23/04/2026
We’ve received many enquiries recently asking for recommendations for sources that discuss Ithell Colquhoun’s taro deck.
Our original publication on the topic (2018) is now long out of print, but for those of you interested I have written a substantial essay. ‘The Perfume of the Secret Rose: Ithell Colquhoun and the Taro’ documents Colquhoun’s lifetime quest to create a taro that remained true to Golden Dawn principles. Running to 7000 words, my analysis draws upon a wealth of previously unpublished images and source texts.
It’s available in our recently published collection of scholarly essays, ‘Surrealism and the Tarot: A Love Story’, edited by the amazing Tessel Bauduin. You won’t find it on Amazon, but the details, list of contents, and contributors may be found on our website.
