Three Folklore Decks, One Story
Tarot decks often use mythology and folklore, but they don’t all do it the same way. Some teach specific stories and figures, while others use familiar roles - ruler, hero, mother, trickster - to shape the meaning of the cards.
In this series we’ll compare three decks:
Dark Daughter – a goddess-focused deck drawing figures from many cultures,
Tarot of the Divine – retelling myths and fairytales from across the world,
Tarot of the Thousand and One Nights – inspired by the storytelling world of the medieval Middle East.
The question isn’t which deck is “correct.” All follow the same tarot structure. The question is how each deck says the same thing differently.
As you read, notice which version you instinctively trust, resist, or feel comforted by. That reaction is part of the reading too.
The Emperor — Authority and Structure
Why this card matters: The Emperor shows how a deck interprets leadership and control. The differences here reveal how each deck frames authority - through knowledge, action, or social position.
Dark Daughter 🌟
🎨 Visual Style: Nisaba, the Sumerian goddess of writing and record-keeping, sits calmly among bright, simple shapes and colours.
🔮 Tone: This Emperor rules through organisation rather than force. Control comes from knowledge, records, and understanding how things fit together.
🧭 Mini Personality: Bring her a problem, and she will calmly listen, write, and hand you a detailed plan.
Tarot of the Divine 🌱
🎨 Visual Style: King Arthur, legendary ruler of Britain, stands in armour with the Sword in the Stone nearby.
🔮 Tone: Authority comes from leadership and legacy. Arthur commands loyalty and acts decisively; this Emperor leads by strength of character.
🧭 Mini Personality: He expects action. Clear decisions matter more than hesitation.
Tarot of the Thousand and One Nights 🔥
🎨 Visual Style: A richly dressed sultan sits on a decorated throne surrounded by carpets and ornamentation.
🔮 Tone: Authority is tied to social power. Status, wealth, and position define command. The card feels less like guidance and more like hierarchy.
🧭 Mini Personality: He expects obedience without explanation.
What Changes Across the Decks:
Nisaba — authority through knowledge and order
Arthur — authority through leadership and action
The Sultan — authority through status and position
The tarot meaning hasn’t changed, but the advice has. One Emperor tells you to organise, another to act decisively, and the third to recognise power structures already in place.
Takeaway: Depending on the deck, this card can suggest planning, leadership, or acknowledging hierarchy. The symbolism is shared, but the worldview behind it shifts - and that changes the reading more than you might expect.
Three of Swords — Emotional Pain
Why this card matters: Heartbreak, betrayal, and grief are universal, but each deck handles emotional pain differently. How the suffering is framed affects what a reading emphasizes.
Dark Daughter 🌟
🎨 Visual Style: Dian Mu, the Chinese goddess of lightning, aims her bolts at a human.
🔮 Tone: Terrifying and direct, she reveals truths no matter who they may harm.
🧭 Mini Personality: A divine avatar rather than a human-shaped god; fearsome, unflinching, illuminating.
Tarot of the Divine 🌱
🎨 Visual Style: The Crane Wife loves her husband but keeps secrets, only to be betrayed in turn. Her soft pink kimono contrasts with the lightning-struck sky behind her.
🔮 Tone: Gentle yet inevitable heartbreak. Choices and secrets shape the outcome.
🧭 Mini Personality: Determined and kind-hearted, willing to endure pain to move forward.
Tarot of the Thousand and One Nights 🔥
🎨 Visual Style: In a private garden, an old man kneels by a coffin containing a woman’s body. His grief is raw and private.
🔮 Tone: Grief in its purest form. There is no lesson or warning, only mourning.
🧭 Mini Personality: Lost in sorrow, overwhelmed by the inevitability of loss.
What Changes Across the Decks:
Dark Daughter — terrifying revelation; truth wounds but illuminates
Tarot of the Divine — relational heartbreak; choices and trust matter
Thousand and One Nights — raw grief; events happen beyond control
Takeaway: The same card can advise three very different approaches: face the truth, repair relationships, or allow yourself to grieve. Each deck frames the emotional experience differently, guiding the reader’s response.
Death — Ending and Transformation
Why this card matters: Death represents endings and change. Each deck conveys the inevitability, agency, or fear associated with transition in its own way.
Dark Daughter 🌟
🎨 Visual Style: Tuonetar, the Finnish goddess of the Dead, holds the Beer of Oblivion, guarding the boundary between life and death.
🔮 Tone: Inevitable but secure; endings are natural boundaries, not threats.
🧭 Mini Personality: She tends her realm without judgment, concerned only with maintaining the balance.
Tarot of the Divine 🌱
🎨 Visual Style: The White Bear King features a girl ending one phase of life as she draws back the curtain, skull imagery projected in light.
🔮 Tone: Alarming but encouraging; she faces the end of a chapter actively.
🧭 Mini Personality: Kind-hearted, determined, navigating the change with courage and agency.
Tarot of the Thousand and One Nights 🔥
🎨 Visual Style: A haunted woman rushes through a graveyard under a full moon.
🔮 Tone: Terrified, powerless, facing an inescapable fate.
🧭 Mini Personality: Scared and reactive; the inevitability of change dominates.
What Changes Across the Decks:
Dark Daughter — calm acceptance; change is a natural boundary
Tarot of the Divine — active bravery; endings lead to new beginnings
Thousand and One Nights — fear and resistance; change is imposed
Takeaway: From acceptance to courageous action to fearful resistance, Death shows how endings can feel different. Readers might advise letting go, stepping forward, or confronting inevitability, depending on the deck.
Patterns That Emerge
Dark Daughter: Emphasizes the divine perspective. Figures are inevitable, unmovable, tending to their concerns without worrying about humans.
Tarot of the Divine: Focuses on human-scale stories, showing how people respond to extraordinary events.
Thousand and One Nights: Grounds tales in realistic human experiences; its stories could happen in our own world.
All three decks draw from folklore and mythology, but each interprets the tarot experience differently. Choosing a deck is less about symbolism and more about tone and narrative voice.
Final Thoughts — Choosing a Voice, Not a Meaning
The meanings of the cards didn’t really change: the Emperor commands, the Three of Swords hurts, and Death marks endings and beginnings.
What changed is the relationship each deck suggests you have with those moments.
You aren’t just choosing artwork. You’re choosing the tone of the conversation: encouragement, comfort, or challenge. When a card feels different in a deck, it’s not the story that changed - it’s the narrator.
