Shedding light on the Jodorowsky Camoin Marseilles deck

Rusty Neon

FM ... I see his bandes dessinées (comic books) in French language bookstores all the time. He appears to be quite prolific. When you mentioned (on another thread) that you saw posters in the subway advertising his _Voie du Tarot_, I figured it must be because of his non-tarot fame (comic book or otherwise). Coupled with the wide distribution of his publisher (Albin Michel), Jodo's tarot book will probably get larger sales than Camoin's eventually-to-be-released tarot book.
 

tmgrl2

I was surprised, also, at the number of publicatons by Jodorowsky. I ordered La Voie du Tarot from Amazon.ca...couldn't resist it.

terri
 

tmgrl2

Thanks for the article, Rusty...Interesting he reads Tarot for so many people and for himself and that he only uses Tarot to answer present problems, not predict..

Anther insight...So his book should contain years of reflection..

terri
 

Kissa

I digged this old thread out... it's been a few months now, how do you guys now feel about this book by A. Jodorowksy?

Do you have other books (except for the comics :p) by Jodo?

I am very tempted...

Kissa

edited to add: first the booklet "L'Art du Tarot" not available anymore from Camoin.com, then Ph. Camoin expected to publish his own book about the Jodo-Camoin... Could there be some post-creation tensions or disagreements between those two??? Just wondering...
 

ihcoyc

I ordered the Jodorowsky book from amazon.ca about a month ago, and I'm about two thirds through it now.

As I posted on a thread in the Marseilles seciton, I was somewhat disconcerted by a perceived authoritarianism I found in Jodorowsky's book. This impression has not changed much as I read deeper. Jodorowsky's approach is also steeped in Jungian psychology, and has something of the flavour of old-time theosophy in it as well, and that sort of thing is a bit more diffuse than I would have liked. Some of Jodorowsky's divinatory meanings strike me as a bit impractical; he assigns a core meaning of "Nirvana" to the 8 of Swords, for example --- what are you going to do with that in a reading?

Still, he presents some interesting ideas. I like his notion that in each of the pip cards, one card among the four suits will stand out as somehow "different" in each rank. Since I do put a fair amount of stock in Gareth Knight's approach involving visualized conversations with the several characters, the monologues Jodorowsky gives to each of the trumps and court cards have been the most enjoyable feature of the book for me.

If you are going to try to read one French book on the Tarot de Marseille, I'd strongly recommend Carole Sédillot's Ombres et lumières du tarot over this one. This and Jodorowsky's are the two I've tried; I've also read Joseph Maxwell in English. Sédillot's approach to a very different tradition is encyclopedic, precise, and practical; Jodorowsky's is much more theoretical and at times too metaphysical/psychological. For people from the English speaking traditions, all of this is going to be quite new to you.

If the Camoin-Jodorowsky deck is your favourite TdM, the Jodorowsky book is the one you need to unlock all of the mysteries Camoin and Jodorowsky say they have uncovered. I believe the Rodes-Sanchez deck follows Camoin and Jodorowsky to some extent; not sure what the politics behind all that are, and don't much care.
 

Kissa

hi ihcoyc,

thanks for the reply!

i don't know about Jodorowsky: i am very curious yet many things i've read about both his book and his approach to Tarot in general bothers me a little. moreover, i really don't think i am up to reading such a metaphysical book on the TdM right now as i've just begun studying it...

so i'll stick with C. Sédillot, who was once recommended to me by Diana, and she was right all the way. i take note that you as well as many others here, appreciate "Ombres et Lumières du Tarot" as well.

i just ordered Corinne Morel's "Arcanes Mineurs" and "Arcanes Majeurs" after reading her description of the Roude de Fortune yesterday, as well as some general stuff about ethics, why read the Tarot, can Tarot predict the future etc. i liked very much what i read. the link is: www.ecole-corinne-morel.com .

don't worry too much about french, in fact it might be the only thing i would be able to understand in Jodo's book: the French language... ;)

PS: i find Ph. Camoin's moto (about him being "the heir of conver" blablabla) so annoying that i admit i would be glad to hear some otherstoo got fed up with this marketing slogan. i apologize for bringing such a low subject to the luminous section of Marseilles decks...
 

Sophie

ihcoyc said:
If you are going to try to read one French book on the Tarot de Marseille, I'd strongly recommend Carole Sédillot's Ombres et lumières du tarot over this one. This and Jodorowsky's are the two I've tried; I've also read Joseph Maxwell in English. Sédillot's approach to a very different tradition is encyclopedic, precise, and practical; Jodorowsky's is much more theoretical and at times too metaphysical/psychological. For people from the English speaking traditions, all of this is going to be quite new to you.
Click to expand...

Jodorowsky is the only book I own for the moment on the Tarot de Marseille, though Sedillot has been on order for some time, and I recently found some second-hand Bocher Cahier du Tarot (T 1&2) on the net. I am enthralled, but I'm also glad to have this forum as a counterpoint, for it would be too easy to get sucked into this poetical-mystical world of Jodo's and forget to see the cards for themselves. I am not of the English world, so don't look for pragmatism necessarily (though I can see where it is useful), and the high-flown language, and the anachronistic references, don't shock me (I am a child of my postmodern time, and to hear of the Nirvana in relation to the VIII d'Epees means something to me- though I admit I'd feel pretty silly using it with a querent). Because I am new to the TdM tradition, I have flung myself into its study with much passion, which includes re-acqainting myself with my beloved medieval and renaissance studies. But I still try to keep some distance from all I read, and concentrate on learning to know the cards from different perspectives, as intimately as I can. Tarot is a soul journey, after all. Mais quelle aventure! Undoubtedly Jodo is contributing to the fun. Later I'll have more perspective to judge his book on its merits.
 

Clau

Good thing I found this thread as I was thinking of getting Jodorowsky's book "La via del Tarot", excuse me , I forgot how to say it in spanish or french....

I'll keep in mind what I have read here, when I read the book.

------
On a secondary note, yes, Jodorowsky is a very proliphic (SP???) author not only writing but also in cinema, and drawing and all sorts of things. He along with his wife and son have developed what is called "PSicomagia" a very powerful healing tool. I think of him as one of the greatest creators alive.

By the way, he was born in Chile.....

Love,

Clau
 

tarobones

marseilles text in english

Does anybody know of a marseilles text in English? Anything at all available for those of us who do not read French? Hope so.......I'd hate to abandon the Marseilles deck after my interest has been piqued. Thanks ahead of time for any information. BB, Michael
 
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