Archivio della categoria 'Books'

Tarosophy: the Laws of the Universe

Tarot Italia 2020 International Congress

An analysis of the connections between psyche and matter. Symbols and Tarot have the role of making accessible the so-called multidimensional matrix: an intertwining that contains information on “destiny”, Karma, and individual lives.

Giovanni Pelosini

I DO NOT BELIEVE IN TAROT

Tarot, Mirrors of Infinity

Giovanni Pelosini

I do not believe in Tarot. We often think of Tarot as a game, a game for charlatans, a way to predict the future. Those who feel that way became slaves of those prejudices, while the rational person refuses them. As a matter of fact, we consider Tarot to be irrational because of this very reason. Because magic is something we believe in, while science is something we can demonstrate. But science and magic used to be the same thing, and they still lead to the same thing. That is why I do not “believe” in Tarot, I study it.

The Renaissance Origins of Tarot

The Renaissance Origin of TarotThe Renaissance Origins of Tarot

by

Giovanni Pelosini

Translated by

Arnell Ando

A fascinating new eBook by accomplished Tarot historian Giovanni Pelosini, which I greatly enjoyed translating, while speculating on how deeply the seeds of Tarot were planted before blossoming beautifully during Renaissance Italy. This brief but enthralling synopsis on the origins of Tarot shares not only various influences that came together to create this amazing spiritual/psychological pastime & game but also how far back some influences can be traced and from how far away. Captivating stuff…

The mystery of the origins of Tarot is linked to its creators during the Italian Renaissance, who designed the cards for the artistic and cultural legacy of humanity, while also feeling inspired by the liberation of humankind’s spiritual nature. The Renaissance was an extraordinary moment of cultural syncretism and artistic freedom of thought. In the fifteenth century, alchemy, astrology and the ancient traditions of Hermeticism had an opportunity to come together in a unique iconographic, mnemonic system of educational experiences which became the Tarot deck, complete with twenty-two original Triumphs (Trump cards). After creating this deck, humanists, scientists and writers, driven by their passion for knowledge, gathered in academic settings, protected by the Lords of Florence, Ferrara, Bologna, Rimini, Milan, Mantua and other cities, while continuing a centuries-old tradition of spiritual initiation. This Renaissance offering to humanity was created not only for recreational purposes, or divination, but in order to reveal secrets of the Neo-Platonic philosophy founded on the apparent multiplicity and uniqueness of an ordered, holistic cosmos, enriched by free spirited creativity, which through the images of Tarot, could then soar above the illusory dualism that exists between mind and matter and move towards self-realization.

