Esoteric Symbols: The Tarot in Yeats, Eliot, and Kafka by June Leavitt

by June Leavitt

In this pioneering scholarly work on occult symbols in literature, the reader is offered a vivid look into how W.B. Yeats, T.S. Eliot, and Franz Kafka_three masters of symbolic expression_utilized Tarot cards in their poetry and prose. Focusing on the Tarot's ancient associations with divine knowledge, its pictorial representation of both the Jewish and Christian Cabala, and the Tarot's more recent pedestrian affiliation with the occult, June Leavitt skillfully demonstrates how Yeats, Eliot, and Kafka align themselves in their uniquely individual ways with the Tarot symbols' mapping of reality. Paying close attention to the mystical nuances of the Tarot, Ms. Leavitt shows how Tarot symbols allow for radically new readings of the texts in which they are situated, and play a transformative role in the three writers' search for God. This search remained indecisive for Kafka, resulted in Eliot's conversion to Anglo-Catholicism, and went hand in hand with Yeats' passion for pagan gods and angels. Visit the author's website at .

Genres: Tarot

Paperback Bunko

First published April 28, 2007

Reviews

[Tyler Perry · Rating 5 out of 5]

An interesting mix of biographical and literary analysis through the lens of tarot. Makes me want to reread the works by these various authors through that lens, to read more of their autobiographical writings, and to learn more about Jung’s archetypes and his concept of the collective unconscious.