Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Changed line(s) 11,12 (click to see context) from:
* ''Literature/TheChroniclesOfAmber'' series has a deck of magical cards called Tarot used for communication and to transport oneself from one world to another using the "Trumps" (another name for the Major Arcana). There's a few full fledged Tarot decks made as merchandising for the series or the Tabletop RPG. Some people believe that the most gorgeous of them was the classical Marseille deck by Florence Magnin.
** Images from the Major Arcana appear in the books as well. One scene had a man hanging upside down from a tree = The Hanged Man. Another image during a hellride through Shadow had a crown in the air with a sword vertical through it = Ace of Swords. There may well have been many more references scattered through the books. Descriptions, unfortunately, don't always bring the image of a specific Tarot card to mind.
** Images from the Major Arcana appear in the books as well. One scene had a man hanging upside down from a tree = The Hanged Man. Another image during a hellride through Shadow had a crown in the air with a sword vertical through it = Ace of Swords. There may well have been many more references scattered through the books. Descriptions, unfortunately, don't always bring the image of a specific Tarot card to mind.
to:
* ''Literature/TheChroniclesOfAmber'' series by Creator/RogerZelazny has a deck decks of magical Tarot cards called Tarot used that the ruling family of Amber uses for communication and to transport oneself from transportation. Each member of the family is represented by one world to another using of the "Trumps" (another name for the (Major Arcana), and their card can be used both as a means of magically video-calling them, and, with their consent, a means of teleporting to their location (by reaching through and having them pull your hand). It is not made particularly explicit what, if any, specific Major Arcana). Arcana each family member corresponds to, beyond the idea that Oberon is probably the Emperor, and it's also possible to make new cards for new family members, or to try very hard to connect to a family member using a regular face card from a poker deck as the receiving Trump.
** There's a few full fledged Tarot decks made as merchandising for the series or the Tabletop RPG. Some people believe that the most gorgeous of them was the classical Marseille deck by Florence Magnin.
**Images Motifs from the Major Arcana appear as imagery in the books as well. One In one scene had in the second book, Corwin finds a man hanging upside down from a tree = The tree, which references the Hanged Man. Man, and at one point the protagonist Corwin has an image in his head of his family all chained to a giant water wheel, rising and falling in turn, which he explicitly calls an image of the Wheel of Fortune. Another image during a hellride seen while traveling through Shadow had a crown in the air with a sword vertical through it = it, which is the traditional iconography of the Ace of Swords. There may well have been many more references scattered through the books. Descriptions, unfortunately, don't always bring the image of a specific Tarot card to mind.Swords.
** There's a few full fledged Tarot decks made as merchandising for the series or the Tabletop RPG. Some people believe that the most gorgeous of them was the classical Marseille deck by Florence Magnin.
**
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
If it's "arguable" then it's not an example
Deleted line(s) 5 (click to see context) :
** Arguably, the items of the Four Founders could be a reference to Minor Arcana: Hufflepuff's cup, Gryffindor's sword and Slytherins's locket. However, Ravenclaw's tiara does not correspond with the wand arcana (presumably because wands are nothing new in the series).
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
misuse
Changed line(s) 34 (click to see context) from:
* Several ''Literature/{{Stravaganza}}'' books involve one of the characters making a tarot reading, the meaning of which becomes clear by the end. Notably, the Talian decks have different [[FourElementEnsemble suits]]: [[DishingOutDirt Serpents]], [[PlayingWithFire Salamanders]], [[MakingASplash Fishes]] and [[BlowYouAway Birds]].
to:
* Several ''Literature/{{Stravaganza}}'' books involve one of the characters making a tarot reading, the meaning of which becomes clear by the end. Notably, the Talian decks have different [[FourElementEnsemble suits]]: [[DishingOutDirt Serpents]], [[PlayingWithFire Salamanders]], [[MakingASplash Fishes]] suits with ElementalMotifs: Serpents which are linked to Earth, Salamanders linked to fire, Fishes linked to water, and [[BlowYouAway Birds]].Birds linked to air.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Changed line(s) 38 (click to see context) from:
* ''LightNovel/ACertainMagicalIndex'': This seems to be a common factor amongst ''Golden Style'' magicians as they use the symbols and suits of the tarot to shape their magic.
