Celtic Tarot

Mind Body & Soul Ezine Card Deck Review: Celtic Tarot by Kristoffer Hughes with illustrations by Chris Down, Quality presentation boxed set of 78 cards with accompanying full colour book published by Llewellyn Publications. Cost: £22.34

This deck is designed to connect the tarot with Celtic folklore and therefore embrace the power and magic of Celtic mysteries through the medium of the tarot cards.The book includes a brief history of tarot cards and explains who the Celtic peoples were and what their mysteries entailed. Also how to work with tarot. The Kabbalah is included. Trees were important and are included as a device within readings. The major arcana is divided into three parts from the roots to trunk and then branches.

The Major cards have an image, number and title, a text of explanation for each card, a divinatory meaning and a reversed meaning. There are also keywords and a legend written from the perspective of the card itself as though a channelled message.


I liked working with this deck which gives novel and interesting readings. Very quickly I felt the energy of this deck, which is good for personal readings as well as for readings for other people. The book has enlarged images of the cards which are impressive and enjoyable. I am recommending this deck for all tarot readers and tarot card collectors, and those with an interest in Celtic folklore.
The book suggests a three card reading for the self or the deck can be used for readings for others. It is ideal for beginners but can also be used by experienced mediums. Some of the majors are renamed, for instance The Hierophant is The Druid, The Hermit is The Merlin, Temperance is Equilibrium, The Devil is The Shadow and The Judgment is Rebirth. Spreads are: 11 card Celtic Cross, 4 card Triskele, 9 card Relationship Spread.

The author, Kristoffer Hughes is a well qualified author. He has years of experience of Celtic lore and tradition, and many accolades including being the Chief of Anglesey Druid Order. He provides the deck with an authentic Celtic message : www.kristofferhughes.com

The artwork is provided by Chris Down, a book illustrator inspired in ancient, imaginary and mythic art of dragons, fairies and mermaids. He also specialises in Celtic art: www.chrisdown.co.uk
The artist, Chris Down, has provided the following information about his collaboration: “Creating the Celtic Tarot was unlike any other commission I have had. Not simply for the scale of the project but the extent of its collaborative nature. Numerous people willingly posed for the cards and for the entirely of its near three year creation, I was in contact with Kris the author almost daily. There was a constant dialogue between us, as the cards were refined to their final images. One thing I was certain of from the beginning that the deck was one which would be imbued with meaning and could be read above all else. That readability was my prime intent when producing it. Aiding that intent was producing the deck digitally. That allowed much refinement and easy alteration when Kris wanted it. To get it right.

"Every card started with a simple hand drawn sketch though. I would print out Kris’s description for the card and on the lower half of that page would sketch out my design idea. These preliminary sketches I kept close to me at all times, they contained the heart of this Tarot. Those sketches formed base templates from which I would get someone to pose for the figurative parts of the cards. From a photograph of the pose, I would produce a detailed pencil drawing. That drawing got scanned in and the painting began.

"Certain objects and their location all had meaning, using layers allowed those objects positions to be refined. Colours also had meaning. Sometimes subtle colour shifts would occur to get it right. It was a balance between what looked artistically right and what was right for the meaning in the card. When I started this, I told Kris I would give over my artistic output to realising his vision. He always had the final say on each card. That was important!

"My art is digital painting not photomanulation. I paint with a Wacom tablet using a graphics pen. I block in rough colours in an oil style and refine and develop the image using a combination of oil, watercolour and airbrush techniques. Where I have used photo reference from the web I repaint the objects to blend in with everything in the image. For the figures they are all people who posed for me specifically for this and I then draw in pencil before painting. On one or two figures I painted over the photo I took but that was exception rather than rule. I did paint some items separately and used layers to assemble on final canvas. It is certainly NOT the large part manipulated from images downloaded from the internet. Far from it. As I say, there was some reference, such as the bird in the Ace of Cauldrons where I found a photo of the bird Kris wanted then repainted it so it blended with the rest of the painting.

"This is how I paint. https://chrisdown.co.uk/anatomy-of-a-painting/
The techniques I used for the Celtic tarot were just the same, simply the scale is much expanded.

Review: Wendy Stokes https://.wendystokes.co.uk