Tarot Magick - The Structure of Belief - A PhD Dissertation in Folklore and Folklife by Rebekah Zhuraw (2010).pdf

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TAROT MAGICK: THE STRUCTURE OF BELIEF
Rebekah Zhuraw
A DISSERTATION
IN
FOLKLORE AND FOLKLIFE
Presented to the Faculties of the University of Pennsylvania
in
Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy
2010
Supervisor of Dissertation
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Robert St. George, Associate Professor of History
Graduate Groujf|Chairpers6;
Dan Ben-Amos, Professor of Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations
Dissertation Committee
Robert St. George, Associate Professor of History
Jean-Michel Rabate, Professor of English and Comparative Literature
David Hufford, Adjunct Professor of Religious Studies
UMI Number: 3414109
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
First and foremost I wish to acknowledge my entire family—no-one left
out—for their overwhelming support. Next, to the families of Shakti's friends who
supported her so that I could work—the Beckers, the Martins, the Oppenheimer-
Abbots, the Simonian-Taylors, and the Watsons—thank you. My great appreciation
goes to the friends who supported me directly: Karen Cisario, who put up with me,
and Norm Roessler, who gave me solace and reward. Perhaps most importantly, my
appreciation goes to my Committee: David Hufford, who as a teacher taught me
understanding; Bob Saint-George, who taught me Love (creative emotion) under
Will (intellect) in a purely academic sense (even if it took a long, long time) and is
always a pleasure to talk to; and Jean-Michel Rabate for his generosity. Lastly, I
wish to acknowledge Balthazar and Nettle Spreng, who in this time of great
hardship made possible this work; may her dragons guard you always.
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ABSTRACT
TAROT MAGICK: THE STRUCTURE OF BELIEF
Rebekah Zhuraw
Robert St. George
Magic has traditionally been defined in Folklore Studies as a last resort of the
powerless and poorly educated. However, recent trends in popular culture coupled
with an upswing in historical studies of magic have shown magic to be a perennial
middle class pursuit and one currently on the upswing. Using the methodology of
the Ethnography of Belief, this dissertation examines one Tarot reader's belief
system in depth to see how four domains commonly associated with magic combine
in the overall belief structure: magical thinking, practice, symbolism, and
manifestation. A current life crisis guides the narrative, contextualized by an in-
depth life history put into the historical context of Neo-Paganism. Detailed
accounts of practices indicate a feedback loop between held beliefs and induced
experience. A binary system of organizing cognitive processes and magical powers
ultimately emerges. The dissertation concludes that Tarot Magick provides a form
of cognitive map, the goal of which is for practitioners to achieve a multi-
dimensional consciousness which integrates all dualisms, including the lifeworld
and the otherworld, into a third perspective conceived of as God consciousness.
iii
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Acknowledgements
Abstract
Table of Contents
Table of Figures
Chapter 1
Introduction and Methodology: Ethnography and Magic
1. From a Book on Tarot to a Dissertation on Magic
2. The Problem of Magic
3. Defining Magic
4. Magical Thinking
5. Magic and Cognitive Theory
6. Final Notes and Outline of Chapters
ii
iii
iv
vii
1
1
7
21
24
29
34
Chapter 2
Life History
1. Beginnings
2. Youth and Family Life
3. Emancipation
4. Structures of Recognition
5. Crisis 1: Arrest
6. Practices 1: Astral Projection
7. Practices 2: Constructing a Battery and a Genii
8. Practices 3: Afterward
iv
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