Product Description

Many students of the Western esoteric tradition consider Paul Foster Case's The Tarot the finest explanation that has yet appeared on the occult meaning of numbers, the construction of the Tarot, and the attribution of the 22 Major Trumps to the Hebrew alphabet.

In clear and understandable language, Case elucidates the Tarot tradition and technique for the modern thinker. Students of the Tarot will find in these pages the necessary information to understand and apply the principles of Tarot-and the correspondences of symbol, tone, color, and number-to the art of daily living. The author also includes extremely useful chapters on methods of study and Tarot divination.

In this 2006 edition, the book appears for the first time with an index and an appendix of resources. Here is a genuine underground masterpiece, made available to a broad new readership.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #66547 in Books
• Published on: 2006-06-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 256 pages

About the Author
Paul Foster Case (1884-1954) was one of the leading American occultists of the twentieth century. His book, The Tarot, and his deck of Tarot cards significantly influenced how Tarot is taught and understood today in the United States, and in other parts of the world.

Customer Reviews

Mysteries Magazine review
Paul Foster Case (1884-1954) was known as one of the leading occult experts of the early 20th century. A renowned expert on the Tarot and Kabbalah, he was the author of 13 books on occult matters and the founder of the mystery school the Builders of the Adytum. Perhaps his best-known work was his 1947 book The Tarot, which purports to lay clear a system of divination with these eponymous scrying cards. But with accurate scholarship on the real history, meaning, and purpose of the Tarot as neoplatonic emblems intended to serve as mnemonic devices for spiritual concepts, there is no need to read Case's pseudo-Hebraic babble, save perhaps as a historical curiosity. (Christophe Poncet's recent work tracing the Tarot back to Marsilio Ficino, for instance, is far more illuminating.)
Peruse this book if you will but be warned of its shortcomings. Case elaborates upon and continues the historical misunderstanding of the Tarot. Yet, at the same time, he is the one responsible for our modern conception of this magical tool. This makes his book at once valuable and misleading: It is the source from which many other Tarot books have been drawn, yet his scholarship is, to put it mildly, questionable. The Tarot is thus worth owning but not for its original purposes.
--Ken Mondschein
Mysteries Magazine issue #20

Tarot
If you are a Tarot reader, new or old, this is a must have book. Paul Foster Case has writtin many books, however this is one every Tarot reader must have.
In depth meanings of the major trumps. Explains the cube of space and tree of life. Construction of the Tarot and why things are. Numbers and Hebrew wisdom letters.
Very informative. I refer to this book daily to keep me refreshed in the meanings of each card.

A treasured Arcana of Wisdom by Paul Foster Case
Paul Foster Case dedicated his life to enlightening Mankind through his esoteric teachings. He was a leading Adept of the Rosicrucian Order of the Alpha et Omega headed by S. L. MacGregor Mathers. Case joined the A.ÿ.O.ÿ. in 1918 after an invitation from the Cancellarius of Thoth-Hermes Lodge, Michael Whitty. Case's fraternal motto in the Order was Frater Perserverantia {perseverance}. Frater Perserverantia advanced through the outer grades, culminating in his initiation into the Rosae Rubeae et Aureae Crucis in 1920. Case corresponded with Dr. John William Brodie-Innes {Fr. Sub Spe} and Dr. Israel Regardie {Frater Ad Majorem Adonai Gloriam} about the Cabala, politics of the Golden Dawn lineal succession, Tarot, and overlooked dangers of Enochian magic. Case later established the Builders of the Adytum (B.O.T.A), which continues to exist as an international Order providing comprehensive training in the Western Mystery Tradition, Tarot, Cabala, and Alchemy. Paul Foster Case was a prolific writer and some of his books include: An Introduction to the Study of the Tarot (1920), A Brief Analysis of the Tarot (1927), The True and Invisible Rosicrucian Order (1927), The Book of Tokens (1934), The Great Seal of the United States (1935), The Open Door (1938), and The Tarot: A Key to the Wisdom of the Ages (1947). Tarot: A Key to the Wisdom of the Ages is an exquisite work of Tarot allegory, Cabalistic symbolism, astrology, and meditation of the Arcana. All students of the Western Mystery Tradition, whether working as Hermits or within the confines of an established Fraternal Order, will find the meditations and astrological correspondences of the Trumps invaluable.

Tarot, published in 1947 is an instant occult classic for students of the interlocking systems of the Invisible Colleges. This classic offers definitive explanations on the arcane alignment of Tarot and numerology, the construction of the Major Arcana, and their attribution to the Hebrew alphabet. Using clear and precise language for an audience of Adepti and Neophytes alike, Case expounds Tarot history and technique for Students of the Arte to apply the principles of Tarot-and the correspondences of symbol, tone, color, musical correspondences, and zodiac to their lives. Case delves deep into the Cabalistic significance of the Major Arcana and does not linger on divinatory practice. The book is most useful for those initiates or practitioners who have an understanding of the esoteric significance of the cards. Frater Case elucidates the symbolism mostly of each Major Arcana card, deepening the students understanding of not only astrological and Cabalistic connotations, but of musical correspondences as well. Music indeed would enrich the meditations behind each Trump, supported by Adept interpretations of the interplay between Zodiac & Tarot. This book, issued for the first time in 1947 by Case's Builders of the Adytum, is the first to use the correct alignment of the Hebrew alphabet with the 22 Trumps. This alignment corrected previous miscalculations, and also was the first thesis to offer the "Cube of Space" tableau, a system almost unheard by Adepti of the Golden Dawn lineages. Case writes on the Tarot: "Tarot divination is not fortune-telling. The practice of fortune-telling is based on the false notion that human life is governed by luck, chance, or fate - by obscure powers at work outside the personality. True divination rests upon the occult truth that the causes of all events in human life are really internal, proceeding from the Cause of Causes, - the Universal Intelligent Energy or Life-power which is the Source, Mover, and Knower behind all the phenomena of the universe." His wisdom and esoteric teaching in this book indicates a true Teacher and pioneer in this purgatorial world.