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Exalted > Tarot

In the First Age, the Sidereal Tarot was used as a tool for fortunetelling by Sidereal Exalted and mortal seer alike. After the Usurpation, the representative images and solar iconography of the Sidereal Tarot ran afoul of the Immaculate Philosophy, leading to the development of the lesser Dragon Tarot.

The Sidereal Tarot

The Sidereal Tarot is split into two parts, the major and minor arcana. The minor arcana number 70 cards, divided into 5 suits of 14 cards each. The major arcana number 25 cards, divided into five houses.

The Minor Arcana

The Minor Arcana of the Sidereal Tarot are divided into five suits: Earth, Air, Water, Fire, and Wood. Each is numbered from 1 to 10, followed by the Soldier, the Vizier, the Queen, and the King. The 1 is commonly referred to as the "Ace." The Royalty cards are each represented by a depiction of the associated Caste of Exalt; the number cards are each represented by colored circles with a notch representing the element's geographic direction. Thus, the Three of Air has three blue circles with a northward-pointing notch.

The Royalty of each suit represented the castes of the Exalted, the four levels of Royalty representing the Dragon-Blooded, the Sidereals, the Lunars, and the Solars, respectively; each Royalty card represents a single Caste of Exalts. The elemental associations are as follows:

 AirEarthFireWaterWood
 
SoldierAirEarthFireWaterWood
 
VizierJourneysEndingsBattlesSecretsSerenity
 
QueenNo MoonHalf MoonFull MoonWaning MoonWaxing Moon
 
KingTwilightZenithDawnNightEclipse

The Major Arcana

The Major Arcana of the Sidereal Tarot correspond to the 25 constellations, divided into five Houses:

House of JourneysHouse of LeisureHouse of WarHouse of SecretsHouse of Endings
The CaptainThe EwerThe BannerThe GuardiansThe Corpse
The GullThe LoversThe GauntletThe KeyThe Crow
The MastThe MusicianThe QuiverThe MaskThe Haywain
The MessengerThe PeacockThe ShieldThe SorcererThe Rising Smoke
The Ship's WheelThe PillarThe SpearThe Treasure TroveThe Sword

The Dragon Tarot

After the Usurpation, the Sidereal Tarot was no longer considered appropriate by the Immaculate Order. As a result, it was modified to eliminate the Major Arcana, and to alter the nature of the Royalty cards. In this new version of the Tarot, the King was dropped, and the remaining Royalty were changed to the Peasant, the Soldier, and the Monk, represented by a farming tool, a weapon, and the Immaculate mon, respectively. In newer sets, the Ace of each suit is typically represented by a stylized representation of an Elemental Dragon, leading to the Ace card being sometimes referred to as the "Dragon" and the set as a whole being called the "Dragon Tarot."

 AirEarthFireWaterWood
 
PeasantWindmillSpadeTorchPumpStalk of Wheat
 
SoldierChakramHandSwordGauntletBow
 
MonkAir monEarth monFire monWater monWood mon
 
AcesAir AceEarth AceFire AceWater AceWood Ace