The Qabalistic Tarot: A Textbook of Mystical Philosophy (Paperback)

~ (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

NEW 2004 REVISED EDITION

Hailed by reviewers as "a masterpiece," and as "the single most profound reference of its kind," The Qabalistic Tarot has become the standard in its field, a book essential to all students of Tarot symbolism. It is both a textbook and a sourcebook for the symbols of the Western Hermetic Qabalah, a corpus of mystical ideas which have, for centuries, exerted a powerful influence on the development of Western thought. Dr. Wang explains the Tarot as an externalization of a mystical system which has evolved from approximately the third century C.E. to our own time. He traces the development of Qabalistic ideas from the Neoplatonic through the Medieval, Renaissance, and Modern periods, systematically discussing each Sephira and Path on the Tree of Life. He uses the Tarot images as a point of visual reference, and provides a thorough explanation of the symbolic intricacies of the Paths. The Qabalistic Tarot is recommended as a comprehensive textbook for individual study or for the classroom. The first and only work based on the four major decks in use today, it is the ideal companion book for the Golden Dawn Tarot, the Thoth Tarot, the Rider-Waite Tarot, or the traditional Marseilles deck. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

About the Author

Robert Wang is a medievalist art historian/artist. He is the creator of the Golden Dawn Tarot Deck in collaboration with the late Israel Regardie and is the artist of the acclaimed Jungian Tarot Deck. His books include studies of Jungian archetypal imagery and of the historical development of such movements as Hermetic Qabalah and Rosicrucianism. Paintings by Robert Wang include the first complete illustrations for Grimms' Fairy Tales and The Short Stories of Edgar Allen Poe. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Product Details

• Paperback: 304 pages
• Publisher: Weiser Books (June 1987)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0877286728
• ISBN-13: 978-0877286721
• Product Dimensions: 9.9 x 6.8 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #525,167 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

40 of 40 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The most advanced and deepest tarot book I've seen., May 6, 2001

By	Uri Raz (Israel) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

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.

30 of 30 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars My Favorite Book on the Qabalah, October 19, 2004

By	Steven D. Hasting "Neshamah" (Stockbridge, GA United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

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.

25 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the very best advanced tarot texts available, April 30, 2000

By A Customer

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.