Magical Hours Tarot

The collage style of Magical Hours Tarot reminds me of both Tarot of Mystical Moments and The Dreamkeepers Tarot albeit in different ways and with a different focus. This ensures it doesn’t feel like a redundant addition to my collection. Furthermore it introduced me to a new way of interpreting certain cards which in turn opened up the interpretive possibilities across several other decks.

The more decks I work with the more I find they talk to each other. Some say, “But wait, what about this approach?” while others feel like they continue the story. The Magical Hours Tarot had a lot to say about many things, some of which I wasn’t expecting such a feminine deck to tap me into.

The Magical Hours Tarot Deck

As I have already mentioned the Magical Hours Tarot is a very feminine deck. So much so that only seven cards in the entire deck feature men. Although, of those seven, four of them, King of Pentacles, King of Cups, King of Swords and IV The Emperor have animal heads. The others are XV The Devil and the Nine of Swords, (as you can see below, here the man is the source of the nightmares), and the King of Wands.

Now, with the Devil and the Nine of Swords in the mix you may suspect that the write ups for the masculine energies of the Kings might be a tad negative, but that’s not the case at all.

The entry for the King of Pentacles begins, “The King of Pentacles expresses great wealth as well as great generosity, which often go together. He is someone who notices your work and promotes you, someone who supports and helps you because he can, someone who creates happy opportunities for others.” There is definitely no “down with the patriarchy vibes” here so I’m not quite sure what the thinking behind these choices might be. Therefore, I’m going to just move on.

Although, I do question the size of the “women” on the King of Pentacles. I tell myself they are statues but that doesn’t make me any more comfortable. The book calms me a tad but I’d still prefer it if the figures in the foreground weren’t there. Albeit I’m sure they will have a message for me when this card appears in a reading.

Deck structure

Magical Hours Tarot follows “the path of the sun and moon through one day and one night.” The Major Arcana covers a twenty-four hour period from sunrise through to the new dawn of the following day and the suits cover specific periods of the day.

Wands are associated with dawn and therefore feature plants that bloom in the early hours such as, “Ipomoea species, squash and zucchini flowers, convolvulus, petunias, almost all cactus flowers, surfinias, and the sky blue flowers of chicory.” Pentacles cover the day time. So, on these cards you’ll find sunflowers, hibiscus, marigolds, magnolias, peonies, and St John’s Wort.

Next come the Cups. They feature plants associated with twilight — tuberose, caper flower, cup shaped flowers such as magnolias, (which also feature on Pentacles}, and “the birch with its silvery leaves.” Finally, the Swords are night. These cards include nocturnal and lunar plants such as night jasmine, datura, mugwort and night beauty. You need to work out which is which though because the book doesn’t tell you.

Physical attributes

The Magical Hours Tarot cards measure approximately 7.5cm x 12.5cm which makes them slightly larger than standard. Fortunately, even though it has glossy cardstock, it isn’t overly reflective which makes it fine to use in any light. Therefore, even though I’m surprised to say it because I generally prefer satin or matte finishes, I do really like the gloss as it makes for a nice change. However, the cardstock is quite thick so it feels a little stiff. Overall though I find it nice to work with.

My interpretations of some card pairings

4 of Pentacles & XII The Hanged Man

When I looked at these cards side by side my first thought was, “It is time for a new perspective on the things you keep holding on to. Just like the woman on the card, the thoughts behind them are not grounded in reality. Letting them go will allow you to see a different reality, one you never believed was possible and one that you don’t have to try to cling to. Instead it will support you.” This message just came pouring out.

Strangely, when I look at this rendering of the 4 of Pentacles now, without considering The Hanged Man, I get a message that I would generally more associate with the 10 of Wands, “Only hold on to what you need, let the rest go and you will feel so much lighter for it.” I guess the Hanged Man is really working hard to get me to see new perspectives.

4 of Cups & XIII Death

This mermaid looks miserable. Someone keeps offering her something she is supposed to want but she’s just not interested. It’s time to put an end to thinking others know what’s best for you and trust your own instincts. Don’t let someone try and bury your light — move towards it.

This review has taken me a while to write but the notes were written and these cards were drawn over a week ago and all I can say is that it is amazing what a difference a week makes. I wondered why I hadn’t been able to sit and write this post but now I know. I am ready for the message. Even though these pairings are chosen completely at random now, and have been for a while, they always have a message to share.

