A rich and insightful look at the history of the tarot, by famed tarot author and creator Robert M. Place.

The Tarot is one the few books that cuts through conventional misperceptions to explore the Tarot deck as it really developed in the Middle Ages and Renaissance Europe - not as some would suggest, in the far reaches of Egyptian antiquity. Mining the Hermetic, Alchemical, and Neoplatonic influences behind the evolution of the deck, author and artist Robert M. Place provides a historically grounded and compelling portrait of the Tarot's true origins, without overlooking the deck's mystical dimensions. 

In this unusual approach, Place uncommonly weds reliable history with a practical understanding of the intuitive help and divinatory guidance that the cards can bring. He presents techniques that offer new and valuable ways to read and interpret the cards. Based on a simple three-card spread, Place's methods can be used by either the seasoned practitioner or the new inquirer. 

Here is a truly complete guide to the Tarot, one that encompasses its authentic history, symbolic meaning, and uses as a means to synchronous understanding. 

For a deeper and more expanded treatment of Neoplatonism, Hermeticism and the Tarot, we also recommend Place's incredible tome, "The Tarot, Magic, Alchemy, Hermeticism, and Neoplatonism".