A Punch and Judy Death. Image from The Lewis Walpole Library.

A Punch and Judy Devil. Image from The Lewis Walpole Library.

A Punch and Judy Hierophant. Image from The Lewis Walpole Library.

A Punch and Judy Hanged Man. Image from The Lewis Walpole Library.

A Punch and Judy Ace of Wands. Image from The Lewis Walpole Library.

A Manuscript that's ready to be read has language like a thousand sticks arcing through the air and seen in a mirror.
—Gary Barwin, "The Questionless Book Interview"

"The Crystal," an illustration from The English Illustrated Magazine, 1907.

The Star, from English Illustrated magazine, 1892.

A house of Tarot cards, from Luigi Serafini's Codex Seraphinianus. See also our discussion of how the Welsh village of Portmeirion is composed of Tarot archetypes, over at the Association for Tarot Studies.

A Hanged Man, courtesy of Johanna Kovitz's Yiddish Wit (and via a tip from Gary Barwin). The saying reads, "May you grow like an onion, with your head in the ground."

A Hermit, from The Ludgate magazine, 1897.

"There is another way." A Chariot from The Ludgate magazine, 1897.

"Love stands at the gateway of each human soul,
holding in his hands a rose and a drawn sword—
the sword is for the many, the rose for the one."
—F. Marion Crawford, The Witch of Prague, 1890.

The illustration is our own.

The Tower: an illustration from Life Magazine, 1890.

"A keeper of the legends of Ireland": from The Century magazine, 1889.

A Hermit at the court of Amenhotep III, Temple of Luxor: an illustration from The Century magazine, 1908.

"Tales of the tea-leaves": an illustration from a 1914 issue of The Century.

The Hermit: an illustration from The Century magazine, 1901. The caption reads, "Then he lighted the lantern and went forth."

The caption reads: "The Sun in his chariot: from an old Persian manuscript." (The Century magazine, 1903.)

This illustration from a 1904 issue of The Century magazine recalls Jeff McBride's advice: "The best way to predict your future is to create it." The emphatic caption reads: "I do more than foretell events. I make them happen."

Riddling the Sphinx: an illustration from The Century magazine, 1910.

The cards "never lie": an illustration from The Century magazine, 1910.

Reading tea leaves: an illustration from Scribner's Monthly, 1877.

Strength: St. Francis taming the wolf of Gubbio, from The Century magazine, 1912.

"The Triumph of Love," by John La Farge, featured in Scribner's magazine, 1880.

An ace of wands: "The girl laughed, and struck at him with the iron stake." From The Century magazine, 1892.

The Fool on the clifftop with his dog, the Magician waving his wand, and the Sun shining in his glory all come together in this cover of Life magazine from Sept. 1906.

The Star: an illustration from The Century magazine, 1917.

Dedicated to Janet Boyer.

The Moon: an illustration by Rockwell Kent for The Century magazine, 1922.

"The Fool's Reverie," an illustration from Frank Leslie's Popular Monthly, 1883.

The Sorceress, from the painting by R. Willis Maddox, as printed in Frank Leslie's Illustrated Magazine, 1895.

The Moon: an illustration from McClure's magazine, 1905.

"The Lady Moon arranging her final pose": an illustration from Frank Leslie's Popular Monthly, 1902.

A Wheel of Fortune: an illustration from Harper's magazine, 1902. Its caption reads, "The wheel turns."

"'Are you the Hermit?' she inquired": an illustration from Harper's magazine, 1902.

"Truth before the Seer": an illustration from Harper's magazine, 1900.

The Fool: an illustration of an idealist from Life magazine, 1919.

The Moon meets The Lovers: an illustration from Life magazine, 1919. The caption reads: "The Moon: You're doing fairly well, my son; but I know I've seen them all from Adam down."

"The Woman in White," featured in Scribner's magazine, 1895.

The Moon: an illustration from Harper's magazine, 1864.

“My interest lies somewhere near a sense that words are like tarot cards, and that a poem manipulates unpredictable depths with its words. . . . I like the tarot because it works like poetry and because you don’t really have to ‘believe in’ anything. It’s there to be used. The symbols are remarkably durable and beautiful; they float out to encompass all kinds of meanings.” —Alice Notley (via Enrique Enriquez)

The fortune-teller: an illustration from Harper's magazine, 1859.

The Tower: from Walther Litzelmann's Artilleriebuch (1582).

The Emperor combines with Death in this illustration from Harper's magazine, 1857.

Reading a tea leaf: an illustration from Harper's magazine, 1901.

Strength: Orpheus with his lyre could subdue lions. An illustration from a 1906 issue of Scribner's.

Yes, or no? An illustration from Harper's magazine, 1874.

The Wheel: an illustration from Scribner's, 1900. The caption reads: "Dreamed of clipping about on a silently revolving wheel."

"This should be a lucky day to tell your fortune":
an illustration from a 1908 issue of Harper's magazine.

The Moon, a card from 1454, printed in Harper's New Monthly Magazine, 1862.

"Truth in the Fool's lodge": an illustration from Harper's magazine, 1900.