Most Tarot scholars agree that the original purpose of the Tarot was to "hide" spiritual wisdom at a time when the possession of any spiritual or metaphysical materials not approved by the religious authorities was enough to get a user tortured and burned to death. Therefore the secret societies who guarded this ancient wisdom committed their teaching to a form that would almost certainly guarantee their perpetuation: a deck of "playing cards" that would be popularly used for gaming and gambling. As this repression eased over the centuries, the cards became popular for "fortune-telling" because of their rich imagery and deep symbolism, but their original purpose as a spiritual textbook has remained largely unrecognized even in modern times.

"Whitley Strieber's 'The Path' reviewed.