Celtic Dragon Tarot

For the ancient Celts the Dragon symbolized fertilityenergy
or the creation of earth. They believed that the firstWands stand for Airborne Dragons with elements of
cell born out of the earth and fertilized from the skyAir, East and Mental
by wind and water was produced by the Dragon.Slight differences
When the ancient druids spoke of Celtic DragonsThere are a few slight changes in the titles of the
they referred to Dragon lines, or ley lines. These linesMajor Arcana and the titles and numbers are depicted
were believed to be places where the most energy,in Arabic numerals. The other changes seen are the
magic and cosmic forces came up through the earthHigh Priest being replaced with the Hierophant and
and were where they held their ritual meetings. Theythe Devil being replaced with Chains. As both the
believed Dragons were creatures of a parallel worldformal ceremonial aspect of the Hierophant and the
and as such sanctified these meeting places.Devil not being part of Celtic mythology these new
In mythology King Arthur was burdened by dreamsrepresentations makes sense.
of Dragons around the time of Mordred's conceptionThe Minor Arcana use traditional suits yet their
and again before his own death. The Celts longcorresponding elements are different. For example
believed that if a king saw a Dragon, ruin wouldWands are depicted as Air instead of Fire and
come on the land. Yet it remains a prominent CelticSwords as Fire instead of Air.
symbol depicted on the flag of Wales. The mottoThe Suit titles have not changed and the Court cards
accompanying the flag reads "Y Ddraig Goch Ddyryremain as King, Queen, Knight and Page. What is
Cychwyn" or "The Red Dragon leads the Way".interesting is that the genders are changed, for
Dragon Tarotinstance a Knight may be depicted by a woman. The
The Celtic Dragon tarot has been around for only aCelts did not discriminate between men and women
few short years. What makes it special are the spellsand it was common that men and women worked
and meditations accompanying the deck which areside by side. They also went to war together. This
meant to lead the reader through various exercises inaspect of Celtic tradition has been translated in these
order to summon Dragon energy and perform sacredcards.
visualizations.The changes to some images are interesting and
To illustrate this each deck contains a spell forshow that the Magician is female. They also show
prosperity. This entails the lighting of a green and goldthe High Priestess as active and dynamic. Women in
candle. After they are placed on an altar togetherthese Celtic Dragon Tarot cards are depicted as
with three particular cards an affirmation is repeatedphysically strong and powerful. Perhaps these
and prosperity is welcomed.depictions are meant to signify what we know about
The dragon tarot follows the same basic structure asancient Celtic women.
traditional tarot cards. It has 78 cards which areEach card in the Major Arcana has a full sized black
separated into four suits being Pentacles, Cups,and white picture of each card and is accompanied
Swords and Wands. The cards correlate to Wandsby a keyword. Each card is also given a description
with Air and Swords with Fire. There are 22 Majoras well as a divinatory meaning yet there are no
Arcana cards and 56 Minor Arcana cards.reversal meanings.
The suits are represented as suchThe creators of these Celtic tarot cards believe that
Pentacles is given the meaning of Earth Dragonsthe Dragon is devoted to bringing radiant energy to
encompassing the elements of Earth, North andlife within the traditional structure of the tarot. Each
Physical energyimage uses Dragons to reflect its meaning and makes
Cups are given the meaning of Water Dragons anduse of backgrounds that reflect Celtic history, culture
encompass the elements of Water, West andand symbols.
Emotional energyWhat makes this deck outstanding is the Celtic
Swords stand for Fire Dragons and theirdragon art on each card and the back of each card is
corresponding elements are Fire, South and Yourembellished with a Celtic knot design.