Customer Reviews

The Complete Guide to the Tarot

5 star:		(34)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

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.

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.

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.

I've been reading the Tarot for about 15 years. This is the very first book I bought and I have yet to find a book to surpass it. When I wore the book into the ground (missing cover, yellow pages, all kinds of torn and ripped), I bought a new one because I just couldn't bear to be without it. If you want to learn tarot AND you are using a Rider-Waite-Smith type deck this is the perfect book for you. It gives simple and concise divinitory meanings and reversals that let you throw away the useless booklet that comes with the deck. You'll want more complex books when you're more famillar with your deck and you want to explore the meanings more thouroughly, but this is a great basic book that you'll want to keep on hand. Oh and just one other thing- don't fall for books that promise to teach you tarot in just 10 or 15 minutes, cause that ain't gonna happen. It's worth spending time with your deck to learn it right.

I've referred to this book often over the years before I started reading professionally. I would highly recommend it to any beginner because it is very easy to understand.

Since I started teaching Tarot classes, I purchase this book for every student! It really is a "must have" book. It describes each card in detail and gives divinitory and reversed meanings. It describes and gives examples of different spreads in the back of the book as well as giving a small "key" to the meanings of each item on the cards (which I find very helpful to learn). This complete guide also discusses numerology, astrology, and the Kabalah and how it relates to the Tarot!

If you are just starting out and interested in learning the tarot, this book is for you! [...]

I started reading the Rider-Waite deck when I was 8 and this is the first guide to tarot I ever read. To this day, it's the only book I consistently refer to. For my money this is the only guide to the tarot that both beginners and seasoned readers can learn from.

I first bought a copy of this book back in 1989, and I've had one ever since. This is the book I learned to read the cards with. For a beginner this is a very detailed, and, as the title says, complete guide to reading Tarot cards. The book uses the Rider-Waite deck for illustations, but one can use the meanings and methods of readings with any deck of Tarot cards. If you want to learn, this is an excellent guide. If you already do read the cards, and you don't have this book, pick it up, because either way, it is an excellent reference work on Tarot cards.

Yes the book does not have colorful pictures and glossy pages, which would definately enhance the appearance of the book, BUT the information in this book makes up for it. This is my number one references, and I have many references that sit on the shelf and collect dust. If you read this book, you will understand the tarot. I recommend buying this book with the rider waite deck (if you don't have one already), and if you're a total newbie at this, I also recommend you buy " The Everything Tarot Book". Read that first to gain knowledge about the Tarot, which will help you to remember at least the basic meanings of each card when your playing tarot. Then read and use Eden Gray's Tarot book for your main reference. Mark my words, I am not leading you astray, this is the best reference book!

This book is one of the best introductory books to tarot reading (another excellent book is Joan Bunning's Learning the Tarot).

The book contains a short section about the history of the tarot (mediocre - for a good intro check 'Tarot - History, Mystery, and Lore), an excellent chapter about the Major arcana, a good chapter about the minor arcana, a very good section on reading the cards with three spreads (the classical Celtic Cross, a cabalistic Tree of Life spread, and an astrological zodiacal spread), three goof sections about the connection of tarot to Numerology, Astrology, and Cabala, a section about the Fool's journey, and a short glossary of symbolic terms.

I warmly recommend this book to anyone who starts studying the tarot with the Rider-Waite-Smith deck, as the book gives all the basics and puts the reader on the right track to continue from there.

This is the one and only book I learned the tarot from many moons ago. This was in fact, the only book to learn from for many years. I imagine this classic in the hands of anyone beginning to go through the basic meanings of the standard Rider-Waite images. This is the basis of most other packs. The meanings can also be applied to the Marseille deck. I do not advise one to begin with this system, as the minors are not illustrated.

The contents give an overview of the basic history up to the 1970s of the history of the cards. The astrology information was very helpful, numerology was ok. I have never been a big fan of numerolgy for I personally feel is to be too simplistic. As for the Quaballa, this goes right over my head and always will. Maybe someday I will take an interest in this. I would probably start with this book!

Some of the information is a bit dated, but I am sure this perennial favorite will be relevant for many generations to come. If you plan on seriously studying the cards, I could not think of a better place to begin!