Customer Reviews

Tarot and Individuation: A Jungian Study of Correspondences with Cabala, Alchemy, and the Chakras

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This book is a revised edition of Dr.Gad's 1994 book of the same name. It is a Jungian guide to the archetypal images found in the tarot through amplifications from alchemy and the cabala and including in this fresh edition correspondences with kundalini imagery as well. Unfortunately neither in the title nor on the book cover is it clear that this is a Jungian view and that Dr. Gad is a Jungian analyst. It is, however, a brilliantly conceived opus that illuminates the richness of the archetypal endowment which lies in the depth of our psyche. In a time when belief systems that can offer life meaning have failed us, it proposes that Tarot imagery may activate an unconscious psychic organizing system that can become a container for our experience in an uncertain world. Gad suggests that the primary theme hidden in the major arcana is in fact a story of the psychic evolution of mankind. The progression of the twenty-two trumps (cards I through X) depicts first our spiritual, cosmic background followed by its condensation and descent into matter, echoing the cabalistic Flash of Lightening. It then describes (card XI to XXI) what is encountered on the individual level as one attempts the journey upward to connect body with soul and spirit, as in the cabalistic Serpent's Path. The author holds that because trigger symbols possess the power to awaken inner arcgetypal resources, Tarot imagery can help the reader to open to new levels of consciousness. Trusting the images themselves, without necessarily adopting the original conceptions of esoteric tradition, they can become for us tools for assisting in self-awareness and discovering purpose and meaning in life's experiences as well as helping to create change in accordance with a vision of wholeness. These tools come to life in Gad's book wherein the symbolism of each of the twenty-two major arcana is amplified with the meaning associated with the twenty-two letters of the Hebrew alphabet, with astrological correspondences, with the ten sephirot of the cabalistis Tree of Life, with alchemical correspondences, and with psychological and specifically Jungian interpretations. Additionally, for each card there is a chapter exploring the cabala and tarot as well as a lengthy chapters on tarot and alchemy and on tarot and kundalini. There are over 200 quotes from the collected works of Carl Jung, a separate section on astrology as it relates to tarot, and another section on divination with over 70 layouts, including a "Jungian" spread. This book is not a casual read; it is a book of scholarship and a book of wisdom, a book of reverence as well as of reference, an offering of soul, from soul and to soul that is richly illustrated and inspiringly written.

In the years since I first read Tarot and Individuation in it's first edition, I have often had occassion to refer to it, as it is an especially rich repository of the wisdon of Carl Jung as reflected by the sensibility of Dr. Irene Gad, which makes of it a volume of particular wealth that weaves together our rich inheritances from Cabala, alchemy, astrology, the chakras, and depth psychology.
A single image, from the Introduction, for instance, of the Descent of the Lightning Flash and the Return of the Serpent superimposed on a Tree of Life that is hung with the major arcana dangling in its branches, is explicated at great length in the 22 chapters that follow, giving the sense that, having made the trip down, there is a way back facilitated by the major arcana -- a real resource that can be consulted for their synchronous wisdom; it offers the comfort that the journeyer is, after all, connected to a realm that supports this endeavor, and more. One way to connect to that realm is by way of a thoughtful reading of this extraordinary book.

This book is a gift. It contains within it a wealth of knowledge that covers tarot and how it relates to the spiritual journey however it also covers alchemy, including substances, metals, and even colors. Gad also links the tarot with its astrology & cabalistic influences. It's not something I can read cover to cover, because of the dense material, however it is an incredible reference book and I will always have it in order to pick it up from time to time and find new tidbits for my brain to gnaw on. I was curious also about the Jungian excerpts. If you are into Jung, this will not disappoint. Fascinating read...

This is not a book for the average tarot book reader, but rather for an academic reading about the esoteric meanings of the tarot cards and their precisely intended symbols. Gad's work is more like a dissertation than anything else and I used it for my own thesis work. Gad offers a tremendous amount of information, most of which is very insightful. I really appreciate her work and the various associations she provides about the major arcana cards. I highly recommend this book!

I really wanted to like this book, but the attributions of the Tarot to the Qabalah, the Hebrew alphabet, and Astrology are an inconsistent, arbitrary mess. I can see the author's dilemma, as some of the publically available and historic information on the attributions are conflicting, and may even contain intentional "blinds." In confronting these conflicting source materials, she apparently chooses to go her own way.

As she writes (pg xxvii): "some major key must have been lost that may explain the plethora of different interpretations of what these paths represent...to connect the minor arcana with the sephirot and assign the major arcana to the paths, as some occultists have, has never made sense....I have therefore chosen to amplify.. the symbolism of the first ten trump cards with the meanings associated with the ten sephirot and the first ten letters fo the Hebrew alphabet... However, instead of assigning the next eleven cards to the paths, as in the occult tradition of the Golden Dawn, I have elected to following the meandering Path of the Serpent..."

What a mess. Her amplifications, while having some limited merit (she doesn't get them all wrong!), are more of a stumbling block than a key to learning how to use this system for personal development and spiritual growth. Not recommended.

If you want an internally consistent set of attributions which will make sense across the Qabalah, the Hebrew letters, the Tarot, Numerology, Astrology and Alchemy, I recommend the following books:

Qabalastic Tarot by Robert Wang,
Living the Tarot by Amber Jayanti,
The Thursday Night Tarot, by Jason Lotterhand,
The Tarot, by Paul Foster Case,
The Cube of Space by Kevin Townley,
Esoteric Keys of Alchemy by Paul Foster Case, and
Inspirational Thoughts on the Tarot, by Ann Davies.