View Full Version : 1889 Wirth facsimilie
I know this should be in Tarot Books and Media as it is ostensibly a book but I know it would appeal to many people because of the cards.
The Book Depository lists an edition of Oswald Wirth's Tarot of the Magicians which is going to be published ("268 days to go!") and comes with facsimilie pull out cards!
"Tarot of the Magicians" by Swiss occultist artist and author Oswald Wirth was first published in Paris in 1927, and a Weiser edition was later released in 1985.Long unavailable, the book is back in print in a beautiful new package with full-color pull-out cards reproducing Wirth's 1889 tarot deck. With a new introduction by bestselling tarot author Mary K. Greer, "Tarot of the Magicians" offers tarot enthusiasts and students of the occult an in-depth and authoritative analysis of one of the most beautiful and evocative of all modern tarot decks.In this important tarot work of the Major Arcana, Wirth combines the imagery and symbolism from Alchemy, Freemasonry, Rosicrucianism, and the magical heritage of Egypt and Chaldea, and explores the astronomical (rather than strictly zodiacal) associations for the Major Arcana cards.
It will be wonderful to have Wirth's 1889 cards as they were published. I shall definitely want this... It's great to see them trying to re-establish Wirth's importance.
This is AWESOME. Thanks for the info. :)
Cerulean
10-05-2012, 11:01
where she pursuaded Weiser to include the 1889 deck.
I'll search for the link, but she talked about it last year and also had asked us all here for information or thoughts.
If it's the one I am thinking of, your wonderful announcement is the deck-book that I have been eager to have since I first heard about it.
Link to be added later.
Thank you for being the first to spot it, Le Fanu!
Cerulean
Cerulean
10-05-2012, 11:05
http://www.tarotforum.net/showpost.php?p=3007680&postcount=99
Ohh, so exciting!
Cerulean
Metafizzypop
10-05-2012, 11:41
I don't know much about Oswald Wirth, but I'd like to learn about him. Would anybody suggest this book as a good intro for someone who knows very little about Wirth?
Yes - it should be a good book for those who have at least the tiniest bit of knowledge about Tarot and even better for those who are more knowledgeable. My intro gives some background on Wirth and helps put the material in context. It also suggests ways for approaching Wirth's stuff. Skip over what doesn't make sense, and then return and read the book later and you'll be surprised how it all falls into place. It's a book that grows as you grow: simple at one level but very deep and complex at another level.
I believe the cards are actually going to be on glossy pages that you cut out - but they may have changed their plans. I sent them some suggestions to include on making your own deck out of the illustrations.
Metafizzypop
10-05-2012, 13:47
Thanks, Teheuti, that sounds very good. Sounds like something that would definitely expand my tarot horizons.
I'm also getting curious about the cards. Those are always a source of interest.......
One I'll be getting when it comes out - thanks Leffy :)
Yes - it should be a good book for those who have at least the tiniest bit of knowledge about Tarot and even better for those who are more knowledgeable. My intro gives some background on Wirth and helps put the material in context. It also suggests ways for approaching Wirth's stuff. Skip over what doesn't make sense, and then return and read the book later and you'll be surprised how it all falls into place. It's a book that grows as you grow: simple at one level but very deep and complex at another level.
I believe the cards are actually going to be on glossy pages that you cut out - but they may have changed their plans. I sent them some suggestions to include on making your own deck out of the illustrations.Thank you; it's a great idea that his importance is being readdressed with a new edition of the book. I have an older 70s copy but it would be great to have your intro and contextualisation.
I am especially excited about the cards. It's good that the publishers recognise the importance of getting decks out exactly as they were originally. Even if we have to cut the cards out I don't mind. I'm used to trimming. I have confidence in my ability with scissors...
This sounds great and will have to get it as I am a huge Wirth fan.
Freddie
Here's a couple of teaser sentences from my long intro:
"A Swiss, an Italian, a Spaniard and a Dutch-Frenchman walked into a bar . . . It sounds like the beginning of a joke, but in the artistic and metaphysical melting pot of fin de siècle Paris this was a formula for a creative and volatile, indeed, alchemical mixture as profound in the esoteric world as the symbolist and expressionist movements were in the art and literary world. In 1888, the same year as the birth of England’s Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, Oswald Wirth joined Stanislas de Guaita, Papus, and Joséphin Péladan in founding the Ordre Kabbalistique de la Rose-Croix (“Kabbalistic Order of the Rosy Cross”)."
