Paul Huson has been a student of the tarot for over 40 years. He received initial esoteric training from the Society of the Inner Light in London and he later studied the methods of the Order of the Golden Dawn. He is the author of a number of books, including Mastering Witchcraft, in print for more than 30 years, The Devil’s Picturebook: The Compleat Guide to Tarot Cards, and Mystical Origins of the Tarot. He lives in Los Angeles.

Acknowledgments

Preface

Introduction: Of Playing Cards and Tarot Decks
The Mamlûk Cards
The Creation of the Court Cards
The Naming of the Court Cards
The Creation of the Tarot Trumps
Tarot in the Sixteenth Century
Further Developments

1 The Origin of the Suit Signs
Sufis and the Suit Signs
The Four Cardinal Virtues
The Four Castes of Ancient Persia

2 The Origin of the Trumps
Petrarch’s I Trionfi
Medieval Drama
The Four Last Things
The Tale the Trumps Tell

3 Of Cartomancy and the Tarot
The Ancient Art of Sortilege
Egyptian Magic and the Book of Thoth
Etteilla’s System
The Kabbala and Éliphas Lévi
The Golden Dawn Attributions
Papus and His “Bohemian” Tarot

4 The Meanings of the Trump Cards

The Major Arcana 0 The Fool
I The Juggler
II The Female Pope
III The Empress
IV The Emperor
V The Pope
VI The Lovers
VII The Chariot
VIII Justice
IX The Hermit
X The Wheel of Fortune
XI Fortitude
XII The Hanged Man
XIII Death
XIV Temperance
XV The Devil
XVI The Tower
XVII The Star
XVIII The Moon
XIX The Sun
XX The Judgment
XXI The World

5 The Meanings of the Suit Cards
The Minor Arcana
The Suit of Coins or Pentacles
The Suit of Cups or Chalices
The Suit of Swords
The Suit of Batons or Wands

6 Reading the Tarot

Selecting a Tarot Deck
Getting in Touch with Your Cards
Preparing for Divination
General Rules of Cartomancy
Simple Tarot Spreads
Advanced Cartomancy--Linking the Cards
Complex System
Last Words of Advice

Appendix 1. Historical Tarot Decks

Appendix 2. Where to Buy Your Cards

Appendix 3. Where to See the Originals

About the Illustrations

Bibliography

Index