Tarot is a visual history of the tarot that stems from a simple yet powerful idea: to explore the tarot is to explore ourselves.

Over the course of 600 years, this tradition has reflected not only the history of divination, but also our universal longing for meaning, purpose and connection with the divine, and the way in which art has shaped that shared narrative.

From a Western perspective, the tarot has remained for many in the shadows of cultural consciousness, associated with the arcane and passed down through secret texts, oral tradition and academic studies. Over the centuries, mystics and artists, often working together, transformed what was once a parlour game into a system of self-knowledge, and each generation has sought to evolve its form and reinterpret the medium.

In this first volume of TASCHEN’s The Esoteric Library, author Jessica Hundley traces this history and explores the symbolic meaning of over 500 original cards and works of art, more than two-thirds of which have never been published outside their own decks. Organised according to the sequence of the major and minor arcana of the 78 cards, the book spans from the Middle Ages to the contemporary era, showcasing the tarot’s influence as a muse for artists such as Salvador Dalí and Niki de Saint Phalle, whilst also featuring decks by nearly 100 contemporary artists from around the world. The volume is rounded off with extracts from thinkers such as Éliphas Lévi, Carl Jung and Joseph Campbell, a foreword by Penny Slinger, an interpretation guide by Johannes Fiebig and an essay on oracular decks by Marcella Kroll.

Key features:

• Binding: Hardback.
• Pages: 520.
• Language: Spanish.