That book is truly one of a kind, though I’d still say reading Montaigne is a more intimate experience, even without the esoteric themes. As far as pure esoteric lit goes, however, I’d recommend the Tibetan Book of the Dead despite Tomberg’s warnings of its “demonology”. And the Wasteland by T.S. Eliot is notably Tarotic if that’s what you’re looking for specifically.
Corpus Hermeticum (Copenhaver's)
Evola's Hermetic Tradition
Browne's Garden of Cyrus and Urn Burial
Solovyov's The Meaning of Love
The Picatrix
The translated works of Ramon Lull (real), which are here: lullianarts.narpan.net/cont.htm
Meditations on the Tarot is in large part a modern iteration of ars memoria, so reading surveys of the tradition from Yates + adjacent scholars will provide important context. Recs above are pastiches of hermetic pastiches. If you are just starting these will all steer you into fructiferous courses, but if you are past these, you no longer need to study but to practice your mnemonics.
>ars memoria
Could you give me a brief explanation of what this is? I’ve heard of it in passing in regards to renaissance hermeticism and Giordano Bruno.
Ars memoria is a pre-textual mnemonic technology that has been attended with variably mystical and/or practical inclinations, and which has prominently featured the encoding of data into different loci which are formally related through powerful—or at the very least, useful—symbolic representations. Classically, information would become represented through suggestive imagery procedurally located in an imaginary interior—a mind palace. Based on Lullian and pseudo-Lullian influences, and infused with the gnostic impulses in Ficino's translation of the Corpus Hermeticum, the Renaissance tradition became a combinatorial art through which the initiate consecrated himself with celestial influences through their imprints on his memory. From Corpus Hermeticum XI:
"So you must think of god in this way, as having everything - the cosmos, himself, (the) universe - like thoughts within himself. Thus, unless you make yourself equal to god, you cannot understand god; like is understood by like. Make yourself grow to immeasurable immensity, outleap all body, outstrip all time, become eternity and you will understand god."
tldr: systematically organizing your memories through visuals.
Why do you want to read about Tarots?
Because I am interested in esotericism
>esotericism
so why do you want to learn about mystical things, is it to see what people did historically?
Because I want to practice it myself
Do believe in metaphysics
Yes
what makes you believe in it?
I just intuitively do
what do you think of people that intuitively don't
I don’t understand them. I genuinely do not know how someone could be an atheistic materialist.
You're right. Don't ever let anyone tell you otherwise.
Philosophy as a rite of rebirth by Algis Uždavinys.
An Introduction to Sufi Doctrine by Titus Burckhardt.
Logic and Transcendence by Frithjof Schuon.
That book is truly one of a kind, though I’d still say reading Montaigne is a more intimate experience, even without the esoteric themes. As far as pure esoteric lit goes, however, I’d recommend the Tibetan Book of the Dead despite Tomberg’s warnings of its “demonology”. And the Wasteland by T.S. Eliot is notably Tarotic if that’s what you’re looking for specifically.
What do you think of Hamann?
Know next to nothing about him, but skimming Wikipedia his work seems right up my alley rn, so thanks for the rec!
Since most of the responses ITT are moronic:
Corpus Hermeticum (Copenhaver's)
Evola's Hermetic Tradition
Browne's Garden of Cyrus and Urn Burial
Solovyov's The Meaning of Love
The Picatrix
The translated works of Ramon Lull (real), which are here: lullianarts.narpan.net/cont.htm
Meditations on the Tarot is in large part a modern iteration of ars memoria, so reading surveys of the tradition from Yates + adjacent scholars will provide important context. Recs above are pastiches of hermetic pastiches. If you are just starting these will all steer you into fructiferous courses, but if you are past these, you no longer need to study but to practice your mnemonics.
Good post. I’m working on mnemonics right now
>ars memoria
Could you give me a brief explanation of what this is? I’ve heard of it in passing in regards to renaissance hermeticism and Giordano Bruno.
Ars memoria is a pre-textual mnemonic technology that has been attended with variably mystical and/or practical inclinations, and which has prominently featured the encoding of data into different loci which are formally related through powerful—or at the very least, useful—symbolic representations. Classically, information would become represented through suggestive imagery procedurally located in an imaginary interior—a mind palace. Based on Lullian and pseudo-Lullian influences, and infused with the gnostic impulses in Ficino's translation of the Corpus Hermeticum, the Renaissance tradition became a combinatorial art through which the initiate consecrated himself with celestial influences through their imprints on his memory. From Corpus Hermeticum XI:
"So you must think of god in this way, as having everything - the cosmos, himself, (the) universe - like thoughts within himself. Thus, unless you make yourself equal to god, you cannot understand god; like is understood by like. Make yourself grow to immeasurable immensity, outleap all body, outstrip all time, become eternity and you will understand god."
tldr: systematically organizing your memories through visuals.
"The Occult: A History" by Colin Wilson. It basically covers a little bit of everything and references additional books to read on the matter.