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47 of 52 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Back in Time Tarot Book by Janet Boyer. Review by Chris Butler, Illustrator for the Quantum Tarot, published by Kunati., November 2, 2008
This review is from: The Back in Time Tarot Book: Picture the Past, Experience the Cards, Understand the Present (Paperback)
When there are so many good tarot books on the market it's a real treat to find one that says something totally and uniquely original. This isn't to belittle what's available but if like me and you've been dealing with the Tarot for almost thirty years, you begin to find that each new title, however excellent it may be, only embellishes what you already know with a choice selection of extra insights. Janet Boyer's new book is something quite different. It's one of those rare titles that manages to tread well-worn territory whilst turning all your maps on their heads. It is truly original.
How do most of us first encounter the Tarot? For me, it was through watching a James Bond film where a beautiful fortune teller shuffled the cards, selected at random and used the upturned cards to foretell the future. Of course, I soon realised it's not that simple. The Tarot is a powerful tool for shedding insight on past, present and future but fundamental to its application is the principle of randomness--or so I thought prior to reading Janet's book.
The Back in Time Tarot Book is the ultimate "card reversal" of the Tarot world. Rather than relying on random selection, Janet encourages you to take control of the Tarot deck and use it as a tool to illuminate your past through means of deliberate card selection. As such, she has given us a powerful tool for self-understanding.
Her Back in Time (BIT) Method involves selecting an incident from your past, summarising it into a "snapshot" by identifying the key points you wish to clarify and then selecting cards to represent these key points. Cards are selected either based on their traditional meanings or alternatively, because of your intuitive response to the images themselves.
One aspect that impressed me greatly was the author's emphasis on card combinations. I frequently work with Lenormand cards as well as with the Tarot and here, card combinations are paramount. An individual card such as the Coffin can mean something very different on its own to when it's paired with a card such as the Heart. So it is with Janet's BIT Method. If an aspect of your "snapshot" is too complex to be represented by a single card then you're encouraged to select two or more that connect together for you on an intuitive level.
The benefits of this method are far reaching. In creating a symbolic "photo album" of such key past events in your life, the tarot symbols you select will often uncover aspects of your past you hadn't realised or acknowledged. I've also found that in using this method I've begun to build up a whole new raft of personalised card meanings and associations that I've been able to bring back to my conventional readings.
The proof of the pudding is in the eating as they say. In this respect, Back in Time Tarot is almost self-endorsing. The first section is Janet herself, laying out the BIT Method whilst the second part is based around a stellar array of other Tarot writers and artists writing on their usage of Janet's methodology and providing their own BIT Snapshots. Names include Mary K. Greer, Monte Farber, Zach Wong, Lisa Hunt, Riccardo Minetti and Joan Bunning amongst others. What better seal of approval could you get than this? Each of their accounts is carefully framed by Janet's own commentary on their experiences.
Adding to the goody bag are further exercises, where the BIT Method is applied to a range of other events such as current affairs coverage or movie storylines. It's amazing what the cards can say in such situations!
This is a truly clever book, well written and presented in a way that showcases not only Janet's infectious enthusiasm, but also the respect and enthusiasm for her BIT Method shown by some of the world's best Tarot writers and artists. Add this to your bookshelf whenever you get the chance. If, like me, you had fallen into the trap of thinking there wasn't much more to learn, this book will soon prove you wrong. It's a winner in every way.
The Back in Time Tarot Book by Janet Boyer is published by Hampton Roads Publishing Company Inc. ISBN 978-1-57174-587-3
Chris Butler discovered the Tarot nearly thirty years ago. He has created and illustrated four tarot decks of his own and is the illustrator of the Quantum Tarot, co-created with author Kay Stopforth. Quantum Tarot: A Tarot of New Physics
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19 of 23 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A refreshing new way to use our old friend tarot, October 21, 2008
This review is from: The Back in Time Tarot Book: Picture the Past, Experience the Cards, Understand the Present (Paperback)
Janet Boyer's Back in Time Tarot Book is a ground-breaking new way to use Tarot to add meaning and make sense of our lives. What has happened to us in our life has a major influence on who we are.