Arnell Ando

⇒ Amazon: Giovanni Pelosini, The Renaissance Originis of Tarot

Tarot Travel Guide of Italy

Tarot Travel Guide of ItalyMorena Poltronieri

Ernesto Fazioli

Arnell Ando

Tarot Travel

Guide of Italy

History of a Mystery

from the Renaissance

Introduction

by

Giovanni Pelosini

Travel is always an adventure in the labyrinths of the psyche. When our physical body moves
and the senses are stimulated by new colors, sounds, tastes and visions, the mind continuously
travels, to evoke in ourselves ancient memories.
If the journey is a dip into the historical and cultural memory of our own civilization, every cell
in our body vibrates in tune with the places visited.
But if, as in this case, Tarot is the objective, but also the symbolic realm which guides an
extraordinary trip to Italy, then every moment will be a memorable cultural experience ~
emotional, evocative, esoteric, evolutionary and educational.
The Italian Renaissance was an extraordinary moment in history in which the ancient cultural
traditions were dramatically challenged by the cult of beauty and harmonious artistic expression
in an atmosphere of freedom and exploration. Brilliant humanists who were still unknown at that
time, created a fascinating game for aristocrats and the multitudes, which concealed an initiatory
phase of content; a philosophical heir to Platonic thought, aimed at freeing humanity, with wings
to attain a higher consciousness, beyond the limits of matter and mind.
Traveling the trail of Tarot in Italy is to venture into the past, surrounded by art and beauty, by
history and legend, culture and mystery. It is not a journey for everyone; for not all are prepared
to become mirrors of infinity. When that which is infinite wants to manifest itself to us, it must
first be translated into something finished; when the invisible wants to reveal itself, it must
become visible, and when we invite the unknown to express itself, the absolute descends into a
space denser and more intelligible than the senses and the mind. And as always, we call this
‘creative expression’.
The journey of the Tarot in Italy is nourishment for the senses, the intellect and the spirit. The
connections between the Tarot, the destinations, the characters, the situations, the experiences
that you can live out in Italy are innumerable, and a lifetime would not be enough to comprehend
it all. Like any travel, it is an adventure that never ceases to amaze, and a quest that never ends.
Bologna, Milan, Siena, Ferrara, Bergamo are only the first stages of a bountiful path that would
cross every village and city of the peninsula. Pisa, Florence, Lucca, Orvieto, Rimini, Urbino,
Mantua might be suggestions for further travel, but this would only be a tantalizing hors
d’oeuvre, to stimulate the intellectual appetite; an invitation to totally immerse yourself in the
fascinating world of Tarot, with the genuine risk of getting lost in the vast and stimulating,
consciously functioning, open-air museum that is Italy.
Even Italians are often surprised by the rich heritage that their illustrious ancestors left behind,
but more often they take for granted the good fortune of living each day immersed in history and
culture, art and beauty. For a foreigner, such total immersion is a unique and absolutely
memorable experience.
So as not to get lost in the esoteric journey narrated in the Divine Comedy, Dante Alighieri
needed three guides: Virgil, Beatrice and St. Bernard. If you choose to take an Italian Tarot tour,
the expertise of Morena Poltronieri, Ernesto Fazioli and Arnell Ando offer the best guides
possible for an amazing trip: their love of the history, art and culture of Tarot is tangible, while
their knowledge of the themes, events and places is unique, and their humanity heartfelt.
Buon viaggio.

Giovanni Pelosini

 

 

 

I Tarocchi Appropriati

Tarocchi Appropriati

Muse o Dei by Hermatena

Mutus Liber

TAROCCHI APPROPRIATI

This unusual collaborative project harkens back to a time in Tarot history when nobility would enjoy playing clever parlor games with the cards. The accompanying 96-page booklet gives a brief overview of the historical context from which the hosts of Tarocchi Appropriati (Morena Poltronieri & Ernesto Fazioli) were inspired to pay homage to such ancient Tarot word games. Written documentation still in existence from 1668 – 1725 Bologna shares how these challenging games were performed in playful (often catty) competition amongst friends. As Morena Poltronieri explains:

The “Appropriate Tarots” were presented in Bologna (Italy) and Lodovico Frati, in a manuscript of 1668, wrote about this particular system of reading. ‘The Trumps of Appropriate tarocchini’, were composed of two different parts: the first part listing the correspondence between the Trumps and the ladies of the past, and the second supplies in prose an explanation of the proposed correspondence. From this ancient system of reading was born the project “Appropriate Tarot.” Like in the past, the 22 Major Arcana inspire poetry – one poem for each card.

We are invited, along with this select group of artists to revisit an ancient era in Bologna, when a group of refined ladies would gather together to play parlor games (often ‘tongue’ in cheek’) with hand-painted Tarocchi cards, in order to test wits and lyrical skills with insight or parody on public figures & social commentary, as relating to each Trump card.

The 22 Major Arcana cards created for this deck by the various international artists are presented in B&W in the booklet along with the artists’ own interpretations, which is then followed by an inspired bit of prose by Jari Casagrande. This poet also created the IX Hermit card. While renowned Tarot historian Giovanni Pelosini who oversaw this project contributed the XIV Temperance Card. Continua a leggere »