Buddha Tarot, The (Booklet & Deck)

"This deck is not just about Buddha. It is about us and about things in our culture that we may have forgotten. It is about how much our mystical heritage is like Buddhism. It is about why we can find Buddha in the Tarot, and a demonstration that the Tarot is a sacred tool, a mandala." -Robert M. Place, creator of The Buddha Tarot The combination of Buddhism and Tarot might seem strange at first, but the underlying archetypal pattern reveals stunning similarities. The story in the Tarot's major arcana parallels the story of Siddhartha's journey to enlightenment. This sequence of twenty-two cards has been interpreted by many as an allegorical description of the soul's journey to enlightenment, beginning with the naive Fool and culminating in the universal consciousness represented by the World card.

The Buddha Tarot includes a 79-card Tarot deck designed and created by artist Robert M. Place, acclaimed for his distinctive style and artwork with religious and sacred themes. Also included is a booklet exploring the parallels between the Tarot and Buddhism, the life of Buddha, and interpretations for each card.

Perfect for divination, meditation, and unlocking one's inner wisdom, The Buddha Tarot awaits you as a gentle guide on your journey toward enlightenment.

The Buddha Tarot Review by Bonnie Cehovet The Buddha Tarot certainly shook my world. It took me back to my junior high and high school days, where a serious interest in the study of Buddhism began for me. (Not an unusual thing, as I was living in Seattle during those years, and had many Asian friends, some of whom came from families that were practicing Buddhists.) The second phase of Buddhism in my life came when I was stationed in Hawaii during the early 70's, and had a chance to actually visit a Buddhist Temple (there is a lovely Buddhist temple off of the Pali Highway - many people visit here). Robert Place has done some excellent work in bringing the Tarot and spirituality/religion together in previous decks/books: Tarot Of The Saints (combining Christian mythology with the Tarot Archetypes), The Angels Tarot (with Rosemary Ellen Guiley, entering the Angelic realm and working with the Kabbalah, alchemy and Christina mysticism), and The Alchemical Tarot (with Rosemary Ellen Guiley - combining alchemy with the Tarot Archetypes). I knew before I even had the deck in my hands that this was not a "make do" Tarot, where giant leaps of faith had to be made to match the life of Buddha with the Tarot Archetypes. This is amazing, considering that this is a well thought out 79 card deck (the 22nd card being Parinirvana, representing the death of the human Buddha and his attainment of total nirvana). Other than an added card, there is only one other change to the Trumps, and that is the placement of Justice as number eight and Strength as number eleven. The LWB (Little White Book) that accompanies the deck is a wealth of information on Buddha and on the journey that represented his life. Enough background is provided so that the reader has a solid basis for understanding what the cards represent, and so that The Buddha Tarot can be easily understood and worked with, not just memorized and worked with by rote. The life of Buddha - who he was, who his family was, where he was born - this is all discussed in a very palatable format. It is fascinating to learn that his birth was very similar to that of Jesus, and that soon after his birth a seer named Asita affirmed that there were to be two possible paths for Buddha: he had the choice of following a worldly life and being a great emperor over a unified India, or he could embrace asceticism and become a world savior - a Buddha. The journey that Buddha took to enlightenment is well presented in this booklet - including his teaching of the Four Noble Truths ( 1. All life is dukkha, suffering; 2. The cause of dukkha is tanha, desire; 3. The cure to life's suffering - dukkha, is to let go of tanha; 4. There is a method for overcoming tanha. It is called the Eightfold Path.) and the Eightfold Path ( 1. Develop right knowledge; 2. Develop right aspiration; 3. Develop right speech; 4. Develop right behavior; 5. Develop right livelihood; 6. Develop right effort; 7. Develop right mindfulness; 8. Develop right absorption). Place follows this with a section discussing the esoteric (archetypal) aspects of Buddhism: the archetypal aspect of Buddha is called Adi Buddha, meaning the primordial Buddha. Buddha encompasses the entire cosmos, with the cosmos having a center and four cardinal directions - creating a mandala. On the plane under the Adi Buddha are five great Buddha's called jinas - Sanskrit for conquerors, referring to someone who has conquered spiritual knowledge and