Quote:
No study of occult philosophy is possible without an acquaintance with symbolism, for if the words occultism and symbolism are correctly used, they mean almost one and the same thing. Symbolism cannot be learned as one learns to build bridge or speak a foreign language, and for the interpretation of symbols a special cast of mind is necessary; in addition to knowledge, special faculties, the power of creative thought and developed imagination are required. One who understands the use of symbolism in the arts, knows, in a general way, what is meant by occult symbolism.
There are many methods for developing the 'sense of symbols' in those who are striving to understand the hidden forces of Nature and Man, and for teaching the fundamental principles as well as the elements of the esoteric language. The most synthetic, and one of the most interesting of these methods , is in the Tarot.
In its exterior for the Tarot is a pack of card used in the south of Europe for games and fortune telling. These cards were first known in Europe at the end of fourteenth century, when they were in use among the Spanish gypsies.
In order to become acquainted with the Tarot, it is necessary to understand the basic ideas of the Kabala and of Alchemy. For it represents as, indeed, many commentators of the Tarot think, a summary of the Hermetic Sciences -- the Kabala, Alchemy, Astrology, Magic, with their different divisions. All these sciences, attributed to Hermes Trismegistus, really represent one system of a very broad and deep psychological investigation of the nature of man in his relation to the word of Noumea (God, the world of Spirit) and to the word of phenomena (the visible, physical world).
--from the book "What is Tarot", author unknown.