Magical World of Tarot

DreamGhost

It seems that The Magical World of the Tarot: Fourfold Mirror of the Universe by Gareth Knight may be back in print, or at least available new and not second hand. I ordered mine from Amazon and am waiting for it to ship.

I think I can look forward to an interesting discussion about Tarot from this book. I like covers like the one portrayed on the book, I think they're classy and quite 80's-esque. While one cannot always judge a book by its cover, in this case the cover seems to describe the book....that's just my guess, anyway, I have not had a chance to look at it yet. At the very least, I feel the cover was chosen for a reason.

ETA: Whoops. Can a mod maybe move this to the Tarot books section for me, please? Thanks!
 

Lleminawc

This is one of my favourite Tarot books. Knight takes a very different approach from many other authors; he recommends engaging with the cards through a sequence of imaginative visualisations rather than memorising lists of "meanings". It's sometimes surprising and instructive what comes up during these exercises. He has another book, The Treasure House of Images (published under various titles) which has some good stuff in it. Finally there's his somewhat forbidding Practical Guide to Qabalistic Symbolism which perhaps I'll read in my next life.
 

gregory

That sounds like something that would help people who read as I do..... I shall watch to see if it really shows up for you before risking amazon though (I have had no less than three bad experiences with them recently.....)
 

firefrost

I have my eyes open and ears pinned back on this too...
 

Lleminawc

For info: on his website Knight recommends ordering his books from Thoth publications www.thoth.co.uk. They don't currently list Magical World of the Tarot but they do have Treasure House of Images. Here's the blurb:
The third fruiting of the Hawkwood College workshops, taking the Tarot head on as a magical system rather than as a divination device. Covers the fascinating history and development of the modern Tarot from its 15th century beginnings through to the massive explosion of its popularity since the late 1960s. Then analyses the basic archetypal principle behind each card, with practical examples of magical work with them in recently conducted pathworkings and rituals. Published in America in 1991 under the title Tarot and Magic.
 

fyreflye

Everything Gareth Knight wrote, particularly his Practical Guide to Qabalistic Symbolism, is mandatory reading for Tarot students. Knight was Dion Fortune's senior student and the heritor of her occult tradition. BTW, Magical World is still in print in the US and available from Amazon for as little as $6.35.
 

Scion

Absolutely!

Like many born teachers, Knight buries little anecdotes and bits of trivia and experiential observations throughout his books, and is compulsively readable besides. The most exciting element is his tendency (given his background) to approach Tarot from an initiatory magical perspective... it's a more demanding approach than is currently trendy but one which yields real benefit.

All of his books turn up in used book collections regularly because he is an heir to a time when publishing on Tarot and the occult in general was less mall-targeted. :thumbsup:

Scion
 

DreamGhost

It's not on the publisher's site? Really weird. There was a delay in the order that would normally be processed that night, so I thought maybe it was a preorder for a release, but that's still strange it would not appear on the publisher site. If it has always been in print here in the U.S., it also seems strange that there would be a US release and not a UK release. Of course, I have no idea how publishing houses work and why that would be the case.

The publisher the Amazon listing says it's from is Red Wheel / Weiser; New Ed edition (1996).

The order says "Items shipping soon."

So I'm hopeful.
 

DreamGhost

The book is in the mail and on its way. I'm sorry you've had bad experiences with Amazon, gregory! I've been fortunate not to have any problems.