# Syna one-card tarot

The site includes all 78 faces from the original 1909 Rider–Waite–Smith Roses & Lilies deck: 22 Major Arcana and 14 each of Cups, Wands, Swords, and Pentacles. The Fool is numbered 0, Strength VIII, and Justice XI. Cards can be read upright or reversed.

## Artwork

Artwork by Pamela Colman Smith, 1909. Scans by Saskia Jansen from her personal antique deck collection, via Wikimedia Commons. Commons marks all 78 face images public domain (PD-old-70-expired); the historical card back is also marked public domain, with its artist uncertain. These are original historical illustrations, not scans of a modern publisher's recolored edition and not newly generated art.

Collection: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Rider-Waite_tarot_deck_(Roses_%26_Lilies)
Example source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:RWS1909_-_00_Fool.jpeg
Public-domain mark: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

Every local image is an unmodified 500px-wide thumbnail supplied by Wikimedia. All artwork is hosted with the site; a draw does not depend on an external image server. Full-size originals, per-card source pages, attribution, dimensions and checksums are recorded in /assets/tarot/manifest.json. The linked original scan blog was unavailable when checked; attribution is preserved in the Commons records. Retrieved 20 September 2026.

## Draw method

src/tarot-engine.mjs uses browser crypto.getRandomValues and rejection sampling to select uniformly among all 78 cards. The question does not select or weight the card. Every new draw starts with the complete deck; repeated cards are possible. A missing secure random source produces an error, not an alternative seeded by question, name, or date.

## Reading method

src/tarot-deck.mjs contains original card-specific reflection text grounded in the traditional imagery. It includes a meaning, keywords, a relationship reading, a work reading, a practical invitation, and a reflective question for every card.

The historical primary reference for the imagery is A. E. Waite, The Pictorial Key to the Tarot (1911), illustrated by Pamela Colman Smith: https://sacred-texts.com/tarot/pkt/index.htm . The modern reflection copy is Syna's own interpretation, not a verbatim translation of Waite's divinatory meanings.

The script chooses a reading lens from visible user selection or English keyword matches (love and relationships, work and creativity, a decision or change, personal growth). If no theme matches, it uses personal growth. Question intent distinguishes a timing or yes/no question, a choice, a request for action, and a general request for understanding. The chosen lens is shown in the result. This is deterministic text composition, not AI language understanding; different questions can receive the same interpretation for the same card and lens. Users can choose the lens if automatic keyword matching does not fit, including for non-English questions.

Questions are kept only in page memory and are rendered as text. They are not sent, logged, or persisted by the tarot feature. Draws are for symbolic reflection; they do not predict events, diagnose conditions, supply professional advice, or establish what another person thinks. There is no yes/no verdict, promised timeline or multi-card spread.


## Reversed readings

Reversals are included by default and can be disabled before drawing. A separate cryptographically random bit gives each drawn card a 50% chance of either orientation. The 78-card selection remains uniform. Every card has original reversed copy and an introspective question in `src/tarot-reversed.mjs`; it replaces the upright meaning and topic context, rather than merely adding a negative label. Images rotate without rotating the caption or fallback. Reversed readings focus on inner needs, protective patterns, and gentle adjustments; they do not predict misfortune or another person’s thoughts.