The Ring Cycle Tarot

Ambitious project linking tarot to the mythology and symbolism of Wagner's epic four-part music drama, The Ring of the Nibelung. For the uninitiated, author Allegra Printz goes into sufficient detail of Wagner's masterwork, and the Norse legends upon which it was based. Printz uses the illustrations of Arthur Rackham for the basis of each image. matching the latter's 1911 illustrations of the story to the cards' meanings when possible, and employing a creative bit of cut-and-paste when not. The major arcana retain their traditional names, but also bear the names of the characters and elements from the opera with which they've been aligned. The suit names have been altered as follows: Gods (= Wands), Walsungs (demigods; = Cups), Gibichungs (mortals; = Swords), and Nibelungs (dwarves; = Pentacles).