The Tarot of Yss

Background

The Tarot of Yss has two sets of cards which are designated the Red and Black decks, although some prefer other terms: Love and Hate, or Life and Death, for instance. Each deck is identical just as chess pieces on opposing sides are similar.

Because adepts of the system have internalized the rules so completely there is little standardization from deck to deck and even cards within the same suit may have different appearances. The only thing which never varies is the distinction between Red and Black decks, which is vital and must always be plain. The cards displayed in this collection are from both decks, the oval frame distinguishing the Red deck and the square frame the Black deck.

Four suits populate the deck but they are a little different from the suits you are used to. The suits are Kings, Queens, Princes and Fools - this is the opposite of conventional playing cards and the inversion continues within the suits. Each suit has only four cards: the Heart, the Club, the Spade, and the Diamond. It is easy to see how today's sets of playing cards came about from these early designations. However, unlike the cards used today, these cards are not ranked numerically and none is inherently more powerful than others as context controls everything just as it does in the real world. Thus at times the Spade of Kings (L'Exquise) may be more influential than the Club of Fools (Boire Noire) but at other times things may be reversed.

The complete relationship between the different cards and their permutations is beyond the scope of this document but there are numerous sources available for those who wish to learn more. Those interested primarily in history will want to read Gerd Huysman's volume Red And Black (Rood en Zwart - the Egner translation is the most highly recommended) while students with a practial need for usage guidelines might investigate Occultations of the Virgin (Les Occultations de la Vièrge) by Etienne Desroballes; this is available in several good English translations. Many of our cards retain the old French influence; the decks of Yss are still very popular in France. The system spread internationally for the simple reason that the realm of Yss was gone centuries before France existed.

The cards are:

Diamond of Kings - Acolanthe

Heart of Kings - Giftgeist

Spade of Kings - L'Exquise

Club of Kings - Sangmaudit

Diamond of Queens - Chinonais

Heart of Queens - Lafolie

Spade of Queens - Sanseverac

Club of Queens - Vouvrenne

Diamond of Princes - Coulaine

Heart of Princes - Maldemer

Spade of Princes - Sarlancthe

Club of Princes - Yssandon

Diamond of Fools - Eletherion

Heart of Fools - Perdulac

Spade of Fools - Valpolitzia

Club of Fools - Boire Noire