Origins of the Tarot: Cosmic Evolution and the Principles of Immortality

Arrived on time and exactly as described.

A friend of mine accidentally found this book at the library and raved about it so I looked for and found it here. I love it, especially the chapter "Kosmic Knowledge" as consciousness in the universe fascinates me. Not a light book to read, but If you want to stretch your mind, get this book!

Reading 'Origins of the Tarot' was a body-mind-spirit resonance of Bliss with the Beloved for me. It is a rare book that touches so profoundly into the heart of our individual and collective soul.'Origins of the Tarot' is a complex and comprehensive treatise on Eastern influences and their relationship with Western philosophy and religion, leading up to and deeply formulating what we now call Tarot. In essence, it traces the non-dualistic roots of Tarot from Europe, back to the East, along the Silk Road, and beyond.For those interested in the history of philosophy and religion, this is the equivalent of a college-level course with its expansive details. It traces a complicated confluence of crossed and criss-crossed influences from Indo-Aryan "shamanic cultures" to ancient Greek philosophy and myths, Buddhism, Taoism, Sufism, Neoplatonism, Kabbalah, Hermeticism, Gnosticism, Eastern Christianity, Western Christianity, and Celtic culture, including the metaphysical concepts of alchemy, tantrism, and Eros.At it's heart, this work is a philosophical study following the weaving of dual and nondual values as they stream together, influencing, sometimes repelling, each other throughout our history of evolution as intelligent beings.Tarot enthusiasts will find this is to be a radically different interpretation of the basic template of our modern Tarot's major arcana. Yet, knowledgeable scholars of Tarot will recognize these deeper roots and how they informed the pre-Renaissance sequence and power of each Tarot Trump, or Triumph. When seen through the wisdom of nondual values as they move through the hierarchy of stages toward immortality, this preeminent template of Triumphs constitutes an amazing model of evolution, our spiritual potential reflecting back to us through the visual archetypes of the Tarot.This movement toward our spiritual potential is the most powerful argument and I suspect the reason for the creation of this impressive labor of love, as found within its title ''Cosmic Evolution and the Principles of Immortality.'For some folks Léon's writing style may be circuitous, dense and difficult to follow. On the surface, it does not appear to apply a linear outline, but topics are well-rounded discussions of major concepts with their multiple influences. I particularly appreciate his vast knowledge, extensive references, and precise vocabulary.This is a must read for any serious student of Tarot wisdom.

I'm going to put this as simply as I can. I was looking for a book on the origins of the Tarot, a history book. This book pulls things out of left field like they are going out of style there. Also, the amount of nonsensical verbiage is astounding! If you are looking for some concrete historical accounting of the origins of the Tarot cards, you'd best look somewhere else, this guy writes nothing, but new age lala-land B.S.I would suggest "A Wicked Pack of Cards: The Origins of the Occult Tarot" by Ronald Decker, or "A History of Playing Cards" by Catherine Perry Hargrave.

A remarkable book...

Where can we find the threads that would help guide us out of the dark labyrinths of our personal and social bewilderment today? How can we be moved by the magical synchronism of the Tarot in a way that expands our quest beyond personal desires and private dreams? How can our intuitions of the profound wisdom reflected in traditional metaphysics be grounded in the actuality of what's needed to preserve life on earth?Questions like these have motivated Dai Leon to assemble this prismatic work of integrative history and thought. Through them he aims to redeem the esoteric meaning of the Tarot from its contemporary embrace by the occult. More than that, he asks his attentive readers to pose their own fundamental questions along with his: How do we get to there from here? A desire to release the eternal from the confinement of the present seems to pervade this book. This work merits the efforts of all who are called to engage with it.

A very complex work. It is necessary to have previous knowledge of the subject matter. While there are some good/ interesting points that are made, in my opinion it is an overly convoluted text. The first chapter alone tries to cover way too many disciplines rather than culminating in a simple central thesis.

The author gives a quick introduction into the generally accepted theory behind the genesis of the Tarot, to then embark on his own interpretation. He clearly states that it is a possible interpretation of historical evidence, as this is nowhere near conclusive. His theory is interesting to say the least and even if you chose to disbelieve it, will bring new insight.

Got the book on time, as yet not got the time to start reading or should I say study as it is a deep subject to get into with its alternative views, this one is for the winter.