Meditations on the Tarot (Valentin Tomberg)
A Treasure Trove of Profound Mystical Insights
[My 5-star Amazon review (NDA) of “Meditations on the Tarot: A Journey into Christian Hermeticism” by Valentin Tomberg.]
I am a mystic-philosopher and writer. Over the past forty years, I have read well over a thousand texts from the various spiritual traditions, both East and West. In my opinion, Meditations on the Tarot ranks as one of the finest esoteric spiritual texts ever and as must reading for serious mystics, Christian or otherwise. The book is not only is a treasure trove of profound insights into mystical and occult Dharma, it is also a delightful read thanks to the soaring yet intimate prose of its “anonymous” author, Valentin Tomberg.
Although I don’t share Tomberg’s parochial view that esoteric Christianity alone represents the highest or ultimate spiritual Dharma, I do share his view that the Eucharist, the practice of Holy, or Divine, Communion is the highest or ultimate spiritual practice. But this practice is not unique to Christianity, and my one major criticism of this text is Tomberg’s failure to identify this practice in other spiritual traditions. For example, Tibetan Dzogchen is simply the Eucharist in a nondualistic framework.
Without all the nuggets I gleaned from Tomberg’s text, my knowledge base of Christian Hermeticism (the integration of mysticism, gnosis, magic, and philosophy) would not be what it is. Hence, I am forever grateful to my Dear Unknown Friend, Valentin Tomberg, for posthumously gracing the world with this marvelous text.
[My 5-star Amazon review (NDA) of “Meditations on the Tarot: A Journey into Christian Hermeticism” by Valentin Tomberg.]
I am a mystic-philosopher and writer. Over the past forty years, I have read well over a thousand texts from the various spiritual traditions, both East and West. In my opinion, Meditations on the Tarot ranks as one of the finest esoteric spiritual texts ever and as must reading for serious mystics, Christian or otherwise. The book is not only is a treasure trove of profound insights into mystical and occult Dharma, it is also a delightful read thanks to the soaring yet intimate prose of its “anonymous” author, Valentin Tomberg.
Although I don’t share Tomberg’s parochial view that esoteric Christianity alone represents the highest or ultimate spiritual Dharma, I do share his view that the Eucharist, the practice of Holy, or Divine, Communion is the highest or ultimate spiritual practice. But this practice is not unique to Christianity, and my one major criticism of this text is Tomberg’s failure to identify this practice in other spiritual traditions. For example, Tibetan Dzogchen is simply the Eucharist in a nondualistic framework.
Without all the nuggets I gleaned from Tomberg’s text, my knowledge base of Christian Hermeticism (the integration of mysticism, gnosis, magic, and philosophy) would not be what it is. Hence, I am forever grateful to my Dear Unknown Friend, Valentin Tomberg, for posthumously gracing the world with this marvelous text.
