Hutsul Tarot

Hutsuls are an ethnic group of Ukrainians living in the Carpathian Mountains. They have preserved many ancient customs, traditions, and rituals. That’s why the characters in our deck are dressed in traditional Hutsul costumes and use ancient utensils and household items, such as, for example, millstones.

Most of the cards in the deck reproduce the plots and meanings of A.E. Waite’s Tarot, which a Tarot reader should be familiar with. 

However, some cards need to be explained. The Hierophant is depicted as a molfar. This is a person with purported magical abilities in Hutsul culture. Wheel of Fortune shows a girl telling fortunes with a chamomile. According to the custom, if a girl wants to find out about the feelings of her lover, she tears off the petals of a chamomile one after another, saying, “He loves − he does not love,” and it is important on what word the last petal is torn off. Five of Coins represents a kobzar − a wandering blind singer with a guide boy.

The plot of Devil Card is unusual – a young man finds a fern flower. Though the fern never blooms, the Ukrainians of the old days believed that a person who managed to get a fern flower could gain magical power. The woman on The World card has the face of a motanka doll; Ukrainians wore such a doll as a sacred amulet. By the way, all four aces are also presented as Hutsul motankas.

Hard 2 parts box, printed guidebook.