Lord of the rings tarot

Thread originally posted on the Aeclectic Tarot Forum on 02 May 2005, and now archived in the Forum Library.

Valteran11	02 May 2005
Has anyone seen or does anyone own the Lord of the Rings Tarot from Taiwan that uses pictures from the three movies? Thanks, V

tarotbear	02 May 2005
I didn't know there was one! Is it legal (sanctioned by the movie company)? {I always thought there should be a Star Wars tarot, but George Lucas never liked the idea.}

Valteran11	02 May 2005
from what I can read on the sites, the answer is yes. here are some shots at this site: http://mangaart.com/tarotcards/lotr2.shtml

Elven	03 May 2005
Here are some sites that have some photos and reviews and one from ATF. http://www.tarotpassages.com/LOTRTaiwanese-SJ.htm http://mangaart.com/tarotcards/lotr.shtml http://www.tarotforum.net/showthrea...nese+lord+rings Hope these help Blessings Elven x

Fairawen	03 May 2005
OoooohoohooHOO! Pretty. Unfortunste, though, how some of the cards are misinterpreted and have wrong pics. Also... gee, can't read 'em so well cause they're in another language. But they'd be something for my collection, I can gurantee that! *goggles and drools* ~Fairawen~

Elven	03 May 2005
Forgot to put that Tarot Garden have both decks too. Blessings Elven x

WolfSpirit	03 May 2005
tarotbear wrote: I didn't know there was one! Is it legal (sanctioned by the movie company)? I don't think so - I think that is why it is printed in Taiwan where it is easier to get around copy rights. The official LOTR movie site does not have them in their shop.

tarotbear	03 May 2005
Re fairwen and wolfspirit~ If the images and the cards don't correlate ( to me it seems they made randon selections without regards to what they chose) it tells me that not only is it a non-sactioned deck but they people who slapped it together don't know crap about tarot to begin with! They could have copied scenes from the 'other' (and legal LOTR tarot) and had it make some sense. There was someone out there who was creating an illegal Star-Wars deck (not that I like Star Wars, in fact, I was unimpressed by it). There are such archetypes in SW that it screams to be a tarot deck. Rememeber~ every copy of something illegal that you buy supports an industry of pirates.

Rose	03 May 2005
I own the Lord of the Rings movie version tarot deck from Taiwan. It is clearly marked (in several places) that it is copyrighted to New Line Cinema so it is a sanctioned, legal deck. Many Asian decks that call themselves tarot are really just promotional items for movies, anime, TV etc. and don't relate the pictures to the card meanings. This deck is mainly a deck for Lord of the Rings movie fans but it does make some attempt at matching the pictures to the card meanings (although not always). As a fan of the Lord of the Rings movie I like the deck although I would never read with it as a tarot deck. The deck is well made and the quality of the pictures is good. I think the cheapest place to buy it from is yesasia.com I've ordered things from them and found them to be reliable. The ordering is in English but the titles are often in transliterated chinese so an ISBN number is helpful. The ISBN number is 9571029106 The title is MO JIE TA LUO PAI and it's $28.50 with shipping I am not a Lord of the Rings expert but I did make a list of what I believe are where the pictures came from in the movies. I don't read Chinese, so I'm just guessing. I'll list the Major Arcana now and post the Minor cards later. Major Arcana 0 Gollum crouching at cliff 1 Gandalf with staff, maybe at Edoras 2 Galadriel 3 Arwen in her wedding dress (Aragorn’s queen) 4 Aragorn as king 5 Aragorn’s coronation—he is being crowned by Gandalf 6 Aragorn and Arwen kissing 7 Aragorn riding on horse with sword—the battle of Pelenor (final battle) is in the background 8 Arwen (on her way to the boat to leave Middle Earth when she sees vision of future with Aragorn and Son) 9 Sam fighting off Shelob (in background) holding the light of Elendil 10 Eye of Sauron 11 Gandalf fighting at Black Gate (end of 3rd movie, while Frodo destroys the ring) 12 Treebeard and other Ents 13 Witchking 14 Galadriel (looking in mirror or might be when Frodo offers her the ring, and she refuses it) 15 Nazgul leaving Minas Morgul 16 Eye of Sauron and his tower in Mordor 17 Promo shot of Arwen 18 Saruman (moon in background) may be when he imprisons Gandalf on roof of Orthanc (first movie) 19 Aragorn (could be battle on Pelenor—final battle). The shield of Gondor (his kingdom) is in the foreground—the white tree of Gondor will bloom when the true king returns. The sun may be rising in the background. 20 Boromir blowing horn 21 Poster art—Frodo, Aragorn, Gollum, Arwen, Gandalf, Legolas fighting, elephants from south stampeding Rose

