~ Book: Tarot and the Journey of the Hero

Hey Aeclecticans,
When I picked up my new Rohrig Tarot I was flicking through the book Tarot and the Journey of the Hero by Hajo Banzhaf. I thought it looked fantastic, full of colourful pictures, interesting tables and diagrams etc... And then I turned over to find it was $47.95 (Aussie dolloars) and thought, "No way." The guy behind the counter stuffed up my card as I was paying for The Rohrig Deck and I continued to flick through the book... There, on page 124 and 125 was a faint pink misprint... I asked for a discount and offered $30 and he gave it to me for $35!

Can't wait to have time to sit down and really enjoy it now!
Has anyone else read Tarot and the Journey of the Hero by Hajo Banzhaf? What did you think?

let me first say - i don't have the book. but i would sure like to.
i did just order a bit batch of tarot-books after years of focusing on decks, it is now time to add some insights into the cards apart from my own.
the Keywords for the Crowley by Banzhaf is among those books.
if i like it i will probably get the journey of the hero too

I have seen both the books in a bookshop... *LOL* I can't believe it now! *LOL*
Seems like some decent Tarotical Literature also lands on neapolitan shores! *LOL*

No need to say I didn't have the money, and I don't even have a Thoth...
Maybe I will get all the three of them if the responce here is positive...

Hi!

I really liked this book. I enjoyed the associations the author made between mythological figures and the various tarot archetypes.

This book was also eye opening for me because it gave me some great insights for the cards I was designing for myself.

I hope you enjoy it, Kayne!

Peace,

Melvis

kayne, this is one of my fav tarot books. i really love delving into myth and tarot. it has beautiful colored illustrations. i also have one on the thoth that's really good. it's not keywords for the thoth. it's more comprehensive. i thought about getting keywords but i decided it was a whittled down version of keywords.

catlin got to meet hajo banzhof for a lecture/booksigning. i'm not sure where the thread is listed. i do remember she was not impressed w/ his latest book or his attitude about a book translation he did. it wasn't one of the above as far as i can remember. you might be interested in checking it out.

truthsayer said:

i also have one on the thoth that's really good. it's not keywords for the thoth. it's more comprehensive. i thought about getting keywords but i decided it was a whittled down version of keywords.

Click to expand...

i sort of believed it was two different books.

(edited)
hey the book came today!
this is the "keywords for the Crowley tarot"
and it is not bad at all
it is just what i wanted - a book that deals with all the details in the cards and it is a bit like what all those LWBs should be like. only then i guess it would be called HugeWhiteBook HWB

now i have to stop myself from immediatly go and order the journey of the hero. must.stop.myself.

Hi,

I think I posted my impressions of Mr Banzhaf live in a thread in "Talking tarot" around 24 April.

I think "Tarot and the Journey of the Hero" and his "Keywords" are the best books by H. Banzhaf. All the others are just compilations of his previous books with quite a lot of adaptation of M. Greer.

I was not so impressed by Mr Banzhaf as I found out during his lecture that his trial interpretations were rather poorly done. Besides, I asked him why his translation of the M. Greer book "Tarot constellations" was so poorly done and there were even some major faults (confounding of the HP and the Empress card, etc). He told me that he had not seen the faults and that he had lost interest in the book during translating it. Besides, it did not sell well in Germany.

i found this one to be a great read, and suggest whole heartedly.

LVX
steve

I just bought this book also (for $6 at a discount bookstore ) and am enjoying it immensely. Lots of fascinating insights into tarot in connection with history, culture, and mythology.

Helps to know your Dante

I read this book a couple of years ago. Loved the imagery, the superb presentation, and the links to mythology and the Dante's Divine Comedy. While you don't really need to have read Dante, it helps. The book is a bit patchy in places - lots of stuff on some cards, less on others. Also, he follows the European tradition of placing Justice in position 8, and Strength in position 11 - even though he is working with the Waite deck. His reasoning for this is unclear. Nevertheless, it was, and is, an excellent book. I know that when I re-read it a couple of more years down the track, I will find more and more in it. It is not one of those books that you read and think ... time to flog this puppy on ebay ... it's a keeper.
mythos