Book: Learning The Tarot A Tarot Book For Beginners by Joan Bunning
I have been Tarot'ing for many years. I spent ridiculus amounts of money on tarot how to's and general tarot books and ended up giving most of them away for lack of basic but comprehensive information one can really use, something down to earth and realistic that really spoke to me and could help me bond with my cards and most importantly, understand them and their meanings. A book that could be used as a springboard alongside what I already intuitively knew, something that would help guide you and not leave you feeling overwhelmed with learning all the minor and Major Arcana in the deck set with so much fluffy stuff or on the flip side, heavy unimportant ramblings. Finally, I found this wonderful book. Its brillant, its simple, its warm and user friendly. Illustrations with Universal Rider Waite make it the first book you should pick up if you have this deck or are thinking about buying it. Sections are divided up into Lessons, Principles of Interpretation, Exercises, Suggestions for exercises, card descriptions and follows to the end with minor arcana, Celtic Cross Spread and informative appendices. I love the format and the fact that this book is big on comprehension, small on extra tarot chit chat book filler. The exercises alone are stellar, unique to ponder and work at. all in all, a tarot-tastic book! A must have for the beginner, a must have for your tarot book collections! An asset in assisting your tarot travels.Learning the Tarot is a Complete Course on how to use the tarot cards for personal guidance. The 19 lessons in the course cover the basics and then move gradually into more advanced concepts. Exercises and sample responses for each lesson help you learn and practice. For simplicity, only one easy layout is used throughout the course - the Celtic Cross Spread.
Learning the Tarot focuses in detail on the actual process of discovering meaning in the cards. Lessons cover topics such as how to consider one card by itself, how to look for card pairs, and how to create the "story" of a reading.
A convenient reference section contains two pages of information for each card including a picture from the popular Waite deck, a description, keywords, action phrases and suggestions for cards with similar and opposite meanings.
This is an excellent, all-purpose Introduction to the tarot. The material is presented in lesson form, complete with exercises (optional) and suggested "answers." These give an overview of the tarot and many suggestions for approaching the cards for divination and personal growth. The book, however, would be most suitable for people working with traditional or Waite-derived decks, and less so for esoteric decks like the Crowley Thoth Tarot.
There is an excellent section on all card meanings, with extremeley thoughtful and descriptive key words and summaries. I personally appreciate the upbeat approach that Joan takes, not shying away from negative card meanings, but illuminating the underlying forces at work. Her viewpoint is slanted toward utilizing the challenging aspects of our personalities and fate for growth and clarification, via the tarot.
If I were to nitpick, it would be to say that I wish she had covered card reversals more extensively. Many books avoid the subject entirely though, as it is a difficult and often confusing aspect of divination that may be considered beyond the range of the beginner. I also got the feeling that she has a lot more to say, but perhaps that is what second books are for! All in all, I highly recommend this as one of the very best beginning books on tarot, and equally valuable for the more seasoned tarotist as a refresher course.
Books in PDF format to read:
Nevrom Ydal - Preparing The Ritual Area And YourselfDonald Tyson - Portable Magic Tarot Tarot In The Only Tool You Need
Rabbi Michael Laitman - Kabbalah For Beginners
Ancient Grimoires - The 6th And 7th Book Of Moses
