The talented artist Joseph Vargo not only created the Gothic Tarot deck, but also published it himself. From an early age, Vargo was fascinated by the dark and mysterious images of Gothic and devoted his entire life to Gothic art.

The Gothic Tarot deck has become Vargo's most successful project. First published in 2002, it went through several reprints and gained popularity around the world.

However, this austere deck with a cool and even tough character will not suit everyone. It opens only to those who are not afraid of its merciless objectivity and with due respect for the shadow side of existence.

GothicTarotJosephVargo literally created for tarot readers who:

- know how to work with the shadow side of the subconscious;

- are not afraid to plunge into the gloomy world of gothic images;

- they see in the element of death not a terrible and implacable enemy, but an uncompromising adviser.

Overview of the Gothic Tarot Vargo deck:

Joseph Vargo created a Gothic-style deck based on the canon tarot (Ryder-White and Marseilles tarot). This is a truly dark deck full of chimeras, ghosts and vampires. Inhabitants of the Gothic Tarot live in ancient castles, in cemeteries, hiding in crypts. With whom will these gloomy creatures speak, to whom are they ready to open their eyes to the true state of affairs and give tough advice?

The Gothic Tarot is a Saturnian deck suitable for those people in whose worldview the Guardian of the Threshold plays a significant role. If death is a significant element of the picture of the world for you, then you will easily understand the language of the Gothic Tarot.

In the States, the deck was not released immediately, the first company, which Joseph Vargo turned to, refused, calling the deck "devilish" and explaining that he did not want to have anything to do with warlocks. "Give up hope forever" is written on the door painted on one of the cards. You know what's beyond the threshold ...

Our Shadow in its darkest forms is the main character of the deck. Faces distorted by thirst, unquenchable hunger and longing for the impossible. If you want to know and manage your secret desires and fears, then you will be interested in the dialogue with this deck.

Black humor is inherent in the deck - from the height of centuries, our simple human problems look funny.

The numbering of the arcana corresponds to the tradition of the Marseille tarot (Strength - XI lasso). I believe that such a choice is a skeleton in the closet, which must be in such a deck. I'm only afraid that this is not the only surprise of the Gothic Tarot. The artist created minor arcana based on the Ryder-White tradition.

The language of the deck is transparent and easy to understand without special effort - Joseph Vargo set out to create a deck that does not need special explanations. Having studied the work of the Golden Dawn, he abandoned symbolism in favor of visualization. How much the Children of Darkness can say, and whether such information has value is up to you.

Deck without box and MBK. Packed in foil or organza pouch. The bag is subject to availability at the time the order is shipped.

Only he is worthy of a conversation with the mysterious deck of Tarot cards Vargo, who knows no fear. Only those who deserve to understand them will understand the images on the cards. The deck of Gothic Tarot Vargo cards is considered the most objective and universal. In it, in a bizarre way, fears and fears, passions and attachments, cause and effect of events, will and compulsion become understandable. Maps tell you everything, with exaggerated colors and danger warnings. Joseph Vargo created a truly objective deck of cards that combines light and darkness, harmony and chaos.
The deck of the Gothic Tarot Vargo is called gloomy and dark, bright and merciless. The interpretations of this deck are deep and thorough. Gothic Tarot Vargo evokes horror and awe. The cards are equipped with images of stone chimeras, the world of vampires, strange and mysterious creatures.

The Vargo Tarot deck was created based on the Marseilles Tarot and Tarot Ryder Waite. There are ghosts and vampires in this gothic deck of cards, chimeras living in the cemetery, hiding in the family crypts. Involuntarily the question arises, how to find a common language with otherworldly forces, whether they want to let a person into their world and tell the secret hidden behind seven seals.

One of the cards of the Gothic Tarot Vargo has an inscription from which the blood freezes in veins, "Leave hope forever." Everyone understands what is behind the door on which this inscription is drawn. The main character of the deck is our own Shadow, in the most terrible guises. Faces distorted by thirst, hunger pangs and longing for something that will never come true.

