Mystical Origins of the Tarot

Paul Huson has been a student of the tarot for over 40 years. He received initial esoteric training from the Society of the Inner Light in London and he later studied the methods of the Order of the Golden Dawn. He is the author of a number of books, including Mastering Witchcraft, in print for more than 30 years, and The Devil’s Picturebook: The Compleat Guide to Tarot Cards. He lives in Los Angeles.

• Acknowledgments Preface Introduction: Of Playing Cards and Tarot Decks The Mamlûk Cards The Creation of the Court Cards The Naming of the Court Cards The Creation of the Tarot Trumps Tarot in the Sixteenth Century Further Developments 1 The Origin of the Suit Signs Sufis and the Suit Signs The Four Cardinal Virtues The Four Castes of Ancient Persia 2 The Origin of the Trumps Petrarch’s I Trionfi Medieval Drama The Four Last Things The Tale the Trumps Tell 3 Of Cartomancy and the Tarot The Ancient Art of Sortilege Egyptian Magic and the Book of Thoth Etteilla’s System The Kabbala and Éliphas Lévi The Golden Dawn Attributions Papus and His “Bohemian” Tarot 4 The Meanings of the Trump Cards The Major Arcana 0 The Fool I The Juggler II The Female Pope III The Empress IV The Emperor V The Pope VI The Lovers VII The Chariot VIII Justice IX The Hermit X The Wheel of Fortune XI Fortitude XII The Hanged Man XIII Death XIV Temperance XV The Devil XVI The Tower XVII The Star XVIII The Moon XIX The Sun XX The Judgment XXI The World 5 The Meanings of the Suit Cards The Minor Arcana The Suit of Coins or Pentacles The Suit of Cups or Chalices The Suit of Swords The Suit of Batons or Wands 6 Reading the Tarot Selecting a Tarot Deck Getting in Touch with Your Cards Preparing for Divination General Rules of Cartomancy Simple Tarot Spreads Advanced Cartomancy--Linking the Cards Complex System Last Words of Advice Appendix 1. Historical Tarot Decks Appendix 2. Where to Buy Your Cards Appendix 3. Where to See the Originals About the Illustrations Bibliography Index

“Thirty years ago, at the very start of the modern tarot renaissance, Paul Huson showed us how to uncover the mythical images and truths of the tarot. Now he has returned to incorporate modern scholarship into a visionary new concept for deciphering the mystery of the tarot’s origins and meaning.”