Fairy Tale Tarot

I had coveted the Fairy Tale Tarot from the moment I became aware of it. Back then it was out of print and selling for prices way above my budget so when Lisa Hunt announced that US Games was releasing a second edition I eagerly awaited the pre-order date. I have owned her Animals Divine Tarot for years and her Pastoral Tarot is one of my favourites, so I expected to love this deck also. And I have to say, the artwork didn’t disappoint.

General information about the Fairy Tale Tarot

The Fairy Tale Tarot combines Lisa Hunt’s signature watercolour art with a range of fairy tales from Europe, Asia and the Middle East, the Americas, and Africa ensuring “every single card … has its own unique story to tell.” I know there are many, many fairy tales to choose from but I was surprised there were only eleven cross overs with Tarot of the Divine. More surprising was how differently the two creators interpreted which tale went with which card.

For example, Lisa Hunt associates Beauty and the Beast with XIII Transformation aka Death whereas Tarot of the Divine matched it with VI The Lovers. Further the Fairy Tale Tarot matches Aladdin with the King of Wands and The Snow Queen with the Five of Wands while Tarot of the Divine features them on the Seven of Cups and the Six of Cups respectively. What I love is that they all work. Each fairy tale, like any good story, has multiple potential focal points with a variety of themes and possible viewpoints. This is the power of stories, our own included.

Structure

The suits are Cups, Swords, Wands and Pentacles with Queen, King, Princess and Prince, (presented how she ordered them in the guidebook), for the Court.

As you may have noticed earlier, Lisa Hunt has renamed some of the Major Arcana. By some I actually mean many. Some took me a little while to get my head around but for the most part I find them fitting. XII Entrapment initially feels limiting but given she links it with Rapunzel it’s apt. Others I really like. Deception for The Tower speaks directly to me because I generally see The Tower as a correction for self deception.

I’ve listed all the Major Arcana name changes below.

Fairy Tale Tarot	Traditional names
0 Innocence	0 The Fool
II The Sorceress	II The High Priestess
III The Fairy Godmother	III The Empress
IV The Wise Old Man	IV The Emperor
V The Mentor	V The Hierophant
VIII Courage	VIII Strength
XII Entrapment	XII The Hanged Man
XIII Transformation	XIII Death
XV Temptation	XV The Devil
XVI Deception	XVI The Tower
XX Redemption	XX Judgement
XXI Happy Every After	XXI The World

Physical attributes

The cards measure 7cm x 12cm and are printed on typical US Games card stock. They’re easy to shuffle, albeit a little slippery which makes them great to fan, and they have reversible backs. Plus they come in a solid two-part box which I much prefer to a standard tuck box (The Dreaming Way Tarot turned me off them completely).

Discussions on some of the cards

I really have enjoyed linking the cards and their stories. Some choices I found unusual though. For example IX The Hermit.

IX The Hermit

Since The Hermit is generally alone I was surprised to see this Hermit artwork featured two people. The story is The Wood Fairy and even having read it I don’t see it the same way Lisa Hunt does. But, I am curious as to how I will interpret it when it appears in a spread. So far, in all the readings I have done with the Fairy Tale Tarot, it has remained hidden so I am yet to find out.

King of Pentacles

When I first saw the King of Pentacles I wrote “??” because I didn’t recognise the story, (this deck has shown me how limited my fairy tale knowledge is), so I couldn’t recognise the energy. To be honest it gave me Five of Pentacles vibes. Then I read about the Frost King and his wealth and generosity and it all made sense.

Nine of Wands and Three of Wands

Other stories brought deeper meanings to light. Two such stories were The Flying Ship for the Nine of Wands and Hok Lee and the Dwarves for the Three of Wands.

I see the Nine of Wands more favourably overall since reading The Flying Ship. He persists in his desire to achieve something that others thought him incapable of — building a flying ship so he could marry the princess — despite what others thought. Without knowing how to achieve his aim, he set out with no support from those who should have supported him — his family. He wasn’t deterred. He didn’t become bitter.

Instead he remained generous and kind. Along the way he helped all that he could, not in the hope they would help him but because he was in a position to do so. As is easy to predict, each helps him in their own way and he’s able to attain his goal. Everything and everyone contributes to our lives in some way.

The main message I gleaned from Hok Lee’s appearance on the Three of Wands is that it isn’t enough to just put yourself out there. You need to do so with all your heart.

The Fairy Tale Tarot Guidebook

Ahh the book, where to start. For a general deck, and if I wasn’t aware of the 299-paged book that accompanied the original edition, I’d say I really appreciate how much attention Lisa Hunt gives to explaining the symbology included in each of the cards.

However, this is a fairy tale tarot; therefore, for me, the most important thing is the fairy tales. In this instance it is the fairy tales that give the cards meaning rather than the symbolism. Don’t get me wrong, I love her attention to detail and the artistic choices she made because they definitely add to both the beauty and the interpretive depth of the cards, BUT I really wanted the stories.