to:
* ''LightNovel/ACertainMagicalIndex'': ''Literature/ACertainMagicalIndex'': This seems to be a common factor amongst ''Golden Style'' magicians as they use the symbols and suits of the tarot to shape their magic.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Added DiffLines:
* Creator/PiersAnthony:
** Anthony used a lot of Tarot Motifs in his ''Literature/{{Cluster}}'' cycle. There were space ships that took the forms of the four suits.
** Tarot cards and their history are also the central theme of his early ''Tarot'' trilogy.
* ''Franchise/HarryPotter'' used Tarot symbolism a couple of times, most obviously in a the chapter called "The Lightning-Struck Tower" in which [[spoiler:Dumbledore died]] and the Tarot divination seance done by Trelawney which Harry spied on. It's also arguable that Snape has been made intentionally in a Hanged Man figure with the image of his young self under the spell of Levicorpus -- he certainly fits the meaning.
** Arguably, the items of the Four Founders could be a reference to Minor Arcana: Hufflepuff's cup, Gryffindor's sword and Slytherins's locket. However, Ravenclaw's tiara does not correspond with the wand arcana (presumably because wands are nothing new in the series).
* Parodied with the ''Literature/{{Discworld}}'' Caroc deck, which includes cards such as The Importance Of Washing The Hands instead of Temperance. In ''Literature/{{Mort}}'' Princess Keli takes Death out of the pack three times in a row... without putting it back. This is a bad sign.
* One ''Literature/WildCards'' book features a variant with Rosa Loteria, an Ace whose powers depend on which card she draws out of a Mexican ''loteria'' deck.
* In Emma Bull's book ''Literature/BoneDance'', Tarot itself plays a large role, and the chapters are set up like an actual Tarot reading.
* At the end of ''Literature/TheGunslinger'', the Man in Black tells Roland's future (and foreshadows the plots of the next two books) with a tarot deck.
* Used prominently, correctly ''and'' cleverly in Creator/MercedesLackey's ''Literature/PhoenixAndAshes'' as a training tool for the female protagonist, as she studies magic and wanders a dream world encountering special beings that masquerade as the tarot cards. Heavily implied to be something her mother arranged so that, if something happened, her daughter would still get the knowledge and experience she needed to control and use her fire magic.
* ''Literature/LastCall'' by Creator/TimPowers runs on this (combined with a poker motif). The central conflict of the book is a contest to either become or remain The King, and probably every named character represents a card.
* ''Literature/TheChroniclesOfAmber'' series has a deck of magical cards called Tarot used for communication and to transport oneself from one world to another using the "Trumps" (another name for the Major Arcana). There's a few full fledged Tarot decks made as merchandising for the series or the Tabletop RPG. Some people believe that the most gorgeous of them was the classical Marseille deck by Florence Magnin.
** Images from the Major Arcana appear in the books as well. One scene had a man hanging upside down from a tree = The Hanged Man. Another image during a hellride through Shadow had a crown in the air with a sword vertical through it = Ace of Swords. There may well have been many more references scattered through the books. Descriptions, unfortunately, don't always bring the image of a specific Tarot card to mind.
* In ''Literature/JonathanStrangeAndMrNorrell'', Childermass has a deck of Marseilles cards that predicts a number of events, which all become clear in retrospect -- and some earlier.
* Within the ''Gates of Ivory'' trilogy by Doris Egan, Theodora of Pyrene is hired by one of the aristocrats for her Tarot reading skill. It turns out that much of his business success is because his family possesses a magical deck which provides accurate (and immersive) predictions, but only works for one person at a time and it's chosen her.
