The Tarot of Durer was created by contemporary artist Giacinto Gaudenzi as an homage to Albrecht Durer, a German artist of the Renaissance era who was famous for his paintings and lifelike engravings. Secrets hidden within his compositions have stymied art historians for more than five centuries. Durer was a practitioner of cipher: hiding secret messages in his artwork that were only understood by someone that discovered the key.

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The major arcana incorporate animals as allegorical symbols. The Magician has a cat, the Hierophant a fox, the Empress a Monkey. A rooster watches the Hanged Man. The Chariot is pulled by a donkey that is passing beneath a rat on the branch of a tree. Accompanying the Hermit is a turtle. The minor suits correspond to a metaphor of an animal. Cups are associated with Doves, Pentacles with eagles, Wands with Lions, and Swords with Foxes.