Robert M. Place (born 1947) is an American artist and author known for his work on tarot history, symbolism, and

divination Divination (from Latin ''divinare'', 'to foresee, to foretell, to predict, to prophesy') is the attempt to gain insight into a question or situation by way of an occultic, standardized process or ritual. Used in various forms throughout histor ...

Work as an artist

Place has worked since the 1970s as a sculptor, jeweler and illustrator. His sculpture has been exhibited on the White House Christmas tree, in the New York State Museum, the Delaware Art Museum, and the

Irish American Heritage Museum The Irish American Heritage Museum is a museum in Albany, New York. The museum describes their educational mission as "To preserve and tell the story of the contributions of the Irish people and their culture in America, inspiring individuals to ...

. Place’s jewelry has been exhibited in the

American Craft Museum The Museum of Arts and Design (MAD), based in Manhattan, New York City, collects, displays, and interprets objects that document contemporary and historic innovation in craft, art, and design. In its exhibitions and educational programs, the mus ...

, the

Philadelphia Museum of Art The Philadelphia Museum of Art (PMoA) is an art museum originally chartered in 1876 for the Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia. The main museum building was completed in 1928 on Fairmount, a hill located at the northwest end of the Benjamin Fr ...

, the Montclair Art Museum, the

Summit Art Center A summit is a point on a surface that is higher in elevation than all points immediately adjacent to it. The topographic terms acme, apex, peak (mountain peak), and zenith are synonymous. The term (mountain top) is generally used only for a ...

, the International Wilhelm Muller Competition (which toured museums in Germany), the

Birmingham Institute of Art and Design , mottoeng = "Do what you are doing; attend to your business" , established = 1992—gained university status1971—City of Birmingham Polytechnic1843— Birmingham College of Art , type = Public , affiliation = ...

, and in numerous galleries in the United States, Ireland, Britain, and Japan. He was awarded a 1984-85 New Jersey State Council on the Arts Fellowship and the Niche Magazine award for outstanding achievement in metal sculpture in 1990 and 1991.

Work as tarot designer and author

In the 1990s, Place turned his attention as an illustrator to the creation of tarot decks and began his career as an author. Place is best known as the creator of ''The

Alchemical Tarot Alchemy (from Arabic: ''al-kīmiyā''; from Ancient Greek: χυμεία, ''khumeía'') is an ancient branch of natural philosophy, a philosophical and protoscientific tradition that was historically practiced in China, India, the Muslim world, ...

'', his first deck and book combination, which is illustrated in the style of 17th century alchemical engravings and which presents a parallel between the “great work” of alchemy, which leads to the creation of the philosopher’s stone and the allegory in the tarot’s trumps. In his other decks, ''The Angels Tarot, The Tarot of the Saints'', and ''The Buddha Tarot'', Place has explored the connection between religion, mysticism, and the tarot’s symbolism. In his fifth book, ''The Tarot: History, Symbolism, and Divination'', his first book published not in connection with a tarot deck, Place contributed to the field of tarot history by discussing the images in the tarot in relation to the iconography of the 15th century Italian Renaissance, the era when the tarot was created. Place relates each image in the tarot to similar images created at that time and presents a theory of interpretation that is rooted in the art and philosophy of the time. The book also discusses contrasting occult theories and champions Pamela Colman Smith as the primary designer of the Waite–Smith tarot. The Tarotpedia has said that ''The Tarot: History, Symbolism, and Divination'' “is bound to find a place amongst the most important works published this decade.” " Booklist", the publication of the American Library Association, has said that ''The Tarot: History, Symbolism, and Divination'' “may be the best book ever written on that deck of cards decorated with mysterious images called the tarot.” Robert Place has been a frequent lecturer on and teacher of Western mysticism and the history and use of the tarot. Besides teaching regularly at the New York Open Center since 1996 and at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York since 2009, he has taught at the World Tarot Congress, in Chicago and in Dallas; the Southeast Tarot Congress, in Florida; the

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; The Third International Conference of the

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, in Charleston; The

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, in New York; The

New York Theosophical Society New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, ...