If you have a desire to understand yourself, to learn to manage your fears and desires, you can start a dialogue with the cards of the Gothic Tarot Vargo.
The artist gave the younger Arcana the appearance of cards from the Waite Tarot deck, which made the conversation with the cards clear and understandable. Joseph Vargo deliberately refused to depict the symbols of the Golden Dawn, as he considered them insufficiently clear in interpretation.

In order to understand the truthfulness of the information received and its value, you need to feel it, live it. The breadth of emotional sensations that you experience upon entering the mysterious world of the Gothic Tarot Vargo cannot be compared to anything else. This is a ghostly world, the pass to which are Tarot cards Vargo.
The deck consists of 56 Minor Arcana cards and 22 Elder cards.

This deck of cards was created for those who like gothic, who like the romanticism of a night cemetery, who cannot imagine life without dark and disturbing sensations. The Gothic Tarot Vargo is able to reveal the secrets of the past associated with people who have gone to another world. Everything is extremely clear and clear. There are no allegories and directions of action. In the layout, additional cards are usually not needed, since the Gothic Tarot Vargo gives a fairly clear answer to the question posed.

The name of Joseph Vargo became known in the early nineties. The artist lives in a dark, mysterious world full of mysterious creatures that enter into dialogue with him. On the dark background of the card, there are blue images. One gets the impression that this is a light coming from ajar crypts and dilapidated towers.

The deck of cards of the Gothic Tarot Vargo is called Saturnian. It's time to use it for thrill-seekers, for whom the Guardian of the Threshold is not just a phrase. If you are calm about death and consider it a transition to a new stage of development, then you have something to talk about with this magical deck of cards. You do not need to look for a translator to understand the language spoken by the Vargo Gothic Tarot cards.

Gothic pictures of Tarot Vargo differ from the classic images of the Major and Minor arcana in traditional decks. Let's talk about the features and interpretation of cards, images of which were drawn by the American artist Joseph Vargo.

Features of the Tarot Vargo deck

Tarot Vargo is a Gothic deck, which means that the images of the arcana on its cards are quite gloomy. In the pictures you can see ghosts, chimeras, vampires, surrounded by cemetery landscapes, ancient castles and crypts.

The features of this darkest deck are as follows:

1. Refers to Saturnian teachings and is used by people who have an idea of \u200b\u200bwho the Guardian of the Threshold is. This character occupies an important place in their worldview and is an integral part of the picture of the world.
2. All interpretations of the arcana are considered from the position of Death, the literal motto: "Give up hope, everyone who enters here." If you dare to guess with the help of this deck, you will find out all the darkest and darkest that lies in your life.
3. Most often, Vargo cards are used in order to find out all the dark sides of oneself, which are usually hidden. This knowledge provides an opportunity for deep work with the subconscious, negative attitudes and fears that limit thinking and block the road to success.
4. The artist created images of the minor arcana based on the classical school of Tarot Raider Waite
5. The purpose of creating a deck is to come up with such cards, when looking at the images of which the prediction will immediately be clear and understandable, so that you do not have to turn to textual interpreters

It is believed that this type of Tarot is patronized by dark forces, therefore, it is most often used by "black magicians", in whom interaction with the spirits of darkness does not cause fear and awe.

Examples of the interpretation of the arcana

Let's take an example of the interpretation of some of the major arcana in the Tarot Vargo deck.

The symbol of the inner child who lives in the soul of every person. Arkan talks about childhood traumas that have affected adult life and shaped core beliefs.

The meaning of the arcana in various spheres of life:

• Work promises dramatic changes, literally renewal. It can be a dismissal and a transition to a new position in a completely different professional field.
• Consciousness - indicates a carefree attitude towards everything that happens around. The jester easily experiences problems without attaching much importance to them.
• Love and relationships. Indicates that too light an attitude towards life can lead to infantility, which ultimately will lead to negative consequences
• Situation. You are on the verge of big problems. Carelessness in business will turn into a grandiose negativity directed at you

This minor lasso is a symbol of new opportunities that will open up for a person in the very near future. The personification of such personality qualities as courage, determination and perseverance. Associated with the element of Fire.

