Fyodor Pavlov Tarot Cards
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Aurica’s Quick Take
Fyodor Pavlov Tarot is a richly researched, hand-painted deck for readers who want familiar Smith-Waite structure without being confined by the narrow social world of many historical reproductions. Its watercolor-and-ink figures feel at once antique, theatrical, intimate, and unmistakably alive.
The Fool catches me first: poised on one foot, moving lightly with a little black cat at their heels. I read that lifted step as courage before certainty. When this card appears, I ask what becomes possible if the reader stops waiting to feel perfectly prepared, then I look to the surrounding cards for the kind of support—or caution—that journey needs.
Strength and The Moon deepen that conversation beautifully. Strength meets instinct with closeness rather than force, while The Moon turns the path inward, where fear and imagination can wear the same silver face. Together they remind me to notice whether a feeling asks to be soothed, trusted, questioned, or simply given enough quiet to reveal its true shape.
I would reach for this deck when a familiar tarot question needs more tenderness without losing its edge. The symbolism remains clear enough to guide the reading, but every gesture invites a second look and a more compassionate answer. May Fyodor Pavlov Tarot help you meet your own story with brave curiosity, and take the next honest step knowing there is room for your whole self on the path.
Fyodor Pavlov Tarot review: old-world craft with a radically open heart
The deck’s strongest quality is not novelty for its own sake. Pavlov keeps the visual grammar that makes a traditional tarot deck readable, then widens who gets to inhabit it. Bodies, genders, relationships, clothing traditions, disability, and cultural detail all receive space without flattening the cards into a checklist.
Who created the Fyodor Pavlov Tarot?
Fyodor Pavlov is a fine artist and illustrator whose official tarot portfolio presents the complete deck card by card. U.S. Games Systems publishes this edition and credits Pavlov as the artist. The publisher describes the work as watercolor and ink informed by Pavlov’s queer and trans experiences.
The published deck grew from years of drawing and historical research. You can see that patience in the fabrics, furniture, gestures, and decorative borders: the cards feel designed as one world rather than assembled as isolated illustrations.
What comes in the box?
The U.S. Games Systems edition contains 78 linen-finish cards with gold-gilt edges and a 172-page full-color hardcover guidebook. The cards measure 3 × 5 inches, and the presentation box measures 5.125 × 7.125 × 1.875 inches. The larger-than-pocket format gives the fine linework room to remain legible.
The guidebook and substantial box make this feel like a complete reading set. It is polished enough for gifting, but the card faces remain practical rather than glossy or ornamental for ornament’s sake.
How the artwork reworks Smith-Waite symbolism
Pavlov pays visible tribute to the Smith-Waite tradition: the majors keep their expected numbers, the elemental tools recur, and many scenes are immediately recognizable to an experienced reader. What changes is the social and visual language around those symbols. The black linework recalls printmaking, the selective watercolor creates suit-by-suit rhythm, and the costumes move across historical references instead of defaulting to one generic medieval Europe.
That balance makes the deck easy to approach. You can read from familiar structure on day one, then keep finding small details—an embroidered border, a flower, a household object, a deliberate gaze—that deepen the card over time.
Deck-specific card study
The Magician: skill made visible through line, gesture, and tools
A dark-haired figure stands between two trees in a star-covered black robe. One hand steadies a tall staff wrapped by a pale serpent marked with an infinity symbol; the other rests beside a knife, coin, wand, and cup arranged on a tiered table.
The scene keeps the familiar four-suit toolkit but makes the posture quieter than a stage performance. The downward glance, flowering branch, and precise black linework turn the card into a study of concentration: power is not spectacle here, but the ability to direct what is already at hand.
Representation that belongs inside the archetypes
The deck’s diverse figures are not added at the edge of the system; they occupy its central roles. Queer and non-binary identities, different body types, and people with disabilities appear as lovers, rulers, mystics, workers, and seekers. The imagery allows tenderness and eroticism, but it also gives its figures dignity, humor, grief, privacy, and authority.
Some cards include nudity and emotionally intense scenes. That directness is part of the deck’s voice, and readers choosing for public settings or younger querents may want to look through the full gallery first.
Card moment: bodies and bonds
Connection without one narrow template
Across these cards, closeness appears through eye contact, touch, shared space, and expressive bodies. The emotional signal stays clear even as the deck expands who can stand inside love, fertility, pleasure, and community.
What the deck feels like in a reading
In practice, Fyodor Pavlov Tarot reads clearly but rarely feels generic. The compositions are contained, the suit colors help orientation, and the figures carry enough expression to support intuitive reading. At the same time, the historical textures slow the eye down; this is a deck that rewards looking twice before reaching for a keyword.
It works especially well for identity questions, relationship dynamics, creative work, family patterns, embodiment, and readings about belonging. The deck can be gentle, but it is not evasive. Cards dealing with grief, desire, rupture, or power are allowed to look complicated.
Deck-specific card study
Temperance: balance as a practiced act
A bearded, winged figure pours a pale blue stream from a decorated jug into a shallow bowl. Cream robes edged in blue sit against a mostly uncolored field, while an iris rises on one side and small blue waves gather on the other.
The limited palette gives every gesture room to breathe. Balance is shown as something active and embodied—the careful angle of the vessel, the receiving bowl, and the figure positioned between dry ground and water—rather than a vague instruction to stay calm.
Major Arcana highlights
The Major Arcana feels ceremonial without becoming distant. Repeated arches, branches, banners, and framing devices give the sequence a storybook continuity, while faces and hands keep the drama human. The majors often feel like portraits captured at the precise instant an inner decision becomes visible.
