Le Tarot des imagiers du Moyen-Age

by Oswald Wirth

Le tarot passionne bien des auteurs mais, incontestablement, Oswald Wirth reste une référence dans le domaine et Le Tarot des imagiers du Moyen Âge s'impose comme une bible. On ne peut comprendre des arts comme l'astrologie ou le tarot sans pénétrer le mystère du symbolisme. Souvent trop "intellectualisé", le symbole déroute l'homme moderne. Et pourtant, sa simplicité ouvre bien des lectures. Or, Oswald Wirth nous enseigne la découverte de cette langue universelle et éclaire, de la sorte, les raisons qui font du tarot un jeu de divination. Cet ouvrage est fort complet tant sur les aspects historiques que pratiques. Une première partie est consacrée au tarot dans son ensemble et à ses divisions logiques. À ce stade, le lecteur est largement initié au jeu. Le second chapitre ouvre le symbolisme des vingt-deux clés de la sapience secrète du Moyen Âge. Les arcanes sont analysés un à un. Ce chapitre nous guide vers une compréhension du symbole qui pourra être rattachée au décryptage des messages voilés dans les cathédrales. En effet, Wirth rappelle que l'utilisation des images "parlantes" provient de ce fameux Moyen Âge loin d"être "obscurantiste" ! Enfin, le troisième volet de cet ouvrage traite de la divination avec une fine intelligence. À cet égard, l'appendice consacré aux pentacles aide judicieusement le lecteur. Ajoutons enfin les vingt-deux lames, recomposées par Wirth, qui accompagnent ce livre, et nous obtenons une authentique encyclopédie sérieuse sur la question.

Genres: Tarot, Nonfiction, Divination, Occult, Magic, Esoterica

374 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1927

About the author

Joseph Paul Oswald Wirth was a Swiss occultist, artist and author. He studied esotericism and symbolism with Stanislas De Guaita and in 1889 he created, under the guidance of de Guaita, a cartomantic Tarot consisting only of the twenty-two Major Arcana. Known as "Les 22 Arcanes du Tarot Kabbalistique", it followed the designs of the Tarot de Marseille closely but introduced several alterations, incorporating extant occult symbolism into the cards. The Wirth/de Guaita deck is significant in the history of the tarot for being the first in a long line of occult, cartomantic, and initiatory decks.
His interests also included freemasonry and astrology. He wrote many books in French regarding freemasonry, most importantly a set of three volumes explaining freemasonry's first three degrees.
Wirth is best known as the author of Le Tarot des imagiers du Moyen-Age, translated and published in English as The Tarot of the Magicians.
On January 28, 1884, Wirth was initiated in the regular Scottish Rite Masonic Lodge La Bienfaisance Châlonnaise affiliated to the Grand Orient of France. In 1889, he joined the Scottish Rite Travail et les Vrais Amis Fidèles where he became Grand Master . In 1898, the latter lodge was admitted to the Grand Lodge of France.

Reviews

[Michael · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an excellent and in-depth book on the symbolism of the Tarot, in particular the views of Oswald Wirth. Not only does Wirth expand upon various ways to view and interpret the Tarot, qabalistic, astrological, alchemical, etc. he also attempts to clarify the importance of using symbols and not just words to communicate with. True to his philosophy, this book is also heavily laden with supporting symbols and diagrams that give further depth and richness to his text. While I do not agree with all of the qabalistic attributions given it is a worthwhile read and a great addition to my library.

[Sandi · Rating 5 out of 5]

A never ending resource and one of the most valuable Tarot books in my library.

[Annalisa Pascai Saiu · Rating 5 out of 5]

if you are searching something about tarots, read this book.
It's completely different by other tarot books. Wirth guide you like a real Great Master and he introduce you in to yourself, in your own inside symbols.
Eat the pomegranade and walk trough the light.

[Uva Costriuba · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have not finished this book, it went way over my head and I hope I manage to try again.

[Silvia]

È un viaggio alquanto interessante attraverso simboli antichissimi che probabilmente nei tarocchi sono stati trasposti da opere ancora più antiche.

[Eric Friedman · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of my favorite books on Tarot. I originally read it 30 years ago, when it was first published in translation. It is, at first, very much a condensation of the musings of Papus in his "Tarot of the Bohemians". But, additionally, we have the speculations of an experienced Occultist & Freemason (Wirth was one of the founders of the Philalethes Society; the premier Masonic research organiation in the world). I try to read this book once every couple of years.

With this book, you must temporarily forget all the esoteric &/or Qabalistic attributes & correspondences you've already learned regarding Tarot. This book is a strong wind of fresh air, that will help you stay flexible regarding Tarot symbolism, as well as the Magicial implications and applications of these wonderful cards. Wirth is of the "Continental", Martinist schools (specifically the "Kabbalistic Order of the Rose Cross" of which he was very much a founder), following & layering upon the work of Eliphas Levi & Papus; thus his initial attributions are quite different from those with which most English-language readers would likely be familiar. Remember; if there were only one interpretation of the Tarot, it would be bound as a book, not a deck of individual cards/ideas.

An important note is that the B.O.T.A. Tarot of Paul Foster Case is a reconciliation between the the esotericism of Wirth with the symbolism of A.E. Waite.

Additional books to read in relation to this are:

Transcendental Magic, by Eliphas Levi (trans, A.E. Waite)
Tarot of the Bohemians, by Papus
The Sacred Tarot, by C.C. Zain

[Lolo · Rating 2 out of 5]

My expectations were different for this book. I expected the author to expand on all the 78 cards of the tarot and their meaning. Instead the author focused on the first 22 cards (the major arcana) and their symbolism.

The author is heavily influenced by the jewish mysticism and inserts the jewish alphabet, the kabbalah and sephiroth in the interpretation. The author’s theory seems off to me, compared with modern interpretations.

Even when the author tries to connect the tarot with astrology there’s a lot that doesn’t vibe with me. The connections seem far fetched and cannot be utilized in a practical way.

It seems that this book has not aged well and could be read only for historical reasons. It still contains a lot of mysticism that I’m sure will be useful for the scholar in you, but for me it didn’t seem practical enough for divination reasons.

[Teleri · Rating 1 out of 5]

Wirth isn't a favorite either...

[Sandy · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really enjoyed the concepts, but found them difficult to implement. Given the subjectivity in viewing the Tarot however, this may still be effective for other readers.