Jung and Tarot: An Archetypal Journey
I have recently read the awesome book “Jung and the Tarot: an archetypal journey“. A dear friend of mine, Giuseppe Fojeni gave it to me years ago. It is an essay written by Sallie Nichols back in 1980.
Jung and Tarot: approaching Tarot in a Jungian perspective
It is a truly pioneering essay on the Jungian approach to the Tarot symbolism. The book was published well before the contribution of Alejandro Jodorowsky, who deserves credit for spreading a somewhat Jungian approach to the wide public.
In this book, Sallie Nichols interprets each Major Arcanum in the light of analytical psychology inaugurated by Carl Gustav Jung. The book recounts the journey of progressive knowledge and awareness which starts from the unconscious stage of the Fool.
The beauty and genuineness of this work comes from the author’s approach that deliberately neglects any reference to the origin of the Tarot and its traditional meaning. Nichols is rather immersed in Tarot imagery and symbols in a purely psychological key, making the archetypes surrounding each Arcanum resound in a continuous and spontaneous inner dialogue.