Tarot & Magic: The Treasure House of Images

It's a pity Gareth Knight's writing on the Tarot isn't as well known as that of luminaries like Rachel Pollack and Mary K. Greer. It deserves to be. His insights are profound and drawn from a larger corpus of Rosicrucian and Western esoteric teachings. This book covers the evolution of the major arcana from the earliest hand-painted decks to the later "metaphysical" decks (Waite-Smith and Crowley), which allows the reader to see how the symbolism and imagery has changed over the centuries (and drives home the point that there is no "true" Tarot, but rather an ever-evolving collection of symbols). It also offers practical advice on reading the cards, with an emphasis on developing your own meanings and associations. But the real magic of the book are the inner, imaginative exercises and guided pathworkings to take the reader deeper into a relationship with the archetypal energies of the Tarot. There is some overlap with Knight's other works on the Tarot, but that is not a drawback if you find his approach refreshing. I certainly do.

Love just about everything written by Gareth Knight,

A very concise and informative book. A good read with good ideas.

An wonderful intro and like all GOOD intro books it could also last a life time. I've been recommending this for over a decade, I have not read this new revised version, but based on the earlier version, I'd recommend this to anyone. We have introductions to qabbala, different tarot placements, archetypes/telesmic images, pathworking. A study of the cards themselves.....It may be the foundation of your tarot understanding, it may not.. but I would still classify it as essential.

Great book for pathworking