Egyptomania and the First Occult Tarot
A Workshop With Robert M Place
June 7, 14, 28 and July 5. All calls recorded.
Before Aleister Crowley, before Arthur Edward Waite and Pamela Colman Smith, before the Golden Dawn, before Papus, Eliphas Lévi, and Etteilla, the first author to describe an occult version of the Tarot was Louis-Raphaël-Lucrèce de Fayolle, comte de Mellet, writing in Antoine Court de Gébelin's, 1781, eighth volume of his monumental encyclopedia, Monde primitif.
Although he believed that the Tarot originated in ancient Egypt, the comte de Mellet associated the Tarot's trumps with the Classical Ages of Man: the Age of Gold, the Age of Silver, and the Age of Iron. He also correlated the trumps with the letters in the Hebrew alphabet, he described the minor suits in detail, and he provided the earliest discussion of a divination technique for the Tarot. These facts inspired me to create a complete Tarot deck based on de Mellet’s descriptions: The First Occult Tarot.
In this class, we will cover the history of the phenomenon known as Egyptomania and come to understand why both de Gébelin and de Mellet believed that Egypt was the source of the Tarot’s mystical trumps. We will examine the meaning and details of every trump and minor suit card in The First Occult Tarot; and we will learn de Mellet’s unique technique for reading the cards, which treats the trumps and the minor suits as two separate decks.
In preparation for this class, it is recommended that you invest in Robert’s The Origin And Evolution Of The Tarot Deck and The Symbolism Of The Tarot Trumps: Through The Eyes Of The Artist . You will have the opportunity to take advatage of a discounted bundle during checkout. This offer is ONLY available at checkout.
Enroll NowThe series will consist of four Live two-hour classes. All classes are recorded and uploaded to the course platform for viewing anytime!
June 7th, 14th, 28th and July 5th 2025
11:00 AM to 1:00 PM Eastern Time
You'll Get:
- Four 2-hour live Zoom classes with Robert.
- All classes are recorded and available indefinitely.
- Access to Robert's private community where you can interact with other students and ask Robert questions.
You'll Learn About
- The history of the phenomenon known as Egyptomania
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The meaning and details of every trump and minor suit card in The First Occult Tarot
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de Mellet’s unique technique for reading the cards
What You'll Need For The Class:
- A copy of the First Occult Tarot by Robert M Place. (must be purchased from Robert's website)
- Notebook
- Zoom
- Curiosity!
4 Live 2-Hour Classes
All sessions are recorded and uploaded to this course platform where you can watch at any time.
Private Community
Included is a private community forever, where you can ask Robert questions, share your homework with the group, and get to know your fellow participants. This is not a Facebook group. No need to have a FB account.
Robert M. Place is the designer and illustrator of twenty-four Tarot and oracle decks: including the internationally acclaimed and award-winning Alchemical Tarot, The Angels Tarot, The Marziano Tarot, the award-winning The Tarot of the Saints, The Buddha Tarot, The Vampire Tarot, The Tarot of the Sevenfold Mystery, The Tarot of the Alchemical Magnum Opus, The Alchemical Tarot of Marseille, The Hermes Playing Card Oracle, An Ukiyo-e Lenormand (based on Japanese culture), The Raziel Tarot and The Burning Serpent Oracle (for both of which he collaborated with Tarot diva Rachel Pollack).
Besides writing books to accompany his decks, he is the author of The Tarot: History, Symbolism, and Divination, which Booklist has said, “may be the best book ever written on that deck of cards decorated with mysterious images called the Tarot.” He is the author of Astrology and Divination, Magic and Alchemy, Shamanism, Alchemy and the Tarot, and The Tarot, Magic, Alchemy, Hermeticism, and Neoplatonism. He is the curator of “The Fools' Journey” and the author of the catalog for this exhibition of Tarot art that originated at the LA Craft and Folk-Art Museum, in 2010.
He was the guest of honor at the opening of the Tarot Museum in Riola, Italy, in 2007. His Facsimile Historic Italian Tarot is included in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, where he recurrently lectures on their card collection. He and his work have appeared on the BBC, A&E, the Discovery Channel, and the Learning Channel. He has taught and lectured throughout the US and on five of the seven continents. His newest work, The Fist Occult Tarot, is a deck and book based on the descriptions written in 1781 by the come de Mellet, the first occult author to describe a Tarot deck.
Don't miss out on this opportunity to learn with Tarot Historian and Deck Creator, Robert M Place!
5 Installment Plan
$45
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Pay $48 today, with four additional monthly payments of $45