time. Each Jina represents a direction and the associations with that direction. Each Tarot suit is represented by one of the Jina's, with border color for each suit representing the color associated with each specific Jina. The magickal implements associated with each Jina take the place of the traditional suit symbols. The presentation of the cards in the LWB is done as text only, without the use of keywords. The reference is to Buddhist concepts, and how they relate to the nature of the card. There are three quite in depth spreads at the end of the booklet: The Relationship Spread* (dealing with both people and issues); a nicely expanded Chakra Spread; and an exceptional Mandala Meditation that you need both time and space to do properly (or improperly, as the case may be!). I am continually impressed by the work of Robert Place. His Chakra Spread is a prime example of the depth of his knowledge, and his willingness to share. After the cards are shuffled, cut, placed and interpreted, he recommends taking the left hand and holding it over the cards, one at a time, to see where the blocks are for the Seeker. Talk about added value! My hope is that one day I will have the opportunity to have an in person reading from Mr. Place - and I further hope that I am ready for the answers that he gives me! *There is an extra card with the deck that nicely illustrated the nine card relationship spread. Time to visit the cards themselves. Well, let's talk about the total presentation first. The box is done in a deep yellow, with muted lavender, green and brown tones to the graphics. The cover opens along the length of the box, which makes life very easy! There is a black mesh bag that comes with the cards that I was not sure that I was going to use. I did end up placing the cards in there to see how I felt about life, and they looked "at home". I added a rose quartz crystal and all was well with the world. The cards are approximately 2 3/4" bt 4 5/6", on good quality glossy cardstock. The backs have a 1/4" white border, followed by a smaller deep blue border. The background is a deep orange-red, with a center glyph of a yellow eight spoked wheel, centered on an eight petaled light pink lotus. The center of the wheel is tri-colored - red, blue and green. The use of black outline makes the graphics stand out nicely. The size of the deck is very easy for smaller hands to use, but the graphic is such that it would be noticeable if a card was drawn in the reversed position. The cards each have a border that is color coded by suit. The Trumps have the number, title and traditional Tarot equivalent across the bottom of the card. The Court Cards have the title and suit across the bottom, and the Pips have the number and suit across the bottom. There are several cards that drew my attention, the first of which was the Middle Path (Temperance), where we see a female figure offering a large bowl of food to a male figure that is seated in the traditional lotus position. Mara (The Devil) is also quite interesting - a large figure in blue, with male and female figures in front of it. The Pips are done in a very interesting fashion - as we saw in Tarot Of The Saints, where the upper portion of the card shows the pips and the lower portion of the card shows a small scene. The Eight of Lotuses shows eight lotus symbols in the upper two-thirds of the card, with a male figure pruning, or cutting back vegetation. The Chakras (Morning Star - The Star) shows a seated figure with the chakra's marked by appropriate colors and positions, with the Crown Chakra represented by an opened lotus. The Ten of Lotuses is another favorite, showing eight lotuses in the upper two-thirds of the card, with the remaining two lotuses shown below and on either side of the eight spoked wheel that appears on the back of the deck. For me, this is a deck for ritual, meditation and personal readings. I would have to know someone quite well before I would consider offering them the wisdom of this deck. I feel that this deck could be used readily by Tarot students/readers of all levels. The final word on The Buddha Tarot I have reserved for Robert Place. From the LWB: "Ultimately, "The Buddha Tarot" is a mandala. As Buddha consciousness radiates through a mandala, Buddha consciousness radiates through "The Buddha Tarot". Bonnie Cehovet is Certified Tarot Grand Master, a professional Tarot reader with over ten years experience, a Reiki Master/Teacher and a writer. Bonnie has served in various capacities with the American Tarot Association, is co-founder of the World Tarot Network, and Vice President (as well as Director of Certification) for the American Board For Tarot Certification. She has had articles appear in the 2004 and 2005 Llewellyn Tarot Reader.