Meaning in different areas of life:

• Work: helps to define your vocation, the purpose with which a person appeared in the earthly world. Arkan will point out all kinds of ways to realize talents and abilities so that they are fully revealed
• Consciousness. When the Ace of Wands falls, this is a sign that at this period of your life you have the greatest potential for realizing your talents, setting goals and achieving them.
• Love. In love scenarios, the Ace of Wands indicates that a difficult period is coming in your relationship with your partner. This is the time of lapping and adjusting to each other. The future of the union depends on your mutual desire to preserve love and seek compromise solutions in controversial situations.
• Inner meaning. Outwardly, the Ace of Wands looks like a phallic symbol, so it personifies powerful male energy. Card of creation, achievements, success

Three of Swords is a minor lasso with a predominantly unfavorable meaning. These are disappointments and disappointments, failures and obstacles on the way to the goal, the wrong choice that will ruin your whole future life.

Interpretation in different areas of life:

• Job. He says that decisive actions are required of you, against which you protest with all your being. The mind says one thing, and the senses scream another. A symbol of hard moral decisions
• Consciousness. Predicts that you will learn the truth that someone hid from you for a long time. And this will seriously upset and disappoint, because the negative sides of the personality of the person close to you will be revealed.
• Love. The card portends non-reciprocal feelings, unhappy relationships, bitterness, resentment, disappointment. Often indicates codependency that the person is unable to cope with on their own
• Inner meaning. The personification of the break, the end of strong ties, the collapse of everything

Watch a video about Tarot cards Vargo:

Tarot Card Value Vargo 10 Cups:

• A symbol of harmony, happiness and sincere, unconditional love: for yourself, the world, people around you and loved ones. Represents pure intentions, high self-esteem, calmness and virtue
• In the layout for work, it portends success: you work in a team, each member of which is tuned to maximum productivity
• In love fortune telling, it promises harmony and peace in relations with the chosen one. The long-awaited peace will come after a long series of quarrels and disagreements
• Arkan says that peace reigns in the mind of a person. The right time to pursue creative ideas and seek inspiration
• The inner meaning of the arcana is love and everything associated with it. True, harmonious. The desire not to consume or give, but simply to share your happiness with everyone who needs it

It is impossible to make an accurate prediction according to the Tarot Vargo, knowing only the meanings of individual arcana. It should also be taken into account which cards appear in the environment of the hidden card. Therefore, first study the theory thoroughly, and then proceed to practice.

Gothic Tarot - cards for the worthy. They are able to reveal the deepest secrets to someone who does not fear Death, but respects it. The most intimate questions are answered by stone gargoyles, pale vampires, weightless ghosts, otherworldly creatures and spirits. The Vargo deck is a godsend for those who love everything mystical and terrifyingly beautiful.

Taro Vargo is a godsend for those who love the mystical and unidentified

The personality of the author of the Gothic deck

Joseph Vargo is an extremely entertaining person. Our contemporary, was born and works in the USA. Since childhood, he gravitated towards everything mystical, terrible and secret. He was attracted by horror films, gothic music, images of monsters, vampires and other evil spirits. Later he got acquainted with Tarot cards, which could not but interest a person with similar hobbies.

Vargo is a self-taught artist, he did not study the art of painting, but he practiced a lot in depicting dark entities, gargoyles, monstrous creatures. Added to his artistic talent is the fact that the man is a rather famous composer and musician, the founder of the gothic group Nox Arcana.

In addition to the already mentioned, he is actively working in the field of the printed word. A lot of articles, publications, books have already come out from under his hand. And Joseph's paintings adorn thematic magazines, the covers of music albums, and what is most interesting for us - the gothic Tarot cards of Vargo.

The history of the creation of the Gothic Tarot

He got acquainted with cards for fortune-telling with the light hand of his own aunt. First of all, he was struck by the very opportunity to take out what is hidden behind seven seals, to look into the past and the future.

The young Joseph was equally impressed by the fact that the symbols depicted on the cards have a deep meaning, and can be interpreted by each fortuneteller in different ways, depending on the skill of the tarot reader and the situation preceding the scenario.

