The Ring Cycle Tarot is an extraordinary deck created by Allegra Printz and published by Schiffer. It is based on Richard Wagner’s epic opera The Ring of the Nibelung, which tells the story of a cursed ring that wreaks havoc and destruction on the lives of all who possess it, and ultimately brings about the downfall of the gods. If this sounds a little familiar, it is because both Wagner and Tolkien used the same source material for their inspiration – Scandinavian myths, particularly the Edda, the Icelandic Edda, and a mediaeval Teutonic epic poem - Nibelungenleid.
Richard Wagner (1813 – 1883) composed his epic 15 hour opera over a period of some 26 years (1848 – 1874) and unusually wrote both the libretto and music. The Ring of Nibelung is comprised of 4 operas that combine to tell the overarching tale of The Ring – Das Rheingold, Die Walkure, Siegfried, and Gotterdammerung.