In "Mystical Origins of the Tarot, Paul Huson traces each symbol of the Minor Arcana to ancient Persia, and the Major Arcana Trump card images to the medieval world. A thorough examination of each card is given, and how the cardsdivinatory meanings evolved. Huson also provides concise and practical card-reading methods of the 18th and 19th centuries and reveals the origins of the card interpretations promoted by the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn and A. E. Waite.

Acknowledgments Preface Introduction: Of Playing Cards and Tarot Decks The Mamlûk Cards The Creation of the Court Cards The Naming of the Court Cards The Creation of the Tarot Trumps Tarot in the Sixteenth Century Further Developments 1 The Origin of the Suit Signs Sufis and the Suit Signs The Four Cardinal Virtues The Four Castes of Ancient Persia 2 The Origin of the Trumps Petrarch’s I Trionfi Medieval Drama The Four Last Things The Tale the Trumps Tell 3 Of Cartomancy and the Tarot The Ancient Art of Sortilege Egyptian Magic and the Book of Thoth Etteilla’s System The Kabbala and Éliphas Lévi The Golden Dawn Attributions Papus and His “Bohemian” Tarot 4 The Meanings of the Trump Cards The Major Arcana 0 The Fool I The Juggler II The Female Pope III The Empress IV The Emperor V The Pope VI The Lovers VII The Chariot VIII Justice IX The Hermit X The Wheel of Fortune XI Fortitude XII The Hanged Man XIII Death XIV Temperance XV The Devil XVI The Tower XVII The Star XVIII The Moon XIX The Sun XX The Judgment XXI The World 5 The Meanings of the Suit Cards The Minor Arcana The Suit of Coins or Pentacles The Suit of Cups or Chalices The Suit of Swords The Suit of Batons or Wands 6 Reading the Tarot Selecting a Tarot Deck Getting in Touch with Your Cards Preparing for Divination General Rules of Cartomancy Simple Tarot Spreads Advanced Cartomancy--Linking the Cards Complex System Last Words of Advice Appendix 1. Historical Tarot Decks Appendix 2. Where to Buy Your Cards Appendix 3. Where to See the Originals About the Illustrations Bibliography Index