This remarkable book, a series of profound meditations on the ancient divinization system, the Tarot, was published anonymously almost 50 years ago, with an afterword by none other than Cardinal Hans Urs von Balthazar. This was at a time when the practice of the Tarot was held in some suspicion in Christian and Catholic circles. The Tarot was viewed at best as some sort of superstition, at its worst as a tool of the devil. This book went a long way to dispel these notions and to demonstrate that the practice of the Tarot is perfectly compatible with Christian faith, as long as we understand the term 'divinization' to mean a method of tapping into the guidance of the Holy Spirit, and not some sort of fortune telling.
The book was endorsed by some of the most prominent members of the Christian contemplative community.
"A thinking, praying Christian of unmistakable purity leads us meditatively into the deeper, all-embracing wisdom of the Catholic Mystery." Hans Urs von Balthasar
"It is without doubt the most extraordinary work I have ever read. It has tremendous spiritual depth and insight." Trappist abbot Basil Pennington, OCSO
"This book, in my view, is the greatest contribution to date toward the rediscovery and renewal of the Christian contemplative tradition of the Fathers of the Church and the High Middle Ages." Trappist abbot Thomas Keating, OCSO
- Author Identity: The book was written anonymously by an author who preferred to be known only as an "Unknown Friend" rather than a distinct personal ego.
- Christian Hermeticism: It uses the 22 Major Arcana of the tarot deck as a symbolic and contemplative framework to explore deep Christian theology, Western esotericism, and universal spiritual truths.
- Perennial Philosophy: Griffiths valued the text because it bridged various mystical and philosophical streams—drawing on the Bible, the Upanishads, the Kabbalah, Hermeticism, and thinkers from Plato and Origen to Carl Jung.
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