The Witches Tarot Ellen Cannon Reed [work] -

She didn’t want to rewrite the Tarot; she wanted to re-consecrate it. She famously felt that the traditional Rider-Waite-Smith (RWS) imagery, while useful, was drenched in Christian hermeticism and Golden Dawn ceremonialism. For a witch working at an outdoor altar under a full moon, the thrones and angelic thrones of the RWS felt foreign. Reed set out to "translate" the cards into the language of the Craft.

While the Major Arcana deals with archetypal forces, the Minor Arcana in The Witches’ Tarot focuses on the mundane aspects of life. Unlike the Rider-Waite-Smith deck, which popularized scenic illustrations for the pip cards (the numbered cards), Reed opts for a more traditional approach. The numbered cards feature arrangements of the suit symbols—Wands, Cups, Swords, and Discs—rather than illustrated scenes of daily life.

This design choice aligns with Reed’s emphasis on Qabalistic study. By stripping away the narrative scenes, the reader is compelled to rely on the numerical significance of the card, its position on the Tree of Life, and its elemental association. This creates a steeper learning curve for the beginner but ultimately fosters a more profound grasp of the symbolic architecture of the Tarot. It encourages the reader to see the numbers as vibrating frequencies of energy rather than just static pictures.

Ellen Cannon Reed succeeded in what she set out to do: she built a bridge between the Qabalistic Tarot and the Circle of the Wiccan. When you lay a spread with these cards, you aren't just divining the future; you are mapping the sacred landscape of a witch’s soul. the witches tarot ellen cannon reed

To understand the deck, you must understand the creator. Ellen Cannon Reed (1943–2003) was no mere card enthusiast. A respected High Priestess of the Isian tradition, a prolific writer for Circle Network News , and the author of The Witches’ Qabala , Reed lived and breathed ceremonial magic filtered through a Neopagan lens.

The Witches' Tarot deck is rich in symbolism, drawing on various sources, including Wiccan rituals, mythology, and alchemy. Some of the recurring themes and symbols in the deck include:

designed to help practitioners experience the energy of each card internally. She didn’t want to rewrite the Tarot; she

Reed famously disliked the rigid patriarchy of the King/Queen/Knight/Page. Instead, she offers:

To understand the innovation of Reed’s work, one must first acknowledge the theoretical elephant in the room: the Qabalah. While the Tarot has been linked to the Hebrew Qabalah since the days of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, many Wiccan and Pagan practitioners in the late 20th century found the system overly patriarchal or rigidly cerebral. Reed, however, argued that the Qabalah was not antithetical to Wicca but was, in fact, a necessary framework for understanding the Tarot’s depth.

(originally published in 1996 by Llewellyn), created by the late Ellen Cannon Reed and illustrated by Martin Cannon, is precisely that deck. For nearly three decades, it has remained a quiet cornerstone for solitary Wiccans, eclectic witches, and Tarot readers who feel the pull of the Old Ways. But is it a great Tarot deck, or simply a great spellbook in disguise? Reed set out to "translate" the cards into

Ellen Cannon Reed’s The Witches’ Tarot stands as a seminal work in the history of modern Tarot. It successfully challenged the notion that Wicca and Qabalah were mutually exclusive paths, demonstrating that the Tree of Life could be a valid map for the Witch’s journey. By reordering the Court, reclaiming the Horned God, and centering the Goddess, Reed provided the Neopagan community with a tool that reflected their theology without sacrificing esoteric depth. For the serious student of the Tarot, Reed’s work remains a testament to the power of adaptation; it proves that the Tarot is not a static museum piece, but a living, evolving language capable of speaking to the spiritual needs of any era.

Is it for everyone? No. The Horned God guards the gate. But for the witch who has felt that the traditional Tarot speaks about them rather than to them, The Witches Tarot offers a homecoming.

In her accompanying text, Reed demystifies the Qabalistic "Tree of Life," reframing its ten spheres (Sephiroth) not as abstract philosophical concepts, but as relatable stages of spiritual and psychological development. She strips away the archaic, often impenetrable jargon used by ceremonial magicians and presents the Tree as a map of the human experience, accessible to the lay practitioner. By insisting that the Tarot is fundamentally a Qabalistic tool, Reed elevated the discourse surrounding Wiccan divination, moving it beyond simple fortune-telling into the realm of spiritual pathworking and self-initiation.