I'm about three quarters of the way through at the moment. I think this book gives a fresh perspective - looking at Tarot in a slightly more 'academic' way. In fact, the author pokes a bit of fun at the "elaborate metaphysical formulae" often used in other tarot books. The writing style is not particularly engaging, but it gets the job done (again, a slightly more academic tone than some tarot books). There's some emphasis on Jung and the idea of the collective unconscious which is always interesting to me, and a chapter on synchronicity. He also brings up a lot of philosophy & some eastern religion references. In all, I think this book has a good balance of portraying the mystery & depth of Tarot while keeping it pretty practical.
Yes, he does give meanings for each card! This portion of the book is fairly brief though. He gives "traditional meanings" as well as giving a "spectrum of possibility" for each card which is more psychology based.
Thanks again happyfish. Yeah, that's what I read at amazon.com and it is why I'm interested in the book. At this moment I use tarot mostly for divination, though.Oh yeah, I also wanted to mention that the target audience for the book is therapists, tarot readers are kind of secondary.
Yes, he does give meanings for each card! This portion of the book is fairly brief though. He gives "traditional meanings" as well as giving a "spectrum of possibility" for each card which is more psychology based.
I had that book once and just couldn't get through it. I was disappointed. I guess it just wasn't what I needed at the time or something.
The best book on tarot and psychology that I've seen is Jung and Tarot by Sallie Nichols. It's heavy, slow reading, but good, solid scholarship, with no fluff. Many of the tarot illustrations are from the Tarot de Marseille, which may be a turn off for some people.Oh, really? Maybe it is a major bore. Plus, happyfish said the meanings were too brief. I think I'm going to pass on this one.