Vargo didn't think of creating his own deck until 1981. Close friends of the mystic musician also took part in the creation of images for the arcana. Prior to the triumphant release of the deck, Joseph suffered several setbacks.

One publisher flatly refused to work with a "demonic" product from a warlock. Which, incidentally, is not surprising, since the maps contain messages that are frightening for the uninformed, like "Leave hope forever." But in the end, in 2002, the world saw a dark but exciting gothic Tarot Vargo.

Appearance of Tarot deck Gothic

Many are afraid to work with Tarot cards Vargo. There is nothing surprising in this, since she successfully combined occult and mythological symbolism. This allows the amrahams to combine light and darkness, order and chaos, life and death, making the Gothic Tarot of Joseph Vargo one of the most accurate instruments in the hands of an experienced tarot reader.

Tarot Vargo is one of the most accurate instruments in the hands of an experienced tarot reader

Everyone has their own first impression of the cards - from wild delight to subconscious fear. But they have not left anyone indifferent yet. The deck, executed in black and blue tones, evokes thoughts of the otherworldly, the afterlife, the supernatural.

Creepy gargoyles, ghosts, ancient deities, mysterious maidens, vampires depicted on amrahs personify the hidden things of each of us:

• terrible thirst;
• terrible hunger;
• secret passions;
• regrets about the unfulfilled and so on.

The blue color on a black background evokes from the subconscious the image of fog in a cemetery, a cold crypt or a damp dungeon, where ghosts, imprisoned for centuries, clatter in chains. This is a great example of fortune telling cards for lovers of the Gothic style, everything mystical, eerie, tickling nerves.

The character of the deck from Vargo

In a sense, Tarot Vargo contains a bit of black humor - which is, for infinity, pitiful human "problems" and experiences. But seriously speaking, the Gothic deck is quite straightforward, tough, and sometimes cruel. There is no ambiguity, understatement, evasion and tricks in it. Creating his Gothic Tarot, Vargo wanted the fortuneteller to receive honest and specific answers to the questions posed. Therefore, the deck answers directly, as it is, without veiled flattery, mercilessly.

That is why many shy away from the bewitching, dark secret of Vargo Tarot cards. Because people are often afraid to get an honest answer, without embellishment. But there is another reason why some mystics idolize Joseph's amrachi while others reject them.

This is a strange, eerie, sometimes scary feeling coming from cards in the process of fortune telling. The author and artist somehow managed to infuse energy into their brainchild so that the cards become a conductor between our world of the living and the other world, where spirits and ghosts live. It is contact with those entities that causes strange, frightening sensations.

This is a natural price to pay for the fact that we constantly disturb the powerful forces on the other side, who do not know the secrets of each individual person and the entire universe at once.

Despite the slightly frightening surroundings, the Bohemian Gothic Tarot Vargo is a universal tool for finding answers and advice to questions troubling people's souls. They will be no less useful for their owner, who will help to understand himself, find and defeat his own fears (or start a fight with them).

Tarot Vargo structure

The Gothic Tarot from Vargo is of a mixed type, as it was developed on the basis of two famous traditions - the Tarot of Ryder Waite and the Marseilles. In the author's understanding, both systems had their flaws, which tarologists from all over the world tirelessly prove, improving one or another in their decks.

Tarot Vargo has a classic structure. The deck contains 78 cards:

• 22 Major Arcana;
• 56 Lesser Arcana.

• cups or bowls - corresponds to the water element;
• wands - the element of Fire;
• the pentacles are patronized by the Earth;
• swords represent the element of Air.

The hierarchy of the Major Arcana was borrowed from the system of the Marseille Tarot. The younger ones are decorated, like the amrachi in the classic Ryder Waite deck, but in their indescribable gothic style.

Tarot Vargo - a deck that resembles a computer game

According to Joseph Vargo, his deck is somewhat similar to a computer game, where each layout is a kind of personal quest. The main character of the "game" is the Shadow of the fortuneteller / client. In each scenario, she, depending on the plot, puts on different disguises. This image was chosen by Joseph Vargo for a reason, because it is the Shadow that allows you to fully experience the entire gamut of emotions and the amount of energy invested in each carefully designed plot of the cards.

