The Underground Stream: Esoteric Tarot Revealed Paperback – June 25, 1999

This is an outstanding tome. Written in easily understandable, encyclopedic format, this book is a minor opus. Ms. Payne-Towler knows from whence she speaks- her occult, esoteric, and hermetic knowledge is genius. Just check out her Tarot of the Holy Light. Christine knows the Tarot- and the esoteric streams that flow into it. This book is my Tarot bible!

The Underground Stream is a unique work within the tarot community. While it covers a great many topics, many of which are deeply esoteric (and therefore challenging for a casual reader to approach), it offers information on the historical tarot where you can find nowhere else. The information on the Golden Dawn vs Continental approaches to tarot correspondences on the qabala and the differing approaches to the Tree of Life by historical qabalists is quite enlightening, which is why I have heavily cited this work in my recently published book, The Fool's Excellent Adventure: A Hero's Journey though the Enneagram and Tarot. I believe that certain of the negative comments on this book are because it challenges the idea that the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn approach to tarot attributions on the qabalistic Tree of Life is the best or only approach available. One critic made this book sound light on content because it's not 400 pages. Well, the book may be "thin," but it's notebook size and packed with information. This is the book that encouraged me to research the Golden Dawn and to write a 40-page appendix discussing the implications of what I found.

Since the little we know about the origins of Tarot are lost in history, academic insights can only go so far. Did the cards originate as a simple game based upon common imagery, or did artists of the early decks incorporate Hermetic, cabalistic, and neo-Pythagorean symbolism into them, as many esotericists have claimed? Unfortunately we are unlikely to ever find out, and because of that many authors have gone off the deep end, concocting elaborate and fantastical stories of the origin of the cards in Ancient Egypt, among antediluvian Jews, and so forth. But even though I am skeptical of many of the claims of esoteric origins, it is undeniable that since the 18th century the Tarot has acquired esoteric associations with the (Christianized) Cabala, Pythagorean numerology, astrology, alchemy, and other Hermetic traditions.Christine Payne Towler does an excellent job chronicling this shift from what was probably a simple card game to a powerful tool of divination and personal insight. There are a number of historical groaners in this book (she mentions the discredited Priory of Sion as if it were fact, for one example), and sometimes the speculation goes too far off the deep end for my tastes. But it is important to remember that the artists of the early Tarots did not live in a vacuum—the late middle ages and early Renaissance were eras steeped in magical and mystical theorizing, Christian allegory, and well as widespread interest in Greco-Roman and Egyptian cultures. So it is certainly possible those artists incorporated esoteric elements, despite some of the more well-known academics insisting otherwise. We simply don't know.So keep your salt shaker handy, but don't dismiss this book as another unhinged pseudo history of these fascinating cards. Because whether or not the cards were intended as symbolic tools for divination and insight, since the late 18th century they have been a critical element of western esotericism and magical practice. If you work with Tarot (or teach it, as I do) you should be aware of this rich (if frequently speculative) history as well as the official, academic history, and Payne Towler has done a very thorough job pulling all the threads together. If another edition is ever produced, and I hope it will be, I hope the author removes some of the disproved, outdated material and also finds a better editor, as the text is riddled with typos. And this book definitely deserves a new release—and should be on every Tarot enthusiast's shelf.

Christine Payne Towler's work borrows heavily from other sources, that are not tainted with her personal bigotry against Christianity. IMO, there is not any room in a "so-called scholarly" work, for bigotry.The paper stock on this "book" is one step above newspaper quality. The same could be said for the cover on this very thin book.This text cost, $24.95.I rather stay with Stuart Kaplan's Encyclopedias, which are very professionally done, sans bigotry and Towler refers heavily from this original text.

well written and researched! Great history lesson on tarot.

Bought it to cast insight on the deck, Tarot of the Holy Light, which did not come out with an accompanying book. Easy to read in layman's terms. Not sure how much is historic fact and how much is conjecture. Interesting ideas. Of some help in understanding the TotHL deck.

Perfect. Thank you

In my view too much background and history. Not enough practical know how. However I would like make it very clear that I only got this book as it contains the major arcana meanings explanation for El Grain Tarot Esoterico.