Tarot de los Angeles

Tarot de los Angeles is a 78-card pack created by Rosa Elena Ortega and illustrated by Luis Royo. Although it is presented as a tarot, its cards are organised around angels and other celestial beings rather than the familiar Major and Minor Arcana.

Above: the front and back of an Archangel card: Amiel on the face and a repeating winged pattern on the reverse.

The card front shows the Archangel Amiel, while the blue reverse carries a repeating pattern of white winged figures.

Seraphim, cherubim, thrones and dominions appear alongside archangels, virtues, powers and principalities. The sequence then opens out further to messengers, fallen angels, fairies, grigori and gnomes. The result is closer to an angel oracle: each card has its own particular meaning, rather than taking its place within the standard suit-and-number system.

Royo’s imagery gives the pack its character. The figures are idealised and luminous, with wings, robes and clouds carrying most of the visual weight. The cards retain their original Spanish text, with an English index (see table below) explaining the meaning of each card. The reverse identifies Naipes Heraclio Fournier as the Spanish manufacturer, see the box .

This is not a conventional tarot with angel imagery added to it. The angelic hierarchy is the structure of the pack, which is why it is best approached as its own system.