A couple of years ago I stumbled across the works of Ioan Petru Culianu, a brilliant scholar of religion,

gnosticism and Renaissance magic. He defined magic as “a science of imagination, a technology of the

mind to investigate the world and ourselves, a mode of operating to shape reality itself”.

The word 'magic' comes from the Old Persian, through the Greeks, who borrowed the word μαγεια

(mageia) to refer to the science and religion of the 'Magians', the Zoroastrian 'Wise Men', and the Greeks

had an enormous respect for their special powers, beginning with dream interpretation.

The Indo-European root of the word 'magic' means 'to be able, to have power', and it is still reflected in

the words 'may' and 'might'. Through the Greek, we get to makhos, meaning ‘device’, that became our

modern ‘machine’ and ‘mechanism’.

In other words, 'magic' and 'machine' come from the same root defining the concept of creating and

manipulating reality through the power of imagination. That is incredibly intriguing!

Inspired by Culianu's work, I started to experiment with different media looking for a form of

communication able to enhance the visionary power of our imagination and therefore our magic! After

two years of research and study, I developed a new approach to tarot and created my own “alchemical”

language mixing images, symbols and words, culminating in a multimedia project: The Book of

Shadows: An Alchemist's Story.

In this Virtual Webinar – Workshop I would like to share the key points of my studies on the

relationship between magic, imagination and Tarot. We will explore the language of magic from ancient

books to modern grimoires, discovering the mystery and beauty of iconic tomes such as the Voyinich

manuscript, Leonardo da Vinci's codes, the Codex Seraphinianus, the Malleus Maleficarum, etc. The

Workshop will culminate with analising Tarot as a special magic language with its symbols, images and

meanings. We will focus on an unique approach on reading tarot transcending the very borders of the

cards freeing us and our imagination from limitation.

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