* In Creator/SandyMitchell's ''Literature/CiaphasCain'' novels, tarot is an analogue to poker, with [[TabletopGame/Warhammer40000 40K]] imagery used for some of the major cards.
* In the ''Literature/AstraMilitarum'' novel ''Cadian Blood'', the regiment's sanctioned psyker, having read the cards, boldly asks to speak with the SpaceMarine librarian about "the Emperor's Tarot". This conversation leads to a general warning. The card imagery is ''all'' ''TabletopGame/Warhammer40000''.
* In Creator/DanAbnett's Literature/GauntsGhosts novel ''Blood Pact'', Daur at one point plays with cards to pass time; some of the imagery is Warhammer 40000.
** It would, incidentally, be difficult to get a deck that was consistent with all three novels without its being enormous.
* In Christie Golden's ''TabletopGame/{{Ravenloft}}'' novel ''Vampire of the Mists'', Jander Sunstar has the cards read for him. Death appears -- the reader tells him it doesn't necessarily mean death, but he thinks it does. The Tower appears and she likes that considerably less. Then the Sun and she thinks it good news and he does not like it at all. (You see, he's a vampire.)
* In the first Literature/CircleOfThree book, the Three of Cups is integral to convincing Kate to stay friends with Annie and Cooper and pursue magical studies with them. The plot of the fourth novel revolves around Annie's new-found talent with the Tarot.
* In ''Literature/TheEagleHasLanded'', by Jack Higgins, the Nazi officers being sent to assassinate Winston Churchill are given a Tarot reading at one point. One draws Death, and is told that it's possibly a good omen; when the commander's card is drawn, the psychic immediately puts it back in the deck without showing him and lies that it was Strength (it was actually [[spoiler: The Hanged Man]]). Guess which one of them lives.
* In the ''Literature/ThievesWorld'' setting, the Tarot-like deck is used by [[UsefulNotes/{{Romani}} S'Danzo]] fortune-tellers and once in a while a complex reading becomes plot-relevant.
* Creator/SamuelRDelany's ''Literature/{{Nova}}'' is a science fiction novel that includes a running theme of Tarot readings and imagery amid the cyborgs and starships. One curious thing is that a [[UsefulNotes/{{Romani}} Romany]] character states that his people consider the Tarot to be utter BS, and a scholar is astonished by this: how could anyone intelligent ''not'' believe in Tarot?
* Steven Erikson's ''Literature/MalazanBookOfTheFallen'' series uses tarot imagery with an interesting twist. The "Deck of Dragons" is organized into Houses based on a certain theme (Light, Death, Shadow ect.) with a smattering of Unaligned which correlate strongly to the Major Arcana with such concepts as chance, wisdom, and authority. The twist is that these cards often represent actual characters from the series and that who embodies each card is subject to change based on events in the books (for example when certain characters die they then take positions in the House of Death). So the Deck not only can be used to predict the future but to also describe the present state of supernatural politics.
* ''Literature/TheDarkswordTrilogy'' has a clear equivalent in the form of "Tarok" cards. [[TheHero Joram]] is represented by the King of Swords card; [[TheFool Simkin]] by the Fool.
* In ''Literature/DuneMessiah'', we're occasionally given details of a new tarot deck that was recently issued and uses symbolism based on Paul's reign as emperor. This actually turns out to be a plot point; the deck was issued by a conspiracy against Paul, since the sheer number of people attempting to read the future (albeit ineptly) creates a constant prescient static which causes Paul to ignore any signs of static he gets around the conspiracy (prescients have trouble seeing things around other prescients).
* In the ''Literature/NewJediOrder'', Droma, a member of the space-faring Ryn species that are [[FantasticRacism hated and reviled]] for their [[WhatDoYouMeanItsNotSymbolic Gypsy-like ways]], successfully reads Han Solo's fortune using the sabacc deck. Its cards seem to be a combination of Tarot's Arcana with a few fey elements thrown in (the Queen of Air and Darkness, for example, the ruler of the Unseelie Court in ''Dungeons & Dragons''), all of it given a ''Star Wars'' flavor.
