The Witches Tarot Ellen Cannon Reed Pdf · Certified

Note: The book is available digitally. The deck is harder to find in PDF form legally. However, you can often buy the deck used (without the book) and then buy the digital book. This is a fully legal workaround.

Most PDFs floating around on file-sharing forums, torrent sites, or random Blogger pages are of abysmal quality. You will likely encounter:

Three of Cups: “Milk and Water” — celebration of the Full Moon, esbat joy, but also warns of emotional excess if not grounded.

The Seeker (Fool): 0 — The neophyte Witch stepping off the known path, trust in the gods, risk of naivety.

The Witches Tarot is a bridge between the intellectual rigor of Ceremonial Magic and the heart-centered practice of Wicca. It demands more from the reader than most modern "intuitive" decks. It asks for study, discipline, and an understanding of the ancient systems that underpin modern Witchcraft.

Whether accessed via a well-worn physical copy or a digital PDF for study, Ellen Cannon Reed’s work remains a cornerstone of Pagan education. It transforms the Tarot from a parlour game into a sophisticated spiritual technology.

The Witches Tarot by Ellen Cannon Reed: A Comprehensive Guide

Introduction

The Witches Tarot, created by Ellen Cannon Reed, is a tarot deck that has gained popularity among modern witches and pagans. This guide provides an in-depth look at the deck, its history, and its symbolism, as well as offering practical advice on how to use the cards.

About Ellen Cannon Reed

Ellen Cannon Reed was an American witch and writer who was active in the 1960s and 1970s. She was a member of the Gardnerian tradition of Wicca and wrote several books on witchcraft, including "The Witches' Tarot" and "The Witch's Covens and Chalices". Reed's work on the tarot was groundbreaking, as she was one of the first people to create a tarot deck specifically designed for witches and pagans.

The Witches Tarot Deck

The Witches Tarot deck consists of 78 cards, divided into two main sections: the Major Arcana and the Minor Arcana. The deck features detailed illustrations of magical and mystical symbols, including goddesses, gods, magical creatures, and occult symbols.

Major Arcana

The Major Arcana cards in The Witches Tarot deck represent major life themes, transitions, and spiritual lessons. Some of the cards in this section include:

Minor Arcana

The Minor Arcana cards are divided into four suits, each representing a different aspect of life:

Using The Witches Tarot

To use The Witches Tarot deck, you'll need to familiarize yourself with the symbolism and meanings of each card. Here are some tips for getting started:

Tips for Working with The Witches Tarot

Where to Find The Witches Tarot by Ellen Cannon Reed

The Witches Tarot deck is available in various formats, including:

Conclusion

The Witches Tarot by Ellen Cannon Reed is a powerful tool for modern witches and pagans. With its rich symbolism and detailed illustrations, this deck offers a unique perspective on the tarot and its applications. By following the guidelines outlined in this comprehensive guide, you'll be able to tap into the magic of The Witches Tarot and deepen your understanding of the mystical and mysterious.

Download The Witches Tarot by Ellen Cannon Reed PDF

If you're interested in accessing a PDF version of The Witches Tarot guidebook, you can try searching online for:

Please note that some websites may offer pirated or unauthorized versions of the PDF. Be sure to only access reputable sources to respect the author's work and intellectual property.

I can’t provide a PDF download for The Witches’ Tarot by Ellen Cannon Reed, as that would likely violate copyright. However, I can give you a guide to using the deck and book based on publicly available information and common study approaches:

I can’t provide a direct PDF or a full reproduction of The Witches’ Tarot by Ellen Cannon Reed, as it’s a copyrighted published work. However, I can offer you an original short story that incorporates the themes, symbolism, and archetypes from that deck and book.

Here’s a story inspired by the essence of Reed’s approach — blending Wiccan spirituality, tarot archetypes, and the journey of a modern witch.

Title: The Fool’s Walk

Elara had owned The Witches’ Tarot for seven years, but she’d never been able to shuffle the deck without a tremor in her hands.

The cards weren’t just paper to her. They were thresholds. Ellen Cannon Reed’s images — the Horned God staring from the Emperor card, the Crone’s silhouette in the shadows of the Moon — felt less like illustrations and more like mirrors into a world she could almost touch on Samhain night.

Tonight, she finally dared.