; Columbia University; The Museo Dei Tarocchi, in Riola, Italy; The Tarot Guild of Australia, Melbourne; Cartomancia, in Sao Paulo, Brazil; and he has given workshops in Los Angeles, Salt Lake City, Las Vegas; and since 2017, in Beijing, Shanghai, and Hangzhou, China. His lectures have appeared on the BBC, the

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Discovery Discovery may refer to: * Discovery (observation), observing or finding something unknown * Discovery (fiction), a character's learning something unknown * Discovery (law), a process in courts of law relating to evidence Discovery, The Discovery ...

, and A&E. In July, 2007, Place had the honor of cutting the ribbon at the grand opening of the Museo dei Tarocchi, in Riola, Italy. Place was also the curator of an exhibition on the art and history of the tarot, which was held at the Los Angeles Craft and Folk Art Museum, from January 23, 2010, to May 9, 2010 and is the subject of his book, ''The Fool's Journey: the History, Art, & Symbolism of the Tarot''. His facsimile of one of the earliest Italian Renaissance woodcut Tarots is included in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.

Tarot and divination decks by Place

*''The Alchemical Tarot of Marseille'', *''The Tarot of the Sevenfold Mystery 2nd Edition'', *''The Alchemical Tarot: Renewed 5th Edition'', *''The Tarot of the Alchemical Magnum Opus,'' *''An Ukiyo-e Lenormand'', *''The Raziel Tarot: the Secret Teachings of Adam and Eve'', * ''The Marziano Tarot'', * ''The Hermes Playing Card Oracle'', * ''The New York Lenormand'' * ''The Burning Serpent Oracle'', * ''Facsimile Italian Renaissance Woodcut Tarocchi'' * ''The Tarot of the Sevenfold Mystery'', * ''The Annotated Tarot of the Sevenfold Mystery'', * ''The Vampire Tarot'', * ''The Buddha Tarot'', * ''The Tarot of the Saints'', * ''The Angels Tarot'' * ''The Alchemical Tarot: Renewed, Editions 2, 3, and 4'', * ''The Alchemical Tarot: Art Edition'' * ''The Alchemical Tarot'',

Books

* The Tarot, Magic, Alchemy, Hermeticism, and Neoplatonism, Second Edition 2019, *''Alchemy and the Tarot: An Examination of the Historic Connection between Alchemy and the Tarot, with a Guide to The Alchemical Tarot'', 2011, * ''The Fool's Journey: the History, Art, & Symbolism of the Tarot'', 2010, * ''Mysteries, Legends, and Unexplained Phenomena Series: Magic and Alchemy'', 2009, * ''The Vampire Tarot'', 2009, * ''Mysteries, Legends, and Unexplained Phenomena Series: Shamanism'', 2008, * ''Mysteries, Legends, and Unexplained Phenomena Series: Astrology and Divination'', 2008, * ''The Tarot: History, Symbolism, and Divination'', 2005, * ''The Buddha Tarot Companion: A Mandala of Cards'', 2004, * ''A Gnostic Book of Saints'', 2001, * ''The Angels Tarot'', coauthored with

Rosemary Ellen Guiley Rosemary Ellen Guiley (July 8, 1950 - July 18, 2019) was an American writer on topics related to spirituality, the occult, and the paranormal. She was also a radio show host, a certified hypnotist, a board director of the "National Museum of M ...

, 1995, * ''The Alchemical Tarot'', coauthored with

, 1995,

References

External links

*
The Museo dei Tarocchi – Italy
Robert M. Place's workshop {{DEFAULTSORT:Place, Robert M. Living people Alchemy American illustrators American non-fiction writers Tarotologists 1947 births Date of birth missing (living people) Place of birth missing (living people)