- Author: Psychic Nathe
- Illustrator: Cristina Scagliotti
- Available via The Third Wish $49 or via Etsy £39
- Dimensions: Standard Tarot card size 70mm x 121mm (2.75” x 4.75”)
- Reviewed by Attila Kárpáthy
According to the author, Psychic Nathe, the “Mystical Tarot of the Saints” is a path that integrates the power of the Saints into the original Tarot tradition. This deck can be used for divination, manifestation, and meditation, as it brings the magical alchemy of the four elements to life. The seventy-eight cards carry guidance from the Saints and the supernatural manifestation of their powers. It includes twenty-two Saints representing the twenty-two Major Arcana cards and Saints taking the place of the characters in the suits (Page, Knight, Queen, King). Along with this, the suits take a religious inspiration as well with Chalices (Cups), Coins (Pentacles), Staffs (Wands), and Swords.
Psychic Nathe has over forty years of experience in divination. Born into a Catholic family, he claims psychic abilities, is a master of Tarot and performs readings. The illustration of the deck is the work of Cristina Scagliotti, who uses both traditional and digital painting techniques. She has also illustrated the “Earth Wisdom Oracle”, and the “Universal Celtic Tarot”.
Let’s start with the beginning.
Do religion and Christian beliefs fit into divination and Tarot? Nowadays, it seems it does, but this was not always the case.
According to Deuteronomy 18:10-13 “Let no one be found among you who sacrifices their son or daughter in the fire, who practices divination or sorcery, interprets omens, engages in witchcraft, or casts spells, or who is a medium or spiritist or who consults the dead. Anyone who does these things is detestable to the Lord; because of these same detestable practices, the Lord your God will drive out those nations before you.”
Divination and occult practices were firmly excluded from religious practices and creeds. Occultism and Judaism were clearly two conflicting spiritual practices and paths of knowledge. Christianity inherited and preserved these guidelines.
Tarot has been seen as a secret means to pass along ideologies banned by the Church. Many early mentions of card games or Tarot cards were records of card games being banned. One of the earliest documents that specifically banned card games is a manuscript of the Abbey of Saint-Victor statute stating: “Let no one dare or presume to play with dice, pages (cards) or chess.” In May 1376, a decree from Florence, Italy, declared the prohibition of playing cards. Many more followed.
There have been various attempts to reconcile the Church and occultism. In the sixteenth century, John Dee invented the Angelic language, later called Enochian, to avoid persecution from the Church in his attempt to communicate with spirits. The Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn also tried to blend Christian and occult traditions during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Times changed, lines blurred, and rules were bent. Neither the letter nor the spirit of the laws appears to matter anymore. Quoting a rock song, when everything is possible, nothing is real.
I was keen to learn more about the concept and how the Saints were associated with specific cards, although I was disappointed that these these crucial conceptual and technical aspects are summaries on one single page in the introduction of the book. There is no word on how the Saints were selected and attributed, nor about the concept that lays the foundation of this selection.
According to Britannica, in Roman Catholicism and other Christian faith traditions, saints are holy persons known for their “heroic sanctity” and thought to be in heaven. In the tenth century, Pope John XV formalised a process for identifying saints. Before that time, saints were established mainly based on public worship. The Roman Catholic Church recognises more than ten thousand saints, though the names and histories of some of these holy men and women have been lost to history. Their ranks include martyrs, kings and queens, missionaries, widows, theologians, parents, nuns and priests, and “everyday people” who dedicated their lives to the loving pursuit of God.
With more than ten thousand Saints to choose from, of the seventy-eight cards on the standard Tarot deck, only thirty-eight cards have been assigned to Saints. These cards are the twenty-two Major Arcana cards and the sixteen Court Cards. Among the Saints attributed to the Major Arcana cards, we may recognise St Peter, St Christopher, St Francis, St Gabriel or St Valentine. However, Mary Magdalen, Lucifer, Archangel Michael, and Jesus Christ are more curious choices.
Mary Magdalen remains quite a controversial and disputed character. Most of the earliest Church Fathers do not mention Mary Magdalene. The portrayal of Mary Magdalene as a prostitute began in 591, when Pope Gregory I conflated Mary Magdalene, who was introduced in Luke 8:2, with Mary of Bethany, Luke 10:39, and the unnamed “sinful woman” who anointed Jesus’s feet in Luke 7:36–50.
During the Counter-Reformation, the Catholic Church emphasised Mary Magdalene as a symbol of penance. In 1969, Pope Paul VI removed the identification of Mary Magdalene with Mary of Bethany and the “sinful woman” from the General Roman Calendar. Still, the view of her as a former prostitute has persisted in popular culture. Mary Magdalene is considered a saint by the Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, Anglican, and Lutheran churches, with a feast day of July 22. In the Mystical Tarot of Saints, Mary Magdalene is portrayed as the High Priestess.
