"The Western Mysteries" :: D A Hulse

Hi, All --
Just wanted to give this book a great big thumbs-up. This book and its companion 'The Eastern Mysteries" are my current favorites for study. These volumes are mostly about how various alphabets around the world are related to each other (which makes for fascinating reading. ... at least *I* think so), but the reason I'm listing it here is for the 150 or so pages given over to the Tarot. These few pages include much information about the origins and meanings of the various Tarot streams we now have. Remarkably free of personal ego and bombast, this scholarly-but-readable book tabulates in understandable fashion the history and attributes of the various main decks. Fans of the Marseilles, the RWS, the BOTA and the Thoth can each read this and not feel slighted. In particular, read this for an explication of the planetary/astrological/Qabalistic correspondences to the Major Arcana. At $30- in paperback, this volume isn't cheap, but it's well worth the cost.

A quick overview by the publisher here:
http://www.llewellyn.com/bookstore/book.php?pn=K429

cheaper here:
http://www.buy.com/techtv/retail/product.asp?sku=30555384

and here:
http://enotalone.com/books/ASIN/1567184294.html

I'll second that...

Oh yeah--

I'll second rota's praise here. (In fact, I got both volumes a while ago at her suggestion...) I'm a great fan of gematria-- and have developed my own brand of English Gematria (but that's anohter LONG story).

I just cruised around-- you can still find the Eastern Mysteries. I'm just wondering if it's heading for OOP-hood; so if you're interested, I'd act fast. For those interested in the kabalah angle and it's relation to tarot, the section on Hebrew is fabulous. Lots of stuff I'd never encountered before.

If you're interested in the numerical/linguistic background for almost any "mystical" system, you'll find it here....

fly well
Ravenswing

I just ordered it. It sounds interesting and as if it may be a good reference source.

Thanks for the word.

Court Card Article by Hulse

I am very interested in purchasing these books, especially after reading this article on the Llewellyn site.
It ties in all sorts of correspondences aimed at fleshing out the court cards (a challenge for many).

http://www.llewellynjournal.com/article/387