The Victoria Regina Tarot Deck details the scope of Victorian history and gives a new twist to traditional Tarot card meanings.
The Victoria Regina Tarot and Companion offers a fascinating look into an era which began in 1837 when teen-aged Victoria, Princess of Kent, was crowned as Queen of the then vast British Empire. Her reign would stretch all the way to 1901, and she would rule over a curious time of strong moral tradition challenged by the wave of social change that occurred during the second half of the 19th century.
The Victoria Regina Tarot’s creators, Sarah Ovenall and Georg Patterson, have collectively presented a unique look into this historical period through use of inventive collage technique and by linking traditional tarot meanings with the customs, attitudes and history of the Victorian age. Just in working with the 78 cards through standard spreads or the inventive “Victoria’s Chalice” and “Victoria’s Spectre” divination layouts, a person can learn a great deal about the life of Queen Victoria, her family, and the subjects she presided over for more than 60 years.
Suits and Court Cards
The deck uses decidedly different symbols for the basic suits of Cups, Coins (Pentacles), Wands and Swords. Cupshave been replaced by Mason jars, which were invented during this time and which allowed food to be preserved so that harvests could be enjoyed year round; Coins have become pocket watches, which were beginning to be mass-produced during the Victorian era and no longer belonged only to the wealthy; Wandsare represented by the fountain pen, then a primary means of communication; and Swords are guns, as the sword itself was literally being replaced by the pistol at the time.
The Queen cards of the four suits depict Victoria herself at various stages: the beautiful eighteen-year-old “Virgin Queen” (Wands); the mature wife and mother (Cups); the established monarch (Coins); and the grieving widow following the death of her beloved Prince Albert (Swords). Many of the Prince and Princess cards are based on Victoria’s own children and detail their lives as well as their relationships with their imperious mother. Famous Victorians such as Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli and author Oscar Wilde are included, with additional information on the Crimean War work of Florence Nightingale and the struggles of the Irish to attain independence from England and to emerge from the horrific 1840s famine.
Collage and Meanings
Visually, the deck presents an appropriately old-fashioned black and white appearance with skillfully creative collage-work -- the collage technique being even more interesting when the authors explain where the sources came from. For example, The Chariot card, which typically means taking the wheel and steering one’s own destiny, describes its woman riding a bicycle illustration as being from an 1892 newspaper editorial entitled “Emancipation,” which objected to “the moral laxity caused by increased women’s rights” -- women’s rights definitely being a hot-button issue of the time.
And finally, to help you keep an imperial scorecard and know all the key figures, a chart of the British Royal Family from King George III to 2002 is also included. Beyond the history, however, the card meanings are insightful and offer unique wisdom and perspective.
Finding a Deck
The Victoria Regina Tarot should be purchased with the companion volume in order to get the full retrospective, and unfortunately, both are currently out of print. However, copies are available through used booksellers or at amazon.com or eBay.com, and the deck’s website allows the cards themselves to be viewed with free on-line reading features.
Sources
The Victoria Regina Tarot Deck and Companion – Georg Patterson and Sarah Ovenall (Llewelyn Worldwide Press, 2002)
