Since 1969, Amir Bey has studied and worked with the occult, beginning with tarot, astrology and the I Ching.  He later branched out to other forms, such as palmistry, Kahfe Fali -reading coffee grounds, and face readings.  Eventually, Astrology became the main discipline that he used, while in 1976 he stared work on the 36 stone carvings that resulted in THE EQUINOX CELEBRATION TAROT, which was published in 1993.  That deck is probably the only tarot whose images are photographs of sculpture.  All other tarot imagery are derived from drawings or paintings; one exception is Salvidor Dali's deck, which are collage. 

     Because ancient Egypt's religion was signicantly based on the stars, Egyptology was a source of much information and inspiration to Amir's work.  The concepts of Houses, rising signs, of a pie-sectioned wheel that represented time cycles are contributions that ancient Egypt gave to astrology. 

     Amir's interest in ancient Egypt encompasses more than the occult, however.  He prefers to appreciate that epoch as a study in language, art, literature and as an important resevior of humanity's historical record.  Many Egyptologists may not agree with the linkage between the occult ("new-ageism", etc) and Eygpt; yet the occult arts, as do so many sciences, arts and institutions, have their origins in that enduring civilization.  Indeed, latent in many aspects of the occult arts are Egyptian concepts that are still living and being practiced. It would be beneficial for Egyptologists and astrologers to study each others' disciplines in order to gain a more complete understanding of what they are related to.