Card moment: the inner path
Four majors built around attention
These images move from directed skill to inward knowing, solitary searching, and renewed hope. Their gestures are controlled rather than explosive, which makes them especially useful for reflective or psychological readings.
The four suits and their color language
The Minor Arcana keeps Wands, Cups, Swords, and Coins. U.S. Games Systems specifically notes the deck’s color coding, and the effect is easy to feel in a spread: warm orange and red energize material or passionate scenes, blue cools water and feeling, and cream-and-black linework gives the whole deck a common visual foundation.
Calling the earth suit Coins rather than Pentacles suits the deck’s historically textured world. Court cards also receive unusually distinctive clothing and presence, making rank easier to remember than in decks where every court shares the same generic silhouette.
Card moment: suit foundations
The four Aces establish the deck’s visual grammar
Placed together, the Aces show how Pavlov lets each elemental emblem command the frame. They are excellent anchors for learning the palette and the deck’s crisp balance between ornament and legibility.
Card stock, size, guidebook, and usability
The 3 × 5 inch cards are larger than standard tarot cards, which is good for the art and less convenient for small hands. The linen finish offers texture, while the gold-gilt edges make the set feel luxurious. Readers who riffle-shuffle may prefer an overhand shuffle or smaller packets until the deck softens with use.
The 172-page illustrated hardcover guidebook is a meaningful part of the package rather than an afterthought. Beginners receive enough structure to start reading, while experienced readers gain context for Pavlov’s artistic and symbolic choices.
Deck-specific card study
Three of Swords: heartbreak without euphemism
An anatomical red heart fills almost the entire frame. Three ornate swords pierce it from different directions while white ribbons loop behind and heavy black-outlined clouds crowd the top of the card.
Pavlov replaces the usual emblematic heart with something muscular and bodily. The result is direct without becoming sensational: pain has weight, texture, and consequence, yet the disciplined cream, black, and red palette keeps the image readable in a spread.
Who will love this deck?
- Readers who want a recognizable Smith-Waite foundation with more inclusive figures.
- Collectors drawn to watercolor, ink, Art Nouveau, printmaking, and historical costume.
- Tarot readers working with identity, relationships, embodiment, creativity, or belonging.
- Beginners who learn visually and want a substantial illustrated guidebook.
- Experienced readers who enjoy decks that remain clear in a spread but reward close study.
Potential drawbacks to know before buying
- The 3 × 5 inch format can be difficult to riffle-shuffle or hold in one hand.
- The deck includes nudity, sexuality, and emotionally direct imagery that will not suit every setting.
- Readers who prefer minimal, borderless, or brightly saturated digital art may find the cream paper and historical styling restrained.
- Because it closely converses with Smith-Waite symbolism, readers seeking a completely nontraditional system may want a more radical structure.
How to start reading with Fyodor Pavlov Tarot
Begin by laying out the four Aces, then the four Pages, Knights, Queens, and Kings. Notice how color, clothing, and posture distinguish each suit and rank. Next, compare one Major Arcana card with its Smith-Waite counterpart, naming what Pavlov preserves and what he changes.
For a first three-card reading, ask: What role am I inhabiting? What truth wants fuller representation? What action would make that truth visible? The deck is especially strong when the question invites both symbolic tradition and lived identity into the same spread.
Deck-specific card study
King of Coins: material authority with historical texture
A bearded king stands in an orange patterned coat, tall black boots, fur-trimmed cloak, and rounded fur hat. He raises a large orange coin embossed with a botanical motif while one hand rests confidently at his waist.
The upright stance and richly described textiles communicate command, but the card is not overloaded with treasure. Its authority comes through craft, clothing, and physical steadiness—an especially good example of how the deck uses historical dress to make a familiar court archetype feel specific.
Final Thoughts
Fyodor Pavlov Tarot succeeds because its inclusivity is inseparable from its craft. The deck does not discard tarot history; it studies that history closely enough to open new doors inside it. The result feels familiar in the hand and expansive in the imagination.
Its large format, gilt edges, and detailed guidebook make it a beautiful physical object, but the deeper recommendation is about reading quality. The cards communicate quickly, withstand repeated study, and give people more ways to recognize themselves inside the archetypes.
If you want a tarot deck with old-world linework, emotionally precise figures, and a broader vision of who can carry sacred and everyday stories, this is an easy deck to recommend.
Fyodor Pavlov Tarot FAQ
Is Fyodor Pavlov Tarot good for beginners?
Yes. It keeps a recognizable Smith-Waite structure, the imagery is readable, and the set includes a 172-page illustrated hardcover guidebook. Complete beginners should still take time to learn the deck’s larger symbolic system rather than relying only on keywords.
How many cards are in Fyodor Pavlov Tarot?
The published deck contains 78 cards: 22 Major Arcana cards and 56 Minor Arcana cards across Wands, Cups, Swords, and Coins.
Is the deck based on Rider-Waite-Smith?
Yes. Pavlov pays tribute to the Smith-Waite imagery and keeps its familiar tarot structure while reimagining the people, historical detail, gender expression, sexuality, and cultural representation within the scenes.
What size are the cards?
U.S. Games Systems lists the cards at 3 × 5 inches. That larger format displays the fine artwork well, though it may require an overhand shuffle or smaller packets for readers with small hands.
Does Fyodor Pavlov Tarot include a guidebook?
Yes. The set includes a 172-page full-color illustrated hardcover guidebook.
Does the deck include nudity?
Yes. Several cards contain artistic nudity, sexuality, and emotionally direct imagery. The gallery above lets you review the complete deck before deciding whether it suits your reading context.
