Book Review: The Ultimate Guide to Tarot

AUTHOR: Liz Dean


FORMAT: Kindle edition ebook.


AVAILABILITY: I got this from Amazon. It's also available as a paperback (trade size, I think), and in other electronic formats.


WHAT THE BOOK OFFERS: The book provides information on the classic Smith-Rider-Waite cards, along with their symbology and meanings. Ms. Dean includes little historical notes regarding the cards and their development into the SRW cards we know today, and appendices with more detailed information regarding the cards than she presents in the body of the book.


WHAT I DISLIKED ABOUT THE BOOK: Honestly, at times it almost seemed as if too much information was being offered, particularly for the Major Arcana. By comparison, the information about the Minor Arcana was very thin. While I understand the importance of the Major Arcana cards, I still would have liked to have seen as much information about the Minor Arcana cards.


WHAT I LIKED ABOUT THE BOOK: I really liked the detailed information about the cards' relations to things like Numerology and Astrology and such, particularly with the Major Arcana Cards. Ms. Dean also provided spreads using each of the Major Arcana cards as significators for readings, which I enjoyed; they really helped elucidate each card's meaning. Another thing I especially liked were the little historical notes she made about the cards—I enjoyed those almost more than any other bit of information I read in the book.


WOULD I RECOMMEND THIS BOOK?: Yes. For a beginner in tarot certainly, but really for anyone who wants to deepen their knowledge of tarot in general, especially if that person isn't familiar with all the little esoteric relationships tarot has with things like the Kabbalah and Chakras.


CLOSING REMARKS: Overall, I found this book informative without being condescending. Ms. Dean presents the information in her book in such a way that it doesn't prejudge the reader for any imagined shortcomings they may have. She assumes everyone reading her book has something to learn, and presents the information in a reader-friendly manner that doesn't use jargon without putting it in a clear context the reader can use to infer the terminology's meaning from.

Location: Utah, USA

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