The Witches Tarot Ellen Cannon Reed [CERTIFIED • BLUEPRINT]
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.
★★★★☆ (4/5) Best for: Solitary Wiccans, traditional Neopagans, ritual magicians, and collectors of "90s occult classics." Keep on your altar: When you need a second opinion from the Old Gods. Have you read with The Witches Tarot ? Does the Horned God visit your spreads, or do you prefer a more modern pagan deck? Share your experience below. the witches tarot ellen cannon reed
(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? The High Priestess Behind the Cards 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. Is it for everyone
The palette favors deep purples, forest greens, midnight blues, and candle-flame oranges. It feels like a grimoire you found locked in a trunk, not a mass-market product. If you strip away the pentacles and athames, is this just a standard Tarot? No. Reed made three radical departures: But for the witch who has felt that
In the sprawling forest of Tarot decks, most seek to be universal. They speak in archetypes—the Hero, the Mother, the Fool. But every so often, a deck comes along that refuses to be for everyone. Instead, it speaks intimately to a specific path, a specific practice, and a specific heart.
Do not look for photographic realism or watercolor whimsy here. The art is scratchboard-esque: high contrast, sharp lines, and a moody, nocturnal energy. The characters are not generic models; they are archetypal witches—hooded, robed, sometimes androgynous, often shown mid-ritual.
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.
