Last year, Kathryn Hahn reprised her WandaVision role as Agatha Harkness in the Disney+ TV series Agatha All Along. While the magical side of the Marvel Cinematic Universe is still in its early stages, compared to the deep well of comic book material, Disney’s television titles are expanding its onscreen lore all the time. Agatha All Along truly dives into the deep end, its story interwoven with elements from the magical realm, including everything from potions and astrology to Ouija boards and tarot cards. In fact, tarot cards featured so heavily within the show that Marvel’s announcement of an official Agatha All Along Tarot Deck in October 2024 was nothing short of expected. Fans of the show will recall that the cards depicted during Lilia’s trial were designed to mimic Pamela Coleman Smith’s art style in the Rider Tarot and were illustrated by the show’s assistant to the producer, Brittany Horn, who was later tapped to illustrate the entire deck.
According to Brittany, her involvement in reimagining the tarot cards on the show was one part chance, another part practical necessity. “At first, we had the props department kind of working with an illustrator, but we came into a really unique situation where we felt we really needed someone on site, because we were matching frames that we had already shot to tarot cards that we needed to create,” she recalls. “But we also needed to match future frames to other tarot cards that were going to be created or vice versa…the turn around [from an illustrator] would have been a logistical nightmare.” Getting the tarot cards right in the show was crucial, she adds, because they were so tightly coupled to Lilia’s time jumps and the plot heading into episode seven. It was a conversation around those logistics that ultimately found Brittany stepping into the role of illustrator. “We were talking about how we were going to do this and make it work, and I jokingly volunteered myself to draw,” she recalls. “And I met eyes with Mary [Livanos], and she said, ‘Really?’ And my heart kind of skipped and I thought: was that a bad idea?” In the end, Brittany offered to draw a couple of the cards to start and let the producers decide if they were usable. “I did the High Priestess first, and as I showed it to them, they were able to give me notes and I was able to change it as they were talking and that worked…So, I ended up making all the cards for the show. And now it’s become a full deck, which is wild.”
Indeed, the Agatha All Along Tarot Deck expands on the same art style depicted on screen, with the scenes adapted to reflect its narrative. Brittany joined forces with astrologer and author Andrea Hannah, who likewise came upon the opportunity somewhat serendipitously. “Sometimes the universe just brings you things,” Andrea says, adding that her involvement traces back to a chance meeting in 2020. “I’ve been studying and teaching tarot to creatives for a really long time, and I started doing that in earnest in 2020 when we were all at home. During that time, I had a woman named Sarah Singer in one of my Tarot for Writers classes and we hit it off.” Singer was a freelance editor at the time, Andrea explains, just starting out her career in writing and editing. In the years since, Andrea has published numerous nonfiction books on astrology and tarot cards, and she has even written an official comic book entry for My Little Pony. Meanwhile, Sarah’s career led her to Marvel, where she assumed the role of special projects editor. In the earlier stages of the project, and without prior notice to Andrea, Sarah pitched her to Marvel and Insight Editions to work on the deck, and they approved. “I talk about weird things in the universe and how everything's interconnected…I was really scared to teach tarot at first because it's like a little taboo out here in the Midwest, but it’s what I know. This is what I can offer. Putting yourself out there can lead to really awesome, wonderful things.”
Brittany’s knowledge of the source material in the show paired with Andrea’s experience with astrology and tarot afforded them considerable creative freedom to make key choices about the deck. “Me and Andy went back and forth and brainstormed the theme of the deck, all of its suits and which characters to use for which card,” Brittany explains. “She’s brilliant in the world of astrology and tarot, so I trusted her guidance because I just dabble in tarot. I don’t know all the deeper meanings and astrology behind it.”
Together, they were able to build upon each other’s ideas and come to creative consensus on everything from the suits in the minor arcana to the archetypes of the major arcana. “I wanted the first five cards to be all of them [the coven]; their archetypes,” Andrea recalls. “For instance, the High Priestess is obviously Jen, and that’s their card in the show, and the fool is Agatha.” Some might be a little surprised by her choice for Empress, but Andrea stands by it. “I really wanted Sharon Davis, or Mrs. Hart, to represent the Empress. She’s a gardener, she tends flowers. She’s the ultimate mother. She is definitely Empress energy.”
