If you want to buy this book, write to dorijan.nuaj@gmail.com
The Ideology of Tarot is not a manual for laying out and interpreting card spreads. The book explores the ideas underlying the symbolism of tarot from a historical and esoteric perspective. It is rich with quotes from significant authors, insights, and a unique synthesis of meanings that have, over the centuries, transformed the pictorial esoteric jargon into today's occult and ideological tarot. The Ideology of Tarot represents a sort of compilation of my research and ideas about tarot, the occult, the esoteric, as well as reflections on the interweaving of these themes with the spirit of the times in which we live. The book is extensive, informative, but also quite speculative, so I believe it will be very interesting and instructive for readers, just as it was for me while working on it.
In this book, the perspectives of numerous authors, who at first glance seem to have nothing in common, are encountered and compared. The only thing they share is that their thoughts form the building blocks of the broad theoretical foundation of this book's author. In a way, these individuals also participated in writing this book, including Frances A. Yates, Aleister Crowley, Eliphas Levi, Manly P. Hall, Fulcanelli, Kenneth Grant, Arthur E. Waite, Marsilio Ficino, Pico della Mirandola, Giordano Bruno, Sallie Nichols, Ronald Decker, Michael Dummett, Nigel Jackson, Paul Huson, Helen Farley, Gershom Scholem, Isaac Luria, Carl Jung, Ioan Culianu, Mircea Eliade, Walter Leslie Wilmshurst, Thomas Moore, György Endre Szönyi, Gerald Massey, Albert Mackey, Julius Berkowski, Béla Hamvas, H.P. Lovecraft, William Stirling, Antoine Court de Gébelin, Carlos Castaneda, Rudolf Steiner, Adam McLean, Jean-Baptiste Alliette, Heinrich C. Agrippa, Papus, Oswald Wirth, E. Raymond Capt.
Someone once said that symbols should not be confined by meanings or restricted by explanations. Assigned meanings and explanations are like prisons for them. By attaching meanings and doctrinal or dogmatic interpretations, we close symbols off from understanding, effectively closing our minds to the symbols. We lock our intellect and intuition into constructs we have created ourselves or have taken from others, whether out of ignorance, laziness, enthusiasm, or lack of choice. Therefore, it is always useful to transcend given or assumed frameworks. However, this does not mean giving free rein to the imagination but rather opening ourselves to the possibility of different perspectives to deepen our understanding of the obvious. It is one thing to search for an answer to what the author of a work or symbolism intended to convey, and quite another to explore what various meanings the subject of our study might have. Some have developed particular doctrines of tarot on this latter point, often diverging from the initial premises, while others, due to a lack of understanding of these premises or disagreement with them, have completely altered the meaning and significance of the symbol system they have taken up. We don't have to accept anything, but it would be useful, if not enjoyable, to put ourselves in someone else's shoes, to view one thing from multiple angles, to develop arguments we fundamentally disagree with or that conflict with our values.
I first encountered the tarot at the
age of nineteen when I acquired the Serbian edition of the "Thoth"
deck in 1990. For me, that tarot and the accompanying "Book of Thoth"
represented a true revelation and an unsolvable mystery, something I
meticulously tried to study and practice, but without significant success.
Compared to that symbolically and visually superior deck, other tarot decks
available to me at that time seemed somehow poor and scant. I couldn't take
them seriously next to such a wondrous masterpiece as the "Thoth"
tarot. Crowley's deck appeared divine in my eyes, full of incredible images and
meanings that I could barely grasp. As the years went by, my interests changed,
and I set the "Thoth" tarot aside. As my knowledge grew and my
interests became more focused, I eventually returned to my old fascination,
this time much more prepared, mature, and determined to master the mystery.
Thus began my unbroken journey toward the fullness of knowledge in areas I had
long explored, with tarot representing one of the key themes.
As a young man, I was interested in mythology, the history of
religions, occultism, political and esoteric ideas, the philosophy of history,
Kabbalah, and similar fields. I read many books, engaged in deep thought, made
contacts with people of similar interests, and practiced certain ritualistic
and meditative practices. My experience, discipline, and knowledge grew as my
shelves filled with books by renowned authors and sages, philosophers,
esotericists, thinkers, and historians. I wanted to understand the world's
perspective from different angles, often exploring completely opposing authors.
I didn't want to be confined to a single worldview that I might adopt from an
authority; instead, I aimed to build my own views by gathering material from
various sources. Driven by this feverish ambition, I resolved to master the
basics of the tarot. I felt there was something valuable in it and that it was
worth spending time uncovering the mystery of this famous system of symbols
that had attracted many minds whose opinions I highly regarded. Now, having
learned and experienced a great deal, my fascination hasn't faded, but my
perspective on the subject has become more systematic, sober, and critical—not
of the tarot itself, but of many of its authorities and ideologists. This book,
therefore, represents an attempt to present my observations, often critical of
the ideas and solutions of these authorities, in a thorough and understandable
manner. All these tarot gods have embedded their worldviews into the versions
and symbolism of the cards they either created or adopted, and have woven
interpretations and explanations into them according to the doctrines they
belonged to or embraced. Additionally, the historical development of ideas
about the tarot and changes in its design represent an interesting indicator of
the state of mind of what we call Western civilization from the 15th century to
the present day.
Writing this book, I simultaneously learned a lot about tarot as well as about the philosophies and practices of many who have interpreted, designed, or preceded and inspired tarot. In this sense, writing this book represents a means of my own understanding. I carefully weighed every written word, striving to be as clear as possible, comparing sources, searching for meanings, researching literature, contemplating, and drawing certain conclusions. I devoted a lot of time to this, ensuring a thorough approach. I did not want to limit myself to just one type of interpretation or to recount doctrinal assumptions and commonplaces of various authors and schools of occultism. I endeavored to encompass and shape as much as possible, relying on various authors and experts while simultaneously opening up an alternative perspective based on a critical, comparative, and historical method. This book is not just about tarot but, above all, a specific philosophy of history and an examination of esoteric influences on the shaping of the historical process and the spirit of the times, which is reflected in the development of ideas about tarot, its ideology, and design. When I say "ideology of tarot," I have in mind two completely separate doctrines: an older one, which laid the foundation of tarot and whose keys were lost precisely when tarot was created, and a younger one that has been evolving since the Renaissance, especially changing in the 18th and 19th centuries, to become a well-rounded ideological entity in the 20th century, expressed in the so-called occult tarot.