* Creator/CharlesWilliams wrote several modern fantasy novels, including ''The Greater Trumps'', which is all about Tarot -- specifically the One True Original Tarot Deck, the only one that can really tell fortunes (and control the elements), and the magical self-playing chess-like collection of images linked to the deck.
* In Valerie Worth's novel ''Gypsy Gold'', Bella reads Miranda's fortune using these cards.
* Sarah Monette's ''Literature/DoctrineOfLabyrinths'' features the Sibylline. Though obviously analogous to the Tarot, the trumps include such cards as the Parliament of Bees, the Two-Handed Engine, the Hermaphrodite, and the Heart of Light. Minor arcana are sometimes used in readings.
* Ru Emerson's ''The Princess of Flames'' makes use of a fantasy version; the title is one of the cards.
* Lani Diane Rich's ''The Fortune Quilt'' repeatedly uses the phrase "Towered" as a reference to having one's entire life trashed and having to start over again. (It also features a psychic quilt designer.)
* Several ''Literature/{{Stravaganza}}'' books involve one of the characters making a tarot reading, the meaning of which becomes clear by the end. Notably, the Talian decks have different [[FourElementEnsemble suits]]: [[DishingOutDirt Serpents]], [[PlayingWithFire Salamanders]], [[MakingASplash Fishes]] and [[BlowYouAway Birds]].
* In Erin Morgenstern's ''Literature/TheNightCircus'', Isobel uses the tarot to tell fortunes at the titular circus. The Magician card frequently turns up in relation to Marco and Celia, two powerful magic-users locked in a high-stakes competition with the circus as their stage, and Isobel actually removes the Temperance card from her deck and stores it in a safe place in an effort to keep their warring forces from getting out of control. When she removes the card's protection in a fit of anger after learning that Marco is in love with Celia and not her, bad things happen.
* Greer Gilman's amazing ''Literature/{{Moonwise}}'' has Ariane and Sylvie doing WorldBuilding by laying out cards (handmade by Ariane, with woodcut illustrations) to create stories. In their worlds, the events we think of as fairytale or folklore actually happened, and the symbols on the cards reflect this. Elsewhere, the narrative mentions that Ariane is a packrat and that the huge pockets of her BadassLongcoat contain "packs of greasy tarot" among other things.
* Another richly intricate fantasy novel, ''Literature/LittleBigOrTheFairiesParliament'', has a deck that's been used by members of the Drinkwater family for generations. At one point August Drinkwater steals it and hands it over to the fairies in exchange for becoming sexually irresistable. [[BeCarefulWhatYouWishFor He later regrets this]], and demands to call off the deal and get the cards back. Upon their return, the cards work a little differently but are actually changed for the better.
* ''LightNovel/ACertainMagicalIndex'': This seems to be a common factor amongst ''Golden Style'' magicians as they use the symbols and suits of the tarot to shape their magic.
** PlayingWithFire: The staff or wand suit.
** BlowYouAway: The sword suit.
** MakingASplash: The cup or chalice suit.
** DishingOutDirt: The coin suit.
* John Sandford's ''Kidd'' series of novels all feature tarot motifs in their titles.
* Each chapter in William Lindsay Gresham's ''Literature/NightmareAlley'' begins with the image and description of a different tarot card of the Major Arcana, there are 22 chapters just as there are 22 cards. Each card relates in some way to the events contained within the chapter, for instance the chapter when Zeena first starts teaching Stan her mentalist act is represented by 'The High Priestess' card, symbolizing 'hidden knowledge, wisdom, female mystery and magic'.
* In ''Literature/SmallMedium'', Chase has an inherited Fortuna deck that is obviously a stylized Tarot deck, albeit customized to the setting, with "The Fool" instead being named "The Noob" and containing cards such as "The Elementalist" (signifying change, often traumatic) and "The Griefer" (senseless destruction) as well as slightly differenty minor arcana (the "Page of Warriors" appears early on, complete with a lampshading that they half expected the deck to be solely major arcana).
