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

Unlock the Symbols, Meanings & Magic of the Cards Discover the esoteric roots underlying the Rider-Waite-Smith Tarot, the Thoth Tarot, and contemporary decks that share their symbols. This illustrated, card-by-card analysis reveals detailed insights drawn from the multi-layered traditions of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, the magical order that most strongly influenced modern tarot, helping you give better readings informed by the history of spiritual practice. For each card, you will discover how astrology, mythology, alchemy, the elements, and Qabalah contribute to the card's overall meaning. Authors T. Susan Chang and M. M. Meleen, co-hosts of the popular Fortune's Wheelhouse podcast, decipher the symbols and stories of tarot. Their carefully researched synthesis of esoteric ideas is designed to foster a deeper connection with the wisdom of the cards.

In this pioneering scholarly work on occult symbols in literature, the reader is offered a vivid look into how W.B. Yeats, T.S. Eliot, and Franz Kafka--three masters of symbolic expression--utilized Tarot cards in their poetry and prose. Focusing on the Tarot's ancient associations with divine knowledge, its pictorial representation of both the Jewish and Christian Cabala, and the Tarot's more recent pedestrian affiliation with the occult, June Leavitt skillfully demonstrates how Yeats, Eliot, and Kafka align themselves in their uniquely individual ways with the Tarot symbols' mapping of reality. Paying close attention to the mystical nuances of the Tarot, Ms. Leavitt shows how Tarot symbols allow for radically new readings of the texts in which they are situated, and play a transformative role in the three writers' search for God. This search remained indecisive for Kafka, resulted in Eliot's conversion to Anglo-Catholicism, and went hand in hand with Yeats' passion for pagan gods and angels. Visit the author's website at http: //www.spiritualityteaching.com.

"How can we possibly embrace our truest self if we never step into the dark? Author and occultist Travis McHenry reveals the secret daemons of the 17th-century and conjures their powers into this unique set of 78-divination cards. Drawing on daemons, symbols, and sigils from ancient magickal grimoires including Archidoxis Magica and the Key of Solomon, Occult Tarot presents a fully realized divination tool to finally embrace and behold the mysteries of the night."--Container.

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.