The Way of Tarot -- What a Disappointment

3ill.yazi

I really like this book (that was co-written by Marianne Costa, by the way) and Jodo's other works in general. Jodorowsky's contribuitions to Cinema and Comics are unprecedent - he is without a doubt an amazing artist and The Way of Tarot is surelly an amazing book and piece of art - specially in the "If The Cards Spoke" segments.

I suggest that all the Tarot enthusiasts check it out before getting any kind of conclusions - the book is very well formated and didatical, for this matter, and can be read in segments.

As for his reading style, I suggest checking the quick Tarot card readings that he has been doing ultimatelly as thanks for the contributions for a campaign for his next film:

https://m.youtube.com/channel/UCX93hv72qDkiEzaMVc8nS0w

Cheers!

I have to agree. I wouldn't out-and-out toss this book. I would not recommend it as your first book on the TdM -- I think Paul Huson's or Jean-Michel David's should take that spot-- but there is some interesting material in there. I've been able to weed through the baloney to find good material in plenty of RWS-based books, and I think readers can certainly skim through Jodo's ego. There's good stuff, as said, about the pips.
 

Shade

How do the folks who have read the Way of Tarot feel about newer works like The Open Reading and Towards The Art of Reading?
 

Richard

How do the folks who have read the Way of Tarot feel about newer works like The Open Reading and Towards The Art of Reading?

The author of The Open Reading was a student of Jodo, so there could be some similarities in interpretative techniques. I don't have the wherewithal to buy a lot of Tarot books, so I can't comment on specifics.
 

Cesar

If something must be said about the book written by Yoav Ben Dov that should begin with a recognition of its great quality and the profound views which contains.

The name of the book is "Tarot: The open reading". And certainly the author remarks that he learnt from Jodorowsky. But his books is far away from the flaws of the one of his master.

The name of the books ("The open reading") is explained in a very short paragraph which I quote:

"First, a Tarot card does not have a fixed meaning which can be learned in advance. rather, the meaning emerges from what we can see in the card during the reading. Second, the function of each position in a spread is also not fixed. rather, it depends on the combination of cards that actually appear. Third, we don't start by interpreting each card separately. Instead, we first try to see the whole picture that the cards form together".

The author explains many details which do not get explained in other books, such as the areas filled with lines in the figures (which he says it is the way to mark a shadowed area in contrast with a plain colored one).

He insists continually in the importance to observe in depth the cards in order to get a profound understanding of the symbols we see. He incorporates many examples of his readings and gives insights into the professional reading that I think are a contribution.

In contrast with Jodorowsky, he does not proclaim his book as the ultimate piece of work, neither does he propose a new deck as the only one suitable for readings. Instead, he prepared a modern edition of the Conver, which has been well received by those who work with the Tarot de Marseille. I personally do not have any inclination towards the Conver, but I must credit Ben-Dov for his great work.
 

Teheuti

If something must be said about the book written by Yoav Ben Dov that should begin with a recognition of its great quality and the profound views which contains.
I agree that this is an outstanding book that can be a 'way in' for anyone wanting to work with Marseilles-style decks. I only wish Yoav had included more example readings with the Minor Arcana. Excellent description, Cesar. Highly recommended!
 

Cesar

Thank you Teheuti.
I finished the reading of the book by Yoav Ben-Dov not so long ago and my impression was that a deeper explanation of the pips would have made this work a perfect contribution to our understanding of the Tarot.
Anyway, I still think that this is one of the best books we have on the Tarot de Marseille.
 

Barleywine

I've read through The Open Reading twice now; it's one of the treasures of my tarot library. As for Jodorowsky, I had read some time ago that his book is flawed, so I decided to skip it and just watch his rather bizarre, surrealistic movies.
 

3ill.yazi

How do the folks who have read the Way of Tarot feel about newer works like The Open Reading and Towards The Art of Reading?


I love them both. The Open Reading is probably the better choice for a beginner, but Camelia's book is great.
 

Michellehihi

I am currently reading Jodorowsky' book, in French which is my mother tongue, and I love it. I am learning so much, especially regarding numerology. I agree with you all, that nor he neither anyone can claim to have restore the virginal tarot. But that does not stop me from learning from this book. The man is obviously passionate about tarot, and passionate people have a lot to teach me.
I event bought his deck. Anyways, I am very new in this tarot world, maybe I should buy another TdM? While waiting for that one, I am reading with the Madenie 1709 replica.
 

empress's dress

i am going to go against the grain here and say it is the best book on tarot i have ever read. it encourages you to think for yourself. it reminds you that no matter what deck you have to look at the images. be in the moment. if you have any intuition to begin with it is the best primer on using your intuition to the read tarot or any oracle out there. i know lots of people who read tarot have no intuition whatsoever.

he notices details. that is to be commended. it will make anyone who has a modicum of intuition a better reader to remember that when you are in the moment looking at anything in the world -- it is the details that matters; it is the details that differentiate one thing from another; it is the details that give you that eureka moment.