Rose	03 May 2005
Here's what I think is on the Minors. Most of the cards do not have pictures that correspond to card meanings. Again the deck is mainly meant as movie memorabilia. Wands A Gandalf (at Edoras) 2 Gandalf—promo shot 3 Legolas, Gandalf, and Aragorn arrive at Edoras to rescue King Theoden 4 Gandalf arrives at the Shire (first movie) for Bilbo’s party 5 Orc—with many staves in background 6 Gandalf—possibly about to lead the charge at Helm’s deep (to save Theoden, Aragorn, etc.)—end of second movie 7 Gandalf fighting off siege at Gondor 8 Gandalf fighting off siege at Gondor 9 Saruman --? looking down at Ents destroying Orthanc 10 Saruman (without staff) P Southern warrior Knight Aragorn on horse rallying troops/leading charge to Black Gate Q Eowyn holding sword—has blood on her hands King Elrond—promo shot Swords A Narsil reforged (being handed to Aragorn from Elrond) 2 Pippin and Merry with swords standing in flood at Orthanc, after the Ents have “cleansed the filth of Saruman.” 3 Aragorn reluctantly receiving reforged Narsil from Elrond. At this point in the story he is being told that Arwen is dying, her fate tied to the success of the ring’s destruction. Her pendant is visible around Aragorn’s neck. 4 Frodo, Pipping, Sam, and merry on Weathertop—they have been given swords by Aragorn, and are now under attack by the 9 ringwraiths (early in first movie) 5 Sam wielding Sting (against Shelob, after Frodo is stung by her) 6 Frodo fleeing from Shelob, with Sting and the light of Elendil 7 Aragorn with reforged Narsil 8 Sam fighting off Shelob with Sting and the light of Elendil 9 Legolas (This may be when they come upon burning bodies of Orcs, and wrongly think that Pippin and Merry are dead also) 10 Eomer P Frodo with Sting when Bilbo firsts gives it to him, early in first movie) Knight Aragorn promo shot Q Arwen with her sword—promo shot King Aragorn—now crowned King of Gondor Rings (Pentacles) A Ring 2 Bilbo admiring ring 3 Poster art –Frodo fighting off Shelob, Gollum, Sam, Arwen, Aragorn, and Gandalf 4 Smeagol admiring ring after killing his cousin for it 5 Legolas 6 Frodo unable to destroy the ring 7 - 10 Legolas P Frodo exhausted from carrying the ring Knight Legolas, with Sauron’s eye glowing and tower in background with battle raging Q Arwen King Elrond Cups A Denethor (drinking, telling Pippin to sing after sending his son Faramir to hopeless battle, Faramir is pictured in upper right corner) 2 Pippin and Merry dancing on table in pub (early in third movie) 3 Legolas 4 Frodo, Sam, Pippin, and Merry at end of third movie, when they’ve returned to the Shire making a bitterweet toast. 5 Aragorn—entering Faragorn forest (early second movie), after tracking Merry and Pippin (realized they escaped from Orc battle). He’s about to discover that Gandalf has been “resurrected.” 6 Aragorn’s coronation 7 Frodo—he seems to be staring at the light of elendil 8 Eowyn—promo shot, but probably meant to depict when she’s about to slay the Witchking. 9 Eowyn standing on ledge at Edoras looking dreamy 10 Aragorn and Arwen kissing (Arwen becoming his Queen) P Legolas Knight Eowyn getting ready to ride Q Galadriel King Aragorn (now crowned) with Arwen

MeeWah	03 May 2005
Rose: Wow--thanks so much for taking the time to share descriptions of the card images! Was not interested until I read through them :D

