Decades ago when I was a teenager, I used the Hanson-Rider deck to write a YA fantasy novel that I never published. I still feel a compulsion to use this deck to for creative projects. This is also a deck that’s lack of racial inclusivity I struggle with. I have decided to simply acknowledge that it has none and offer the Melanated Classic as its polar opposite.
Because RWS based decks have so many wonderful websites already devoted to them, I will not be creating my own content of Hanson-Roberts card meanings. Instead, if you click on the name of individual cards it will take you to the meanings at one of my very favorite established websites, Biddytarot.com in a new tab. This is a site I will be directing student tarot readers to use as a reference for RWS style decks while I’m streaming on Twitch.
UW Major Arcana
| Roman Numeral | Name | Astrological Attribution | Hebrew Attribution |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | The Fool | Mutable Air (Modality) | Alef א |
| I | The Magician | Mercury | Bet ב |
| II | The High Priestess | Moon | Gimel ג |
| III | The Empress | Venus | Dalet ד |
| IV | The Emperor | Aries (Cardinal Fire) | He ה |
| V | The Hierophant | Taurus (Fixed Earth) | Vau ו |
| VI | The Lovers | Gemini (Mutable Air) | Zayin ז |
| VII | The Chariot | Cancer (Cardinal Water) | Chet ח |
| VIII | Strength | Leo (Fixed Fire) | Tet ט |
| IX | The Hermit | Virgo (Mutable Earth) | Yod י |
| X | The Wheel of Fortune | Jupiter | Kaf כ ך |
| XI | Justice | Libra (Cardinal Air) | Lamed ל |
| XII | The Hanged Man | Fixed Water (Modality) | Mem ם מ |
| XIII | Death | Scorpio (Fixed Water) | Nun ן נ |
| XIV | Temperance | Sagittarius (Mutable Fire) | Samekh ס |
| XV | The Devil | Capricorn (Cardinal Earth) | Ayin ע |
| XVI | The Tower | Mars | Peh ף פ |
| XVII | The Star | Aquarius (Fixed Air) | Tzaddi ץ צ |
| XVIII | The Moon | Pisces (Mutable Water) | Qof ק |
| XIX | The Sun | Sun | Resh ר |
| XX | Judgement | Cardinal Fire (Modality) | Shin ש |
| XXI | The World | Earth & Saturn | Tav ת |
UW Minor Arcana Pips
| Name | Sefira | Astrological Decan | “Lord of” |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ace of Wands | Kether | | |
| Two of Wands | Chokmah | Mars in Aries | Dominion |
| Three of Wands | Binah | Sun in Aries | Established Strength |
| Four of Wands | Chesed | Venus in Aries | Perfected Work |
| Five of Wands | Geburah | Saturn in Leo | Strife |
| Six of Wands | Tipareth | Jupiter in Leo | Victory |
| Seven of Wands | Netzach | Mars in Leo | Valour |
| Eight of Wands | Hod | Mercury in Sagittarius | Swiftness |
| Nine of Wands | Yesod | Moon in Sagittarius | Great Strength |
| Ten of Wands | Malkuth | Saturn in Sagittarius | Oppression |
| Ace of Cups | Kether | | |
| Two of Cups | Chokmah | Venus in Cancer | Love |
| Three of Cups | Binah | Mercury in Cancer | Abundance |
| Four of Cups | Chesed | Moon in Cancer | Blended Pleasure |
| Five of Cups | Geburah | Mars in Scorpio | Loss in Pleasure |
| Six of Cups | Tipareth | Sun in Scorpio | Pleasure |
| Seven of Cups | Netzach | Venus in Scorpio | Illusionary Success |
| Eight of Cups | Hod | Saturn in Pisces | Abandoned Success |
| Nine of Cups | Yesod | Jupiter in Pisces | Material Happiness |
| Ten of Cups | Malkuth | Mars in Pisces | Perfected Success |
| Ace of Swords | Kether | | |
| Two of Swords | Chokmah | Moon in Libra | Peace restored |
| Three of Swords | Binah | Saturn in Libra | Sorrow |
| Four of Swords | Chesed | Jupiter in Libra | Rest from Strife |
| Five of Swords | Geburah | Venus in Aquarius | Defeat |
