How to play Leela with tarot cards and other decks
Leela Atlas team · Updated
To play Leela with tarot, throw the die as usual and, when your token stops on a square, draw one card. Then ask a bridging question that links the card to the square and to your question. The square stays the centre of the reflection; the card adds an image and a second angle on it.
Why combine Leela with tarot cards?
Guides of Leela have long added extra prompts on a square: a tarot card, a rune, or a book opened at random. A square such as 24 Bad company names a theme; a card gives that theme a face. Many players find that the picture unlocks a memory or a feeling that the word alone did not.
Used this way the deck is a tool for reflection, like the board itself. It does not forecast anything. It offers an image, and you decide what it says about your question.
Which decks can you use with Leela?
On Leela Atlas you can choose one of six decks before the game, or play with no cards at all.
- Classic Tarot: the full deck of 78 cards drawn by Pamela Colman Smith and published in 1909, the most familiar tarot imagery in the English-speaking world, with illustrated scenes on every card.
- Tarot de Marseille: the major arcana from the deck of Jean Dodal, printed in Lyon around 1701, one of the classic French patterns with bold woodcut lines and flat colours.
- Visconti-Sforza Tarot: the 22 major arcana in the style of the hand-painted cards attributed to Bonifacio Bembo, made in Milan around 1451 and among the oldest tarot cards known.
- Elder Futhark runes: the 24 runes of the oldest runic alphabet, each a single sign with a name such as Fehu, Isa or Raido.
- I Ching: the 64 hexagrams of the Chinese Book of Changes, each a figure of six broken or unbroken lines with its own name and image.
- Leela deck: our own 72 painted cards in the style of Indian miniatures, one for each square of the board, made so that the image and the board speak the same language.
What is a bridging question?
A bridging question joins three things: the square you landed on, the card you drew and the question you brought to the game. Without it, a card can pull the reflection away from the board. With it, the card stays in the service of the square.
A simple form works well: "What does this card show me about [the square] in [my question]?" On Leela Atlas each card you draw comes with a bridging question written for that square, and both are saved in your Atlas with your notes.
Example 1: square 12 Envy with The Star
Question: "Why do I feel stuck in my career?" The token stops on 12 Envy, the first snake of the game, which drops it to 8 Avarice. Johari links envy to feeling unworthy of a place one has reached. The card drawn from the Classic Tarot is The Star, a figure pouring water under an open sky.
Bridging question: "Whose success do I envy, and what hope of my own does that envy hide?" The snake becomes a pointer: the envy shows a wish that has not been admitted yet.
Example 2: square 27 Selfless service with an I Ching hexagram
Question: "How can I find meaning in my work?" The token lands on 27 Selfless service, an arrow that rises to 41 Human plane. The square asks: "Whom does my work really serve?" The I Ching gives hexagram 15, Modesty.
Bridging question: "Where could I serve without needing to be seen, and what would change if I did?" The arrow and the hexagram point the same way, and the player notes one concrete act of quiet service for the coming week.
Example 3: square 55 Egotism with the rune Isa
Question: "Why do arguments with my brother never end?" The token stops on 55 Egotism, a snake down to 3 Anger. The square asks: "What in me needs to be right?" From the Elder Futhark the player draws Isa, the rune of ice.
Bridging question: "Where has my need to be right frozen this relationship, and what would let it thaw?" The fall from 55 to 3 is long, and the rune gives it a picture the player recognises at once.
Tips for playing Leela with a deck
- Read the square first, then turn the card. The board leads, the card follows.
- Draw one card per stop, not per throw, so a run of sixes does not flood the game with images.
- On an arrow or a snake, draw for the square where you arrive and reread the square that moved you.
- Choose one deck for the whole game. Mixing decks blurs the language of the images.
- Write the square, the card and your answer to the bridging question in your journal.
Questions
Do you need tarot cards to play Leela?
No. Leela is complete with its board, a die and the meaning of each square. Cards are an optional layer that some players and guides enjoy. You can play many games without them and add a deck later when you want another angle on a square.
Which tarot deck is best for Leela?
There is no single best deck. The Classic Tarot is the most familiar and its scenes are easy to read. The Tarot de Marseille and Visconti-Sforza majors are older and more austere. The Leela deck has one painted card for each square, so its images match the board directly.
Can I use runes or the I Ching with Leela instead of tarot?
Yes. The Elder Futhark runes and the 64 hexagrams of the I Ching work in the same way: draw one when you stop, then ask a bridging question that links the sign to the square and to your question. Simpler signs such as runes often leave more room for your own reflection.
Does drawing a card predict what will happen?
No. In Leela a card is a prompt for reflection, just like a square. It gives you an image to think with about your situation. What it means for you, and what you do with it, stays your own decision.
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