Customer Reviews

Qabalistic Tarot: A Textbook of Mystical Philosophy

5 star:		(18)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This book is a masterpiece - it's very informative & researched (which make it contrast sharply with the many - too many - shallow formulative books published nowadays), and gives a wide and deep view of the tarot.

Wang explains the tarot using the Qabala (especially the tree of life) and some astrology, based on the Golden Dawn tradition, giving it a context and underpinning - the tarot is presented not as a collection of pictures, but as the structured tool that has a structure and ordered basis in western occult tradition. To illustrate his explanation, he compares the Tarot of Marseilles, his own Golden Dawn deck, Waite's Rider deck, and Crowley's Thoth deck. The book can be used as a guide for all of those decks, or as the best companion guide to the books that accompany them (e.g. the Pictorial Key to the Tarot or Book of Thoth).

Though the book is not the easiest to read (and needs to be read more than once to be fully digested), the language is concise, the structure of material logical and clear, and is worth every cent of its price and every moment spent reading.

The only complaint I have about this book is the poor binding - the pages are poorly glued at the back which made the pages break into four groups quickly. I wish a plastic binding back was used instead.

Without a doubt, this is the best book on the Qabalah, bar none. Notice how I spelled Qabalah: this book is from a Western Occult perspective, make no mistake.

Wang explains the Qabalah better than anyone else I've ever read. His language is sometimes a little stiff, but remember this is a very difficult subject. Sometimes words fail the author who attempts to describe such sublime ideas. Wang is able to gently lead one into understanding, like the adept he is.

Now, his Tarot deck leaves a LOT to be desired. I don't recommend that at all. But this book will become your favorite, of that I'm sure. And, it will become the only book you need to understand both the Qabalah, and the Tarot.

Buy this book !!! If this subject interests you, you definitely NEED it.

This book is something of a rarity -- a genuinely advanced tarot text. Going far beyond mere divinatory meanings, it cogently puts the occult tarot together with its Qabalistic underpinnings. It is not an easy read, but the writing is engaging and lucid. Students of qabala will find it further illuminates this difficult subject (even if they don't have prior experience with the tarot), and tarot enthusiasts of any level will find much here to expand their knowledge and understanding of the cards.

To totally understand the Qabalistic significance of the Tarot and their correspondences, this is the book. It compares Thoth, Rider-Wait, Golden Dawn and Marseilles decks. Going through each path on the Qabalah and describing its characteristics makes understanding the cards much easier. I have had this book since it first came out and I still refer to it to this day. If wanting to understand the Thoth deck, this book along with "Understanding Aleister Crowley's Thoth Tarot" by Lon Milo Duquette is a must, since they both very accurately explain the Qabalistic significance of the Tarot in very easy to understand terms. Its divinatory explanations are limited however and Wang uses excerpts from the "Golden Dawn" edited by Israel Regardie to cover this. From this part of the book it is a great jumping off point into other books that may supply more info in this area, but for the study of how the Tarot relates to the Qabalah, this book is unsurpassed.

I call this review "Constant Companion Qabalah" because I keep this book always near my desk. As a professional astrologer, VisionCoach and expert Tarot symbolist, I find this book the single most profound reference of its kind. It has been my constant companion since I first read it back in 1989. I have since read it at least three times from cover to cover and I refer to it constantly in the classes I teach. Robert Wang has thoroughly mastered the material. He has access to the secret doctrines of the mystery schools such as The Order of the Golden Dawn. His approach is intellectually and practically balanced with a profound understanding of the spirituality and mystic wisdom of the Qabalah. This is a book that will stay with you at whatever level you meet it and meet you at whatever level you wish to take it to later. Perhaps it goes without saying, but a good working knowledge of astrology and Tarot is a real plus before cracking the spine of this one!

This book provides a very clear and concise interpertation of the Tarot. It can easily be used as a "reading" companion. The quick reference for the minor cards are made very easy by the "Lord of..." reference. I have many freinds that want this book

I can only agree with the other reviewers. Wang's knowledge of the various strands of the Western Magical Tradition that form the basis of the Tarot is impressive and he explains these various strands effectively. This book--along with Crowley's BOOK OF THOTH and DuQuette's guide to the Thoth deck--are the three texts that I find myself referring to again and again. A truly excellent book.

Working form a Golden Dawn perspective, I have been studying the Tarot and Qabala for several months now. During that time, this book has proven to be an invaluable reference guide to which I am constantly referring. Without it, I would be having a much harder time studying and working with these materials.

It is a great tool!

I found this book accessible and helpful, though it is "heavy" reading (understandably, given the topic).

for anybody serious about tarot whether you want to understand qaballah or not the tarot is almost useless without it in a spiritual manner and even in divination, one of the best tarot books out there for symbology and self-pathworking/mastery