4 of Wands & Queen of Swords

Don’t let someone else define the goal posts or how you’re supposed to reach them. Be brave enough to show them you see things differently. Then you will be truly free. Can’t help but notice the theme running through these pairings. It makes me wonder who else needed to see this.

As I was going through and editing this post I just looked at this pairing which I had included simply to show more cards, not as a pairing to write about, and had this thought. Friendships are meant to support you, not drown you. I don’t know why but I felt that I needed to add this message in for someone.

The Magical Hours Tarot Guidebook

The Magical Hours Tarot comes with a 128-paged, approximately A6-size, full colour, matte guidebook, (which surprised me given the cardstock). Another thing that surprised me was that for a deck with a strong botanical influence, the actual plant names aren’t provided for each Minor Arcana card.

Though the information provided in the introductory pages (which I shared earlier) does help to expedite the Googling process if, like me, you aren’t as familiar with individual flowers as you hope to be. Nevertheless a simple mention of the flower name under the card title would have made it faster and easier and wouldn’t have been difficult to add. For that reason I wonder why it wasn’t. I guess they had their reasons. Fortunately, the flower name is incorporated in the write up for the Major Arcana.

Card meanings for Major Arcana

For the Major Arcana, the left hand page is filled with a full colour image of the card. On the right, beneath the card number, presented in Roman numerals, is the card title and below that is the time of day. For example XVII The Star is Deep Night.

Next is a paragraph that provides the card meaning. In most cases it does so through straight explanation and a breakdown of the image which introduces the flower and its relevance. Each Major Arcana wraps up with an actual time of day and a suggested action. Continuing with XVII The Star as the example, it reads,

12:00 a.m. 
Observe the starry sky without the help of apps or telescopes. Find a meadow or park and look to the stars.

Card meanings for the Minor Arcana

Beneath the title for the Minor Arcana card is the overall suit “time of day” followed by a paragraph with the card image inset in the upper left hand corner. Below is the full entry for the 8 of Pentacles pictured above.

Eight of Pentacles
Midday Plants

Repetition does not always equate to boredom. In the Eight of Pentacles we discover this insight. It is the card of one who is learning with dedication and attention to detail. It is also about the ability to learn the basics of a craft or skill in order to make it our own, then give it our personal imprint. Like someone learning to write and going through a very standardized cursive before arriving at their own unique handwriting. Here, we encounter someone who is learning an art form, one day at a time. Be it a physical discipline, a state of mind, or another philosophy, it is surely something that will change them and to which they will offer their own personal creative take. In the card, the craftsperson and the artist coexist, like the skill and the inspiration needed to make one's vision a reality.

This card meaning incorporates practical user-friendly information which is great. However, as you can see, there is no mention of the relevance of the fox or the sunflower.

Following the card meanings sections are two further chapters: “Before reading tarot cards” and “Spreads”. In the first of these chapters, Cecilia Lattari shares her tarot philosophy. I’ll leave the final word in this section to her.

As with all the decks I have curated, I do not believe that this tarot can reveal the future, which is firmly in our hands. Rather, I believe it is a proactive tool to best observe the present, with its resources, gifts and challenges. Using this deck will allow you to bring poetry and imagination into your daily life, as a tool in connection with the magic of every day.

Final thoughts

Magical Hours Tarot is a highly intuitive deck and as I continue to work with it I find myself enjoying it more and more. If you’ve read many of my other posts you will know I relish decks with a surrealist bent because they take me to interpretive places I haven’t visited before. However, unlike some others, such as the Japaridze Tarot, this artwork manages to remain beginner friendly without losing that ability. That is a nice space to inhabit and one I look forward to exploring further.

Summaries

Magical Hours Tarot cards

Artist	Fabiana Belmonte
Card Size	7.5cm x 12.5cm
Card Stock	Glossy finish
Shuffle	Okay to shuffle in any manner, bit stiff to bridge
Fan & Flip Through	Fine to fan and flip through
Suits	Wands, Pentacles, Cups, Swords
Court	King, Queen, Knight & Page
Strength / Justice	Justice VIII; Strength XI
Miscellaneous	Solid flip open box with spot gloss highlights

Magical Hours Tarot Guidebook

Written by	Cecilia Lattari
Pages	128 pp
Appearance	Full colour, A6 sized book
Spreads	One card a day Three-card spread From sunrise to sunset: five-card spread

Publishing Details

Created by:

Cecilia Lattari & Fabiana Belmonte

Pictured Version:

Published by US Games in July 2025

ISBN 13: 978-1-64671-263-2

Websites:

Cecilia Lattari

Fabiana Belmonte