The Esoteric Tarot: Ancient Sources Rediscovered in Hermeticism and Cabalah

by Ronald Decker

That the Tarot originated in ancient Egypt as a divinatory tool is a romantic misconception. Ron Decker's meticulous scholarship will surprise practitioners and academics alike, revealing the Tarot's true evolution and meanings as its inventor(s) understood it. The Tarot consists of the Minor Arcana, four suits of cards similar to our modern deck, and the Major Arcana, twenty-two allegorical or "trump" cards. Decker says the four-suit deck was invented in Asia Minor before AD 1000; Italian courtiers added the trumps in the 1400s. But Tarot was first used as a game. Tarot divination was only created in the 1700s by a Parisian fortuneteller who based the trump images on Hermeticism, which merges Greco-Egyptian alchemy, astrology, numerology, magic, and mysticism. Today, the suit-cards are often traced to the ancient Jewish Cabala. But, says Decker, they, too, acquired their meanings only in the 1700s, and he cites a lost numerical system based on Cabala at that time Decker's interpretation integrates three whole systems-astrological, arithmological, mystagogical (concerning initiation rites into the Mysteries). His depth of knowledge makes the book a must-have for serious students of Tarot and esotericism

Genres: Tarot, History, Nonfiction

312 pages, Paperback

First published July 9, 2013

Reviews

[Hilton Aires · Rating 4 out of 5]

O livro tenta contemplar ambos os lados: o acadêmico e o esotérico. A obra serve para quem deseja praticar e usar o tarot (seja para o auto conhecimento, seja como técnica adivinatoria), ou quem simplesmente deseja conhecer a história dos tarot: suas origens, principais elementos, traços comuns ao estilo iconográfico ao longo dos séculos, e os principais pontos elaborados pelos mais importantes tarotistas da história.

Ao meu ver, o ponto mais interessante da obra reside justamente no amplo arcabouço artístico e histórico que é analisado por Decker.

[Bill · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think that I do not buy his ultimate thesis, which seems to, as other writers do, overlay an esoteric tradition where there is not historical evidence. However, along the way, the reader is introduced to a wide array of historical anecdotes and sources which often get short shrift in writings about the Tarot. There is a lot to chew on in here, and it bears re-reading.

[Gabriel Clarke · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thoroughly worth reading, intriguing premise but somehow lacks overall coherency. Thin on the Cabala but fascinating on Eteilla.

[Sarah Newton · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the second time I've read The Esoteric Tarot by Ronald Decker, and, universe permitting, it won't be the last. It's a good, interesting, worthwhile read. I dig it, and I recommend it to anyone with an interest in how our wonderful tarot came into being.

It's not without flaws, however. I'm going to couch that mild criticism in an aura of praise; to my knowledge, this is the first properly academic attempt to present a coherent theory of the deep sources, origins, and development of the tarot. It's a vast subject, which Decker covers in just 275 pages (plus copious notes); as such, it's hardly surprising that sometimes his explanations feel a little brisk and not as rigorous as they might be.

A subject of this magnitude should probably be some university doctoral thesis. The Esoteric Tarot has elements of such a thesis, and although it's still a little dry and academic in places, it nevertheless shines with lots of fascinating details and anecdotes. It's not a quick, flighty read, though; be prepared for some slow, concentrated study from time to time, as Decker occasionally goes deep, and rightly so.

So what is The Esoteric Tarot about? In short, it's a book which analyses the "invention", not just of tarot cards, but of playing cards in general; and the origins and development of the whole Western Mystery Tradition, astrology, divination, symbolism, Gnosticism (which Decker calls "Hermetism"); and of the intersection of both of these elements with the Jewish cabala, and the development of a Western Mystical version of the cabala which Decker dubs "Hermetic cabala", and the role which all these three elements play in the birth of the tarot as a divinatory tool.

It's ambitious; and, with a few creaks here and there, Decker makes a very compelling case. I accept, in broad brush, 95% of his theory; it's well elucidated and supported by ample documentation, and thoroughly believable. I found myself straining at a couple of propositions, namely his insistence that the early tarot deck had only 14 trumps, but then jumped to 21 a generation later; I found myself thinking this was maybe a supposition too far, and doubting its value. But that's just me.

The one striking shortcoming of the book, in my humble opinion, is its sudden dead-stop. Decker presents wonderful detail and analysis right up to Etteilla's groundbreaking deck, including an exhaustive analysis of the meanings Etteilla assigned to the minor arcana, and their very close association with Gikatilla's cabalistic text "The Gates of Light". We're all steaming along nicely, inspiring and entertaining, and I'm wondering what Decker's going to make of the 19th century, Levi, Papus, The Golden Dawn, Waite, Crowley...

And the book stops. The 20% of pages still to read are notes.

To be honest, crediting Decker properly with the huge work he's done on The Esoteric Tarot, I felt its curtailed scope was a missed opportunity. I appreciate that the 19th century is an encyclopedic task in its own right, and not really the subject matter for a chapter or two at the end of a book, but it could have at least received a treatment. However, after a quick search on Amazon, I discovered that Decker has already co-authored with Sir Michael Dummett "A History of the Occult Tarot", which covers the period 1870 to 1970, so I'm going to give that a look!

As it is, The Esoteric Tarot is a worthwhile and praiseworthy attempt to trace the sources, origins, and development of our beloved tarot, right up to the end of the 18th century, and I would recommend it to anyone interested in a serious, academic treatment of the facts and source material currently available to us. It also sports gorgeously evocative cover art by Kirsten Hansen Pott, and would grace anyone's esoteric book shelves.