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Tarot, Magic and Imagination – A Workshop by Andrea Aste
June 19, 2022 @ 6:00 pm – 7:30 pm
This event is Free and Everyone is welcome! To book your place, please email TABI’s Secretary, Pengwen, at secretary@tabi.org.uk and she will add your email to the mailing list.

A couple of years ago I stumbled across the works of Ioan Petru Culianu, a brilliant scholar of religion,
gnosticism and Renaissance magic. He defined magic as “a science of imagination, a technology of the
mind to investigate the world and ourselves, a mode of operating to shape reality itself”.
The word ‘magic’ comes from the Old Persian, through the Greeks, who borrowed the word μαγεια
(mageia) to refer to the science and religion of the ‘Magians’, the Zoroastrian ‘Wise Men’, and the Greeks
had an enormous respect for their special powers, beginning with dream interpretation.
The Indo-European root of the word ‘magic’ means ‘to be able, to have power’, and it is still reflected in
the words ‘may’ and ‘might’. Through the Greek, we get to makhos, meaning ‘device’, that became our
modern ‘machine’ and ‘mechanism’.

In other words, ‘magic’ and ‘machine’ come from the same root defining the concept of creating and
manipulating reality through the power of imagination. That is incredibly intriguing!
Inspired by Culianu’s work, I started to experiment with different media looking for a form of
communication able to enhance the visionary power of our imagination and therefore our magic! After
two years of research and study, I developed a new approach to tarot and created my own “alchemical”
language mixing images, symbols and words, culminating in a multimedia project: The Book of
Shadows: An Alchemist’s Story.
In this Virtual Webinar – Workshop I would like to share the key points of my studies on the
relationship between magic, imagination and Tarot. We will explore the language of magic from ancient
books to modern grimoires, discovering the mystery and beauty of iconic tomes such as the Voynich
Manuscript, Leonardo da Vinci’s codes, the Codex Seraphinianus, the Malleus Maleficarum, etc. The
Workshop will culminate with analising Tarot as a special magic language with its symbols, images and
meanings. We will focus on an unique approach on reading tarot transcending the very borders of the
cards freeing us and our imagination from limitation.

TO BOOK YOUR PLACE: This event is Free and Everyone is welcome! To book your place, please email TABI’s Secretary, Pengwen, at secretary@tabi.org.uk and she will add your email to the mailing list.

www.andreaaste.co.uk
Instagram: @artistandreaaste
Facebook: andrea.aste.18
2 Comments
A Reader · August 21, 2022 at 7:28 pm
Is a recording of this webinar available?
Pengwen · August 21, 2022 at 8:56 pm
Yes! Please email Pengwen at secretary@tabi.org.uk and I’ll send you a link to the recording.