Robert M. Place

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

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. Place’s jewelry has been exhibited in The American Craft Museum, The Philadelphia Museum of Art, The Montclair Art Museum, The Summit Art Center, the International Wilhelm Muller Competition, (which toured Museums in Germany), Birmingham Institute of Art & Design, England, and in numerous galleries in the United States Ireland, Britain, and Japan. Place 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 in 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, his first deck and book combination, which is illustrated in the style of 17th century alchemical engravings and 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 contributes 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 the 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 says 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, says 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. He has taught at the World Tarot Congress, in Chicago; The Southeast Tarot Congress, in Florida; the New York Reader’s Studio; The Third International Conference of the Association for Esoteric Studies, in Charleston; The Omega Institute, in New York; The New York Theosophical Society; The Museo Dei Tarocchi, in Riola, Italy; and has held an annual course at the New York Open Center, since 1996. Segments of his lectures have appeared on the Learning Channel, 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.

Tarot Decks by Place

• The Alchemical Tarot
• The Alchemical Tarot: Art Edition
• The Alchemical Tarot: Renewed
• The Angels Tarot
• The Buddha Tarot
• The Tarot of the Saints
• The Vampire Tarot (work in progress)
• The Tarot of the Sevenfold Mystery (work in progress)

Books by Place

• The Alchemical Tarot: Revisited, (work in progress)
• Mysteries, Legends, and Unexplained Phenomena Series: Shamanism, [ISBN 100791093964]
• Mysteries, Legends, and Unexplained Phenomena Series: Magic and Alchemy, (work in progress)
• Mysteries, Legends, and Unexplained Phenomena Series: Astrology and Divination, [ISBN 9780791093856]
• The Vampire Tarot, (work in progress)
• The Tarot: History, Symbolism, and Divination, 2005, [ISBN 1585423491]
• The Buddha Tarot Companion: A Mandala of Cards, 2004, [ISBN 1567185290]
• A Gnostic Book of Saints, 2001, [ISBN 0738701165]
• The Angels Tarot, coauthored with Rosemary Ellen Guiley, 1995, [ISBN0062511939]
• The Alchemical Tarot, coauthored with Rosemary Ellen Guiley, 1995, [ISBN 1855383012]

External links

• The Alchemical Tarot website
• Robert M. Place's website The Alchemical Egg
• Robert M. Place's workshop at The Museo dei Tarocchi - Italy
• The Buddha Tarot Companion at Google Book Search