Tarot: The Library of Esoterica by Jessica Hundley (Hardback)

To explore the Tarot is to explore ourselves — to be reminded of the universality of our longing for meaning, for purpose, and for connection to the divine. Spanning a 600-year-old tradition, this is the debut volume in TASCHEN’s acclaimed Library of Esoterica series, and a visual history unlike any other.

For many in the West, Tarot has long lived in the shadows of cultural consciousness, a metaphysical tradition relegated to the dusty glass cabinets of the arcane. Its history is long and obscure, passed down through secret writing, oral tradition and the scholarly tomes of philosophers and sages. Over hundreds of years, hundreds of creative hands — mystics and artists, often working in collaboration — transformed what began as a parlour game into a source of divination and a system of self-exploration, each generation reinterpreting the medium anew.

Author Jessica Hundley traces this fascinating history across more than 500 cards and original artworks — two-thirds of which have never been published outside the decks themselves — artfully arranged according to the 78 cards of the Major and Minor Arcana, from the medieval to the modern. The book explores Tarot’s influence as a muse to artists such as Salvador Dalí and Niki de Saint Phalle, and gathers the decks of nearly 100 diverse contemporary artists from around the world. Rounding out the volume are excerpts from thinkers including Éliphas Lévi, Carl Jung and Joseph Campbell, a foreword by artist Penny Slinger, a guide to reading the cards by Johannes Fiebig, and an essay on oracle decks by Marcella Kroll.

Perfect for readers who love Tarot, mysticism and the occult, art and visual history — and anyone after a beautiful, museum-grade volume to treasure and return to.