Overview

In the visual language of tarot, the background is never merely decorative. The landscapes and settings—the mountains, rivers, walled cities, barren deserts, and fertile gardens—function as psychological environments. They establish the terrain of the psyche, dictating the conditions under which the archetypal action of the card takes place. Particularly in the fully illustrated Rider-Waite-Smith (RWS) tradition, Pamela Colman Smith used topography to communicate the emotional weather and spiritual elevation of each scene. This article explores how these recurring environmental symbols serve as maps of consciousness, inviting us to consider not just what is happening in a card, but where it is happening within the landscape of our own lives.

The Terrain of the Psyche

When we look at a tarot card, our attention is naturally drawn to the central human figure. However, the environment surrounding that figure provides the necessary context for their experience. A figure standing in a lush garden (The Empress) is having a fundamentally different experience than a figure standing on a snowy, desolate plain (Five of Pentacles).

In the RWS tradition, the landscape often reflects the elemental nature of the suit: the Suit of Cups features abundant water, Swords feature turbulent skies and sharp peaks, Wands feature arid plains and clear skies, and Pentacles feature cultivated fields and blooming gardens. In the Marseille tradition, the backgrounds are more abstract, but the presence of grounding elements—like the undulating earth beneath the figures—serves a similar function, anchoring the archetypal energy.

By learning to read the landscape, we gain insight into the structural conditions of a situation: Is the terrain rocky and difficult to navigate, or is it smooth and flowing? Is the environment nurturing or hostile?

Mountains: Spiritual Ascent and Hard-Won Wisdom

Mountains are among the most frequent and significant topographical features in the tarot. They universally symbolize spiritual elevation, the realm of the gods, the aspiration toward higher consciousness, and the difficult, solitary climb required to attain wisdom.

The Fool and The Hermit: The Fool stands on the precipice of a craggy mountain range, ready to leap into the unknown. The mountains behind him represent the heights of spiritual potential he has yet to realize. Conversely, The Hermit stands at the very peak of a snow-capped mountain, his lantern illuminating the darkness. He has already made the arduous ascent; the mountain here represents the pinnacle of solitary, hard-won inner knowledge.

The Suit of Swords: In the RWS Minor Arcana, mountains frequently appear in the background of the Suit of Swords. Here, their sharp, jagged peaks reflect the piercing, analytical nature of the intellect. They remind us that the realm of the mind is often cold, clear, and elevated above the messy emotional reality of the valleys below.

Rivers and Seas: The Flow of Emotion and the Unconscious

Water is the element of emotion, intuition, and the unconscious mind. When rivers, streams, or oceans appear in the tarot landscape, they indicate the presence of deep feeling, the flow of time, or the mysterious boundary between the known and the unknown.

The River of Life: A recurring motif in the RWS deck is a single river that seems to flow continuously through the background of multiple cards (such as The Empress, Temperance, and the Death card). This represents the continuous, life-giving flow of spirit through the material world. It is the boundary that must be crossed (as seen in the boat on the Six of Swords) to move from a state of turbulence to a state of peace.

The Open Sea: The vast, unpredictable ocean appears prominently in the Two of Wands and the Page of Cups. The sea symbolizes the infinite potential of the unconscious—a source of great creative inspiration but also a place of overwhelming depth and unknown currents. When a ship sails on this sea, it represents the conscious ego navigating the emotional depths.

Gardens and Cultivated Land: Abundance and Safety

Gardens, orchards, and plowed fields represent nature that has been ordered and cultivated by human intention. They symbolize fertility, safety, the fruits of labor, and the sensual enjoyment of the material world.

The Empress: The Empress sits in a lush, wild garden of wheat and waterfalls, embodying the raw, uncultivated abundance of nature. This environment is inherently nurturing, suggesting a period of immense creativity and sensual fulfillment.

The Suit of Pentacles: The Minor Arcana of Pentacles is replete with cultivated landscapes. The Seven of Pentacles depicts a farmer resting by his carefully tended vine, while the Nine of Pentacles shows a woman in a highly structured, walled vineyard. These settings emphasize the value of patience, hard work, and the rewards that come from harmonizing human effort with the natural cycles of the earth.

Deserts and Wastelands: Isolation and Clarification

Not all landscapes in the tarot are hospitable. Deserts, barren plains, and snowy wastelands appear to symbolize periods of isolation, scarcity, intellectual rigor, or spiritual purification.

The Five of Pentacles: The snowy, desolate environment of the Five of Pentacles is the quintessential tarot wasteland. The figures walk through a freezing storm, cut off from the warmth and security of the illuminated church window. This landscape perfectly mirrors the internal experience of poverty, rejection, or physical hardship.

The Suit of Wands: The arid, desert-like landscapes often found in the Suit of Wands (and behind the King of Swords) reflect a different kind of severity. Here, the lack of water (emotion) allows the fire of ambition or the clarity of intellect to burn brightly without distraction. It is a harsh environment, but one that produces sharp focus and decisive action.

Walled Cities and Castles: Security, Tradition, and Defense

When human-made structures dominate the landscape, they introduce themes of security, social structure, tradition, and defensive boundaries.

The Emperor and The Hierophant: While The Emperor often sits in a stark, mountainous region (representing his unyielding authority), The Hierophant is typically situated within the structured architecture of a temple or church. This setting emphasizes his role as the custodian of institutional knowledge and societal norms.

The Four of Pentacles: The figure in the Four of Pentacles sits tightly clutching his coins, with a dense, walled city rising behind him. The city represents the security of material accumulation and established boundaries. However, because he is sitting outside the city, his back turned to it, the landscape suggests that his obsession with security has actually isolated him from the community he seeks to protect.

Paths and Roads: The Journey and the Choice

Paths winding through the landscape are potent symbols of the life journey, the passage of time, and the choices that define our trajectory.

The Moon and Temperance: In The Moon card, a long, winding path leads from the pool of the unconscious, between two towers, and into the distant mountains. This is the difficult, confusing path of shadow work and psychological integration. In Temperance, a similar path leads from the water’s edge toward a glowing crown in the distance, symbolizing the deliberate, balanced journey toward higher consciousness.

When a path is clear, the way forward is known. When a path is obscured or winding, it suggests a period of necessary wandering or a journey that requires deep intuitive navigation.

Reading with Symbolic Awareness

Integrating the landscape into a tarot reading adds depth and nuance to the interpretation. When reading a spread, consider the following environmental factors:

• Assess the Terrain: Ask yourself, “What kind of environment is the querent currently navigating?” If the spread is full of rocky mountains and swords, they are likely in a period of intellectual struggle or spiritual ascent. If it is full of lush gardens, they are in a phase of growth and material comfort.
• Look for Movement: Are the figures moving through the landscape (Eight of Cups) or are they stationary within it (Four of Swords)? Movement suggests transition and change; stillness suggests consolidation, rest, or stagnation.
• Notice the Boundaries: Are there walls, rivers, or gates separating the foreground from the background? These topographical boundaries often represent psychological barriers or significant transitions the querent must cross to reach their goal.

Reflection

The landscapes of the tarot invite us to recognize that our internal state is intimately connected to our external environment. We all traverse the rocky peaks of The Hermit, the fertile valleys of The Empress, and the confusing, moonlit paths of the unconscious. By studying the settings of the cards, we develop a keener map-reading ability for our own lives. We learn to identify when it is time to rest in the garden, when we must build a wall for protection, and when we are called to begin the arduous, solitary climb toward the summit of our own understanding. The terrain of the tarot is the terrain of the psyche, vast and ready to be explored.