TAROT ARTICLES

W hether you are a professional tarot reader, a deck collector, or new to the tarot experience, you’ll find interesting articles on a wide range of topics here. In several articles, Stuart Kaplan shares his passion for tarot and his knowledge of the history of cartomancy. Other articles have been contributed by members of the U.S. Games Systems staff, the authors and artists we work with, and experts from the world of tarot and divination.


Peaceful Social Change
U.S. Games Systems, Inc.
In the past 50+ years since U.S. Games Systems has been publishing tarot and inspirational decks, we have witnessed the remarkable way that their role has evolved in our readers’ lives. Our doors and hearts have always been open to artists and authors of all backgrounds seeking to share their vision.

U.S. Games Launches Pride Tarot and Supports The Trevor Project
By Lynn Araujo   |    U.S. Games Systems, Inc.
Shortly after 2019 Pride Month, honoring the Stonewall Uprising, our Chairman Stuart Kaplan called the creative team at U.S. Games Systems in for a meeting. Urban Tarot had been out a few months and we were all very excited about the positive reception it was getting. Pride events and Robin’s personal experiences with LGBTQ+ causes inspired us to become more proactively involved in supporting the LGBTQ+ community.

The Fool
By Lynn Araujo  |  U.S. Games Systems, Inc.
Explore the History and Meaning of the Fool Card in Tarot Feature article by U.S. Games. Learn the Symbolism in the Fool Card Tarot article by U.S. Games Systems

Origins of Halloween & Samhain
By Lynn Araujo  |  U.S. Games Systems, Inc.
Read about Halloween customs and explore a wide selection of Halloween divination decks

U.S. Games Systems Tarot and Oracle Decks Award Winners
By Lynn Araujo  |  U.S. Games Systems, Inc.
U.S. Games is proud of all our award-winning artists and writers. Congratulates to all! ...

Mudras—Energy, Health and Healing Are in Your Hands!
By Alison DeNicola  | Evolve Magazine
Read about how you can use Mudras to energize your day.

Awakening Your Energy Body With Mudras
By Alison DeNicola  | Spirit of Change Magazine
Read about how Mudras can benefit you...

U.S. Games Systems Tarot and Oracle Decks Award Winners
By Lynn Araujo  |  U.S. Games Systems, Inc.
Check our list of award-winning tarot and oracle decks...

Magical Times and Sacred World Oracle Win COVR Awards
By Lynn Araujo  |  U.S. Games Systems, Inc.
U.S. Games Systems, Inc. is delighted to share the news of its recent triumphs at INATS, where the Coalition of Visionary Resources (COVR) presented its annual awards banquet on June 28th, 2014...

Ode to Tarot
By Stuart Kaplan  |   U.S. Games Systems, Inc. (1978)
In this ode to ancient tarot cards I touch with care new friendships painted on pasteboard faces drawn during man’s obscure dawn. The single-ended carnival figures clad in full-length costumes conceal the profound knowledge of antiquity.

Stuart Kaplan's Biography
By Martha Villa    |    U.S. Games Systems, Inc.
A destined visit to the Nuremberg Toy fair in Germany created one of the most influential icons in the world of the Tarot. Stuart R. Kaplan’s intrigue with the artwork of the Rider-Waite deck compelled him to bring back a sample to the United States in 1968. At the time Stuart was working on Wall Street but soon started to import the Rider-Waite Deck to the US realizing there was a demand. When he understood the potential and tremendous contribution of the Tarot he decided to leave Wall Street and start his own business U.S. Games Systems.

The Art of Divination
By Lynn Araujo   |    New Leaf Magazine 
From the whimsical to the mystical, the common element that runs through all of U.S. Games Systems’ divination decks is compelling artwork. Tarot is a visual system of symbols that help us tap into our subconscious, so it’s not surprising so many artists are inspired to create their own original decks. U.S. Games takes immense pleasure in discovering new tarot artists and great pride in helping popular artists find new ways of expressing their creative visions and sharing them with others...

Cat's Eye Tarot Deck Wins Hearts and Award
By Lynn Araujo   |    U.S. Games Systems, Inc.
U.S. Games Systems, Inc. is very pleased and proud to announce that Cat’s Eye Tarot has taken top honors in the 2012 Reader’s Choice Awards for Best Tarot Deck. Cat’s Eye Tarot, created
by cat-lover and veterinarian Debra Givin, has received a warm and fuzzy reception by tarot aficionados everywhere. Every card in Cat’s Eye Tarot tells a story, illustrated from a feline point of view.

All Decked Out: Not just for the local fortunetellers anymore...
By Rhianna Mirabello   |   Reprinted from New Age Retailer Magazine
When I first opened my shop in 1995, I carried just a few tarot decks, and only a select group of customers inquired about them. As the mainstream has been exposed to the wonders of magic through such tales as Harry Potter and The Lord of the Rings, fear of the tarot has started to diminish. Our local library now offers tarot classes; parents are buying decks for children’s Halloween parties, coming-of-age celebrations, birth- days, and sleepovers...

Christy's Auctions Historic Cards and Games from the Stuart and Marilyn R. Kaplan Collection.
By Stuart Kaplan  |   U.S. Games Systems, Inc.
The Historic Cards and Games Collection of Stuart and Marilyn R. Kaplan represents 37 years of avid collec ting. The June 21, 2006 sale at Christie’s New York includes over 50 sterling silver bridge and playing card boxes, 180 bridge trump indicators, 125 rare tarot and tarock decks circa 18th and 19th centuries, 14 Minchiate of Florence and Tarocchini of Bologna decks from the 18th and 19th centuries, and a complete set of six original wood blocks for printing an Edoardo Dotti tarot deck circa 1860s....

Rider-Waite® Tarot Deck
By Stuart Kaplan   |  U.S. Games Systems, Inc.
Arthur Edward Waite, who commissioned and guided the creation of the Rider-Waite Tarot, was justly proud of the deck that he and artist Pamela Colman Smith created together and which was published by William Rider in 1910. He described the art in his book The Pictorial Key to the Tarot. "The Tarot cards ... have been drawn and coloured by Miss Pamela Colman Smith, and will, I think, be regarded as very striking and beautiful, in their design alike and execution." ...