Tarot of the Alchemical Magnum Opus Hermes Publications

Robert M Place demonstrated the close link between the Alchemical symbolism and traditional Tarot imagery with the classic Alchemical Tarot. He continues this exploration with The Tarot of the Alchemical Magnum Opus. Here the images are distilled down to their essence. The Simplified images point to the Alchemical processes in the quest for “gold” – discovering our own inner wisdom.

The Deck is designed as if it had been printed using wood blocks, like Renaissance cards. Four basic colors are used : black, white, blue, and red, each representing a separate wood block printed on a parchment background. (for the maintenance of Alchemical symbolism yellow is also used on three cards.) The colors each represent an area printed from a carved block, the colours are hard-edged without gradation. The black lines define the outlines and darkest areas and the blue and red areas act as medium tones that define the forms and textures. This simplified code for interpreting forms, like alchemy itself, can be traced back to ancient Greece. It is a cornerstone of Western art

Specs

• 78 Cards Measuring 3” X 4″
• Gold Edged cards with curved corners
• 20 page small booklet describing the origins of the deck and meanings for the cards.
• two-part cloth covered box
• Creator Robert M Place

Author

Robert M. Place is an internationally known visionary artist, whose award winning works, in painting, sculpture, and jewelry, have been displayed in galleries and museums in America, Europe, and Japan.  He is the designer, illustrator, and coauthor of The Alchemical Tarot and The Angels Tarot, which have received international acclaim.  He is designer, illustrator, and author of The Alchemical Tarot Renewed, the award winning The Tarot of the Saints, The Buddha Tarot, The Vampire Tarot, and The Tarot of the Sevenfold Mystery.  He is the author of The Tarot: History, Symbolism, and Divination, which Booklist has said, “may be the best book ever written on that deck of cards decorated with mysterious images called the tarot.” He is the author of Astrology and Divination, Magic and Alchemy, and Shamanism, written for the Mysteries, Legends, and Unexplained Phenomena series, and the author of Alchemy and the Tarot. He is the curator of The Fools’ Journey and the author of the catalog for this exhibition of Tarot art that originated at the LA Craft and Folk Art Museum.  He was the guest of honor at the opening of the Tarot Museum in Riola, Italy. He has created numerous illustrations for books and magazines, his Facsimile Historic Italian Tarot is included in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and he and his work have appeared on the BBC, A&E, the Discovery Channel and the Learning Channel. His newest work is a Lenormand oracle deck, The Burning Serpent Oracle, on which he collaborated with Tarot diva Rachel Pollack. Burning Serpent Oracle, on which he collaborated with Tarot diva Rachel Pollack.

Suggested Reading

THE TAROT, MAGIC, ALCHEMY, HERMETICISM, AND NEOPLATONISM

The Tarot, Magic, Alchemy, Hermeticism, and Neoplatonism is the newest book by Robert M Place. It incorporates the material that was in Alchemy and the Tarot and The Tarot: History, Symbolism, and Divination, but updates the facts and, as you can tell by the title, covers a lot more material—about three times as much, with 680 pages and over 300 illustrations.

This book is intended to be a guide to the Alchemical Tarot and Robert’s Tarot of the Sevenfold Mystery. It is the companion book for both decks. But it also covers the Tarot of Marseilles and The Waite Smith Tarot. So that it is a guide to the Tarot for anyone using any deck. Each chapter starts with a full-page illustration on the left hand page and the text on the right hand page.