Cartomancy and Tarot in Film (Book)

1940-2010

In the first book-length study of Tarot cards on the silver screen, Emily E. Auger contextualizes cartomancy – the practice of fortune telling via playing cards – and dives deep into its invention and promulgation in film. After providing an introduction to divination and cartomancy, Auger offers detailed descriptions and analyses of the roles that cartomancy and Tarot cards play in films. The book features an abbreviated filmography – including nearly 200 films – detailing their relationships to cartomancy. As Tarot communities continue to grow worldwide, Cartomancy and Tarot in Film will be of interest to scholars of esoteric studies, film, folklore, playing cards, popular culture and religion, as well as diviners the world over.

Edition

In the first book-length study of Tarot cards on the silver screen, Emily E. Auger contextualizes cartomancy – the practice of fortune telling via playing cards – and dives deep into its invention and promulgation in film. After providing an introduction to divination and cartomancy, Auger offers detailed descriptions and analyses of the roles that cartomancy and Tarot cards play in films. The book features an abbreviated filmography – including nearly 200 films – detailing their relationships to cartomancy. As Tarot communities continue to grow worldwide, Cartomancy and Tarot in Film will be of interest to scholars of esoteric studies, film, folklore, playing cards, popular culture and religion, as well as diviners the world over.

Emily E. Auger is the author of Tarot and Other Meditation Decks and Tech-Noir Film, as well as the editor of Tarot in Culture. She has taught art history in Canadian and American universities for more than twenty years. Her latest book is Cartomancy and Tarot in Film.

Chapter 1
Introduction
 
Chapter 2
A Brief History of Cards and Cartomancy, The Invention of Cards and Cartomancy, Cartomancy Prototypes in Narrative
 
Chapter 3
A Brief History of the Tarot Trumps, The Gaming Deck: From Paint to Print, Tarot and Cartomancy, The Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, Popularization and Commodification
 
Chapter 4
Cartomancers and Querents as Film Characters, Gender, Age, Marital Status, and Profession, Ethnicity, Eccentricity, and the Supernatural, The Mystic, Nomadism
 
Chapter 5
Cartomancy and Tarot in Film Narratives, The Cartomancy Reading, The Narrative Roles of Cartomancy and Tarot Scenes, Cartomancy and Tarot in Genres and Themes
 
Chapter 6
Tarot Trumps in Film
 
Chapter 7
Conclusion

'This book and its companion are must-have reference works for specialized scholars, as well as for those aficionados who want to see as many tarot films as possible! Auger should be commended for producing this literary monument to an important but overlooked film genre. Her contributions benefit readers and scholars in both fields. ' 

Elizabeth Hazel, Facing North
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