Born out of the mystical vision of artist Robert M. Place, The Alchemical Tarot: Reimagined is a full 80-card Tarot deck that demonstrates the close link between alchemical symbolism and traditional Tarot imagery and illustrates that the Tarot, like the alchemical quest, is designed to lead one to the gold of inner wisdom.
The first edition of The Alchemical Tarot was published by Thorsons, in 1995. After thirty years and after six previous editions of the deck, Robert M. Place has redrawn the cards. Working with the deck during this time, seeing how these images communicate in readings, and seeing how his artistic abilities have grown, he believed that it was time to redesign and reimagine the deck.
This version contains a twenty-second trump card, called Veritas, described in its place at the end of the trumps. The Fool and trumps in The Alchemical Tarot each relate to an alchemical material or process, which is part of the Magnum Opus (great work) of alchemy that leads to the creation of the Philosopher’s Stone, a mystical catalyst that transforms what it touches into its highest form. Composed of the mysterious fifth element, it can cure any illness, turn lead into gold, and turn an ordinary person into an enlightened sage. A symbol representing its alchemical process is displayed on each trump. The Philosopher’s Stone, is represented by the World card. The four minor suits are related to the four alchemical elements: Earth, Water, Air, and Fire, and each of these elements is related to one of the four functions of consciousness as described by Jung: sensation, intuition, thinking, and feeling respectively.
Robert M. Place is an internationally known visionary artist, whose award-winning works, in painting, sculpture, and jewelry, have been displayed in galleries and museums in America, Europe, and Japan. He is the designer, illustrator, and co-author of The Alchemical Tarot, The Angels Tarot, and The Raziel Tarot, which have received international acclaim. He is designer, illustrator, and author of The Alchemical Tarot Renewed, the award-winning The Tarot of the Saints, The Buddha Tarot,The Vampire Tarot, The Tarot of the Sevenfold Mystery, The Tarot of the Alchemical Magnum Opus, The Alchemical Tarot of Marseille, The Hermes Playing Card Oracle, and The New York Lenormand. He is the author of The Tarot: History, Symbolism, and Divination, which Booklist has said, “may be the best book ever written on that deck of cards decorated with mysterious images called the tarot.” He is the author of Astrology andDivination, Magic and Alchemy, and Shamanism,Alchemy and the Tarot, and The Tarot, Magic, Alchemy, Hermeticism, and Neoplatonism. He is the curator of The Fools' Journey and the author of the catalog for this exhibition of Tarot art that originated at the LA Craft and Folk-Art Museum. He was the guest of honor at the opening of the Tarot Museum in Riola, Italy. He has created numerous illustrations for books and magazines, his Facsimile Historic Italian Tarot is included in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and he and his work have appeared on the BBC, A&E, the Discovery Channel, and the Learning Channel. He has taught and lectured on five continents. Among his newest works are Lenormand and Tarot collaborations with Tarot diva Rachel Pollack, and a Lenormand deck inspired by Japanese culture.
Born out of the mystical vision of artist Robert M. Place, The Alchemical Tarot: Reimagined is a full 80-card Tarot deck that demonstrates the close link between alchemical symbolism and traditional Tarot imagery and illustrates that the Tarot, like the alchemical quest, is designed to lead one to the gold of inner wisdom.
The first edition of The Alchemical Tarot was published by Thorsons, in 1995. After thirty years and after six previous editions of the deck, Robert M. Place has redrawn the cards. Working with the deck during this time, seeing how these images communicate in readings, and seeing how his artistic abilities have grown, he believed that it was time to redesign and reimagine the deck.
This version contains a twenty-second trump card, called Veritas, described in its place at the end of the trumps. The Fool and trumps in The Alchemical Tarot each relate to an alchemical material or process, which is part of the Magnum Opus (great work) of alchemy that leads to the creation of the Philosopher’s Stone, a mystical catalyst that transforms what it touches into its highest form. Composed of the mysterious fifth element, it can cure any illness, turn lead into gold, and turn an ordinary person into an enlightened sage. A symbol representing its alchemical process is displayed on each trump. The Philosopher’s Stone, is represented by the World card. The four minor suits are related to the four alchemical elements: Earth, Water, Air, and Fire, and each of these elements is related to one of the four functions of consciousness as described by Jung: sensation, intuition, thinking, and feeling respectively.
Robert M. Place is an internationally known visionary artist, whose award-winning works, in painting, sculpture, and jewelry, have been displayed in galleries and museums in America, Europe, and Japan. He is the designer, illustrator, and co-author of The Alchemical Tarot, The Angels Tarot, and The Raziel Tarot, which have received international acclaim. He is designer, illustrator, and author of The Alchemical Tarot Renewed, the award-winning The Tarot of the Saints, The Buddha Tarot,The Vampire Tarot, The Tarot of the Sevenfold Mystery, The Tarot of the Alchemical Magnum Opus, The Alchemical Tarot of Marseille, The Hermes Playing Card Oracle, and The New York Lenormand. He is the author of The Tarot: History, Symbolism, and Divination, which Booklist has said, “may be the best book ever written on that deck of cards decorated with mysterious images called the tarot.” He is the author of Astrology andDivination, Magic and Alchemy, and Shamanism,Alchemy and the Tarot, and The Tarot, Magic, Alchemy, Hermeticism, and Neoplatonism. He is the curator of The Fools' Journey and the author of the catalog for this exhibition of Tarot art that originated at the LA Craft and Folk-Art Museum. He was the guest of honor at the opening of the Tarot Museum in Riola, Italy. He has created numerous illustrations for books and magazines, his Facsimile Historic Italian Tarot is included in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and he and his work have appeared on the BBC, A&E, the Discovery Channel, and the Learning Channel. He has taught and lectured on five continents. Among his newest works are Lenormand and Tarot collaborations with Tarot diva Rachel Pollack, and a Lenormand deck inspired by Japanese culture.
