Review: Tarot Medieval – The Mysteries of the Initiates Path

Author: Caitlin Matthews

Illustrator: Wil Kinghan

2023

Red Feather Publishing

ISBN #978-0764366208

“Out of heaven they shall not cast the day,

They shall cast not out song from the world.

By the song and the light they give

We know thy works that they live.”

Algernon Swinburne, The Last Oracle

“Tarot Medieval” is a 215-page book and 78-card deck that has a fascinating history. Caitlin Matthews translated and edited the original text from Francis Rolt-Wheeler, as well as added additional material of her own. The artwork, by Wil Kinghan, is based on art recovered from the originals of Christian Loring. The box the deck and cards come in opens from the top to both sides.

The cards are 2 ¾” by 5”, and of good quality. The card backs, which are a light maroon color, carry reversible back-to-back fleur-de-lis symbols. The suits are Scepters (Wands), Cups, Swords, and Shekels (Coins/Pentacles). The cards are borderless and portray an almost mystical medieval setting.

Each card carries symbolic, initatic, Kabbalistic, numerological, astrological, and divinatory significance.

Tarot Medieval is a French Tarot deck that was originally written by British esotericist Francis Rolt-Wheeler, and illustrated by Christian Loring. It was published in 1939, but following the fall of France in 1940, it did not survive. Few copies of the original material remain. Matthews has translated (from the original French) and edited Rolt-Wheeler’s text, as well as written new material for the book. The restoration of the art was done by Wil Kinghan. The historical and magical context of this deck is rooted in the Oswald Wirth school of Tarot. Matthews has developed new ways of using the cards, offering in-depth personal exploration through meditational paths.

In Matthews’ introduction, we find a history of the deck and the political times during which it was published. We also find out that the artist, Christian Loring, was a serious scholar and occultist.

Part One (The Original Text of Medieval Tarot) is Matthews’ translation of the original text. Each card of the Major Arcana is presented with a full-color image, the card number and name, along with the symbol and Hebrew letter. This is followed by a description of the card, its initiatory significance, symbolic correspondences, and practical divination (the upright and reversed meanings of the card).

The Minor Arcana are defined as Scepters/Wands (representing a Commander’s baton in battle), Cups (representing both the Holy Grail and the eucharistic cup of communion), Swords (representing a long knight’s sword), and Shekels/Pentacles (representing the coin offered in the Temple of Jerusalem to purchase the sacrifice or offering. The Court cards are Pages, Knights, Queens, and Kings.

The four suits represent four temples:

• The Temple of Scepters – Region of the Air Triplicity
• The Temple of Cups – Region of Water Triplicity
• The Temple of Swords – Region of the Fire Triplicity
• The Temple of Scepters – Region of Earth Triplicity

The Minor Arcana pips (numbered cards) are presented with a full-color image, a description of the card, and an upright and reversed meaning. The Minor Arcana Court Cards are presented with a full-color image, an explanation of the card, and upright and reversed meanings.

Part Two (Working With The Tarot Medieval) is the original work of Matthews. She starts out with the magical background of the Tarot, then moves on to the inclusion of the Kabbalah, the ten Sephiroth, and a chart showing the 22 Major Arcana, their corresponding Hebrew Letters (as used in the Medieval Tarot & Wirth-style Tarots), the Path on the Tree of Life, and the paths between Sephiroth. The initiatory path is also discussed.

In the section on meditation with the cards, there is a chart showing the Major Arcana card, the Rolt-Wheeler titles, and the McGregor-Mathers titles. There is a section on reading with the cards, including examples with small, full-color images of the cards. There are several reading templates given, including a five-card Reading The Story spread, a five-card Judgment or French Cross spread, and a nine card Weft of the Mysteries spread. At the end of the spreads section is a short section on timing.

At the end of the book, we have a Glossary, Notes, a Bibliography, and a short listing of Oswald Wirth-style Tarots.    

This is a well-researched, well-presented book and deck that gift the reader with a look at an amazing work that basically never saw the light of day. For anyone interested in the esoteric side of Tarot, this is a must-read.

June 2023 Bonnie Cehovet

Reproduction is prohibited without written permission from the author.

 

Review: Choices

Author: Camelia Elias

Eyecorner Press

June 9^th, 2023

ISBN #978-8792633965

“Choices” is a 113-page book on divination that deals with the theme of choice and what is at stake when we compare situations. Elias offers ten examples of six-card readings using the Marseille Tarot.

The examples offered are:

• The fortuneteller has no doubt.
• In goes a coin, out pops an answer.
• In God we trust, everybody else pays cash.
• The question is involved.
• If this, then that,
• What is hidden is always the outcome.
• To avoid failing at prediction.
• Coaching the coaches.
• If I don’t choose, then what?
• The paradox of choice.

Each example is written in a very conversational style, as if Elias is across the table from the reader, telling a story, with each story involving a choice of some kind. The first thing that jumped out at me (from The Fortuneteller Has No Doubt) is that this book will not address the alternatives that fall outside of strictly focusing on what the cards have to say about just two options.

The examples in the book come from Elias’ own real-life readings and consultations with the cards for over a decade. Each example is accompanied by black and white images of the six cards drawn (two rows of three cards each).

“In Goes A Coin, Out Pops An Answer” advises the reader that the approach to comparing situations with the cards is always the same – draw two sets of three cards, and allow the question to lead the direction.

In each example, Elias basically allows her thinking to free flow, which allows the reader to get a good idea of how she came to her conclusions. To me, this is just as important as defining the spread – understanding how the cards interact with each other to tell the story.

One of Elias’ pieces of sage advice to the reader is that if they are looking for precision when reading a visual text, it will not be found in set phrases that supposedly capture the energy of the card but rather in the use of a method that allows you to put two and two together.

At the end of the book are two references – one to Elias’ previous work with choices and one referencing two other authors’ work.

This is a fun book to work with (ChatGPT even got its name mentioned!), and an intriguing way to look inside the mind of this amazing author/teacher/consultant/tarotist.

June 2023 Bonnie Cehovet

Reproduction is prohibited without the permission of the author.