Topic: Milan Museum

Esoteric scholar Peter Mark Adams joins the program to discuss his analysis of the Sola Busca Tarocchi, a 15th-century Renaissance relic currently housed in a Milan museum. His book, The Game of Saturn, explores the deck's connection to elite magical practices, dark pacts, and the "Capstone Cabal." The artifact is highlighted as a rare instance of an aristocratic magical heirloom entering the public sphere.

After disappearing for centuries, the Sola Busca deck resurfaced in the hands of the Milanese Cerbaloni family in the 19th century. Photographic images of the cards were sent to the British Museum in 1909, where they influenced Pamela Colman Smith's design of the popular Rider-Waite Tarot deck. In 2009, the Italian Ministry of Culture purchased the original deck for 800,000 euros, placing it in the Brera Gallery in Milan.

The Sola Busca deck is the oldest complete tarot-style deck in existence, though it differs significantly from traditional tarot trumps. Created by a Renaissance master engraver, the deck is notable for its high artistic quality and the complete absence of Christian imagery, which was highly unusual for the 15th century. The deck's provenance remains a mystery, as its whereabouts for 300 of its 500-year history are entirely undocumented.

After disappearing for centuries, the Sola Busca deck surfaced in the hands of the Milanese Marquis Cerbelloni in the 19th century. Photographic images of the cards were sent to the British Museum in 1909, where they were studied by Pamela Colman Smith. Smith subsequently incorporated elements of the Sola Busca imagery into the Rider-Waite-Smith deck, unconsciously propagating these esoteric symbols into modern tarot.