Mystical Origins of the Tarot

Mystical Origins of the Tarot

Author: Paul Huson

Publisher: Simon and Schuster

Published: 2004-05-26

Total Pages: 503

ISBN-13: 1620551837

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A profusely illustrated history of the occult nature of the tarot from its origins in ancient Persia • Thoroughly examines the original historical source for each tarot card and how the cards’ divinatory meanings evolved from these symbols • Provides authentic 18th- and 19th-century spreads and divination techniques • Reveals the divinatory meanings of the cards as understood by diviners in the Middle Ages and Renaissance The origins of the tarot have been lost in the mists of time. Most scholars have guessed that its origins were in China, Egypt, or India. In Mystical Origins of the Tarot, Paul Huson has expertly tracked each symbol of the Minor Arcana to roots in ancient Persia and the Major Arcana Trump card images to the medieval world of mystery, miracle, and morality plays. A number of tarot historians have questioned the use of the tarot as a divination tool prior to the 18th century. But the author demonstrates that the symbolic meanings of the Major Arcana were evident from the time they were first employed in the mid-15th century in the popular divination practice of sortilege. He also reveals how the identities of the court cards in the Minor Arcana were derived from a blend of pagan and medieval sources that strongly influenced their interpretation in tarot divination. Mystical Origins of the Tarot provides a thorough examination of the original historical source for each card and how the cards’ divinatory meanings evolved from these symbols. Huson also provides concise and practical card-reading methods designed by the cartomancers of the 18th and 19th centuries and reveals the origins of the card interpretations promoted by the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn and A. E. Waite.


A Cultural History of Tarot

A Cultural History of Tarot

Author: Helen Farley

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing

Published: 2019-08-22

Total Pages: 285

ISBN-13: 1788314913

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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.


The Tarot

The Tarot

Author: Robert Place

Publisher: Penguin

Published: 2005-03-17

Total Pages: 338

ISBN-13: 9781585423491

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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 Tarot: A Collection of Secret Wisdom from Tarot's Mystical Origins

The Tarot: A Collection of Secret Wisdom from Tarot's Mystical Origins

Author: F. Homer Curtiss

Publisher: St. Martin's Essentials

Published: 2021-11-23

Total Pages: 1852

ISBN-13: 1250622913

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"A major contribution!” —Rachel Pollack, bestselling author of Seventy-Eight Degrees of Wisdom The definitive collection of rare, secret, and arcane tarot knowledge The Tarot: A Collection of Secret Wisdom from Tarot's Mystical Origins is the ultimate guide to the mysteries and lost knowledge of the tarot. This single volume includes more than ten selections from foundational tarot books, all from the 19th and 20th century. Many of these critical texts have been forgotten, fallen out of print, or are impossible to acquire. The Tarot reintroduces these books to the modern-day reader, unlocking the invisible power of the tarot for a new generation of card readers. The Tarot includes the following complete books: The Tarot by S. L. MacGregor Mathers The Magical Ritual of the Sanctum Regnum by Eliphaz Levi Fortune Telling by Cards by P. R. S. Foli The Pictorial Key to the Tarot by Arthur Edward Waite The Symbolism of the Tarot by P.D. Ouspensky The Tarot of the Bohemians by Papus The Key to the Universe by Harriette Augusta Curtiss & F. Homer The Key of Destiny by Harriette Augusta Curtiss & F. Homer The General Book of the Tarot by A.E. Thierens The Tarot also includes additional selections from Manly P. Hall and others. Featuring over 400 original black-and-white illustrations throughout the book, The Tarot is a gorgeous gift and an irresistible invitation to both seasoned readers and beginners to explore the esoteric wisdom of the cards.


The History of Tarot Art

The History of Tarot Art

Author: Holly Adams Easley

Publisher: Epic Ink

Published: 2021-09-07

Total Pages: 256

ISBN-13: 9780760371244

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With warmth and wisdom, authors Holly Adams Easley and Esther Joy Archer delve into the fascinating history and stories behind centuries of tarot artwork in The History of Tarot Art.


