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'''Meditations on the Tarot:  A Journey into Christian Hermeticism''' is a book published posthumuously and [[anonymous]]ly in 1985.  It was originally written in French, and [[translated]] into [[English]] by Robert A. Powell of the [[http://www.sophiafoundation.org/ Sophia Foundation].

'''Meditations on the Tarot:  A Journey into Christian Hermeticism''' is a book published posthumuously and [[anonymous]]ly in 1985.  It was originally written in French, and [[translated]] into [[English]] by Robert A. Powell of the [[https://www.sophiafoundation.org/ Sophia Foundation].

Though the [[author]] published the book anonymously, since publication and his death, it has become well known that the [[writer]] was [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Valentin_Tomberg Valentin Tomberg]. The Afterword states that "The author wished to remain anonymous in order to allow the work to speak for itself, to avoid the interposition of any kind of personal element between the work and the reader".

Though the [[author]] published the book anonymously, since publication and his death, it has become well known that the [[writer]] was [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Valentin_Tomberg Valentin Tomberg]. The Afterword states that "The author wished to remain anonymous in order to allow the work to speak for itself, to avoid the interposition of any kind of personal element between the work and the reader".

The author appears to be a [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roman_Catholicism Roman Catholic], although the ideas expressed are often not commonly associated with Catholic [[dogma]].  Many of the ideas are strongly influenced by [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carl_Jung Jungian] thought. The body of the work is divided into 22 Chapters, called "Letters", with a Foreword by the author and an Afterword by [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hans_Urs_von_Balthasar Hans Urs von Balthasar], a Swiss theologian.  Each chapter is centered around a card from the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Major_Arcana Major Arcana] of the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tarot_of_Marseilles Tarot of Marseilles].

The author appears to be a [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roman_Catholicism Roman Catholic], although the ideas expressed are often not commonly associated with Catholic [[dogma]].  Many of the ideas are strongly influenced by [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carl_Jung Jungian] thought. The body of the work is divided into 22 Chapters, called "Letters", with a Foreword by the author and an Afterword by [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hans_Urs_von_Balthasar Hans Urs von Balthasar], a Swiss theologian.  Each chapter is centered around a card from the [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Major_Arcana Major Arcana] of the [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tarot_of_Marseilles Tarot of Marseilles].

Each card is taken as an "arcanum," which the author defines in part in '''Letter I: The Magician''' as "... that which it is necessary to 'know' in order to be fruitful in a given [[domain]] of [[spiritual]] life. ... a 'ferment' or an 'enzyme' whose [[presence]] stimulates the spiritual and the psychic life of man."  He writes that they "are neither [[allegories]] nor [[secrets]] ... [but] authentic [[symbols]] ... [which] conceal and [[reveal]] their sense at one and the same time according to the depth of [[meditation]]."  The symbolism of the cards is taken as a springboard for discussing and describing various aspects of [[spiritual]] life and [[growth]].

Each card is taken as an "arcanum," which the author defines in part in '''Letter I: The Magician''' as "... that which it is necessary to 'know' in order to be fruitful in a given [[domain]] of [[spiritual]] life. ... a 'ferment' or an 'enzyme' whose [[presence]] stimulates the spiritual and the psychic life of man."  He writes that they "are neither [[allegories]] nor [[secrets]] ... [but] authentic [[symbols]] ... [which] conceal and [[reveal]] their sense at one and the same time according to the depth of [[meditation]]."  The symbolism of the cards is taken as a springboard for discussing and describing various aspects of [[spiritual]] life and [[growth]].

* ''Meditations on the Tarot:  A Journey into Christian Hermeticism'' ISBN 1-58542-161-8.

* ''Meditations on the Tarot:  A Journey into Christian Hermeticism'' ISBN 1-58542-161-8.

==External links ==

==External links ==

* [http://sophiafoundation.org/ The Sophia Foundation homepage]

* [https://sophiafoundation.org/ The Sophia Foundation homepage]

[[Category: Religion]]

[[Category: Religion]]

[[Category: Philosophy]]

[[Category: Philosophy]]