The Authentic Tarot

Aims to decode what may be the oldest known complete deck of cards - the Ancien Tarot de Marseille. This book explains the symbolism of each card and the relationships between the cards. It suggests how the wisdom of the Tarot can help us to self-awareness.

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"The Authentic Tarot" challenges the popular view of the cards as merely a device for fortune-telling - the Tarot deck is a 'book' of 78 cards that tells an allegorical story of our quest in life, using a symbolic language of archetypal pictograms and numbers. In its truest form it is an ancient tool for self-development - and, indeed, self-realization. Thomas Saunders decodes what may be the oldest known complete deck of cards - the Ancien Tarot de Marseille - which retains the greatest integrity for their original function. He explains the symbolism of each card and the relationships between the cards, interpreting not only the Major Arcana, but also the significance of the fifty-six Minor cards, and suggests how the wisdom of the Tarot can help us to self-awareness, an understanding of where we are on life's path, and a sense of our place in the world.