The Complete Guide to the Tarot [Mass Market Paperback]

Eden Gray (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 1, 1982

For centuries, the strange and beautiful tarot cards have been an endless source of mystery and fascination.  One of the foremost authorities in the field reveals the intricacies of this ancient art. With detailed explanations, Eden Gray offers explicit advice about the three different methods of reading the cards, and using the tarot for divination and meditation. Both beginning students and advanced devotee will find in this book new insights into the ancient lore of the tarot.

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: Bantam; New edition edition (December 1, 1982)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0553277529
• ISBN-13: 978-0553277524
• Product Dimensions: 4.2 x 0.7 x 6.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (41 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #103,370 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #2 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Religion & Spirituality > New Age > Divination > Tarot
  • #66 in Books > Religion & Spirituality > New Age > Divination > Tarot

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

54 of 56 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Introducing the Tarot, June 22, 2001

By 

Michael J. Mazza - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (COMMUNITY FORUM 04)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Complete Guide to the Tarot (Mass Market Paperback)

As someone new to the study of the Tarot, I found Eden Gray's "A Complete Guide to the Tarot" to be the best general introduction to this fascinating divinatory system. Gray writes with a confident but accessible authority that makes her book very appealing.

Gray devotes one or two pages to every card in the classic Rider-Waite Tarot deck, and lists possible divinatory meanings. She shows how to use various spreads of the cards in order to give readings, and she also discusses the use of the Tarot as an aid in meditation. She also explores the connections between the Tarot and other systems of occult wisdom: numerology, astrology, and the Kabalah.

The book includes a bibliography for those interested in further study. Overall, I found this to be a useful and enjoyable book.

36 of 37 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The first book to get, July 8, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Complete Guide to the Tarot (Mass Market Paperback)

I got a my copy in 1985... the same day i got my first deck. It is a perfect guide for beginners as well as an excellent convenient reference for more experienced readers of tarot cards. I've seen many books aimed at those new to tarot, none are as complete and most are confusing to novices. This book clearly and concisely explains the divinatory meanings of the cards as well as the symbolism behind each one. Its illustrations are of the popular and easily accessible Rider-Waite deck, but it can be used with most standard decks. Gray also provides information on some systems of thought that can illuminate the tarot experience. This book's low price is a big bonus. One wishing to dabble in tarot can easily afford this excellent guide. One who is experienced can easily afford to add this to a reference set.

47 of 50 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A tarot reference for a lifetime., February 12, 2002

By 

OAKSHAMAN "oakshaman" (Algoma, WI United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: The Complete Guide to the Tarot (Mass Market Paperback)

This was the first book that I bought, or read, to help me interpret the tarot. As the years have passed I have come to realise that it is also the best. There are too many mundane, cookie cutter, tarot references out there. This book truly explains the deep meanings behind the hermetic symbolism of the Waite-Rider deck. With the systems and symbolism section it becomes a comprehensive text on metaphysical thought- a true book of Thoth, or Hermes. My only complaint is that there is no deluxe copy with leather binding and vellum pages. I would gladly pay extra for it, for this is the kind of book you will refer to again and again over a lifetime. Of course, if the tarot is no more than a new-age parlor game to you, you might want to look elsewhere. If you are prepared to meditate on the meaning of deeper things, then you have found your guide.