I use a different tarot or oracle deck for my weekly card drawings every month. In July and August, my months with Athena and Isis, I chose the Tarot of the Greek Magical Papyri by Jason Augustus Newcomb. Here’s my review of this tarot deck.
The Tarot of the Greek Magical Papyri was a crowdfunded project that Mr Newcomb launched on Indiegogo in mid-2021. I didn’t support it at the time; I was on the fence about the art and source material. I liked it when I saw it in person at Summer Magick Fest in June and decided to buy it after Mr Newcomb gave me a reading with it and answered my questions. I’ve been reading for myself with the Tarot of the Greek Magical Papyri the last two months, and I love it. I didn’t expect to like this tarot as much as I do.
What is the Greek Magical Papyri?
The Greek Magical Papyri (abbreviated PGM) refers to a body of papyri from Graeco-Roman Egypt containing magical spells, formulae, hymns, and rituals. The PGM is not a cohesive magical system but a growing, haphazard collection of pages and fragments that show an elaborate syncretism of Babylonian, Egyptian, Greek, Jewish, and Christian influences.
The PGM is the inspiration for the Tarot of the Greek Magical Papyri, and it’s also loosely modelled on the Rider-Waite-Smith (RWS) deck. But this deck is not just a combination of these elements, and many hours of research. The Tarot of the Greek Magical Papyri is the product of its creator’s unique vision, and the result is a magical tarot deck that is both strange and familiar.
The Tarot of the Greek Magical Papyri
The Tarot of the Greek Magical Papyri has 100 cards. There are the 78 familiar cards of a popular tarot deck, plus 22 Major Arcana “add-on” cards. The art is like Greek pottery, all red and black, but is stylistically modified for cohesion. The cards are the same size as a standard RWS deck. I’m not good at figuring out cardstock; I shuffle these cards smoothly and comfortably, but I wouldn’t bend them much. They are semi-glossy, borderless, with round, white edges. The cards come in a rigid lift-off box. The deck has a folded sheet with basic meanings (one line) and a simple spread. A companion book is available separately.
Major Arcana
The traditional 22-card Major Arcana depict Greek deities, is not numbered, and has the names of the goddesses and gods rather than archetype titles. Familiarity with Greek myths and deities helps here. Some associations are apparent: Zeus is the Emperor, Aphrodite is the Lovers, Herakles is Strength. Other associations might be less clear: Tyche is the Wheel of the Fortune, Iris is Temperance, Typhon is the Tower. Some, like Hermes as the Fool and Apollo as the Hierophant, might feel like a departure from tradition, but I think the choices make perfect sense.
The additional 22 Major Arcana “add-on” cards are without numbers or archetype titles and feature more deities, not only Greek but also Egyptian and Gnostic and PGM-related. These cards include Greek figures like Athena, Dionysus, and Rhea; Egyptian figures such as Anubis, Isis, Osiris, and Thoth; and Gnostic and PGM-related figures such as Abraxas and Akephalos.
You can do whatever you want with these Add-Ons. You could include some, all, or none in your deck; use them sometimes, all the time, or never. I’ve chosen to add them to the 78-card deck.
Minor Arcana
The four suits of the Minor Arcana are:
- the Wands represented by the Philosophers and Rulers are depicted as men and correspond to fire
- the Swords represented by the Warriors and Guardians are depicted as men and correspond to air
- the Cups represented by the Artisans and Merchants are depicted as women and correspond to water
- the Coins represented by the Servants and Workers are depicted as women and correspond to earth
In the companion book, Mr Newcomb says that the decision to depict the suits as men or women was largely stylistic.
He also wanted to avoid Roman and Arabic numerals, so the Minor Arcana is not numbered. Most cards have three windows: a talisman, primarily drawn from the PGM; a recognisable tarot image; and Homeric lines from the Iliad and Odyssey that function like an oracle.
The court cards are the Philosophers (Kings), Poetess (Queens), Warriors (Knights), and Priestesses (Pages). Mr Newcomb departs from the RWS tradition here; after all, a Priestess and a Page are different figures. Additionally, he explains in the companion booklet that, for him, the court cards are not simply about men or women with specific physical characteristics but rather about energies or personas around the client or even in their personalities or projections.
Divinatory meanings
An experienced tarot reader could dive in and use this deck like an RWS. In the companion book, Mr Newcomb even includes the divinatory meanings from A.E. Waite’s The Pictorial Key to the Tarot, and Mr Newcomb also adds his interpretation.
I compare this to the RWS for convenience and because you could use it that way. Still, with the talismans, the different art, and Homeric Oracles, the Tarot of the Greek Magical Papyri is a very different deck.
The extras
In the 155-page companion book, A Guide to the Tarot of the Greek Magical Papyri, Mr Newcomb shares how he created the deck, interpretations of all the cards, rituals, spells, and more. I recommend purchasing the book if you buy the tarot deck.
When I bought the deck and book from Mr Newcomb at his vendor stall at Summer Magick Fest, I couldn’t resist purchasing one of his four tarot casting cloths (the PGM) and a few deity banners (Aphrodite, Themis, and Hekate).
I’m enjoying the Tarot of the Greek Magical Papyri tremendously. It brings together elements that I love: Greek mythology, magic, and the RWS tarot system while going easy on some areas that are of less interest to me, such as astrology and the Qabalah. It’s an interesting, fresh addition to the world of tarot.
You can find the Tarot of the Greek Magical Papyri and other items in Mr Newcomb’s Etsy shop, Ape Of Trismegistos.