Janet's BIT Method empowers even a complete Tarot novice to use a deck's archetypical images to analyze those events, both large and small, that have lodged deep in our memories and have had a lasting influence. By choosing cards that remind us of aspects of a situation in our past, we can look with fresh eyes for the reasons why that event happened, and its impact on the person we've become.
Some of my personal favorites were Ann Cass's heartwarming story "You Can Catch a Robin If You Put Salt on Its Tail" and Mary Greer's "Discovering the Tarot", although many of the BIT Snapshots in the book showed how Janet's BIT Method can be helpful even in dealing with painful memories and life challenges. For example, Teresa Michelsen's "Journey through the Dark Night of the Mind" detailed an inspiring journey of learning to deal with life when suffering chronic pain.
Both Janet Boyer and Mark McElroy's very personal and revealing stories about their deep sense of satisfaction as they discovered a more inclusive version of Christianity were very uplifting to read.
The Back in Time Tarot Book is also a fascinating collection of highly insightful tales from Tarot icons--but don't let that put you off if you're new to Tarot. The wonder of Janet's BIT Method is that is works even if you have no idea of the traditional "meanings" for each of the cards. The important thing is that they act as visual triggers, sparking insights from your subconscious.
The human mind is more complex than any computer, and Janet's BIT Tarot Method could help you to find important messages from your past that you thought you'd forgotten. They are all part of who you are.
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17 of 21 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
BACK in TIME TAROT Invites the Associative Process to Unfold, November 19, 2008
This review is from: The Back in Time Tarot Book: Picture the Past, Experience the Cards, Understand the Present (Paperback)
If I could give Back in Time Tarot 10 stars, I would; five for being such an enjoyable read, five for providing such an innovative and effective method for experiencing Tarot.
What I love about Janet Boyer's Back in Time Tarot approach is that it relies on a creative, associative process, not on knowledge or memorization of standard tarot interpretations. In order for any tarot reading to be meaningful our own memories and personal associations necessarily come into play. Janet's wonderfully simple but effective method not only allows us to incorporate personal connections to the cards, but actually encourages us to use these associations as the very foundation for readings. This approach allows beginners to derive as much insight from tarot as the seasoned expert, because we are encouraged to start with our own stories and weave related meanings from the cards we select.
Most agree that the main goal in studying tarot cards is to gain greater insight into one's self and one's experiences. Janet's method of taking a snapshot of ourselves within the context of a particular situation lets us explore our own symbolic connections, using the tools of tarot, intuition, and imagination. Most tarot books dictate formulaic tarot interpretations and then add a little footnote about using your own intuition. Back in Time Tarot starts with intuition, ventures into personal experiences, and yields tremendous insight. The "snapshot" is a marvelously playful yet productive approach. It's like setting off on an adventure and throwing away the roadmap. Janet encourages us to chart our own course and to enjoy the journey as much as the destination. And when you reach the pinnacle, you have a whole new point of view. As you look back you realize "Aha, now I see how I got here and from here I can figure out where I want to be."
While Janet's title suggests that this unique snapshot method gives us a way of understanding past situations, her idea of zooming out for a bigger picture is extremely effective for sorting out current issues and challenges as well. She articulates the beauty of the Back in Time (BIT) method so well--"it prompts you to unearth associations from the unconscious and bring them into the light of the conscious mind."
Back in Time Tarot is a collaborative kaleidoscope of Tarot experiences that Janet has successfully assembled. Though the Table of Contents reads like a Who's Who of the Tarot world, each contributor seems to embrace the BIT method with the open eagerness of a true beginner mind. Some of the stories focus on the little dilemmas and decisions we face each day. Others examine bigger archetypal human experiences. Lisa Hunt's compelling essay on writer's block appealed to me not only because I had the privilege of working with her on Fantastical Creatures Tarot, but mostly because it illustrates so vividly how this BIT process can help us when we "get stuck." After each contributor discusses his or her personal experiences with their chosen tarot cards, Janet offers helpful commentary and suggestions to guide the reader in applying these lessons to their own situations. The engaging tenor and unique structure of Back in Time Tarot works very well. Just as you may chose which cards to use for your snapshot reading, you may approach the book in the same way, selecting any chapter that resonates for you.
Back in Time Tarot has universal appeal. It works with any and all tarot decks, even combinations of cards from different decks. I highly recommend this book for anyone interested in tarot, and especially everyone interested in "knowing thyself."
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