A unconventional deck of daydreams and nightmares! This deck presents the 78 cards of the tarot as seen through the mind of 15th-century Dutch painter, Hieronymus Bosch. The Deck contains a Major Arcana with unique card names and 7 Minor Arcana suites with 5 court cards and aces each for a total of 78 cards.
There are few artists whose work has sustained its power to shock, amaze, and delight audiences for over 500 years, but anyone who views The Garden of Earthly Delights will surely experience all three of those emotions at once. Although Hieronymus Bosch has a reputation as a brilliant madman, in his time he was regarded as a master of art. His unique dreamlike style led him to be crowned the first surrealist in a period where the artistic consensus was one of realism.
Renowned occultist and bestselling author, Travis McHenry, has painstakingly isolated scenes and characters from Bosch's most famous paintings to create singular images that convey mystical meaning, while capturing the philosophical spirit of traditional tarot cards.
The result is a deck that is beautiful, inspirational, and unlike anything you've ever seen before.
Sometimes humorous, sometimes haunting, but always captivating, The Hieronymus Bosch Tarot will be treasured both as a divination tool and as an occult work of art. A special feature of this deck is the top box which features two open-out panels with magnetic closure that reveal The Garden of Earthly Delights full image.
Specs
78 Cards Measure 2.75 x 4.75 inches
Contains: 78 cards and instruction book in cardboard storage box
Major Arcana
The Major Arcana of this deck follows the same basic meanings of previous Tarot decks, and many comparisons can be made between it and the Rider-Waite Tarot, however some of the names of the cards have been changed as well as the artwork.
The cards are, in order from 0 to 21:
- The Wayfarer
- The Conjurer
- The Mistress of Terror
- The Virgin Mother
- The Kings of the East
- The Surgeon
- The Lovers
- Deception
- Ignorance
- Illumination
- Table of Plenty
- The Flower Pusher
- The Barrel Boy
- Death
- Paradise
- Temptation
- The River to Hell
- The Dreamer
- The Grail Knight
- The Christ Child
- Ascent of the Blessed
- The World
Minor Arcana
The Minor Arcana of this deck is radically different from any previous Tarot deck, yet it still shares many of the themes and imagery found in previous decks. It is divided into eight suits of seven cards each. The new suits were derived from symbols that recur throughout Bosch's paintings.
| Suit Name | Element | Overall Meaning of Suit |
|---|---|---|
| Berries | Earth | Abundance, fertility, harmony, joy, friendship |
| Birds | Air | Movement, travel, personal growth |
| Skates | Water and Metal | Trouble, difficulties, indecision, fun |
| Swords | Metal | Skill and ability, conflict, victory |
| Vessels | Water | Untamed activity, blessings, sins and salvation |
| Books | Earth and Air | Knowledge, intelligence, learning |
| Coins | Metal | Business, career, success, wealth, money |
| Sins | Fire | The troubles and desires of the human condition |
Court cards
Because each suit contains only seven cards (a number determined by Bosch's Seven Deadly Sins painting), all the cards in the Minor Arcana are Court Cards.
- Page - Most basic understanding of the suit.
- Knight - Ambitious, active member of the suit.
- Baron - The lowest octave of the suit.
- Prince / Princess - Mastery of the suit.
- Queen - Mature, female mastery of the suit.
- King - Mature, male mastery of the suit.
- Ace - All encompassing meaning of the suit.
Creator
Travis McHenry
Travis McHenry is widely known as being one of the foremost occultists of the modern era. He has written books on the history of the tarot and a memoir about his 10-year research into paranormal phenomena. A native of rural Pennsylvania, Travis grew up surrounded by the folklore of the Appalachian Mountains, which shaped his desire to uncover and share the historical truths hidden behind mythological stories.
He began studying the dark arts in the late 1990s, when he stumbled upon a secretive coven of witches who subsequently befriended him and allowed him to publish the first written history of their magical tradition. Travis has been a student of many religions including Buddhism, Jainism, Hinduism and the Greek Pantheon, and was even an ordained deacon in the Baptist Church. This diverse spiritual background has given him a unique insight into harnessing the divine energies found in cultural groups around the world. His formal education in anthropology helps balance his spiritual training with a scientific mindset.
From 2001 to 2008 Travis served as an intelligence specialist in the United States navy, where he used his powers of analysis and research to track terrorist groups and determine the military capabilities of foreign countries.
