The Secret of the Tarot by Robert Swiryn

How the Story of the Cathars was Concealed in the Tarot of Marseilles

Robert Swiryn’s thought-provoking book, The Secret of the Tarot, is the incredible story of how the Cathars, a group of thirteenth century religious heretics targeted for destruction by the Roman Catholic Church and the King of France, may have managed to preserve their history and spiritual messages in the images of the Tarot of Marseilles.

Well researched and richly illustrated, The Secret of the Tarot presents a riveting look at the fate of the Cathars following the Albigensian Crusade and the Inquisition, as it offers a fresh perspective of the meaning of the cards.

Both a visionary exploration of the cards' imagery and a look at the story of a people who refused to let their legacy be lost, this book could forever change the way you look at medieval history and the tarot.

Besides a gripping exploration of the history of the Cathars' fate, this thought-provoking book offers a unique vision of the tarot as it examines the ideas, spiritual messages, and colorful personalities behind each card.

www.thesecretofthetarot.com

Publication Date: Nov 24 2010
ISBN/EAN13: 0615304389 / 9780615304380
LCCN: 2010938064
Page Count: 274
Binding Type: US Trade Paper
Trim Size: 5.25" x 8"
Language: English

Thank you for noticing my book. It is currently being reviewed by Bonnie, and she will be posting it at AT any day now. I am also hoping to have it listed in the book section of AT.

After talking to some of the "historians" at this website, it has become clear that the book falls short of offering definite "proof" of the theory of the Cathar-tarot connection. But it was never written as a scholarly treatise. Rather, it was meant for the average tarot enthusiast who might enjoy looking at a different perspective or interpretation of the Marseilles cards.

a worthy subject

Catharism: the History and Meaning of Tarot Cards
Dr M D Magee

http://www.askwhy.co.uk/christianheresy/0822Tarot.php
(for ease of reading: click on PLAIN button, top right)

"Inquiry is fatal to certainty." -Will Durant, historian (1885-1981)

"The Arthurian Romances, like the Gnostic religions, were at heart concerned with man's quest for wisdom,
psychic growth, and the ultimate spiritual emancipation."
Alfred Douglas, The Tarot, 1972

"It has not so far occurred to any one that the Tarot might perhaps have done duty and even originated
as a secret symbolical language of the Albigensian sects."
A.E.Waite The Key To The Tarot, 1911

Don't forget, the word "CATHOR" is in reference to "HATHOR" meaning HOUSE OF HORUS.

There is a lot of Kates (K-Haths-OR) around and one is about to marry a Prince- whom it has been suggested that they had actually known each other in a previous life.

Do not perceive the CATHORS as a band who plucked the name form obscurity.

ISIS = HATHOR = KATHOR = ANKGKOR

It is not a person per se, it is akin to Moses' basket, Jonah's whale and Noah's ark. It is a vessel. And that is why the Templars where accused of worshiping a skull, the skull is a vessel. This is the HOLLY GRAIL - the Egyptians "GRAIL" is a "URN" a "VESSEL".

What is hidden within the cards is the theory of the "DOUBLE CROSS" the EARTH CROSS and the GALACTIC CROSS. This was the true secrets hidden for so long, for you to now see.

Thanks to them.

Not impressed I'm afraid.

It sounds like the same old Tarot pseudo-history.

There's quite an extensive discussion of this theory in the history section:
http://www.tarotforum.net/showthread.php?t=147249

Mabuse said:

It sounds like the same old Tarot pseudo-history.

Click to expand...

It is, and worse... Mutton dressed as lamb.

The author and publisher should be ashamed of spreading this kind of unsupported hogwashery. It's not even inventive in its full-on fabrication.

According to history, the Cathars were radical dualists who considered the material world to be evil and only the spiritual to be good. If they really devised the Marseilles, then I don't like it anymore. Didn't A. E. Waite (among others) effectively demolish this theory of a Cathar connection? It's sort of disturbing that it keeps coming up. I suppose some people (maybe most) just believe what they want to believe, whether or not it makes sense.

Scion said:

The author and publisher should be ashamed of spreading this kind of unsupported hogwashery. It's not even inventive in its full-on fabrication.

Click to expand...

Sounds like you just don't like the idea either way - first, because it's unsupported, and then secondly, because it's not inventive. Say what? If it's not supported with enough facts, then it would be - by default - an invention, no? I guess you just can't win with some people.

LRichard said:

According to history, the Cathars were radical dualists who considered the material world to be evil and only the spiritual to be good. If they really devised the Marseilles, then I don't like it anymore. Didn't A. E. Waite (among others) effectively demolish this theory of a Cathar connection? It's sort of disturbing that it keeps coming up. I suppose some people (maybe most) just believe what they want to believe, whether or not it makes sense.

Click to expand...

I think it's important to know more about the Cathars beyond the little "sound bites" we find on line and elsewhere in order to understand who they really were. Most of the information we have addresses their "heretical" philosophy and practices, like their dualist beliefs and rituals. This is because these are the things which were focussed upon by their inquisitors during their "trials". And it is these very documents which provide much of our information we have about these people. However, one should understand that the philosophical principles and strict adherance to an ascetic lifestyle were important to the elite group of Cathar priests refered to as perfects, or "good men". The rest of the followers, making up the vast majority, lived normal lives, conducted businesses, had families, etc. It would be misleading to think of them as some sort of religious fanatics who denied the material world.

In fact, dualism was simply another way of understanding man's place in this world. Rather than the idea of one God who made "heaven and earth," it proposes that there are two principles - one good, which made the spiritual world, including man's spirit, and one bad (the devil), which made all of the earth and its material things. When you think about it, although there is a technical philosophical difference between this dualistic idea and the orthodox view, in a practical sense, they both recognize a good (God) and a bad (Devil) force. To the dualist mind, man is therefore a perfectly good spirit which has been "trapped" in his material body. Rather than rejecting his body and everything else material, this simply presents an alternative oportunity for the individual to attempt to "know" his true self in this life by searching internally. This is quite distinct from the orthodox idea of original sin, in which man was damned from the beginning. So, in this sense, it can be seen as a more positive approach to a spiritual quest.

The Cathars were not some weird pagan cult, which "heretics" were sometimes painted as by their oppressors. They followed their understanding of what it meant to be a Christian, and referred to themselves as true Christians. They looked to their perfects as people who set an example of leading a good life. It may have made more sense to see salvation through these perfects rather than some of the Roman priesthood, which was so overrun with corruption at the time. In fact, some of the Catholic doctrine and sacraments, such as the eucharist, may have seemed much more like magic and superstition to the average person. So, to blanketly qualify the Cathars "radical dualists" may be missing the mark.