Customer Reviews

Granny Jones Australian Tarot Book

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In 1994, I bought a copy of the Australian Tarot Deck by Granny jones, unaccompanied by this book. Over years I worked with the deck extensively, and still do, and I think it is an excellent working deck both for experienced readers and for learners. I came to know the symbolism of the deck extremely well, and was impressed by the many levels on which it held together as a cohesive system.

Earlier this year I was sent a copy of the book by a friend of mine, and anticipating meeting Granny Jones' complex and inviting mind in a new way, I relished the prospect of reading the book.

I have to admit the book was frankly a disappointment. Apart from giving us some basic background on the commonsense procedures in getting to know decks, treating decks and reading (for instance, that you can read anywhere rather than just in ritual space, and that the cards can be stored anyhow, and will always be accurate), I discovered nothing new about the cards themselves. In fact, a lot of the insights that I'd had over the years: about hte natire pf th ecentral figure that wanders through the deck, about the symbolism of her use of different animals (ie, three flying birds for the Triple goddess or spirit guides, dogs for physical vitality and cats for emotion and intuition) were entirely absent from her own book. The deck is layered with symbolism and layered with a richness of meaning that belies its superficially simple artwork, but the book is NOT a definitive Tarot text and thus cannot be used without the deck, and doesn't in my opinion explain the deck fully.

I learnt much more about the deck from a few years of using it regularly than I did from reading the book, and I cannot understand how anyone would sell the book without the deck, as it dos not have a universal application for all decks. I gave the book three stars rather than a lower rating, though, because Granny's writing is lucid and clear.