The Tarot of the Bohemians

The Tarot of the Bohemians

Author: Papus , Papus

Publisher: Lulu.com

Published: 2010-03-16

Total Pages: 394

ISBN-13: 0557356571

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Translation of Clef absolue de la science occulte. The tarot of the Bohemians, absolute key to occult science : the most ancient book in the world for the exclusive use of initiates by Papus. CONTENTS include: Part I: The "General Key to the Tarot," Giving the Absolute Key to the Occult Science -- Part II: Symolism in the Tarot. Application of the General Key to the Symbolism. Part III: Applications of the Tarot. Reproduction of 1892 Edition.


The World in Play

The World in Play

Author: Timothy B. Husband

Publisher: Metropolitan Museum of Art

Published: 2016-01-20

Total Pages: 138

ISBN-13: 1588396088

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In the late Middle Ages and early modern times, card playing was widely enjoyed at all levels of society. The playing cards in this engaging volume are unique works of art that illuminate the transition from late medieval to early modern Europe, a period of tumultuous social, artistic, economic, and religious change. Included are the most important luxury decks of hand-painted European playing cards that have survived, as well as a selection of hand-colored woodblock cards, engraved cards, and tarot packs. The casts of characters they illustrate range from royals to commoners. Many feature animals such as falcons and hounds, while other portray such diverse objects as acorns, helmets, or coins. This is the only study of its kind in English and the only one in a generation in any language. The insightful narrative by Timothy B. Husband discusses the significance of playing cards in the secular art of the period and also recounts the varied stories they tell, conjuring the customs and facts of life of the time. Little is known abut the games played with these cards, but as Husband notes: "The playing out of a hand of cards can be seen as a microcosmic reflection of the ever-changing world around us—a world in play—a view that the creators of the cards under discussion here would seem to have shared.


The Spiritual Roots of the Tarot

The Spiritual Roots of the Tarot

Author: Russell A. Sturgess

Publisher: Simon and Schuster

Published: 2020-09-22

Total Pages: 489

ISBN-13: 1644110571

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Learn the path to enlightenment and inner peace encoded by the Cathar in the Major Arcana of the Marseille Tarot • Reveals how the secret wisdom teachings of the heretical Cathar sect were hidden in plain sight in the imagery of the Major Arcana of the Marseille Tarot deck • Decodes each of the cards in detail and shows how they offer clear instructions for recalibrating human consciousness and achieving enlightenment • Shares the author’s self-development program, based on the wisdom of the cards, for creating a lifestyle filled with peace, joy, good health, and meaning The Holy Grail has been discovered. Not a cup or chalice as myth leads us to believe, the Holy Grail is sacred knowledge of the path to enlightenment and inner peace. While author Russell Sturgess was conducting research on the Marseille Tarot, he found evidence that this tarot deck, while masquerading as a simple card game, held the teachings of an ancient heretical religious group from southern France, the Cathar, believed to be the keepers of the Holy Grail. To avoid persecution by the papacy, this sect used portable art like illuminations to convey their Gnostic Christian teachings, in the same way the stained glass windows of churches spoke to their congregations. This portable Cathar art then inspired the creation of the Tarot. After his breakthrough discovery of a hidden key on the Magician and Strength cards, Sturgess examined the Major Arcana cards further and used the key to unlock their symbolism, discovering clear instructions for recalibrating human consciousness and achieving enlightenment, with specific cards representing pivotal points in making the journey from ignorance to awareness. Decoding the cards in detail, the author shows how they reveal a journey of transformed consciousness that can result in finding what the Cathar called “the kingdom of heaven.” Calling this sacred knowledge “the Cathar Code,” Sturgess reveals his personal development program based on the Code that opens access to a meaningful lifestyle filled with peace and joy and that naturally fosters health and well-being. He shows how these teachings offer a clear path that transforms a life burdened by fear of failure, rejection, and scarcity into one with clarity of purpose, self-honoring, kindness, and the abundance that comes with making a fulfilling difference in the world.