes flying with the Sorting Hat and delivering it to Harry to slay the basilisk.

I like the Ace of Wands being Harry getting his wand in Ollivanders, that's a nice image.