The First Occult Tarot Deck and Book Set by Robert M. Place Hermes Publications

Robert M Place’s The First Occult Tarot is a remarkable new deck drawn from the visionary writings of Louis-Raphaël-Lucrèce de Fayolle, comte de Mellet. Among the earliest French occultists to describe an esoteric underpinning of the Tarot, de Mellet associated its Trumps with the Classical Ages of Man, the letters of the Hebrew alphabet, and the earliest divination techniques of the Tarot. His interpretation is steeped in Hermetic philosophy, and Place brings its ideas to life with his own artistic mastery. Besançon Tarot, rather than the Marseille, is the basis for these cards that trace the journey from the World to the Fool, descending from the Age of Gold to the Age of Iron and its accompanying worldly madness. But their narrative can just as easily be seen to chart the climb to spiritual Oneness. Together, they form a remarkable textbook for unlocking gnosis.

This remarkable set includes a 78-card tarot deck and a comprehensive guidebook authored by Robert M Place, with David Vine’s translation of de Mellet’s classic description of the trumps. An exquisite combination of artistry, literature, and research, this unique deck and book set is the perfect addition to any tarot lover’s collection.

Author and Artist

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.