Tarot Course Materials

This menu features most of the material which was developed for a class which was offered at a local bookstore in 2017–scroll down for clickable links…

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