A blend of Western traditions and Eastern Taoist principles, this guide offers a clear, insightful reading using the standard Rider Waite deck, suitable for beginners or experts. 79 halftones throughout.

The enigmatic and richly illustrative tarot deck reveals a host of strange and iconic mages, such as The Tower, The Wheel of Fortune, The Hanged Man and The Fool: over which loom the terrifying figures of Death and The Devil. The 21 numbered playing cards of tarot have always exerted strong fascination, way beyond their original purpose, and the multiple resonances of the deck are ubiquitous. From T S Eliot and his 'wicked pack of cards' in "The Waste Land" to the psychic divination of Solitaire in Ian Fleming's "Live and Let Die"; and from the satanic novels of Dennis Wheatley to the deck's adoption by New Age practitioners, the cards have in modern times become inseparably connected to the occult. They are now viewed as arguably the foremost medium of prophesying and foretelling. Yet, as the author shows, originally the tarot were used as recreational playing cards by the Italian nobility in the Renaissance. It was only much later, in the 18th and 19th centuries, that the deck became associated with esotericism before evolving finally into a diagnostic tool for mind, body and spirit. This is the first book to explore the remarkably varied ways in which tarot has influenced culture. Tracing the changing patterns of the deck's use, from game to mysterious oracular device, Helen Farley examines tarot's emergence in 15th century Milan and discusses its later associations with astrology, kabbalah and the Age of Aquarius.

Having imagined a machine-like world, scientists now haunt this machine uneasily. Their plight is paradoxical: they have realized their world only through intense mental effort, yet this effort finds no legitimate place in the world it so painstakingly comprehends. It seems "objectivity" only comes at a cost. Why, for example, is science unable to describe a smile? Why is the moral life of a physicist regarded as his or her own private affair? This exclusion of human qualities from science has practical as well as theoretical consequences. If we systematically imagine a world in which human beings don't exist, we will eventually create a world in which they cannot exist. Reclaiming the human sources of scientific insight, the authors of this book restore the scientist to the world given by science and celebrate the joyous marriage of sense and thought.

A visual I Ching--this book and card set is a beautiful and dazzling new toolfor self-transformation, enlightenment, and personal growth using beautifullyillustrated cards that feature paintings, symbols, colors, and key words.

Using the Grimaud Tarot deck of Marseilles the direct descendants of the earliest handprinted designs and the basis for most of the later esoteric decks Knight provides an indepth introduction to the tarot deck. He presents nine lessons that combine basic instruction in the mechanics of divination with magical visualization techniques. Perhaps most useful for students of the tarot are Knight's answers to questions raised by former students of his acclaimed Tarot Course. Illustrated. Index.

Popular inspirational artist Catrin Welz-Stein has created a magical tarot deck in her signature collage style with lush images drawn from her intuition and imagination. This unique 83-card deck, with a distinctively feminine point of view, includes five bonus cards: extra female versions of the four Kings and the Emperor. Readers can customize the deck by choosing which cards to include in their readings. Tarot of Mystical Moments features gilded edged cards and a 96-page guidebook with upright and reversed meanings.

For the first time in English, Benebell Wen reveals the rich history and theoretical principles underlying the ancient practice of crafting Fu talismans, or magical sigils, in the Chinese Taoist tradition and gives detailed instructions for modern practitioners who would like to craft their own Fu. Fu talismans are ideograms and writings typically rendered on paper and empowered by means of invocations, ritual, and transferences of energy, or Qi. Talismans can be used for many purposes, such as strengthening or weakening personality characteristics, finding love, earning more money, or easing emotional tensions in the home. The Tao of Craft shows how metaphysical energy can be harnessed to amplify, strengthen, weaken, dispel, or block other metaphysical energy and to rectify perceived imbalances in the material plane. Supported by an abundance of detailed charts and images, this book serves as a step-by-step handbook that gives readers the knowledge and confidence to craft their own Fu talismans for personal empowerment. Wen, author of Holistic Tarot, delves into historic and cultural contexts of the Fu, from the neolithic period of Chinese history to contemporary practices of esoteric Taoism. Providing a solid foundation in the principles of Eastern spellcrafting, she highlights the blending of Taoist metaphysical practices with Western approaches to magic by pointing out eclectic, integrating, and harmonizing facets from other cultures and religions. Historically, Fu talismans were used by medieval Chinese for alleviating illness; averting misfortune, magical attacks, and curses; defending against assaults; and avoiding poverty. This book shows Western practitioners that the skill and knowledge to develop an interactive relationship with spirit realms are still available to them today, and serves as a practical handbook for accumulating Qi energy from sources in the environment and channeling it in concentrated form into their own Fu talismans.

Have you ever looked at the mysterious symbols on the Tarot cards and wondered what they meant? Or perhaps you have read the Tarot for others for many years but still don't understand how to use them for meditation and spiritual development. Or perhaps you use the intense imagery of the Tarot for meditation, but don't think it is "appropriate" to use this mystical tool for readings. Well, now you can learn the meaning of the symbols for spiritual development and for giving great readings in Stephen Walter Sterling's Tarot Awareness. The Tarot is composed of two major sections, the illustrated cards that form the Major Arcana and the cards of the Minor Arcana which are like a deck of playing cards with an extra court card for each suit. Each card has a meaning for a reading. The meanings of the cards are given in the text. The Major Arcana cards also are about the spiritual development of your consciousness. As you go through the cards, from zero to twenty-one, you follow the progression of yours spirituality. The fifty-six cards of the Minor Arcana are associated with your development from the spiritual to the physical. In fact, they deal with the four levels of progression to manifestation, the spiritual, emotional, mental, and physical. Put this all together, and for the first time you have a book which integrates spiritual and practical, meditative, and divinatory. One of the great things about the Tarot is that it's symbolic. Since the unconscious works through symbols, it speaks to you. Just working with the Tarot helps you to evolve, especially when you understand the Tarot's spiritual truths. In order to work with the cards the book shares five different readings you can do. As an added bonus, the book also deals with the difficult subject of "proximity," relating the cards in a spread to each other as opposed to just their positions in the spread. This can enhance your readings on your quest for spirituality.