Tarot Course Materials

Most of the material linked to, below, was developed for a class which was offered at a local bookstore in 2017.   These links can also be found under our new Tarot Course Materials menu item.  Some aspects of this material will be revised and supplemented as time goes on, but for the most part this is probably its final form.  Please email the webmaster to report any broken links, errors, or omissions! 🙂

The following topics were touched upon in the class:

. . . Why Meditate on the Tarot?

1. The Tarot as We Know It
2. Two Watershed Moments in Tarot History
3. Comparing the Marseille & Waite-Smith Tarots
   1. Comparing the Minor Arcana
      • Coins/Pentacles
      • Chalices/Cups
      • Swords
      • Batons/Wands
        
   2. Comparing the Major Arcana
      — A More Detailed Look at the Major Arcana
4. Aesthetic Roots and Resemblances Prior to 1770
5. The Philosophical and Theological Milieu
   • Quick and Dirty Overview of Hermetic Philosophy
   • The Emerald Tablet of Hermes Trismegistus
   • Plato, Plotinus, and the Great Chain of Being
     • Plotinus in a Nutshell…
     • Neoplatonic Symbolism in the Tarot Suits
6. Archetypical Psychology and Spirituality
7. Outline of Seminal Figures in the History of Occult Tarot
   • Late 18th Century Figures
   • 19th Century Figures
   • Early 20th Century
8. Two Esoteric Schools Worthy of Special Mention
   • The Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn
   • Builders of the Adytum (B.O.T.A.)
9. Contemplative Tarot
   • The Soul’s Choice
   • The Hymn of the Pearl and the Fool’s Journey

Works Cited and Additional Resources