The Tarot


Book Description

The Tarot is one of the few books that cuts through conventional misperceptions to explore the Tarot deck as it really developed in the Middle Ages and Renaissance Europe-not, as some would suggest, in the far reaches of Egyp-tian antiquity. Mining the Hermetic, alchemical, and Neoplatonic influences behind the evolution of the deck, author Robert M. Place provides a historically grounded and compelling portrait of the Tarot's true origins, without overlooking the deck's mystical dimensions. Indeed, Place uncommonly weds reliable historiography with a practical understanding of the intuitive help and divinatory guidance that the cards can bring. He presents techniques that offer new and valuable ways to read and interpret the cards. Based on a simple three-card spread, Place's approach can be used by either the seasoned practitioner or the new inquirer.




The Visconti-Sforza Tarot Cards


Book Description

The Visconti-Sforza Tarot Cards" contains a commentary by Michael Dummett and full size, color reproductions of Tarot cards from the Pierpont-Morgan Library in New York City, and the Accademia Carrara in Bergamo, Italy. In his introduction, Dummett refers to the cards as a masterpiece of mid-fifteenth-century Italian art in the International Gothic style. The Visconti-Sforza Tarot deck, named for the two great ducal families for whom they were made, is a fine example of the 78 card Tarot lineage (consisting of 56 suit cards and 22 picture cards). The suits of this deck are Swords, Batons, Cups and Coins. The four court cards are King, Queen, Knight and Jack.




A Cultural History of Tarot


Book Description

The enigmatic and richly illustrative tarot deck reveals a host of strange and iconic mages, such as The Tower, The Wheel of Fortune, The Hanged Man and The Fool: over which loom the terrifying figures of Death and The Devil. The 21 numbered playing cards of tarot have always exerted strong fascination, way beyond their original purpose, and the multiple resonances of the deck are ubiquitous. From T S Eliot and his 'wicked pack of cards' in "The Waste Land" to the psychic divination of Solitaire in Ian Fleming's "Live and Let Die"; and from the satanic novels of Dennis Wheatley to the deck's adoption by New Age practitioners, the cards have in modern times become inseparably connected to the occult. They are now viewed as arguably the foremost medium of prophesying and foretelling. Yet, as the author shows, originally the tarot were used as recreational playing cards by the Italian nobility in the Renaissance. It was only much later, in the 18th and 19th centuries, that the deck became associated with esotericism before evolving finally into a diagnostic tool for mind, body and spirit. This is the first book to explore the remarkably varied ways in which tarot has influenced culture. Tracing the changing patterns of the deck's use, from game to mysterious oracular device, Helen Farley examines tarot's emergence in 15th century Milan and discusses its later associations with astrology, kabbalah and the Age of Aquarius.




Cary-Yale Visconti Tarocchi


Book Description

The Cary-Yale Visconti Tarocchi Deck is comprised of 22 Major Arcana and 64 Minor Arcana cards. The deck includes reproductions of tarocchi cards from the Cary Collection of Playing Cards, now housed at Yale University. Nineteen cards have been recreated to replace missing originals. In addition to the King and Queen, each suit in the Minor Arcana contains both male and female Knights and Pages.




Gnostic Tarot


Book Description

Gnostic Tarot presents an exciting new path for people who want to use the tarot as a guide for spiritual development. Lee Irwin synthesizes the more traditional forms of interpretation with a new esoteric method based on the contemporary theories of Hermetic and Gnostic spirituality. He has developed ten Mandalas (akin to tarot spreads) for you to use as meditative structures for contemplating the interconnection between the natural elements and consciousness as reflected by the imagery of the cards. Irwin provides a detailed discussion of the esoteric history and structure of the tarot, and explores the symbolism of the Four Suits, The Inner (Minor) Court Cards, and the Major Arcana Cards as illustrated by the Ravenswood and Waite decks. His wellwritten and deeply insightful interpretations of tarot imagery will inspire you to see the sacred in everything surrounding you. By using Irvins Mandalas, mediations, and visualization exercises, you can learn to align your physical, mental, and emotional life with your spiritual growth, to affect an alchemical transformation through the realization of your souls purpose.