Other correspondences were wildly obvious. “I had the idea of doing each suit as a different trial on the Witch’s Road,” Brittany adds, “and Andy pointed out, which is brilliant, that each suit of the tarot is a different element in a different moon phase, and it tells a story that lines up with the coven going down the road into different trials, including which moon phase corresponded to each trial as well as the element of focus for each trial. So, it all lined up amazingly - it was very serendipitous.”
Fans of the show may also notice that the minor arcana tell their own story. “Brittany’s a genius,” Andrea says, describing how each of the minor arcana suits were planned to tell the narrative story of each trial from the Witch’s Road. “Some of them, like the swords for Lilia’s trial, fit so flawlessly it’s like they were made for this. The Ten of Swords, when Lilia is holding on and is about to drop is so iconic and so resonant for that card: You're coming to an end.”
Other themes of the tarot, she says, did have to be adjusted, especially the court cards and the matter of Kings. “I don't know if anybody else is going to pick up on this with the court cards, but since it's such a female heavy cast we obviously weren't going to put kings in the place of Kings. So, what I decided to do for those is put different people in the Page, Knight, Queen and King roles, depending on whose trial it was and who was taking the lead.” She adds, “It was really fun to figure out who, and which roles and how they fit into the whole scheme of it, and Brittany and I were both entertained by that.”
Another aspect they both enjoyed, Brittany says, was hiding easter eggs for both Marvel and tarot enthusiasts alike. “I tried to tie into the Rider Tarot as much as possible since that was our inspiration, so you’ll catch glimpses of salamanders, not directly noticeable to the eye, but in the background.” She adds that such nods to the original Rider Tarot can be found throughout the 78 cards, and that Marvel fans will likewise find a couple nods to WandaVision if they look closely enough. “I think Sparky is one of my favorites, because he’s just tucked away, in the back as a bronze statue somewhere – I won’t call it out in case I can get somebody to find him, but he’s somewhere in the background. So, if you do find him, let me know - points for Sparky!”
As far as personal favorites among the major and minor suits, Brittany names the Emperor. “It was a really well-framed shot for the show that I really enjoyed, and Alice’s stance was so perfect for the cards with the darker lighting, the gritty feel. And I was able to sneak in some Rider iconography there.” For the minor, she says, “I have to go with the Seven of Cups. I wanted it to model the Six of Cups, from the Rider Tarot, where it’s just the cups and there’s the clouds and hallucinations and visions are coming out of them. I really like the color scheme of the card I created. It was kind of a big swing, because I wasn’t sure if Marvel was going to dig this weird hallucination concept.”
For Andrea, it all comes down to spreads. Particularly, Lilia’s safe passage spread from the show. “A lot of people have already recorded it, but it’s nice to have it, and the explanation,” Andrea shares, adding that she was also able to create an additional themed spread just for the deck. “I wrote about joining a coven and why it’s important, but you have to figure out which witch you are – are you a fire witch, are you a protection witch – and so I have a spread in there for figuring that out.”
Agatha All Along fans will also be excited to learn, if they have yet to see the announcement from Marvel, of the next project in the pipeline: Grimoire of Agatha Harkness: A Magical History and Spellbook. Co-authored by Andrea and Danny Lore, the grimoire is planned for release on Oct. 7. “I’ve also co-written a locked castle murder-mystery with Rebecca Mix, called I Killed the King,” Andrea shares, noting that Marvel fans might enjoy the ride as they await the arrival of Avengers: Doomsday. “It comes out on September 16, and it’s a Knives Out meets My Lady Jane situation.”
As for what she and Brittany hope Marvel fans will take away from the Agatha All Along Tarot, already one of Insight Editions’ most pre-ordered decks, Andrea says, “I have a lot of respect for the Tarot, and I really hope that comes through in the cards…because we really did put a ton of thought and energy into it.”
Brittany agrees, adding that she just hopes fans are happy with the final result. “I’ve been doing art since I was a kid, it was kind of something that was my craft, my hobby, and every show I worked on, I’d always draw thank you cards, and now this happened. It’s my first big one.” She says, “I hope that everybody loves it.”
For more from Britanny Horn, follow @the_britts_ on Instagram for updates about art and upcoming projects.
Visit www.andreahannah.com to learn more about tarot and to keep up to date with all of Andrea’s latest books, projects and events.