This is part of an occasional series of Tarot images I encounter in the world, inspired by Craig Conley's enchanting Trump L'Oeil Tarot of Portmeirion. The photos were taken during a recent trip to the Stamford Museum and Nature Center. I spotted this cauldron on the grounds of the Heckscher Farm, near the maple sugaring and apple cider house. A beautiful Ace of Cups.

This tower is on the grounds of the Bendel Mansion.

Seen on Thames Street in Newport, Rhode Island.

Alexander Voet II's "The Elderly Fool and his Cat," c. 1660. Via BibliOdyssey.

A work by 16th century Dutch artist Hendrick Goltzius. It makes a glorious Judgment card.

This painting by Hendrick van der Borcht has a lush, opulent quality that immediately made me think of the Ten of Cups. The coins, as well as the round shape of the work, further reinforce ideas of money and wealth associated with that card.

On a related note, I ran across this book by Rohit Arya on using the Tarot to manifest wealth. I haven't read it, but it seems quite interesting.

In this antiquated ad for a firecracker, a Tarot-like stricken tower erupts money. Is this the home of the King of Coins?

"I guess we all take turns on the water wheel."
—Blondie, "Strike Me Pink"

Wheel of Fortune (second version)
from Urban Tarot by Daisy Rose Anderson
(via Reclaiming Quarterly)

This 15th century engraving of St Sebastian by E. S. Meister reminds me of the Hanged Man. Like his Tarot counterpart, Sebastian is tied to a tree, helpless. In this respect, he also recalls Odin's ordeal on the Tree of Life. The martyrdom of the Saint contains the elements of surrender and sacrifice that are present in the Tarot card.

The similarities between the themes present in the Major Arcana and the saints are explored more fully in Robert M. Place's Tarot of the Saints.

"She looked like a Tarot card, wonderful and old and mystical."
—Nancy Holder, Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Chosen

The Medieval Garden Enclosed recently had an interesting post on the history of the pomegranate. Given its presence in myth and religion, it isn't surprising to find it in the Tarot as well. Perhaps the best known representation of the pomegranate is the RWS Tarot; notably the Empress and High Priestess cards.

The association of the pomegranate with the Empress is a natural one, since the fruit has long been a symbol of fertility. The pomegranate's appearance in the High Priestess card is connected to the two pillars, Jachin and Boaz, that stood in front of the Temple in Jerusalem and which also appear in the card. The tops of the actual pillars were decorated with pomegranates, symbols of righteousness (the fruit is said to contain 613 seeds, the number of the mitzvot, or commandments, the Jewish people must follow). Pomegranates also decorated the hem of the robe worn by the High Priest of the Temple.

This "immortal fruit" is given a place of prominence in artist An-Magrith Erlandsen's beautiful and mysterious Tarot of the Pomegranate.