If you aren’t familiar with the story then that entire aspect of the card is lost until you are able to source it. I have spent a lot of time on Google to do so and I have added the The Arabian Nights and Fairy Tales: By the Grimm Brothers to my Kindle but there are many versions of each tale. Therefore it can take a while to find the one that aligns with the card.

An example: The Brewery of Eggshells for IV The Wise Old Man

In one version of The Brewery of Eggshells, Mrs Sullivan suspects her child has been swapped. Fortunately she then meets Ellen Leah, also known as Grey Ellen, and she advises her how to get her child back. This was the first and second version of the story I found, so as you can imagine, I struggled to see the connection with The Emperor. Then I found another version which made more sense. In this version, the mother, suspecting her twins had been swapped by elves, seeks out the wise old man to help her get them back. She follows his advice and her children are returned.

Now I love research and I am happy to put in the time but it would have been so much quicker and easier if the actual fairy tales were included. And it would have added so much value to the guidebook and thus the deck.

That’s not to say the cards cannot be read without knowledge of the fairy tales.

Ace of Swords

I was not familiar with Cap ‘O Rushes so I had nothing to go on except what first came to mind — the lyrics to Sweet Marie by Hothouse Flowers — “And I will make you a basket/ from the rushes by the lake/ Keep your memories and thoughts in it/ Take as long as you might take, might take long.” The white doves took me to a later line, “I hope you find peace in everything you do” which for me connects this particular card with choosing thoughts and ideas that will bring peace. In other words I found my own story, which, after all, is what we do when we read the cards.

In the book Lisa Hunt shares that the rushes represent inner growth, strong will and the ability to adapt to your environment; the feathers signify freedom; her wild hair her adventure; pebbles and branches symbolise time; and the lake wisdom. I really appreciate her explanations but they made much more sense when I read the actual fairy tale which I’ve linked here. If you then decide to listen to the Hothouse Flowers song you’ll see how much it aligns with the tale.

V The Mentor

Each entry in the guidebook gives the title followed by the traditional name, the story, the culture and keywords. For V The Mentor, she lists the Traditional name as The High Priest and the Story as Puss in Boots. The Culture is German and the Keywords are: guide, advisor.

In the guidebook Lisa Hunt describes each element in the artwork and what is symbolises before wrapping up the entry with:

The mentor can provide us with fundamental knowledge as we explore new terrain. It is important to embrace our animal instincts and to follow the model of our animal teachers. By referring to our inner animal, we can draw from a reservoir of innate wisdom that may prove to be useful in certain situations. 

When I read the story of Puss in Boots it more so brought to mind the structural aspects of The Hierophant. In other words knowing how society works allows you to recognise and understand what needs to be done to “succeed.” The man had no idea but Puss in Boots did.

Spreads

The final chapter, titled Card Reflections, offers three spreads. “Telling a Story: The one-card reflection” is as its name suggests. She gives two examples as a means to get you started. There is also a nine-card spread, “The Motif of Three Spread,” and a seven-card spread, “Keys to the Kingdom Spread.” With the depth of information that can be drawn from each card, and my need to familiarise myself with the various fairy tales, I wasn’t sure how I’d find the bigger spreads. I needn’t have worried. The story the spread was portraying played out clearly in the cards.

The more you work with the Fairy Tale Tarot the clearer the stories become and the more magical the deck becomes. I would not say this is a beginner’s deck though.

Final thoughts

Lisa Hunt writes, “The cards are conducive to narrative delivery and can help activate the imagination in a manner that delivers us from the mundane and engages us on a deeper level of self reflection.” I find the concept of the mundane interesting. On one hand, it means lacking interest, dull; on the other, it’s defined as of this earthly world rather than a heavenly or spiritual one. I believe this deck can deliver me from the former but I don’t want it to deliver me from the latter.

I love how this deck connects us with stories that, passed down through generations, continue to inspire and to teach us now. It serves as a wonderful and powerful reminder of just how important stories are and why we should continue to both share and unravel them, (and not just those written by others), for generations to come. That makes this a very important deck.

Summaries

Fairy Tale Tarot cards

Artist	Lisa Hunt
Card Size	7cm x 12cm
Card Stock	Satin finish
Shuffle	Okay to shuffle in any manner
Fan & Flip Through	Easy to fan and flip through
Suits	Pentacles, Cups, Swords and Wands
Court	Queen, King, Princess, Prince
Strength / Justice	Strength VIII; Justice XI

Fairy Tale Tarot Guidebook

Written by	Lisa Hunt
Pages	156 pp
Appearance	Black and white, perfect bound, card-sized
Spreads	Telling a story: The one-card reflection The motif of three spread (9 cards) Keys to the kingdom spread (7 cards)

Publishing Details

Created by:

Lisa Hunt

Pictured Version:

Published by US Games in 2024

ISBN 13: 978-1646712137

Websites:

Lisa Hunt