Animals in the Tarot: Drawing, Context, and Conjecture

Seeing a lion on a card is not enough to claim that a person is brave; seeing two animals facing a figure does not prove that the figure has an inner conflict. Before interpreting, record what animal appears, what it does within the drawing, and what visible relationship it has with the figure or with other elements. Then separate the cultural associations you know from what the specific edition allows you to observe. This article compares three visible cases on the local cover of Tarot Rider-Waite from Scratch: the lion of Strength, the animals of The Moon, and the animal figures of The World. They are reproductions of that design on a cover; to study fine details, it is advisable to look at complete cards from the corresponding deck.

The lion of Strength: relationship, not label

In the reproduction of Strength, a human figure leans toward a lion, and their hands are close to the animal's mouth. That is the visual relationship we can describe. A common reading might speak of mastery, care, calm, or risk, but none of those words is a fact drawn with the precision of "person and lion in contact." If the question is "How can I approach a task that intimidates me?", you could use the scene as a metaphor for gradual approach. Do not conclude "I must dominate someone" or "the reader is a lion."

The direction of the hands and body matters more than a generic profile of the animal. Does the figure appear to force, hold, or approach? In a small reproduction, the answer may remain open. Describe only what you see and allow for alternatives. Another edition may draw the relationship differently. If you base a reading on the lion's expression, identify the exact deck and observe the card at sufficient size; the cover does not prove the expression of every commercial version.

The animals of The Moon: several positions in a scene

In the card of The Moon that appears on the cover, two land animals facing toward the central area and a creature in the water in the foreground can be distinguished. The scene also includes structures and sky. Before assigning a meaning to each animal, observe distance, orientation, and surroundings. The two in the middle occupy similar positions; the aquatic creature is on another plane. A reading that reduces them to "good" and "bad" erases the composition and projects a judgment that the drawing does not literally formulate.

In a fictional question about incomplete information, the scene could inspire three questions: What is seen in the foreground? Which answers seem opposed? What remains far away? They are questions of organization, not a statement that a dog represents a specific person. If the modern deck replaces animals or changes their gestures, look again. The V&A documents the diversity of tarot designs and Pamela Colman Smith's authorship for the Rider-Waite-Smith; it does not publish a universal key for all animals.

The figures of The World: frame before biography

The cover shows The World with a central figure inside a garland and other figures in the corners. Some have animal features. A quick interpretation would say "four forces protect the person," but that adds a function that does not follow from the mere arrangement. First record that they frame the central figure from different corners and that they do not interact in the same way as the lion with the person in Strength. Then, if you know a documented iconographic tradition, you can cite it. Without that source, speak of "figures in the corners," not of an invented symbolic genealogy.

The comparison among the three cards shows why "animal in tarot" is too broad a category for a single answer. In one there is contact with a person; in another, several beings occupy different levels of the landscape; in the third, animal forms serve a framing structure. The same word "instinct" applied to all three may be appealing, but it explains little about each drawing.

Fictional example: the fear of showing a piece of work

Invented consultation for this guide. Julia is unsure whether to show a sketch to a group. In the position "how can I approach this difficulty," Strength comes up from a Rider-Waite-Smith edition. Julia observes the proximity between the figure and the lion and proposes a reading: she can first show a preliminary version to a trusted person, instead of exposing it to the whole group. That conclusion comes from her situation and from the gesture of approach she chose as a metaphor. The card does not prove that the group will react well.

A reasonable alternative would be that she needs to set limits on the type of comments she accepts. To choose, Julia reviews previous experiences and asks the invited person whether they can give concrete feedback. If she prefers not to show the sketch yet, she also keeps that decision. The symbol does not replace consent or data about the real relationship.

When an animal does not belong to the tradition you study

The V&A documents historical decks with animal themes and also design changes over time. That does not mean that the animal of a contemporary deck has the same role as one from Rider-Waite-Smith. An illustrator may add a cat, replace a lion, or move a creature to the background. Note author, edition, and year when available. If the card does not belong to a specific historical deck, avoid attributing the motif to Smith, to Marseille, or to a medieval tradition without evidence.

Build a table with three columns: visible animal, spatial relationship, and question it suggests. If a creature appears next to a human figure, distinguish "is beside it" from "protects it": the first phrase describes, the second interprets. Note the edition of each card compared. The result is a tool for organizing observations, not an official list of meanings for all decks.

A worksheet for studying any drawn animal

Write down five pieces of data: name of the edition, card, species you think you see (or "indeterminate"), observable action, and relationship with the rest of the scene. Then add two hypotheses, one supported by the question and another that could refute it. If you lack a source for a historical claim, remove it or mark that it is a modern interpretation. The exercise ends with an action or a question under your control, not with a personality diagnosis based on an animal.

You can continue with how to read the image of a card according to its position. The difference between what the animal does in the drawing and what you infer for your consultation is the most important part of this reading.