Review by Dr. Cristina Dorsini

The Sola Busca Tarot are a unique and outstanding collection; striking in the beauty of their illustrations and the mystery which surrounds them.

This mystery both bewitches and intrigues, but also brings with it a tremendous energy, which embodies the essence of these cards. Holding them in your hands is to enter into another age, the mind starts to race and the senses intensify. Many emotions stir from within, making each of us feel something different. Every character, every card has a strong hold over us.

For the first time these sentiments coalesce in a book: Stewart S. Warren has opened both his heart and mind to the public. His sentiments have become 22 poems; one for each great mystery of the Sola Busca Tarot.

The poems are perfectly paired with each card, evoking the colours, the history and even the feelings of the illustrated characters therein. It’s as if Stewart has immersed himself in each character and from them assimilated feelings and positive or negative experiences. Each detail of the illustration, each nuance of shading has given rise to something….a distant memory….a piece of music…

Created as a gift for a powerful Venetian family, the Veniers, the cards were created by an artist of the Estense Court, Cosmè Tura. He managed to convey the Fields of Astrology, Literature, Alchemy, Roman History, the History of Christianity and Numismatics which, at that time, were well known.

It is normal, therefore, that these cards should possess a certain aura, but it is extraordinary how these fields of understanding emanate energy of such strength and vitality. They demonstrate how much value the Estense Court attributed to writing, to language, to scholarly works, and how typical the study of Alchemy and Astrology was for them.

How this historical knowledge came to exist in our time is extraordinary to observe: concepts that were known to the Greeks and Romans but forgotten by modern man are now rediscovered and brought to light.

It is as if between 1491 and 2013 only a few years have passed. It is necessary, however, for modern man to understand that without the ancient past, without spirituality, without investigation from each one of us, it is difficult to impart that which we truly are. These Fields of Learning remained buried for centuries but, when we relate them to modern life, we see that nothing has changed.

These poems are an example of this. Their energy flows directly from Stewart’s soul where, in turn, a brief analysis of these cards springs forth. It is a chain of energy, which draws upon more energy, created by the beauty of the human spirit and by the mysteries that it conceals.

Dr. Cristina Dorsini is the Art Director at the Italian tarot publisher, Il Meneghello.

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