Mystical Origins of the Tarot authored by Paul Huson
Reviewed by Diana McMahon-Collis
All rights reserved
Publisher: Destiny Books/Inner Traditions 2004 Rochester, Vermont
ISBN 0-89281-190-0
Distributor: Deep Books – www.deep-books.co.uk Tel: 020 8693 0234
This is a very attractive book in several ways, and one that is likely to be on the bookshelves of many tarotists in the future. It does not take too much reading to get the impression that this is one of those pieces that represents a “life’s work” on the authors part. However the context of how the book has arisen soon becomes apparent in the author’s preface where he explains that originally it was intended to be a revision of his previous famous tarot work “The Devil’s Picturebook”. Paul Huson explains that when he was in the process of re-reading that text, he realised that so much new light had been shed on the history of the tarot subsequently, plus his own views on the tarot had changed.
But whatever the background and raison d’etre for this book to arise, Mystical Origins of the Tarot is clearly a stand alone book. Or should I say manual because in a way it is like a catalogue of tarot history, card by card and suit by suit. There is also a powerfully adept handling of the general way in which spiritual meanings and divination became associated with the tarot.
For anyone interested in the astrological associations of the tarot, this area is handled with a welcome straightforward quality. The Golden Dawn Attributions are given and the Decan System of Rulership explained, with its roots in Chaldea (also the ancient home of Numerology). The Egyptian element often pinpointed as significant in the development of tarot history is given great clarity. Nothing is really forgotten here including the Book of Thoth, Etteilla’s System and the Kabbala.
But what is most engaging about the book is the way that the author weaves a story in his narration. Finding out about the history of the tarot becomes an exciting adventure! It is easy to start imagining scenes from days gone by as he invites us to understand how and why the tarot has developed as it has done.
The book is also a delight in terms of including many black and white line drawings, helping us to see visually how tarot symbolism has emerged and travelled through the depths of time. As you might expect there are crossovers with so-called ordinary playing cards. And it is fascinating to chart the developments and similarities.
All through the chapters covering the series of “Trump” cards, or Major Arcana and the “Suit” Cards or Minor Arcana, Huson offers the original cartomantic interpretations from a range of sources, including Mathers, De Meller, the Golden Dawn and Wait, together with his own suggested interpretations.. There is also a valuable chapter on the relationship of Cartomancy and Tarot, with a clear explanation as to how the very word Cartomancy arose and how it relates historically to “the practice of reading prophetic meaning into the random selection of signs or symbols”.
Paul Huson also discusses how the medieval psyche was affected by popular culture, such as regular seasonal dramas and how the imagery of these has affected what has ended up on tarot card faces. There is an additional section on reading the tarot, working with spreads and understanding the importance of intuition as well as learned meanings for the cards.
Basically with this book the author suggests that if you are interested in tarot you will only be doing yourself a service to make yourself familiar with its history and supplies the means herein to do so. I recommend a straight read through from start to finish, to enjoy the teller’s tales! And then keep in close at hand ready to dip into whenever you want to understand more about where a card’s imagery has come from. This is a dense book that demands time and focus to really appreciate all that the author has to share. But it also happens to be like a good novel – hard to put down once you get into it! I have seen various attempts to document the history of the tarot. This seems to be the most thorough and most convincing to date.
*** Please note: this review originally appeared in TABI News for Tarot Association of the British Isles ***