Companion+ for Tarot of the Sevenfold Mystery

24 May 2017
Companion to the Tarot of the Sevenfold Mystery, amongst other things.

Companion to the Tarot of the Sevenfold Mystery, amongst other things.

Place’s new book is a companion for the Sevenfold, the TdM and Hermeticism

I own many of Robert Place’s decks (granted, I love most, but am not equally enthusiastic about all of them). Strangely enough that has not translated itself into even one review, but I am sure I’ll rectify that at one point.
 Besides his decks I’ve come to enjoy many of his writings and books. Combine those two and you have the reason for this little news-item. Because….Finally, it is here! Well, almost then.

Place’s newest book is coming soon and it is one many of us Place-deck-collectors have been waiting for. Not only is he an artist with a very recognizable simple but elegant art-style, but he is also an extremely knowledgable art-historian and tarot historian. His book Tarot and History is a classic (on the pile of my standard tarot reference books) and the companion for the Alchemical Tarot (AT), Alchemy and the Tarot, is unequivocally one of the best deck companions ever written.

Companion Sevenfold Mystery Tarot

Two of the Majors for the 7FM, Tarot of the Sevenfold Mystery. Greek mythology and neoplatonism is interwoven in this deck.

But…if you are very much into his AT (ed4 or not), chances are you have the Tarot of the Sevenfold Mystery too. And as gorgeous as it is… most of us have been wanting for a book that explained all those ancient history, mythology and other esoteric and hermetic references. The Tarot, Magic, Alchemy, Hermeticism, and Neoplatonism is the answer to that long held wish.

New book by Robert Place is double tarot companion and esoteric history book in one

On top of being a guide to his Alchemical Tarot (it includes an updated version of the material in Alchemy and the Tarot), it will finally be the companion to the Tarot of the Sevenfold Mystery. And that’s not it. 
Place is still working on it and halfway through the book it is already counting 70 illustrations andThe Tarot, Magic, Alchemy, Hermeticism, and Neoplatonism supposedly could also being seen as a guide to Tarot de Marseille and the Waite-Smith. I can hardly imagine how thick the book must become to cover all those bases, but it seems like Place wanted to write a companion for basically any tarot book. That must mean some (important) info will be missing for sure. But I am keeping some faith.
Companion Sevenfold Mystery TarotCompanion Sevenfold Mystery
I know his work with neoplatonism, mythology and religion (the decks Angel Tarot, Buddha Tarot and his latest Raziel Tarot Majors Only are all based on well-known belief systems) and it is of high quality. Great books and well-researched, consistent decks. ‘Handling’ the TdM will be a new venture for Place. One I am planning to enjoy if it is up to his level.

The deck designer and book author’s already announced that each chapter starts with a full-page illustration on the left hand page and has text on the right, ending with another illustration.
With a bit of luck this all-encompassing tarot guide will be available by the end of this year. I hope, as he does with his decks, it will be available through TarotBG for us Europeans too. If so, I’ll give a shout-out on my Facebook page!

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