* Theodora, of ''Literature/TheGateOfIvory'', is making her living at the beginning of the book doing tarot readings in the marketplace. Ran introduces her to the Ivoran version, which has very similar cards, and which she can use to not only read his future, but to project herself into events.
----
** Anthony used a lot of Tarot Motifs in his ''Literature/{{Cluster}}'' cycle. There were space ships that took the forms of the four suits.
** Tarot cards and their history are also the central theme of his early ''Tarot'' trilogy.
* ''Franchise/HarryPotter'' used Tarot symbolism a couple of times, most obviously in a the chapter called "The Lightning-Struck Tower" in which [[spoiler:Dumbledore died]] and the Tarot divination seance done by Trelawney which Harry spied on. It's also arguable that Snape has been made intentionally in a Hanged Man figure with the image of his young self under the spell of Levicorpus -- he certainly fits the meaning.
** Arguably, the items of the Four Founders could be a reference to Minor Arcana: Hufflepuff's cup, Gryffindor's sword and Slytherins's locket. However, Ravenclaw's tiara does not correspond with the wand arcana (presumably because wands are nothing new in the series).
* Parodied with the ''Literature/{{Discworld}}'' Caroc deck, which includes cards such as The Importance Of Washing The Hands instead of Temperance. In ''Literature/{{Mort}}'' Princess Keli takes Death out of the pack three times in a row... without putting it back. This is a bad sign.
* One ''Literature/WildCards'' book features a variant with Rosa Loteria, an Ace whose powers depend on which card she draws out of a Mexican ''loteria'' deck.
* In Emma Bull's book ''Literature/BoneDance'', Tarot itself plays a large role, and the chapters are set up like an actual Tarot reading.
* At the end of ''Literature/TheGunslinger'', the Man in Black tells Roland's future (and foreshadows the plots of the next two books) with a tarot deck.
* Used prominently, correctly ''and'' cleverly in Creator/MercedesLackey's ''Literature/PhoenixAndAshes'' as a training tool for the female protagonist, as she studies magic and wanders a dream world encountering special beings that masquerade as the tarot cards. Heavily implied to be something her mother arranged so that, if something happened, her daughter would still get the knowledge and experience she needed to control and use her fire magic.
* ''Literature/LastCall'' by Creator/TimPowers runs on this (combined with a poker motif). The central conflict of the book is a contest to either become or remain The King, and probably every named character represents a card.
* ''Literature/TheChroniclesOfAmber'' series has a deck of magical cards called Tarot used for communication and to transport oneself from one world to another using the "Trumps" (another name for the Major Arcana). There's a few full fledged Tarot decks made as merchandising for the series or the Tabletop RPG. Some people believe that the most gorgeous of them was the classical Marseille deck by Florence Magnin.
** Images from the Major Arcana appear in the books as well. One scene had a man hanging upside down from a tree = The Hanged Man. Another image during a hellride through Shadow had a crown in the air with a sword vertical through it = Ace of Swords. There may well have been many more references scattered through the books. Descriptions, unfortunately, don't always bring the image of a specific Tarot card to mind.
* In ''Literature/JonathanStrangeAndMrNorrell'', Childermass has a deck of Marseilles cards that predicts a number of events, which all become clear in retrospect -- and some earlier.
* Within the ''Gates of Ivory'' trilogy by Doris Egan, Theodora of Pyrene is hired by one of the aristocrats for her Tarot reading skill. It turns out that much of his business success is because his family possesses a magical deck which provides accurate (and immersive) predictions, but only works for one person at a time and it's chosen her.
* In Creator/SandyMitchell's ''Literature/CiaphasCain'' novels, tarot is an analogue to poker, with [[TabletopGame/Warhammer40000 40K]] imagery used for some of the major cards.
* In the ''Literature/AstraMilitarum'' novel ''Cadian Blood'', the regiment's sanctioned psyker, having read the cards, boldly asks to speak with the SpaceMarine librarian about "the Emperor's Tarot". This conversation leads to a general warning. The card imagery is ''all'' ''TabletopGame/Warhammer40000''.
