Origins of the Tarot uniquely combines a far-reaching historical examination of the world's great spiritual and esoteric traditions with a detailed consideration of the tarot trumps. Author Dai Léon traces the origins of the tarot’s names and hierarchy and makes an insightful analysis of their richly interwoven iconic symbolism.

Combining pioneering scholarship with practical spiritual instruction, this book is the first to unveil the full range of the ancient streams of wisdom from which the Tarot emerged. The book covers a confluence of philosophical schools from East and West, giving each its due in the exposition of a universal procession of evolution and the soul's quest for enlightenment. That the tarot reflects such a great tradition of conscious realization and cosmological principles has never been stated in a comparably extensive and detailed way.

Origins of the Tarot incorporates and synthesizes material from a tremendous range of traditions, including Kabbalah, Western esotericism and alchemy, Buddhism, Taoism, yogic disciplines, Sufism, mystical Christianity, Gnosticism, and Neoplatonism. Deep correlations with scientific principles are also identified. This unprecedented range of references, brought to bear on the most famous esoteric system in the world, is certain to attract close study among the world's countless students of tarot and esotericism.