A Cultural History of Tarot : From Entertainment to Esotericism

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 enigmatic and richly illustrative tarot deck reveals a host of strange and iconic images, 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."--Jacket I.B.Tauris Contents 6 Illustrations 8 Tables 10 Acknowledgements 12 Introduction 14 1 Origins and Antecedents 19 2 Renaissance Italy and the Emergence of Tarot 46 3 An Alternative Explanation of Tarot Symbolism 63 4 The Transformation of Tarot into an Esoteric Device 106 5 Across the Channel to England 134 6 Tarot and the New Age 164 Conclusion 186 Notes 190 Bibliography 248 Index 278 9781848850538