* In Creator/DanAbnett's Literature/GauntsGhosts novel ''Blood Pact'', Daur at one point plays with cards to pass time; some of the imagery is Warhammer 40000.
** It would, incidentally, be difficult to get a deck that was consistent with all three novels without its being enormous.
* In Christie Golden's ''TabletopGame/{{Ravenloft}}'' novel ''Vampire of the Mists'', Jander Sunstar has the cards read for him. Death appears -- the reader tells him it doesn't necessarily mean death, but he thinks it does. The Tower appears and she likes that considerably less. Then the Sun and she thinks it good news and he does not like it at all. (You see, he's a vampire.)
* In the first Literature/CircleOfThree book, the Three of Cups is integral to convincing Kate to stay friends with Annie and Cooper and pursue magical studies with them. The plot of the fourth novel revolves around Annie's new-found talent with the Tarot.
* In ''Literature/TheEagleHasLanded'', by Jack Higgins, the Nazi officers being sent to assassinate Winston Churchill are given a Tarot reading at one point. One draws Death, and is told that it's possibly a good omen; when the commander's card is drawn, the psychic immediately puts it back in the deck without showing him and lies that it was Strength (it was actually [[spoiler: The Hanged Man]]). Guess which one of them lives.
* In the ''Literature/ThievesWorld'' setting, the Tarot-like deck is used by [[UsefulNotes/{{Romani}} S'Danzo]] fortune-tellers and once in a while a complex reading becomes plot-relevant.
* Creator/SamuelRDelany's ''Literature/{{Nova}}'' is a science fiction novel that includes a running theme of Tarot readings and imagery amid the cyborgs and starships. One curious thing is that a [[UsefulNotes/{{Romani}} Romany]] character states that his people consider the Tarot to be utter BS, and a scholar is astonished by this: how could anyone intelligent ''not'' believe in Tarot?
* Steven Erikson's ''Literature/MalazanBookOfTheFallen'' series uses tarot imagery with an interesting twist. The "Deck of Dragons" is organized into Houses based on a certain theme (Light, Death, Shadow ect.) with a smattering of Unaligned which correlate strongly to the Major Arcana with such concepts as chance, wisdom, and authority. The twist is that these cards often represent actual characters from the series and that who embodies each card is subject to change based on events in the books (for example when certain characters die they then take positions in the House of Death). So the Deck not only can be used to predict the future but to also describe the present state of supernatural politics.
* ''Literature/TheDarkswordTrilogy'' has a clear equivalent in the form of "Tarok" cards. [[TheHero Joram]] is represented by the King of Swords card; [[TheFool Simkin]] by the Fool.
* In ''Literature/DuneMessiah'', we're occasionally given details of a new tarot deck that was recently issued and uses symbolism based on Paul's reign as emperor. This actually turns out to be a plot point; the deck was issued by a conspiracy against Paul, since the sheer number of people attempting to read the future (albeit ineptly) creates a constant prescient static which causes Paul to ignore any signs of static he gets around the conspiracy (prescients have trouble seeing things around other prescients).
* In the ''Literature/NewJediOrder'', Droma, a member of the space-faring Ryn species that are [[FantasticRacism hated and reviled]] for their [[WhatDoYouMeanItsNotSymbolic Gypsy-like ways]], successfully reads Han Solo's fortune using the sabacc deck. Its cards seem to be a combination of Tarot's Arcana with a few fey elements thrown in (the Queen of Air and Darkness, for example, the ruler of the Unseelie Court in ''Dungeons & Dragons''), all of it given a ''Star Wars'' flavor.
* Creator/CharlesWilliams wrote several modern fantasy novels, including ''The Greater Trumps'', which is all about Tarot -- specifically the One True Original Tarot Deck, the only one that can really tell fortunes (and control the elements), and the magical self-playing chess-like collection of images linked to the deck.
