Robert Place

This is probably the first book I have read about Tarot cards. On the other hand, I've read books about Giordano Bruno, Jacob Boehme, Cornelius Agrippa, etc. From my casual familiarity with Tarot cards, it seemed obvious enough to me that they fit nicely into the tradition of alchemical emblems. So I was delighted to find this book in a bookshop recently... enough so not merely to buy the book but to read it, too!

It fulfilled my hopes quite well. Place reviews the history of Western esotericism at a nice pace, providing lots of fascinating details without getting bogged down. His discussion of Lull's Blanquerna inspired me to track down a copy for my shelves.... I expect it will take me longer to get to reading that, though!

All the history of philosophy sets up the detailed review of the cards, creating a context for the catalog. Place discusses and compares the cards one by one, comparing versions from maybe half a dozen different decks. It's a bit of a slog but again Place does a good job of not getting bogged down.

This kind of historical and philosophical perspective probably won't appeal to somebody who just wants to use the cards to pick business investments etc. But for folks who are curious as to how the cards work, it's a wonderful introduction.… (més)

The book rather nicely talks about the diversity of what “shamanism” is and what it means from an anthropological context as well as an everyday one. The book is step-up not to teach about shamanism but to explain to someone from an outsiders view in an overall and basic sense. The book even mentions how some therapeutic techniques use things which are or could be considered shamanic in their practice to help patients.

What I also liked about the book, is that it recognizes that shamanism is diverse, and that is some places like in parts of Latin America people might use Christian angels or saints rather and spirits and other gods. The book acknowledges the difference between ’new’ shamanism and traditional shamanism but doesn’t give off a sense of ‘one is better or more right then the other.’ At one point it even describes an encounter with a New Age shaman and a Nepalese shaman the former thinking journeying is a wondrous thing while the later finds it terrifying and grim.

The book does use some speculative license in the form a story set back thousands of years ago, but it makes for a nice example as to how it might have been. However even the author notes how many scholars do not like to guess about the practices of ancient people without knowing for certain given the limited evidence and remains which still exist to date.

Its not a perfect book, but it is not bad at all. A good read.… (més)

I’ve been reading Tarot books for a good thirty years or more, and rarely found one I could whole-heartedly recommend to both beginners and experienced readers alike. This is certainly it.

The first half of the book is one of the most comprehensive and readable histories of the Tarot ever published. Place, an artist himself, has a profound grasp of visual allegory and symbolic imagery in Western art. In addition to the art history of the deck, he also traces the history of ideas that influenced both Renaissance artists and later occultists who reshaped the cards into the system we know today.

The latter half of the book focuses on divination. His card-by-card descriptions are concise and useful, but I was most impressed by his layouts. No Celtic Cross here, mostly variations on three-card layouts. I regularly use three cards myself, and was delighted to get new insights and ideas. After reading cards for decades, it’s fun to know you can learn a new trick or two.

If you’re not a Tarot or history geek, the opening chapters might be overwhelming. For a beginner, there’d be no harm in beginning at the end and still becoming a competent card reader. But the serious card reader will find the entire book a treasure.… (més)