A candle flickered on her altar, casting the three-footed cauldron’s shadow against the wall. She drew:

0 – The Fool (the young witch with a white rose, stepping off a cliff between two towering oaks).
IX – The Hermit (a hooded figure holding a lantern shaped like a crescent moon).
XVII – The Star (a naked woman pouring water from twin chalices into a moonlit spring).

She frowned. Fool, Hermit, Star — a path of beginnings, solitude, and hope. Too poetic. Too vague. She needed answers about her failing coven, the blight on her garden, the nightmares of a figure in a crow mask.

A knock came at her door. Three slow raps. Then silence.

Outside stood a woman in a tattered black cloak, her face hidden beneath a hood. In her gloved hand: the exact same three cards, but the images had shifted. The Fool’s rose had thorns dripping blood. The Hermit’s lantern revealed a skull inside. The Star’s water was evaporating into smoke.

“You drew the lesson,” the woman whispered. “I drew the consequence.”

Elara stepped back. The woman entered, each step leaving a faint frost on the wooden floor. “Ellen’s deck was never meant for divination,” the stranger said, pulling down her hood. Her face was Elara’s — but older, scarred, with eyes like cinders. “It’s a map for initiation. The Fool isn’t you. It’s what you must kill.”

Before Elara could speak, her doppelgänger touched the Star card. The room dissolved into a forest under perpetual twilight. Elara felt her memories peel away — first her name, then her coven’s faces, then the feel of the sun.

In that void, she heard the Hermit’s voice: “To become the Star, drown the Fool’s fear.”

She understood then. The blight on her garden was her own doubt. The crow-masked figure was her terror of leading alone. The deck had waited for her to stop asking and start walking.

Elara reached into the cauldron she now realized was inside her chest — and pulled out a single card she’d never seen before: The Weaver (a woman spinning a web from a spindle of moonlight, the Horned God and Mother Goddess as threads).

She looked at her older self. “You’re not the consequence. You’re the guide.” the witches tarot ellen cannon reed pdf

The doppelgänger smiled — and crumbled into autumn leaves.

When Elara woke at her altar, the three cards lay face-up. But now, The Fool held a lantern. The Hermit’s hood was thrown back to reveal a young woman’s face. And The Star’s water flowed green with life.

She shuffled the deck once more. No tremors.

From that night on, she never did a reading for herself again. She didn’t need to. The cards had become her Book of Shadows — not fortune-telling, but transformation.

And whenever a seeker drew The Fool, Elara would whisper: “That’s not a warning. That’s an invitation to leap.”

If you’re looking for the actual text of The Witches’ Tarot by Ellen Cannon Reed, I recommend checking your local library, used bookstores (e.g., AbeBooks, ThriftBooks), or a legal ebook retailer. For the companion deck, look for the edition illustrated by Martin Cannon (her son).

Let's address the core keyword: "the witches tarot ellen cannon reed pdf."

Why do people search for this specifically? Several reasons:

However, the search for a free PDF is fraught with problems.

Users accustomed to the Rider-Waite-Smith system will find significant differences in The Witches Tarot. Reed was not afraid to alter the "standard" iconography to fit her Qabalistic framework.

1. The Major Arcana: While the order remains standard, the imagery shifts. For example, The Fool is not a carefree youth stepping off a cliff, but a blindfolded figure, representing the unknowable nature of the Divine before manifestation. The High Priestess sits between the pillars of severity and mercy but is depicted with tools specific to Wiccan practice.

2. The Minor Arcana: This is where the deck shines for students of esotericism. Reed replaces the "pip" cards (cards that just show cups or swords) with illustrated scenes, but the scenes are derived from the Golden Dawn meanings, which sometimes contradict the RWS meanings that most modern readers memorize.

3. Court Cards: The hierarchy is renamed to fit a magical structure: Page, Knight, Queen, King. However, their elemental associations are strictly enforced, representing specific personality types rooted in the elements of Fire, Water, Air, and Earth.

Reed realigns the four Tarot suits to directly correspond with the four elemental tools of the Witch:

This realignment corrects a common frustration for Witches: the traditional association of Wands with Air (in the Golden Dawn system) or Swords with Fire. Reed anchors the system in the Gardnerian/Alexandrian Wiccan framework, making ritual correspondences intuitive. Note: The book is available digitally