* In Valerie Worth's novel ''Gypsy Gold'', Bella reads Miranda's fortune using these cards.
* Sarah Monette's ''Literature/DoctrineOfLabyrinths'' features the Sibylline. Though obviously analogous to the Tarot, the trumps include such cards as the Parliament of Bees, the Two-Handed Engine, the Hermaphrodite, and the Heart of Light. Minor arcana are sometimes used in readings.
* Ru Emerson's ''The Princess of Flames'' makes use of a fantasy version; the title is one of the cards.
* Lani Diane Rich's ''The Fortune Quilt'' repeatedly uses the phrase "Towered" as a reference to having one's entire life trashed and having to start over again. (It also features a psychic quilt designer.)
* Several ''Literature/{{Stravaganza}}'' books involve one of the characters making a tarot reading, the meaning of which becomes clear by the end. Notably, the Talian decks have different [[FourElementEnsemble suits]]: [[DishingOutDirt Serpents]], [[PlayingWithFire Salamanders]], [[MakingASplash Fishes]] and [[BlowYouAway Birds]].
* In Erin Morgenstern's ''Literature/TheNightCircus'', Isobel uses the tarot to tell fortunes at the titular circus. The Magician card frequently turns up in relation to Marco and Celia, two powerful magic-users locked in a high-stakes competition with the circus as their stage, and Isobel actually removes the Temperance card from her deck and stores it in a safe place in an effort to keep their warring forces from getting out of control. When she removes the card's protection in a fit of anger after learning that Marco is in love with Celia and not her, bad things happen.
* Greer Gilman's amazing ''Literature/{{Moonwise}}'' has Ariane and Sylvie doing WorldBuilding by laying out cards (handmade by Ariane, with woodcut illustrations) to create stories. In their worlds, the events we think of as fairytale or folklore actually happened, and the symbols on the cards reflect this. Elsewhere, the narrative mentions that Ariane is a packrat and that the huge pockets of her BadassLongcoat contain "packs of greasy tarot" among other things.
* Another richly intricate fantasy novel, ''Literature/LittleBigOrTheFairiesParliament'', has a deck that's been used by members of the Drinkwater family for generations. At one point August Drinkwater steals it and hands it over to the fairies in exchange for becoming sexually irresistable. [[BeCarefulWhatYouWishFor He later regrets this]], and demands to call off the deal and get the cards back. Upon their return, the cards work a little differently but are actually changed for the better.
* ''LightNovel/ACertainMagicalIndex'': This seems to be a common factor amongst ''Golden Style'' magicians as they use the symbols and suits of the tarot to shape their magic.
** PlayingWithFire: The staff or wand suit.
** BlowYouAway: The sword suit.
** MakingASplash: The cup or chalice suit.
** DishingOutDirt: The coin suit.
* John Sandford's ''Kidd'' series of novels all feature tarot motifs in their titles.
* Each chapter in William Lindsay Gresham's ''Literature/NightmareAlley'' begins with the image and description of a different tarot card of the Major Arcana, there are 22 chapters just as there are 22 cards. Each card relates in some way to the events contained within the chapter, for instance the chapter when Zeena first starts teaching Stan her mentalist act is represented by 'The High Priestess' card, symbolizing 'hidden knowledge, wisdom, female mystery and magic'.
* In ''Literature/SmallMedium'', Chase has an inherited Fortuna deck that is obviously a stylized Tarot deck, albeit customized to the setting, with "The Fool" instead being named "The Noob" and containing cards such as "The Elementalist" (signifying change, often traumatic) and "The Griefer" (senseless destruction) as well as slightly differenty minor arcana (the "Page of Warriors" appears early on, complete with a lampshading that they half expected the deck to be solely major arcana).
* Theodora, of ''Literature/TheGateOfIvory'', is making her living at the beginning of the book doing tarot readings in the marketplace. Ran introduces her to the Ivoran version, which has very similar cards, and which she can use to not only read his future, but to project herself into events.
----