| Six of Swords | Tipareth | Mercury in Aquarius | Earned Success |
| Seven of Swords | Netzach | Moon in Aquarius | Unstable Effort |
| Eight of Swords | Hod | Jupiter in Gemini | Shortened Force |
| Nine of Swords | Yesod | Mars in Gemini | Despair and Cruelty |
| Ten of Swords | Malkuth | Sun in Gemini | Ruin |
| Ace of Pentacles | Kether | | |
| Two of Pentacles | Chokmah | Jupiter in Capricorn | Harmonious Change |
| Three of Pentacles | Binah | Mars in Capricorn | Material Works |
| Four of Pentacles | Chesed | Sun in Capricorn | Earthly Power |
| Five of Pentacles | Geburah | Mercury in Taurus | Material Trouble |
| Six of Pentacles | Tipareth | Moon in Taurus | Material Success |
| Seven of Pentacles | Netzach | Saturn in Taurus | Success Unfulfilled |
| Eight of Pentacles | Hod | Sun in Virgo | Prudence |
| Nine of Pentacles | Yesod | Venus in Virgo | Material Gain |
| Ten of Pentacles | Malkuth | Mercury in Virgo | Wealth |
The ten Sefirot/Sephiroth (plural of Sephira) are part of the Tree of Life which is at the heart of Qabalistic Tarot. Tarot decks can still be esoteric without being Qabalistic; the Order of the Golden Dawn birthed Qabalistic tarot, however. The RWS, Thoth, BOTA and Haindl decks are definitely Qabalistic tarot decks.
Decans are three subdivisions within each of the twelve zodiacal signs. I don’t know at this time if the author(s) of Book T were the first to make attributions of them to the minor trumps or it was borrowed from someone else, possibly in a modified form. That’s a question I intend to explore though when time allows. My assumption is that these titles relate directly to one or more astrological texts available at the time.
UW Court Cards
| Name | Elemental Title | Zodical Rulership | MBTI | MBTI Archetype |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| King of Wands | Air of Fire | Cancer-Leo | ENTJ | Commander |
| Queen of Wands | Water of Fire | Pisces-Aries | INTJ | Architect |
| Knight of Wands | Fire of Fire | Scorpio-Sagittarius | ENTP | Debater |
| Page of Wands | Earth of Fire | | INTP | Logician |
| King of Cups | Air of Water | Libra-Scorpio | ENFJ | Protagonist |
| Queen of Cups | Water of Water | Gemini-Cancer | INFJ | Advocate |
| Knight of Cups | Fire of Water | Aquarius-Pisces | ENFP | Campaigner |
| Page of Cups | Earth of Water | | INFP | Mediator |
| King of Swords | Air of Air | Capricorn-Aquarius | ESTJ | Executive |
| Queen of Swords | Water of Air | Virgo-Libra | ISTJ | Logistician |
| Knight of Swords | Fire of Air | Taurus-Gemini | ESTP | Entrepreneur |
| Page of Swords | Earth of Air | | ISTP | Virtuoso |
| King of Pentacles | Air of Earth | Aries-Taurus | ESFJ | Consul |
| Queen of Pentacles | Water of Earth | Sagittarius-Capricorn | ISFJ | Defender |
| Knight of Pentacles | Fire of Earth | Leo-Virgo | ESFP | Entertainer |
| Page of Pentacles | Earth of Earth | | ISFP | Adventurer |
+ first decan of the sequential sign to the the Kings, Queens, and Knights.
These are the most conventional elemental and astrological associations made for the RWS court cards.
There’s a lot of variance in how the court cards associate with the MBTI personality types. I have provided the associations I first learned from reading this article by TarotX and satisfy me at this time. The MBTI archetype names are fairly conventual and found on 16personalities.com as an example. I don’t think most of the archetype names suit the H-R deck though and plan on creating something specifically for this deck in the near future.