Hebrew letters and inscriptions in tarot

Esoteric tarot, from the Comte de Mellet's essay of 1781 and above all from Lévi onward, linked the twenty-two trumps with the twenty-two letters of the Hebrew alphabet, and Smith added Hebrew and Latin letters to several cards. The scroll of the High Priestess reads TORA, recalling the Torah; the Wheel of Fortune bears the four letters of the divine name YHVH alternating with the Latin letters TARO, which can be read as ROTA, the wheel. Small yod-shaped drops fall in the Tower, the Moon and some of the Aces. In readings these marks signal that a card belongs to the Kabbalistic system behind the deck.

Cards that show hebrew letters and inscriptions

The High Priestess
The High Priestess: The Tora scroll
The scroll in her lap shows the letters TORA, partly covered by her robe. Torah is the Hebrew word for the Law. Waite says the covering shows 'that some things are implied and some spoken': she holds more than she reveals.
Wheel of Fortune
Wheel of Fortune: The letters on the rim
The outer ring carries T, A, R, O, which can be read as TARO, ROTA (Latin for wheel) or TORA, alternating with the four Hebrew letters of the divine name. Waite says they are there 'to shew that Providence is implied through all'.
The Tower
The Tower: The yellow drops
Small yellow flames shaped like the Hebrew letter yod fall on both sides, traditionally counted as twenty-two, the number of the Major Arcana. Many readers take them as divine sparks: grace falling into the scene along with the wreckage.
The Moon
The Moon: The falling drops
Yellow drops shaped like the Hebrew letter yod fall between the moon and the ground. The older cards treated them as dew; Waite calls them 'the dew of thought'. They suggest that even in uncertain light, something nourishing reaches the earth.
Ace of Cups
Ace of Cups: The letter on the cup
The bowl carries a large letter that reads as an upside-down M or a W. Its meaning is not explained by Waite. Some readers take it as a W for Waite, others as an inverted M for Mary or for water; none of these is certain.
Ace of Swords
Ace of Swords: The six yellow drops
Small yellow flames shaped like the Hebrew letter yod drift downward on either side of the blade. The same shape falls on the Tower and the Moon, and on this card it is often read as grace or spirit descending with the gift.