Another odd choice is Lucifer. The Devil card needed a bad guy candidate, and Lucifer seems a facile choice. We know he was a fallen angel, yet being considered a Saint is quite a stretch. Saint Lucifer is worthy of a metal band name.
Saint Michael is an archangel in Judaism, Christianity and Islam. The Book of Enoch lists Michael as one of seven archangels among Uriel, Raguel, Raphael, Sariel, Gabriel, and Remiel. Considering that the Major Arcana cards can be divided mathematically into three groups of seven cards plus the Fool, it would make sense to include all seven archangels or don’t include either. Or, at least, the most famous trio of Michael, Raphael and Gabriel. They only chose to include Saint Michael and Gabriel. Saint Michael has been associated with Justice.
Enoch was instrumental in establishing the pre-eminent place of Michael among the angels or archangels. In later Jewish works, he is reported to be the chief archangel, mediating the Torah, the Law of God, and standing at the right hand of the throne of God. Therefore, the association with Justice is reasonable.
Saint Gabriel is associated with Judgement. In the Abrahamic religions, Saint Gabriel is an archangel with the power to announce God’s will to humanity. A familiar image of Gabriel has him blowing a trumpet blast to announce the resurrection of the dead at the end of time. The image connects well with the traditional depiction of Judgment in the Tarot deck.
And oh my gosh, Jesus Christ. Now, this is a tough one.
Although Jesus bears many titles, being considered the son of God puts him in a different spot. Like Saint Lucifer, Saint Jesus doesn’t feel right. Mixing him up among seventy-seven other Tarot cards adds a weird taste to it. In the deck, the Sun card embodies Jesus and numerous scriptures suggest that Jesus represents the sun.
For example, in Ephesians 5:14 it has been written: “Wake up, sleeper, rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.” Likewise, in John 8:12, Jesus said, “I am the light of the world.” Another Bible quote, John 12:46, “I have come into the world as a light, so that no one who believes in me should stay in darkness.”
Another surprising presence is Balthazar, who is the King of Coins. To begin with, I was never aware that Balthazar, one of the three Biblical Magi or Kings, is considered a Saint. According to the Christian tradition, the Three Wise Men “from the East” are distinguished foreigners who visit Jesus after his birth, bearing gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh in homage to his birth. They are Melchior, Caspar and Balthazar. According to the scriptures, they followed a star that led them to Jesus’ birthplace. However, here’s the catch: the Star card is associated with the Three Kings. As a result, Balthazar has been distributed in double roles: solo and group appearances.
Another thing that troubles me is that each Magi brought gifts, and allegedly Balthazar brought the myrrh. Melchior offered the gold, and perhaps he would better fit the profile of the King of Coins. At least symbolically, the Three Kings representing the Star card makes sense. Then why was Balthazar separately associated with the King of Coins? A fair distribution of the Three Kings to the four King cards in the deck was impossible. All these technicalities and details left me unenlightened regarding how the deck was conceived, the Saints chosen and distributed.
The Minor Arcana cards are divided into four groups based on their Elemental association. According to the author, they have been inspired by the work of Éliphas Lévi.
The Staffs (Wands) have been associated with Candle Magick. The Chalices (Cups) are associated with Water Magick, and the Swords with the Encens (I suspect they meant Incense) Magick. Finally, the Coins were attributed to Crystal Magick and gemstones.
The accompanying book offers detailed practical instructions for rituals using each card.
In the book, the cards are presented and analysed from three perspectives: The overall theme of the card, the detailed meaning for diverse questions (love, professional or spiritual readings), and the use of the cards for rituals and manifestations. For example, the Eight of Chalices (Cups) is described as a card of resignation, letting go and moving on. In a love reading, signify breakup or divorce. In a professional reading, it means that the project won’t succeed. In a spiritual reading, the spell/manifestation/prayer is not working. Regarding the magickal attribution of the card, the Eight of Chalices is associated with freezing.
The Chalices pipes have the most mixed attributes: lemongrass, rose, champagne, peppermint, nutmeg, lily, basil, freezing, tangerine, and orange.
Speaking about a deck called the Mystical Tarot of the Saints, someone may have expected that the solution to prevent a breakup or divorce is repeating the Hail Mary several times. Nathe proposes a different alternative: the card should be placed in a freezer for eight days during the Saturn hour on the first Saturday after the reading.
Nathe frequently refers to the planetary hours; however, the book lacks a table for reference. The concept originated from Babylonians, and you can check the tables online. At the end of the book, you can find a couple of reading and spread suggestions, Magickal indexes for each suite and the Major Arcana cards featuring keywords and attributions. The little white book (LWB), called the guidebook attached to the deck, differs from the accompanying book. Obviously, the 178-page book contains more detailed and diversified information.
The cards were created digitally and represent a departure from the Rider-Waite standard. The overall theme of the deck is medieval, with Christian references. Considering the theme of the deck, the medieval depiction fits the narrative.
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