TAROT IMAGE TRADITIONS: COMPARISON RECORD
Original image-study aid; not a prediction test, historical authentication or validated learning score.

BLANK RECORD
1. Fixed modest task, such as a thumbnail sketch:


2. First deck / edition / card name / number / orientation:


3. Second deck / edition / card name / number / orientation:


4. Image record URLs and reproduction details:


5. Visible details in the first actual image:


6. Visible details in the second actual image:


7. My associations, labelled as my responses:


8. Named author / source / chapter for interpretation:


9. Image match or mismatch with that source:


10. What each image contributes to the same task:


11. Historical assertions or other points still unverified:


12. One bounded next step; no prediction or private-feeling claim:


ORIGINAL WORKED COMPARISON
Task: Sketch two things in relation.
Dodal Two of Cups: Two cups flank a central stem; curved animal-like forms occupy the upper part; maker name below. No human pair is present.
Smith Two of Cups: II above two facing cup-bearing people; intertwined serpents and winged lion head above; landscape below.
My association: The balanced cups suggest a pair to me. This is my response, not a documented motive or a future event.
Source: Waite, Two of Cups, describes pledging figures and names the caduceus. The human scene describes Smith’s card, not missing figures in the Dodal card.
Next step: Sketch the Dodal central axis and the Smith facing gesture in separate thumbnails.
Unresolved: Exact physical edition details are not authenticated by these online scans.

PRACTICE QUESTIONS
1. A book says the Two of Cups shows two people exchanging pledges. Your Dodal image has two cups and ornament, without those people. Should you describe an invisible couple?
Your answer:



2. You write “the cups are arranged as a pair” and then “the pair makes me think of mutual attention.” Which sentence is a visible observation?
Your answer:



3. A list says card VIII is Strength. Your displayed Dodal card VIII says Justice and shows scales and a sword. Which identification should you use?
Your answer:



4. A source calls its smaller suit cards newly pictorial. Does that sentence prove that no earlier tarot anywhere had scenes on suit cards?
Your answer:



5. Two downloaded scans have different colours and different amounts of visible ageing. Can this comparison establish the exact original colours of every printing?
Your answer:



6. After comparing the images, you prefer an illustrated scene for a drawing prompt. Have you shown that one deck predicts events more accurately?
Your answer:



ANSWER NOTES
1. No. Describe the actual image, and label the book’s scene as belonging to a different artwork. You may compare interpretations afterward, but should not insert missing figures into an observation.
A common card name allows comparison; it does not make every deck’s picture identical. A source mismatch is useful information to record.

2. The first sentence reports a feature you can point to. The second is your association and should keep that attribution.
An association can be useful for a sketch or reflection without becoming either an artist’s documented intention or a fact about the future.

3. Identify the actual card as Dodal Justice VIII and record the deck. Waite’s Strength VIII belongs to the other numbering arrangement.
Compare names, numbers and images together. Do not relabel a pictured Justice card to make it match a memorized list.

4. No. A historical author’s broad claim is not an exhaustive modern historical survey. This article compares the pictured examples and does not claim an absolute first illustrated deck.
Waite’s Four Suits chapter supplies his account and useful structural information. Its promotional and historical assertions require separate evaluation.

5. No. Record which reproductions you used and check the file histories. Different scans, adjustments, copies and editions can affect appearance.
The Dodal trump file histories explicitly record a colour adjustment. These digital examples support a visible comparison, not a colour measurement or authentication of a physical card.

6. No. You have stated a preference for a particular visual task. Keep the reason—such as studying gesture—without turning it into an accuracy or superiority claim.
The exercise produces observations and a practical choice. It has no prediction test, participant study, spiritual score or measured effect on learning.

IMAGE AND TEXT SOURCES
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Jean_Dodal_Tarot_cups_02.jpg
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Cups02.jpg
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Jean_Dodal_Tarot_trump_08.jpg
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Jean_Dodal_Tarot_trump_11.jpg
https://sacred-texts.com/book/the-pictorial-key-to-the-tarot/two-of-cups
https://sacred-texts.com/book/the-pictorial-key-to-the-tarot/viii-strength-or-fortitude
https://sacred-texts.com/book/the-pictorial-key-to-the-tarot/xi-justice
https://sacred-texts.com/book/the-pictorial-key-to-the-tarot/section-3-class-ii-the-four-suites