Tarot

Abstract

In a society increasingly intolerant of religious enquiry, where empirical scientific investigation and strict rationalism are afforded primary importance, tarot has been discredited, linked in the media and popular culture with dodgy soothsayers with a malignant intent to deceive and with weak-minded seekers clad in rainbow colours. The relatively small number of scholarly works relating to tarot is in marked contrast to the large numbers of popular tarot books, which crowd the shelves of New Age bookstores and ‘Self-Help’ corners of department stores.