Tarot: Temple of Paper, House of Cards


Book Description

Tarot: Temple of Paper, House of Cards breaks new ground in the study of the Tarot. The primary goal of this book is not to provide a user manual or card interpretation guide. Nor is it an argument for any one school of thought in regards to the cards, their origin or intended use. Instead, the purpose is to help beginners and adepts alike appreciate the never yet ever changing Tarot in a genuinely new way. The thought exercise that creates this lens through which to understand the heart of the art includes techniques for internalizing the cards, their combinations and overlooked complexities in an immersive manner. These do not compete with prevalent methods but only enhance them. The Tarot is different things to different people. It has survived, and thrived through more than six hundred years of use because of its elastic evolution. This book encapsulates what it was and what it is while still adding to the methods available for its users. Additionally, new research is offered that is sure to surprise even those already well-read on the subject. And speaking of that subject, the practice of Tarot is fascinating on multiple levels including the historic, artistic, folkloric, psychological and spiritual. All of those and more are touched on in a work meant to revitalize not the Tarot itself, but the ways in which we can better understand and make use of it.




The Esoteric Tarot


Book Description

That the Tarot originated in ancient Egypt as a divinatory tool is a romantic misconception. Ron Decker’s meticulous scholarship will surprise practitioners and academics alike, revealing the Tarot’s true evolution and meanings as its inventor(s) understood it. The Tarot consists of the Minor Arcana, four suits of cards similar to our modern deck, and the Major Arcana, twenty-two allegorical or “trump” cards. Decker says the four-suit deck was invented in Asia Minor before AD 1000; Italian courtiers added the trumps in the 1400s. But Tarot was first used as a game. Tarot divination was only created in the 1700s by a Parisian fortuneteller who based the trump images on Hermeticism, which merges Greco-Egyptian alchemy, astrology, numerology, magic, and mysticism. Today, the suit-cards are often traced to the ancient Jewish Cabala. But, says Decker, they, too, acquired their meanings only in the 1700s, and he cites a lost numerical system based on Cabala at that time. Decker’s interpretation integrates three whole systems-astrological, arithmological, mystagogical (concerning initiation rites into the Mysteries). His depth of knowledge makes the book a must-have for serious students of Tarot and esotericism.




Every Little Thing You Do Is Magic Tarot


Book Description

Co-created by the founder of The 52 Lists Project, Moorea Seal, and debut author and illustrator Callie Little, this expressive 78-card tarot deck pulls the centuries-old divination practice into the modern age, focusing on mental health, mindfulness, and personal growth. Traditional tarot offers a metaphor-rich, visual exploration of the universal human experience, often called "the hero's journey." Every Little Thing You Do Is Magic Tarot: A 78-Card Deck and Guidebook is a celebration of your hero's journey, encouraging you to travel the path of self-inquiry in pursuit of fulfillment, joy, and healing. Amidst the distractions and anxieties of modern life, developing a ritualized tarot practice offers necessary space for self-inquiry, creative expression, and grounding. This tarot deck, which follows the traditional Rider-Waite-Smith structure, and accompanying guidebook provide layered, mixed media illustrations and unique card interpretations that revitalize tarot's traditional archetypes and themes. This unique deck also includes a special stand that you can use as an altar to display your cards and deepen your practice. Each card's message is viewed through the lens of personal growth, from the importance of clear interpersonal communication to the power of music, journaling, and meditation. The guidebook goes into the numerology of each card and offers up gemstones and songs that embody the essence of each archetype. As you get to know the challenges and possibilities hidden in your hero's journey, you will come to better understand both the tarot and yourself. You may realize that strengthening your intuition and practicing curiosity are little acts of everyday magic.