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Summary:

Review: "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

Table of Contents:

• Origins and antecedents
• Renaissance Italy and the emergence of Tarot
• An alternative explanation of Tarot symbolism
• The transformation of Tarot into an esoteric device
• Across the channel to England
• Tarot and the new age.

Author/Creator:

Farley, Helen

Languages:

English

Language Notes:

Item content: English

Main Work:

A Cultural History of Tarot: From Entertainment to Esotericism [by Farley, H.]

Other Related Resources:

Print version: Cultural history of tarot [by Farley, H.] (London : I.B. Tauris, 2009 — ISBN 9781848850538; OCLC Number 311761373)

Subjects:

Tarot — History

Tarot cards — History

Tarot

Tarot cards

Genres:

History

General Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.
Description based on: Print version record.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (vii, 270 pages) : illustrations

Digital Characteristics:

text file

Call Numbers:

BF1879.T2 F39 2009eb

ISBNs:

9781441641205 (electronic bk.)
1441641203 (electronic bk.)
9781848850538 (hbk.) [Invalid]
1848850530 (hbk.) [Invalid]
9780857711823 (PDF)
0857711822 (PDF)

OCLC Numbers:

613658566