TotOP - Deck Overview

Silverlotus

Tarot of the Old Path - Deck Overview

- created by Howard Rodway
- illustrated by Sylvia Gainsford
- published by AG Muller

consultants
- Margot Adler
- Lois Bourne
- Patricia Crowther
- Janet & Stewart Farrar
- Aislinn Lester
- Pauline Newberry
- Kim Tracey

Tarot of the Old Path was created with the help of the above eight Wiccans, with the intention of being a traditional tarot incorporating the ideas, symbolism and correspondences of Wicca.

The card stock is medium, with a heavy plastic matte finish. All the cards are titled and numbered on the bottom, with partial boarders up the sides. There is a large white margin all around the edges of the cards. The cards are brightly coloured. The Major Arcana cards have a nearly full background, but the Minor's are mostly white. Each Minor suit features a specific colour:
- Rods - Red
- Cauldrons - Blue
- Swords - Yellow
- Pentacles - Green

The backs of the cards are semi-reversible. The small AG Muller copywrite notice on the bottom of the card ruins the reversibility. Also, if you look closely, it is possible to see the initials of the decks creator and illustrated near the centre of the deck, also making the deck non-reversible. If you are able to ignore these things, or look only quickly, the deck backs are more or less reversible.

Many of the Major Arcana cards have undergone name changes:
RWS - TotOP
V - Hierophant - High Priest
VII - Chariot - Mastery
IX - Hermit - Wise One
XII - Hanged Man - Lone Man
XIII - Death - The Close
XIV - Temperance - The Guide
XV - The Devil - Temptation
XVIII - The Moon - Illusion
XX - Judgement - Karma

Strength is 8, and Justice is 11 in this deck. The Minor suit correspondences are Rods (Wands) = Fire, Cauldrons (Cups) = Water, Swords = Air, and Pentacles = Earth. The images on the Minors generally correspond to those found in the RWS deck. The court cards are also named after the RWS model - King, Queen, Knight, Page.