Customer Reviews

The Magical World of the Tarot: Fourfold Mirror of the Universe

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As my title, this book is highly informative, it shows you the best way to reach the spirit of Tarot, that is, by meditation. Not simply hold the cards and look at the cards to see what information you can get from the images of the cards, in this book, you will be taught how to communicate with the characters of the cards of the Major Arcana and how to visit the Theatres of the suits. If you want to learn Tarot in a quick and direct way, however, this book is definitely not for you.

Nowadays most books on the Tarot are derived entirely from the Rider-Waite Tarot which comes from the British school of thought on the subject. In this book, however, Knight goes back to the earlier variants of Tarot originating from Continental Europe as exemplified by the Marseilles Tarot which was considered the standard prior to the advent of the Rider-Waite. Before reading this book I was only vaguely aware of the original Tarot and what it symbolized. This book gives an excellent understanding of how the Major and Minor arcana developed and what their meanings originally were. After reading it, the ordering and organization of the Tarot seems a whole lot less arbitrary than it did before.

The format of this book did leave a bit to be desired, however. Personally, I did not go through the series visualization exercises that Knight proposes to guide the reader through. These sort of exercises can be of great help in gaining an intuitive sense of the cards, but I just didn't have the patience for it at the time. I was a bit bored by the question and answer sections at the end of each chapter as most of the questions covered were quite elementary. Overall, though, I enjoyed this book and am very thankful for the alternate view of the Tarot it has given me which has certainly expanded my understanding.

Gareth Knight gives us the in-depth study of the Tarot that we yearned for while reading his mammoth A Practical Guide to Qabalistic Symbolism. Knight might be the greatest historian of all things Qabala and delivers on that in this book with his knowledge of the origins of the cards and also the key meanings for each card. He is also able to keep this clear across several decks. Knight also gives the reader several options on reading techniques. This book is a great place to start your study of the Tarot.

I assume any book I pick up, that has Gareth Knight's name on it, will be a book that will bear thoughtful reading
and LOTS of personal application. This book is exactly like that.
Most books I've seen are aiming to inform the intellect and not necessarily train the consciousness or the mind. This book takes you straight to the inside where the keys themselves become your teachers.
Some friends have recently asked my input on what to study/read to gain more insight into the paths of the Tree of Life.
I gave them my copy of this book.
It is also a useable companion to Gareth's classic Guide to Cabalistic Symbolism, a must-have on any aspirants bookshelf.
Thanks Gareth, for another practical, useable book.