TAROT
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Tarot Unfolded

Tarot Unfolded, by Stefan Stenudd.

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Tarot Unfolded presents an imaginative reading of the Tarot divination cards, and how to apply it to different card spreads and reading methods.

       Tarot is the extended deck of cards used for divination, dating back to the Renaissance. It works by images, as do humans. We are creatures of imagination. Reading the Tarot cards is essentially done by processing the images in our imagination.


The Book

Tarot Unfolded. Book by Stefan Stenudd. Tarot Unfolded

This book presents all the 78 Tarot card images and their allegorical symbols. Several divination spreads are also explained. The book will help you find your own intuitive way of making inspired Tarot card readings. Click the image to see the book at Amazon (paid link).

More about the book here.

       This book presents the Tarot and explains how it's used in divination. But the main purpose of the book is to tickle the reader's imagination into going on the spiritual quest induced by imagery. See the Tarot card pictures come alive as other pictures emerge from your mind to meet and transform them. You may find that the world will never look the same again.


The author

Stefan Stenudd is a Swedish author, historian of ideas, artist, and a long-time instructor in the peaceful martial art aikido. He has published a number of books in Swedish as well as English, both fiction and non-fiction.

       Among the latter is an interpretation of the Chinese classic Tao Te Ching and the Japanese samurai classic Go Rin no Sho (Book of Five Rings) by Miyamoto Musashi. His novels explore existential subjects from Stone Age drama to science fiction, but lately stay more and more focused on the present. He has also written some plays for the stage and the screen. In the history of ideas he studies the thought patterns of creation myths, as well as Aristotle's Poetics.

       He is also the writer of all the material on this website.


How to get the book

If you want to buy the book, you can do so at most Internet bookstores. Click the image below to see the book at Amazon. The link takes you to your local Amazon store (or to Amazon.com).

Amazon
Tarot Unfolded. Book by Stefan Stenudd.


Facebook Page of Tarot Unfolded

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Contents

Here is the book's table of contents:

Preface 7

Tarot Fundamentals 9
Introduction 11
Divination by Images 14
The World of the Imagination 17
Myth and Archetypes 21
Tarot Archetypes 33
The Tarot Speaks to You 39

Tarot Decks 45
The Rider-Waite Tarot Card Deck 47
Tarot Cards Through the Centuries 49
Tarot vs. Playing Cards 69

Tarot Spreads 81
The Celtic Cross 83
Things to Think About 90
Reversed Cards 92
The Horoscope House Spread 97
The Time Trio Spread 105
The Yin Yang Spread 109
Single Card Flip 113

Tarot Cards 115
The Major Arcana 117
1 The Magician 119
2 The High Priestess 123
3 The Empress 127
4 The Emperor 131
5 The Hierophant 135
6 The Lovers 139
7 The Chariot 143
8 Strength 147
9 The Hermit 151
10 The Wheel of Fortune 155
11 Justice 159
12 The Hanged Man 163
13 Death 167
14 Temperance 171
15 The Devil 177
16 The Tower 183
17 The Star 187
18 The Moon 191
19 The Sun 195
20 Judgment 199
21 The World 207
0 The Fool 211
The Minor Arcana 215
Wands 216
Pentacles 224
Cups 232
Swords 240


Preface of the Book

I was introduced to the Tarot cards in my early twenties, by a friend who was quite learned about all kinds of divination methods. It was love at first sight. The charming illustrations on each of the cards, full of symbolism and intriguing mystery, were a feast for my eyes and got my imagination roaming behind them.

       The Tarot works by images, as do we humans to a great extent. Words make us wonder, numbers puzzle us, but images make immediate impressions on our minds, at lightning speed. They dance with our dreams, play with our memories, and blend with our perception of the world we live in. We are creatures of imagination. As the word suggests, that’s mainly done by images, swirling in our minds.

       So, reading the Tarot cards is processing the images in our imagination. We get it to the extent we allow ourselves to think in pictures, and that comes naturally to us all.

       That’s why I dared to choose the ambiguous subtitle for this book. “Imaginative reading” suggests mere fantasy. Maybe so. Lots of people would claim that’s all it is. But fantasy is no trifle. It’s how we relate to the world and its many enigmas. It gives us ideas by which we are able to discover the secrets of the universe. It unfolds reality.

       I can’t think of any other human capacity that takes us farther than fantasy has done through the past thousands of years, and continues to do. It’s the fuel of creativity, and what surpasses the ability to create?

       Therefore, whether we put trust in the divinations or not, reading the Tarot cards through our imagination inspires us to reconsider what we are, where we are, and the constantly elusive answer to the question why. Perhaps the wondrous way our mind relates to what is called reality will present some dazzling revelations along the way – or at the very least some thought provoking surprises.

       Although I’ve played with the Tarot on numerous occasions through the years, I never thought of writing a book about it. Going from pictures to letters seems like retreating. But then it hit me that this was exactly what I felt like talking about: Reading the Tarot is taking in the images and letting them show themselves, unbound by words and reason. Our imagination will do the rest, and the result has its very own profundity. A picture is worth a thousand words.

       So, in the following I will try to tickle the imagination of the reader into going on the spiritual quest induced by imagery. See the Tarot pictures come alive and make other pictures emerge from your mind to meet and transform them. It’s like going to the movies. It’s what we do.

       If you haven’t indulged in it before, you may find that the world will never look the same again.

Stefan Stenudd
July, 2012


Tarot Unfolded
Imaginative Reading of the Divination Cards

by Stefan Stenudd, Arriba 2012, 2015
Paperback, 248 pages
ISBN 978-1-5141-9728-8
Printed by CreateSpace



About Cookies


My Other Websites:


I Ching Online

The 64 hexagrams of the Chinese classic I Ching and what they mean in divination. Free online reading.


Complete Horoscope

How predictions are done in classical astrology with the full horoscope chart. Many examples.


Creation Myths

Creation stories from around the world, and the ancient beliefs about the world and the gods as revealed by the myths.


Other Books of Mine

Click the image to see the book (and Kindle ebook) at Amazon (paid link).


Your Health in Your Horoscope. Book by Stefan Stenudd.

Your Health in Your Horoscope

What the horoscope says about your health, according to the old tradition of medical astrology.

Life Energy Encyclopedia. Book by Stefan Stenudd.

Life Energy Encyclopedia

Qi, prana, spirit, pneuma, and many other life forces around the world explained and compared.

Archetypes of Mythology. Book by Stefan Stenudd.

Archetypes of Mythology

Jungian theories on myth and religion examined, from Carl G. Jung to Jordan B. Peterson.


Stefan Stenudd, Swedish author of fiction and non-fiction. Stefan Stenudd


About me

I'm a Swedish author. In addition to fiction, I've written books about the Tarot, Taoism, astrology and other metaphysical traditions. I'm also an historian of ideas, researching ancient mythology. Click the image to get to my personal website.

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