Increasing My Tarot Library

Richard

shaveling said:
As LRichard points out, Wirth isn't particularly TdM. He devised his own version of the Tarot, like Waite and Crowley did, though his deck is majors only. He's a turn of the century occultist, like the Golden Dawn crowd. Only he's not GD, which is one of the things that make him interesting. There really is no authoritative TdM book, only books that you like or find useful or something like that.

If you change your mind, remember that Tarot of the Magicians was republished earlier this year with an introduction by Mary Greer. If you buy a copy from a used book dealer, you might end up with the earlier edition, without her introduction.

By all means get the one with the Greer introduction.

In spite of the title, J-M. David's book is not a "how to 'read' the TdM" manual. It is an exhaustive study of the TdM images from a historical perspective, and there is no doubt whatsoever that it is authoritative. However, it certainly does not cater to the instant gratification mentality of some Tarot readers. It gives you the meat; it is your task to digest it, which in some cases may cause heartburn. (I'm thinking, for example, about the punishment of traitors as depicted in Trump XII, Le Pendu.)

RunningWild

Thanks for that. Actually, I don't find a need to know how to read the TdM. I'm fairly certain I could do it without anymore introductory books. I do like to read about the historical context of the cards. I've already encountered some "meat", as it were, in other books that I have, just not enough of it.

Increasing My Tarot Library

Richard

RunningWild