Tarot of the Sephiroth [Cards]

Jill Stockwell (Author), Josephine Mori (Author), Dan Staroff (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1, 2000

This ground-breaking new deck redefines Tarot imagery and emerges on the metaphysical landscape as a new paradigm in the technology of self-discovery and empowerment. One of today's most talked about and popular avenues of personal and spiritual growth is the ancient, yet newly rediscovered Qabalah or Kaballah. In the past, the crucial connection between Tarot and the Qabalah has often been obscured or ignored. Tarot of the Sephiroth brings this connection to life through its remarkable imagery and revolutionary concepts.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Tarot of the Sephiroth compares favourably with Lady Freida Harris' work on The Book of Thoth for Aleister Crowley. -- Gareth Knight

R.J. Stewart: Combines vision with knowledge...clear, powerful and richly communicative. --R.J. Stewart

From the Publisher

One of the most talked-about and popular avenues of mysticism today is the ancient, yet newly rediscovered, Qabalah or Kabbalah. What are the secrets of this timeless wisdom system and how is it used? Tarot of the Sephiroth delivers access and answers, revealing the Tarot-Qabalah connection through its remarkable illustrations. It reinterprets and redefines traditional tarot images, enabling readers to explore this popular new consciousness.

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Product Details

• Cards: 287 pages
• Publisher: U.S. Games Systems Inc.; Crds edition (September 1, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1572812516
• ISBN-13: 978-1572812512
• Product Dimensions: 4.5 x 3.1 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,095,371 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great meditative tool, August 8, 2001

By 

"kelshei" (Knoxville, Tennessee United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Tarot of the Sephiroth (Cards)

Because the minor arcana are not very rich in symbolism, I am not sure how affective a divinatory tool this would be. However, as someone studying the Qabalah, the major arcana cards are excellent meditative tools for pathworking. Great deck.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Tarot based on Kabbalah, December 8, 2009

By 

Hayward H. Siegel (East Meadow, New York United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Tarot of the Sephiroth (Cards)

This deck is based on themes from the Kabbalah. It is full of symbolism, not only from Kabbalah, but also from astrology, mythology and esoteric theories. The artwork is quite interesting and beautiful in the Majors and Court cards. The pip cards are not fully illustrated, but contain much symbolism. The pip cards are interpreted by using the Kabbalistic principles regarding the 10 spheres of the Tree of Life, in conjunction with the elemental concepts governing human behavior in the various suits. The Court cards also are interpreted using spheres, which govern the various members of the court, in conjunction with the elemental concepts, but the meanings are given in terms of human personality traits. The Majors are interpreted based on the meaning of the paths between the spheres of the Tree of Life. The LWB which comes with the deck, sets forth meanings for each card which are quite helpful. In fact, I found that the meanings given here, are very helpful in interpreting cards in other decks. However, be careful, because the meanings given in this LWB for many of the cards, do not necessarily follow more traditional interpretations. One criticism of the LWB, is that it does not discuss Kabbalah, other than showing the Tree of Life. If you don't have familiarity with Kabbalah and the Tree of Life, you will have difficulty understanding how the card meanings were arrived at. I would recommend the book Guide to Tarot of the Sephiroth, which was published after this deck first appeared. It is by the same authors as the LWB. It is not necessary to read this book in order for you to use the deck, but it will give you an understanding of the Kabbalistic principles used in the creation of this deck and in the designation of the meanings given to the cards.

4 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars beautiful deck, August 11, 2001

By 

Daniel Lyons (Socorro, NM United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Tarot of the Sephiroth (Cards)

This is my first tarot deck; I chose it in part for the strikingly beautiful artwork and in part because I am somewhat familiar with Kabalah (or Qabalah, as most new age/Pagan sources seem to spell it). Disks replaces Pentacles, Princess replacing Page, and Prince replacing Knight.

The Major Arcana are richly detailed, retaining much of the original symbolism of the Rider-Waite decks. Also, each Major Arcana card is drawn taking place over the appropriate path between Sephiroth, along with the appropriate Hebrew letter and astrological sign. The included book indicates that all 78 cards can be arranged in a Tree of Life, but I didn't get the feeling that would work or be very attractive to the eye if it were done as I've messed around with the deck.

Details on the Minor Arcana are somewhat sparse; usually a simple figure constructed with the number of the suit symbol, and the appropriate astrological sign somewhere. The circular border color is appropriate to the Sephiroth within Briah (as should be expected). Almost all of the Rider-Waite details are abandoned in the Minor Arcana, which will either suit you or not depending on whether you choose the Qabalistic interpretations or the traditional Tarotic interpretations.

The court cards can be arranged in such a way as to construct the lower four sephiroth, all the Princesses combining for Malkuth, for example. Otherwise, some people may be offended by the propensity of the artist to display breasts hanging out of clothes wherever possible (mainly Princesses and Major Arcana, the Queens given a sort of additional respect in additional clothing). At first I found it somewhat awkward, but it was easy to get used to.

I am finding that although it is a beautiful deck to work with and the cards are well-constructed and rich in their own sort of symbolism, it is rather difficult to learn from them. I'll be purchasing the Light and Contrast deck soon, which seems to deviate less from the accepted standard of interpretation (Rider-Waite symbolism). I think that most people these days have a strong reaction against the Rider-Waite deck as ugly and encouraging a strong negative reaction in people, but the symbolism does seem to be valid and standardized for the most part.