An authentic Tarot deck is a "book" of 78 cards that tells an allegorical story of our quest in life, using a symbolic language of archetypal pictograms and numbers. In its truest form, the Tarot is an ancient tool for self development - and indeed, self-realisation.

Now expert Tarot teacherand broadcaster Thomas Saunders decodes the oldest known complete deck of cards - the Ancien Tarot de Marseille - which retains the greatest integrity for the Tarot's original function. He explains the symbolism of all the cards, charts their relationship to one another, and suggests how the wisdom of the Tarot can be a daily resource for each of us to find our way to self-knowledge.

The Authentic Tarot:
*challenges the popular view of the cards as merely a device for fortune-telling
*explains in detail the "vocabulary" of the symbolism, interpreting not only the Major Arcana, but also the significance of the fifty-six Minor Arcana cards
*includes easy-to-use charts for reading a 21 card spread
*helps us to self-awareness, an understanding of where we are on life's path, and a sense of our place in the world