The value of cards in the Vargo system

Each amrah from the Major or Minor Arcana in the Tarot Vargo has a deep meaning and is read depending on which cards are located next to them, in which position - upright or inverted. Despite the fact that the deck is based on two well-known systems, some changes in the interpretation have been made.

Below is a brief interpretation of the first 8 Major Arcana for general information:

1. Jester. In the scenario, he talks about a new beginning and about life aspects that a person can change.
2. Magician Represents an intelligent person endowed with courage and self-confidence, who is able to realize all his plans. For a fortuneteller, she predicts a possible triumph or success in the creative field.
3. Priestess. Indicates that a person has developed intuition, and he should often rely on the wisdom of the heart, rather than the mind.
4. Empress. The main meaning is fertility. More often compared with a family, harmonious marriage, possible early replenishment.
5. Emperor. Indicates a strong male or authoritative influence on the person to whom the alignment is made.
6. High Priest. Amrakh personifies his own attitude to the moral side of actions, to religious confessions, social rules and dogmas.
7. Lovers. The primary interpretation is love. But with other factors, it indicates a difficult or important situation in life.
8. Chariot. Warns of possible troubles, difficulties on the way to achieving the plan. But it assumes a positive outcome.

Copyright value of the Minor Arcana

Joseph Vargo interprets his cards as follows. Wands:

1. King. The skeleton on the throne depicted on the card characterizes a wise, attentive, charismatic and generous person. In the case of the alignment of the situation, it indicates that a person can achieve their goals, find associates or a patron.
2. Queen. An honest and pure, good-natured woman who strives for material well-being.
3. Knight. Perseverance, energy, great reputation. Represents virtue, a purposeful person. In some scenarios, it predicts a quick change of residence or travel.

Knight of Wands - a sign to a fast journey

1. King. A secretive and mysterious person. Can talk about a successful entrepreneur, scientist or culture worker. Fairness and responsibility.
2. Queen. A woman with developed intuition, kind heart, open and honest, sensual.
3. Knight. A person with an external gloss and charm, who is in search of love. At the same time, he speaks of an unreliable person who finds it difficult to fulfill his obligations.

1. King. A person endowed with power, authoritative influence, a champion of the law. Firmness, steadfastness.
2. Queen. Despondency and sadness, solitude or loneliness. Man knows what bitterness is. The habit of overcoming difficulties, doing everything in your own way.
3. Knight. Militancy, assertiveness, intelligence and courage. Man fights resistance mercilessly.

Pentacles:

1. King. A trusted leader. Courage, reliability, rationality. Has to do with creativity.
2. Queen. Sharp mind and practicality, material well-being, achievement of success.
3. Knight. A person you can rely on is fair, hardworking, responsible.

How to work with a deck?

Vargo's Gothic Tarot is based on the traditions of Waite and the Marseille Tarot. That is why there are no special differences in the layouts or their reading, with the exception of some nuances. So the fortuneteller:

• is obliged to see in Death not the end, but a reliable, unbiased adviser;
• should not be afraid to work with dark gothic images;
• knows how to use the shadow side of his own subconscious.

Need to tell fortunes about the situation, the near future, love or well-being? With Gothic cards, you can find precise, concise, yet complete answers to all your questions. The system is built in such a way that even an inexperienced fortuneteller, without additional cards and Talmuds with interpretations, could figure out the message.

If we are talking about layouts, then there are also practically no restrictions. The only recommendation from the author is that since Joseph Vargo's amrachi provide complete and comprehensive answers to specific questions asked, it is better to make short layouts with a small number of cards.

It is a versatile tool that can be used in any life situation. But, given the entourage and spirit of the deck, this Tarot can be gloomy for love layouts. But that was what the author calculated - to take off rose-colored glasses and look at the situation sensibly, without illusions and romantic flair.

Vargo's maps are darkly beautiful, surprisingly accurate and merciless.

Divination by Tarot Vargo brings either sincere pleasure or fear of contact with the otherworldly and powerful. But no one remains indifferent after communicating with them.