Red roses in tarot

The red rose is the flower of love and desire in European poetry and, in Christian art, of martyrdom and the blood of Christ. The esoteric tradition Waite belonged to also knew the rose as the emblem of the Rosicrucians, the rose blooming on a cross. Red roses grow with white lilies in the Magician's garden, which Waite described as aspiration cultivated into garden flowers; they wind through the garland of Strength and form the arbour of the Queen of Pentacles. Where they appear, read passion and devotion that have been tended rather than left wild. The pairing with lilies balances desire with purity.

Cards that show red roses

The Magician
The Magician: The roses and lilies
Red roses and white lilies grow in front of the table, and a garland of roses hangs from the top of the card. Roses stand for desire, lilies for purity. Waite says these wild flowers are 'changed into garden flowers', aspiration cultivated by effort.
The Hierophant
The Hierophant: The kneeling ministers
Two tonsured men kneel before him with their backs to us, each wearing a yellow Y-shaped stole. One robe is patterned with red roses, the other with white flowers on blue, echoing the roses and lilies of the Magician: desire and purity, both come to be taught.
Strength
Strength: The chain of flowers
A garland of roses and leaves circles her waist and loops round the lion. Waite calls it a chain of flowers, 'the sweet yoke and the light burden', gentle restraint freely accepted in place of a chain of iron.
Two of Wands
Two of Wands: The rose, cross and lily
On the stone block at the left, red roses and white lilies cross each other in a diagonal pattern. Waite asked readers to notice the Rose and Cross and Lily here. Roses and lilies also grow together in the Magician's garden: desire and purity, joined.
Nine of Swords
Nine of Swords: The patchwork quilt
The quilt is the brightest thing in the picture, patterned with red roses and blue and yellow squares holding small dotted signs, often identified as astrological symbols. It hints at the comfort, beauty and wider order the sleeper cannot yet see.
Ace of Pentacles
Ace of Pentacles: The hedge and arch
A dark green hedge dotted with red flowers, often read as roses, runs across the card and opens into an arch. The garden is enclosed and cultivated; the arch is the way out of it, from safety into the wider world.
Queen of Pentacles
Queen of Pentacles: The arch of roses
Rose-covered branches curve across the top of the card and down one side, framing her like a bower. Roses traditionally carry love and beauty; here they show that her world is cultivated and full of flowering things.