Michael Fischer ~ Map for The Self. The Occult Cartography of Tarot

Thesis Supervisor: Rachel O'Reilly

Thesis: Map for The Self. The Occult Cartography of Tarot

July 2024

Abstract 

Tarot was invented as a simple playing card game with a set of additional trumps in the northern Italian courts of the Renaissance during the 15th century. Following the occult assumption that tarot is a model of the universe, this thesis considers how the tarot became a cartographic device to map, organize and unify various Western esoteric knowledge practices. The thesis explores how and why the “Game of Triumphs” became within about a century for various occult authors an arcane repository of “timeless” esoteric wisdom. It elaborates how an occult conception of tarot emerged as a social phenomenon, from the myth of being an ancient book of knowledge, to its application as divinatory and mnemonic device in esoteric societies that performed ritual magic with the cards on regular basis. In the course of the thesis, it will become clear that the a major part of the symbolism, imagery and astrological correspondences that characterize modern tarots, where authored by only a few people, who designed them for the same purpose that they are used for in contemporary culture:an esoteric tool for self-meditation and transformation. Comparing and contrasting occult tarot to the cultural technology of Western cartography, this thesis considers the esoteric appropriation of the playing card deck from the perspective of map-making, a process in which a map is created, to navigate, explore and discover the invisible, unknown forces and planes of the cosmos as discussed in esoteric literature for centuries. A parallel to cartography, the spatial organization of knowledge will reveal that the occult tarot is a social construction based on certain cultural conventions and agreements. Its sociogenesis is linked to the quest for a primordial knowledge tradition and spiritual experience of self that has permeated the Western mind, already from the Renaissance on. The thesis aims to provide an introduction to the sociogenesis of occult tarot for anyone unfamiliar with the topic, but also for those, who want to deepen their understanding, how things come into being, starting from a myth.

Author Michael Fischer