Since the mysterious appearance of the first known Tarot deck in the mid-fifteenth century in Northern Italy, we only speculate regarding its original purpose. It was meant to be an entertainment instrument, a deck of cards for game playing, or it was created for divination, respectively a tool for preserving and transmitting esoteric wisdom (knowledge) hidden in plain sight?
While the vast majority of the scholars seem to agree Read more The four cardinal directions of the evolution of Tarot
I bought this book a while ago, and although I still didn’t found time to read it throughout, this introductory chapter is fascinating.
I share a small fragment here in hope to open your appetite to buy and read the entire work.
“Many philosophers and historians of culture have come to the conclusion that the Western world is entering upon a new epoch of history. The changes that are sweeping the Westernized cultures are similar to those which swept across it with the coming of Christianity and the onset of the Middle Ages (in the early part of the first millennium CE), or the triumph of Scientism following the Renaissance (around 1500 CE). This later development led to what we call the Modern world today.
More recent changes, mainly in the late twentieth century, have Read more The Magian Tarot and Postmodern theory
“The Fool is also a musical figure, as his costume is decorated with tiny jester’s bells. (…) Symbols of the creative trinity can be seen in several elements of his costume: his staff bears a small triangle composed of three dots; on one of the jester’s bells is a white circle divided by three lines. This is easy to see as the Christian trinity or the first three Sephirot of the Kabbalah’s Tree of Life, or even the three fundamental processes of life: creation, conservation, and dissolution. (…) Read more The Empty Tarot
History is the study of the past as it is described in written documents and based on physical evidence.
The earliest official mention of playing cards was made in 868 and came from the Chinese writer Su E who describes Princess Tong Cheng playing the “leaf game” with the royal family.
Supposedly, from China, the cards spread to India, Persia and eventually Egypt. Read more A brief history of cards and fortune-telling
Recently I had a very pleasant conversation with one of my virtual friends regarding the correct ordering of The Fool among the cards of the Major Arcana.
My interlocutor seemed surprised when I said that The Fool does not belong to the beginning of the Tarot deck and actually, he was not placed there until very recent times.
As many other Tarot readers, he thought that according to the Golden Dawn system The Fool, numbered zero, is the very first card placed before The Magician, the card which is traditionally numbered one. Read more The journey of The Fool
The Golden Hermetic and Fortune Telling Tarot deck is a traditional 78-cards Tarot deck on 70mm x 121mm, 2.75″ x 4.75″ smooth, 300gsm professional quality card stock and the first ever high gloss embossed printed Tarot deck.
The addition of raised high gloss printing with a touch and feel dimension to the cards make the difference! Read more The Golden Hermetic Tarot
The Golden Hermetic and Fortune Telling Tarot deck is a traditional 78-cards Tarot deck on 70mm x 121mm, 2.75″ x 4.75″ smooth, 300gsm professional quality card stock and the first ever high gloss embossed printed Tarot deck.
The addition of raised high gloss printing with a touch and feel dimension to the cards make the difference! Read more Introducing the Golden Hermetic Tarot
