The Tarot: History, Mystery and Lore




 * Author: Cynthia Giles
 * Publisher: Simon & Schuster
 * Personal Review At Goodreads: 5 stars
 * Featured Deck: None

Favorite Quote
"During the Renaissance, the study of esoteric systems was a thriving enterprise. Alchemy, astrology, and natural magic were the preoccupations of many great men, such as Giordano Bruno, John Dee, and Isaac Newton; quantities of books were published on metaphysical topics of all kinds but not a word about the Tarot.  And that is a very curious fact for the Tarot deck seems so naturally suited to esoteric interpretation. Certainly, as soon as people began to look for esoteric structures and correspondences in the Tarot, they found an embarrassment of riches. That wellspring of speculation was opened up at the end of the eighteenth century, and there begins the next chapter of our investigation of the Tarot." (p.20)