Cerulean	03 May 2005
Thank you so much Rose, as the beautiful descriptions inspired me to look at the trumps in a new way. Also the trumps/majors had me puzzled which pictures were where...I was going to obtain the extended DVD set at one point...now I think I will get the DVD while it's still available so I can also identify some of the tarot movie stills...I like the tarot set as a movie memorabilia item. Your descriptions are great. I'm going to add a twist here and there... Major Arcana 0. Gollum crouching at cliff - a Fool who followed his 'precious' to the ends of the earth, come what may. 1. Gandalf with staff, maybe at Edoras--the true Magician in this universe - I'll have to check if it's Gandalf the Gray or White 2. Galadriel - the High Priestess of the fabled dark woods, with the mirror that can read the hearts of men as if they were an open book 3. Arwen in her wedding dress (Aragorn’s queen) - the once and future Empress 4. Aragorn as king - after all he went through, crowned King of Gondor 5. Aragorn’s coronation—he is being crowned by Gandalf - also as the spiritual leader of Middle Earth that begins the Age of Man as the elves cross over into the Gray Havens 6. Aragorn and Arwen kissing - the New Age of Men 7. Aragorn riding on horse with sword—the battle of Pelenor (final battle) is in the background - the leader triumphant, harkening back to the Victory meaning of the Chariot 8. Arwen (on her way to the boat to leave Middle Earth when she sees vision of future with Aragorn and Son) - Strength or Justice - her power of foresight and her belief in her future changes or helps at a time when all others despair. Note also her powers decline after the choice to follow humankind 9. Sam fighting off Shelob (in background) holding the light of Elendil - if this was a Thoth-like tarot, the gates of Hell have the three-headed dog--in the Badlands, there's Shelob! 10. Eye of Sauron - Wheel of Fate or Fortune -- him....eye of the Sphynx? Turn of fate... 11. Gandalf fighting at Black Gate (end of 3rd movie, while Frodo destroys the ring) - Justice or Strength....if Justice, then it's what should have been done five thousand years earlier when the first mortal picked up the Ring...if Strength, then the Strength to destroy the Ring 12. Treebeard and other Ents - They have waited for the Entwives and hung around, growing moss for far too long. They must choose and sacrifice their neutrality to overcome the Shadow. 13. Witchking - Okay, that is a human turned into a wraith by his own greed--the former human kings under Sauron wielding rings that were too powerful for their will. 14. Galadriel (looking in mirror or might be when Frodo offers her the ring, and she refuses it) - Temperance. She chooses to not have the ring and diminish in power. 15. Nazgul leaving Minas Morgul - Death on a strange horse 16. Eye of Sauron and his tower in Mordor - Tower - yes, I can see this 17. Promo shot of Arwen - Star of Elendil necklace -- it becomes the light for Frodo and Sam... 18. Saruman (moon in background) may be when he imprisons Gandalf on roof of Orthanc (first movie) - the first nightmare is when Gandalf is believed dead. Gandalf has been deceived, along with others and has to escape. 19. Aragorn (could be battle on Pelenor—final battle). The shield of Gondor (his kingdom) is in the foreground—the white tree of Gondor will bloom when the true king returns. The sun may be rising in the background. - (Yes, that is the sign of the Sun!) 20. Boromir blowing horn - Judgement on the warrior as he works to redeem himself for scaring off Frodo; he turns in his last breath to Aragorn and acknowledges the kingship of Aragorn; Aragorn blesses the dying man. 21. Poster art—Frodo, Aragorn, Gollum, Arwen, Gandalf, Legolas fighting, elephants from south stampeding - the World....well, it's about the victory that perhaps changed the old world into the New. Excuse me that I did add notes from memory and may have got some of the ideas wrong...your descriptions inspire me to look at this again when I get the extended DVD... New Line Cinema only licensed it as a 'tarot' to Taiwan--but I bet fans like us are making the Taiwan publisher very happy! Too bad that the New Line Cinema marketing people didn't think of marketing an English or European-language set.... Cerulean

WolfSpirit	04 May 2005
Quote: Too bad that the New Line Cinema marketing people didn't think of marketing an English or European-language set.... Maybe they are secretly working on a worldwide good tarot deck based on Alan Lee's drawings. Well, a girl can dream, can't she ;)

WolfSpirit	07 May 2005
For those of you interested - I just posted a reading with this deck in the "Your readings" section. I just wanted to try it out. And I wonder if more people use/have used it for readings ? If so, how ?

Cerulean	08 May 2005
in the exchange. I am going to use this as a placeholder as well to post reading impressions. Regards, Cerulean

Khatruman	22 May 2005
Just got this deck, which I bought through Tarot Garden. I have just sold my other two LotR related decks, so here is one I want to keep. I am disappointed that there isn't some easier symbology on the minors to distinguish the suits. Many are easy, in that pictures were chosen that have an emblem of the suit in them, but others are not so easy. I haven't tried reading with them yet, but perhaps I can ask those who do have it about the shuffle-ability of them. Card stock seems a tad thin, and many of the cards were stuck together when I first opened them. Another thing I wonder about is why there are no Ent cards in the wands suit. Ahh, well, I am sure that there wasn't a heck of a lot of tarot study work done into the choices, but being that tarot is a more deeply intuitive thing, I may experiment in seeing how well I can correspond these cards with traditional meanings (I have no clue what the book says, being that it is all in Chinese... ahh, but another reason to pull an Umbrae and ignore the book :D)

WolfSpirit	23 May 2005
I don't remember if I had cards stuck together when I got the deck, I don't think so. My cards never stick together now but they are a bit thin and will probably soon show wear; but I don't shuffle very much, I always fan the cards and pick the cards I want and only do a bit of shuffling. I am a big fan of the Ents and am sorry they are not in the deck apart from Treebeard. Other characters I miss are Gimli, Theoden and Faramir.

Tsuzuki	24 May 2005
Rose wrote: I own the Lord of the Rings movie version tarot deck from Taiwan. It is clearly marked (in several places) that it is copyrighted to New Line Cinema so it is a sanctioned, legal deck. Just because it says it is doesn't mean it is. :P

Lasiren	24 May 2005
Personally, neither of the Lord of the Rings decks appeals to me. The first one (deck/card game) just appears ugly to me. And the second one...I don't know. I don't like that it seems mostly to be just stills from the movies. Maybe I'm just old-fashioned (too "classic", they would say in the movie biz...though I'm of pretty tender years), but I like a tarot deck to appear functional.

The Lord of the rings tarot thread was originally posted on 02 May 2005 in the Tarot Decks board, and is now archived in the Forum Library. Read the active threads in Tarot Decks, or read more archived threads.