News
New free ebook published – A Cultural Reader of the Tarot
In July and August of this year, I collected the various writings I’d done on the Tarot since sending my book A Critical Introduction to Tarot to the publishers, editing them down into a short three chapter ebook by the main themes I’d been exploring:
- AI & Tarot
- Gaming & Tarot
- Religion & Tarot
The result was A Cultural Reader of the Tarot. I quietly published this at the end of August but today, on the 1 year anniversary of the publication of A Critical Introduction to Tarot, I publish revision 2 of this ebook and make it available here on my website for free.
If you read it, please let me know what you think!
Recent writing on Tarot, philosophy, and games
Since publishing my debut book on tarot, I’ve continued to enjoy writing on this fascinating topic. If you’re interested in reading more, please check out the following:
- Recognising the Christian Mysticism of the Tarot, The Christian Parapsychologist (Spring 2024)
- The Perennial Philosophy and Syndesiophilia in Christian Alchemy, Medium blog (March 2024)
- Esoteric Tarot and A New Generation of Games, The Playing Card journal, vol. 52 issue 3 (Feb 2024)
- The Joy of X: Completion and The Tarot, Medium blog (Dec 2023)
Book Launch! A Critical Introduction to Tarot
A Critical Introduction to Tarot: Examining the Nature of a Belief in Tarot is finally available to buy in print or ebook. For buying options, please visit the publisher webpage.
I want to thank everyone who contributed to the book. Though my name features as the author, it would not have been possible without the generous support of friends, family, and colleagues.
To those interviewed in the book, thank you for lending your time and expertise: Benebell Wen, T. Susan Chang, Max Haiven, and Stella Lawless.
To my friends and family, without whom I would be lost: Gerald Glynn, Maria ‘Jo’ Lluque Lopez, Nuala Kenny, Adam Stoneman, Rod Stoneman, and Michael Sherry.
To the staff at Collective Ink (formerly John Hunt Publishing), of which Iff Books is an imprint, who have patiently seen this book through to publishing, especially Bernardo Kastrup, Dominic C. James, and Gavin L. Davies.
I also thank Danny DeCillis and Vedika Dayal for comments on the early manuscript draft.
You can now buy A Critical Introduction to Tarot, see the publishers website for buying options.
If you do buy a copy, please leave a review! I would love to know your honest opinion of the book.
Interviews
My first interview for A Critical Introduction to Tarot is now available. I had the pleasure to speak on the Jeff Mara Podcast and discuss the history of tarot, especially its Christian roots, and the philosophical basis for tarot belief. Thank you Jeff!
There has been an extremely positive reaction to my book and I’m very grateful for that. I will be speaking on several more podcasts in the coming months to discuss A Critical Introduction to Tarot and the many interesting links the tarot has to our culture.
The best place to find out more about these podcasts as they are published is by my X (Twitter) account.
‘Tarot Card Games’ article in Tabletop Gaming Magazine
An article I wrote for Tabletop Gaming Magazine was published in issue 80 on 23rd June and is available now in print and digital editions. You can have a peek at it on PocketMags but it is paywalled beyond the first two paragraphs.
The article is a discussion of Tarot card games, asking: why aren’t there more games using this deck? What are the particular strengths of the deck (with its trumps / major arcana) and what challenges does it present to the game designer? One of the games I write about is Battle of Tarot, an intriguing game by game designer and artist Denman Rooke.
I interviewed Denman and played a few games with him when I was researching this article. I found the topic so interesting that I decided to go further and write a longer essay looking at the many influences within his game and the use of Tarot in general as a gaming deck. I’m working with the editor of The International Playing-Card Society (of which I am a member) on a paper for the journal The Playing-Card. I hope it will be in an edition later in the year.
Pre-order now available
A Critical Introduction to Tarot is now available for pre-order on Amazon.co.uk.
If you would like to secure your copy, please use the following link: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Critical-Introduction-Tarot-Examining-Nature/dp/1803413921/