The Tarot, Magic, Alchemy, Hermeticism, and Neoplatonism (3rd Ed.) - 680 pages on the historical roots of tarot
Most books about tarot start with the cards. This one starts with the ideas that came before them. Robert M. Place traces the philosophical and hermetic traditions that shaped the tarot system, and backs it up with decades of primary source research.
This third edition is not a modest revision. It incorporates material from two of Place's earlier books,
Alchemy and the Tarot and
The Tarot: History, Symbolism, and Divination, and expands on both substantially. The result is 680 pages, over 302 illustrations, and roughly three times the scope of its predecessors. Since the second edition, 59 updates have been made and two new illustrations added.
What this book covers
Place focuses on four decks: the Tarot of Marseilles, the Waite-Smith Tarot, the Alchemical Tarot, and the Tarot of the Sevenfold Mystery. That choice is deliberate. Each deck marks a key moment in the development of tarot as a symbolic system.
The thread running through the book is the relationship between tarot and Western esoteric traditions: alchemy, Hermeticism, and Neoplatonism. Place shows how those traditions appear in the iconography of the cards, and how the symbolism has been carried forward and adapted over centuries. It is art history, philosophy history, and tarot history at once.
The 302-plus illustrations are not decoration. They support the analysis directly, making it possible to follow card by card how symbols shift across decks and time periods.
How this book sits alongside other tarot literature
There are no spreads here, no daily practices, no beginner's introduction. This book assumes you already know tarot and want to understand where it comes from and why it works the way it does.
Booklist described a previous edition as 'the best book ever written on that deck of cards decorated with mysterious images called the tarot.' The third edition builds on that foundation and adds substantial new material. Readers already familiar with the standard literature will find a level of detail that is difficult to find elsewhere.
This book reads best with one of the four decks it analyses close at hand. The card-by-card discussions become much more concrete when you can compare the illustrations in the book directly with the cards themselves.
About Robert M. Place
Robert M. Place is a visual artist and author. He designed and illustrated several tarot decks, including the original Alchemical Tarot, the Tarot of the Saints, the Angels Tarot, the Raziel Tarot, and the Tarot of the Sevenfold Mystery. His paintings, sculptures, and jewellery have been shown in galleries and museums worldwide.
He previously wrote
The Tarot: History, Symbolism, and Divination and
Astrology and Divination. As curator, he assembled the exhibition
The Fool's Journey, which originated at the LA Craft and Folk-Art Museum. He has lectured and led workshops on mysticism and tarot across the United States and on five continents.
Specifications
- Pages: 680
- Illustrations: over 302
- Language: English
- ISBN: 9781736068816
- Author: Robert M. Place
- Edition: Third edition, with 59 updates since the second edition and two new illustrations
Questions we often get
How does this differ from Place's earlier editions?
The third edition contains 59 updates compared to the second edition and adds two new illustrations. It also combines material from two earlier books and expands both considerably. The total scope is roughly three times that of the previous editions.
Is a tarot deck included, and what language is the book in?
The book is entirely in English. No tarot deck is included. The book analyses four existing decks in detail, but none of them come with it.
