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New Directions in Tarot

Decoding the Tarot Illustrations of Pamela Colman Smith

Scott Martin author

Format:Hardback

Publisher:Schiffer Publishing Ltd

Published:28th Apr '24

Should be back in stock very soon

New Directions in Tarot cover

A look at how Pamela Colman Smith's theatrical knowledge and experience came into play when she drew the iconic cards of the Rider-Waite-Smith deck.

The “secrets” in this book have been known all along, and they work in all who read Tarot on a subconscious level. This insightful book delves deeply into the images Pamela Colman Smith created for the Rider-Waite-Smith Tarot, and reminds us of what we may have known intuitively but had not been aware of on a conscious level. 

• A brand-new approach that focuses on how, in her images, Smith utilized a sense of direction, body movement, posture, gait, facial expression, and more

• Compares the Tarot Minors to technical elements of theater, including plot, conflict, elements of a play, thought/theme, dialogue, music, and actors’ positions on stage

• Provides powerful tools for interpreting the cards and discovering new meanings that the reader can make their own

• Includes thought-provoking exercises that guide the reader in the mastery of these new insights

The result is a fresh take on Tarot that brings new meanings to light and enables the reader to evaluate what the Tarot provides like never before.

There is literally a ton of information in this. I've read it cover to cover, and I'll be going back to copy bits and pieces into my journal, and keeping it nearby to refer to. I started tarot a few years ago thinking I could learn it all. Every time I pick up a book like this I'm reminded that there are so many layers and points of view and new facts that I will never learn it all; there'll always be something new to discover.
Highly recommended by tarot giants like: Mary Greer (who wrote the Foreword), Rachel Pollack, Robert Place, Carrie Parris, and Sasha Graham.Loved the exploration of how artist Pamela Coleman Smith’s knowledge of the stage and background in theater informed her illustration of her RWS images. I especially appreciated that the author included Smith’s own article entitled “Should the Art Student Think?” in the back of his book to corroborate his thesis that “…her inspiration as an artist came from her experience in the theater, her knowledge of theatrical staging, and the actor’s instrument.”

ISBN: 9780764366307

Dimensions: unknown

Weight: 726g

160 pages