"Wirth tells us in his preface that he tragically lost the first manuscript of his Tarot opus, but was then given the opportunity for 'uninterrupted meditation . . . stimulated by a Gothic background' at a location 'with one of the finest landscapes in France.' It was there that he was able to complete his second version. It was precisely for the unmatched beauty of the landscape that American heiress, Mary Wallace Shillito, built Le Château des Avenières on a hill top in the south of France. . . . [info about how Shillito and her husband, Assan Dina, knew Wirth].
Built in the Gothic style, the Château (now a five-star hotel known for its breathtaking views) contains an even more Gothic chapel, completed in 1917. The walls are covered with enamel and gold mosaics depicting all the images of the Tarot Major Arcana. It is likely that Wirth retreated here to write his book."
"The English title of this book, Tarot of the Magicians, is found in Chapter Seven’s cosmogonic outline: “The god of Tarot is the Magician, the father of all things, the eternal generator” who, as Wirth explains, symbolizes creative activity and will, the idea before conception. This idea directly addresses the magic of transcendence that for Lévi and Wirth was accessed through the Astral Light, a sort of etheric electromagnetism (aether, odic fluid, vril, orgone, prana, Qi and Star Wars’ The Force) that operates uniquely on each plane of consciousness."
"Despite his many-layered approach, Wirth never loses sight of the practicalities of mundane divination. When he first published his deck in 1889 Wirth tells us he was prejudiced against divination. However, many friends asked him for readings, which he could not deny them, and they reported back on the incredible accuracy of what was revealed. After much experience he concluded that, "To divine is to imagine rightly," and that we must educate and discipline the imagination to make divination into a sacred art."
This is going to be fascinating, thank you for that...
garmonbozia
11-05-2012, 10:10
Great News!
I just ordered a used copy of this book from the UK about a month ago and it still hasn't arrived. Probably been lost in the mail.
I may wait for this release instead of attempting to order another one.
Metafizzypop
11-05-2012, 12:23
"Despite his many-layered approach, Wirth never loses sight of the practicalities of mundane divination. When he first published his deck in 1889 Wirth tells us he was prejudiced against divination. However, many friends asked him for readings, which he could not deny them, and they reported back on the incredible accuracy of what was revealed. After much experience he concluded that, "To divine is to imagine rightly," and that we must educate and discipline the imagination to make divination into a sacred art."
Well I'm glad Wirth changed his mind. But this begs the question: If Wirth was prejudiced against divination when he first published the deck, then what DID he feel tarot was to be used for? I was thinking that it might have something to do with exploring the subconscious, or some other psychology/therapy-related pursuit. Except that 1889 seems a little early for that approach. And I don't think that Wirth was using his deck for card games, either. Is this explained in the book? I mean, does the book talk about what Wirth felt the tarot's use was supposed to be (before he realized it makes a great divination tool)?
Cerulean
11-05-2012, 15:57
shows some of the astrological and constellations and significant points that Oswald Wirth had about the major arcana. This seemed to be dazzling and important to Oswald Wirth, almost as if the symbolism of the 22 majors had magical properties...tarot of the magicians
Well I'm glad Wirth changed his mind. But this begs the question: If Wirth was prejudiced against divination when he first published the deck, then what DID he feel tarot was to be used for? I was thinking that it might have something to do with exploring the subconscious, or some other psychology/therapy-related pursuit. Except that 1889 seems a little early for that approach. And I don't think that Wirth was using his deck for card games, either. Is this explained in the book? I mean, does the book talk about what Wirth felt the tarot's use was supposed to be (before he realized it makes a great divination tool)?.
does the book talk about what Wirth felt the tarot's use was supposed to be (before he realized it makes a great divination tool)?
Definitely. He views the tarot from several different perspectives, the core of which is based on the esoteric philosophy of the great French magician Lévi. Essentially it [Tarot] was a flexible book illustrating the dynamic relationships among the principles behind Western Esotericism - including alchemy, French freemasonry, Hermeticism and more.
Metafizzypop
12-05-2012, 09:07
Teheuti & Cerulean, thanks for your replies. This book is starting to sound like a real experience! A really good one, though.
Just out of curiosity; does anyone know if this book (http://www.amazon.co.uk/I-tarocchi-Oswald-Wirth/dp/8827201327/ref=sr_1_11?ie=UTF8&qid=1338722878&sr=8-11) also contains the cards?
It says on the cover, "contains the Major Arcana cards". I just wondered if anyone had this book and whether they were cut-out cards or of decent quality?
Some do and some don't. This deck is the 22 Major Arcana and they are same as the AGMuller deck with more reddish backgrounds and a tad bit larger.
I have found a pre Us Games/AGMuller Tchou full 78 pack, but the deck that sometimes comes with that book is only the 22.
Freddie