Tarot (trope)

<Some sentence of context for what tarot is>. Usually, the tarot referred to is that of the Rider-Waite decks of 78 cards - which has 22 Major Arcana and 56 minor Arcana, with 14 cards per suit of Pentacles, Swords, Cups and Wands. However, other variants exist, including sometimes fictional variants, or this traditional format is modified.
<Paragraph about how this is used in fandom. Ways include doing readings for characters in media.> More commonly, fans may make art of the fandom in ways that draw from the style of Tarot, the idea of a card with a great deal of symbolism, or the symbolism of the tarot. 
Fanart Tarot shows more examples of this type of full fanwork, where fans either singly or collectively tackle the task of designing a tarot deck. This page will cover the use of tarot as a trope and the symbolism of tarot and specific cards in Tarot with examples across fanart.
==Use in professional media/canons==
Some characters are very associated with canon
* Black Swan (Honkai:Star Rail)
Some iterations of fictional tarot of varying popularity
* Dungeons and Dragons
Canons which draw heavily on tarot symbolism / meanings?
* The Arcana, an otome game
* Dragon Age, an RPG game, drew on Tarot inspiration for certain art in Dragon Age:Inquisition, the third game in the series. See Tarot (Dragon Age) for more on this specific trope
==Major Arcana Examples==
Each card has different symbolism, and the 22 major Arcana have a symbolic arc of the Fool's journey. The following sections can describe the symbolism of the card and how it is represented in different fandoms.
===00 The Fool===
The Fool generally means the beginning of a journey, and so in fandom it is often represented by the protagonist at the start of a series. However, its name also leads some to use comic relief characters or those who joke around more.
File:Jester - The Fool by Ioana-Muresan.jpg|The Fool: Jester Lavorre - Ioana-Muresan (November 4, 2018)
===01 The Magician===
File:The Magician.jpg|The Magician: Tony - Mercury (10 November 2013)
File:Caleb - The Magician by Ioana-Muresan.jpg|The Magician: Caleb Widogast - Ioana-Muresan (November 10, 2018) 
===02 The High Priestess===
In fanworks, usually (though not always) a female/feminine character with mysterious /secretive energy, sometimes wisdom
* card by auchrach of Banyue from Heavens' Official Blessing
===03 The Hierophant===
File:The Hierophant.jpg|The Hierophant: Phil - Chiron (11 April 2014)(Art Deco Avengers Tarot)
===06 The Lovers===
For obvious reasons, this card is very popular with ship art. The actual symbolism of the card (aside from love, partnerships and commitment) often alludes to a choice or crossroads.
File:The Lover.jpg|The Lover: Natasha&Clint - Aphrodite&Adonis (1 March 2014)(Art Deco Avengers Tarot)
File:The Lovers by Giza Possato.jpg| The Lovers (Hawke and Fenris) - Giza (Gisele) Possato (January 19, 2016)
* Good Omens
===08 Strength===
Strength is usually depicted as a lady gently closing the jaws of a lion.
File:Strength.jpg|Strength: Steve - Herakles (11 December 2013)(Art Deco Avengers Tarot)
===09 The Hermit===
File:The Hermit.jpg|The Hermit: Bruce - Cronus (20 December 2013)(Art Deco Avengers Tarot)
===11 Justice===
In Rider Waite Tarot, Justice is traditionally depicted as a man holding scales and a sword. 
* card by auchrach of Xie Lian and Jun Wu from Heavens' Official Blessing.
===13 The Devil===
File:The Devil.jpg|The Devil: Loki - Pan (Art Deco Avengers Tarot)
File:Molly XIII - Death by Ioana-Muresan.jpg| Molly XIII-Death (Mollymauk "Molly" Tealeaf) - Ioana-Muresan (Dedember 20, 2018)
File:Seto Kaiba Tarot by alphavanilla.jpg|Tarot commission - Yu Gi Oh Seto Kaiba - alphavanilla (November 8, 2022)
===19 The Sun===
File:The Sun.jpg|The Sun: Thor - Apollo (2 November 2013)(Art Deco Avengers Tarot)
==Minor Arcana==
While less common, some fanart draws on symbolism in the minor arcana, or around imagining the suits in different ways.
File:Inkeyjay8ofcupsChappellRoan.jpg|[ by inkeyjay, September 2024
===Minor Tarot in media + how it emerges in fanart===
* Agatha all along draws on Tarot card symbolism. The titular character Agatha is closely aligned to the 3 of Swords. As seen in this tumblr edit by @itsumonandodemo, the symbolism is rife in the show. Fanart like by @alana.rene.art on Threads and this piece by @shinzchang on Instagram also draw on the imagery.
Category:Visual ArtCategory:Tarot Decks