Customer Reviews

Learning the Tarot: A Tarot Book for Beginners

5 star:		(77)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I have been Tarot'ing for many years. I spent ridiculus amounts of money on tarot how to's and general tarot books and ended up giving most of them away for lack of basic but comprehensive information one can really use, something down to earth and realistic that really spoke to me and could help me bond with my cards and most importantly, understand them and their meanings. A book that could be used as a springboard alongside what I already intuitively knew, something that would help guide you and not leave you feeling overwhelmed with learning all the minor and major arcana in the deck set with so much fluffy stuff or on the flip side, heavy unimportant ramblings. Finally, I found this wonderful book. Its brillant, its simple, its warm and user friendly. Illustrations with Universal Rider Waite make it the first book you should pick up if you have this deck or are thinking about buying it. Sections are divided up into Lessons, Principles of Interpretation, Exercises, Suggestions for exercises, card descriptions and follows to the end with minor arcana, Celtic Cross Spread and informative appendices. I love the format and the fact that this book is big on comprehension, small on extra tarot chit chat book filler. The exercises alone are stellar, unique to ponder and work at. all in all, a tarot-tastic book! A must have for the beginner, a must have for your tarot book collections! An asset in assisting your tarot travels.

This is an excellent, all-purpose introduction to the tarot. The material is presented in lesson form, complete with exercises (optional) and suggested "answers." These give an overview of the tarot and many suggestions for approaching the cards for divination and personal growth. The book, however, would be most suitable for people working with traditional or Waite-derived decks, and less so for esoteric decks like the Crowley Thoth Tarot.

There is an excellent section on all card meanings, with extremeley thoughtful and descriptive key words and summaries. I personally appreciate the upbeat approach that Joan takes, not shying away from negative card meanings, but illuminating the underlying forces at work. Her viewpoint is slanted toward utilizing the challenging aspects of our personalities and fate for growth and clarification, via the tarot.

If I were to nitpick, it would be to say that I wish she had covered card reversals more extensively. Many books avoid the subject entirely though, as it is a difficult and often confusing aspect of divination that may be considered beyond the range of the beginner. I also got the feeling that she has a lot more to say, but perhaps that is what second books are for! All in all, I highly recommend this as one of the very best beginning books on tarot, and equally valuable for the more seasoned tarotist as a refresher course.

I first read this material when it was an online course, and I'm very pleased it is now in book form. The author's approach is clear and easy to follow. She provides an excellent introduction to the cards. There are only a handful of good Tarot books for beginners, and this is one of them. I would rank it with Mary Greer's "Tarot for Your Self" and with Anthony Louis' "Tarot Plain and Simple." I think that any beginner with these three books would gain a very solid grounding in the art of Tarot.

With comprehensive lists of key words that signify all the diverse meanings of each card, interpretations of the symbolisms and what it all means in readings - this book is worth it (!) just for these things alone. I've never come across such a complete, clear and non-archaic collection before. I'm sure that even those who are already familiar with the Tarot will find refreshing new insights into the meanings.

For those learning the Tarot, this book contains lessons that are more like having a knowledgeable teacher guiding you instead of boring drills of memorization. They follow a logical and easy to follow pattern that makes sense.

The tables and lists of associations are great tools for beginners and advanced students alike.

I have just finished going through the "lesson" portion of this book, and found it to be one of the more direct and accessible of the tarot books I have used. In general, the author skips new-age jargon and would-be-psychobabble to get to the point. I particularly like her emphasis on the process of card interpretation; she suggests a way (without claiming it is "the only way") that makes for logical and easily-remembered connections between the cards. My only caveat was that the book's pages and/or binding began to come apart with very little use. Still, the content and her thoughtful interpretive methods were above-par.

If you're a beginner in tarot (like myself), than this IS the book for you. The author guides you through the book in lessons, and the best part is, you DON'T have to read each lesson. You can still have fun with your tarot deck without getting weighted down in, "tarot theory," If you forget something, you can easily look it up in this book. Joan Bunning gives GOOD and understandable meanings for each card, as well as "teaches" you how to do readings, and how to ask questions. She even has exercises, where you can practice your skills. She knows how to make tarot fun! Since I am still practicing doing readings, I use this book for referece A LOT! I am SO glad that I bought it. The only negative is that she does not review the meanings of cards being reversed. Also, she focuses on one deck, Rider-Waite, but you can use any deck with this book. It's a GREAT book and a MUST HAVE if you're a novice, and want to learn more about tarot.

This book is a great jumpstart to using the Tarot! The friendly, modern tone makes it easy to read and the "lesson" format helps the new tarot reader tie together the meanings of cards in layouts.

The section of this book that most impressed me is the card descriptions. Instead of just giving one or two sentences on possible meanings for the cards, Joan works the cards' meanings into vivid descriptions of the illustrations on the Rider Waite deck. For me, this made the daunting task of memorizing the meanings of the Minor Arcana practically effortless.

I had discovered the Tarot as a curious preteen. Back then I had no guide to help me. So it simply faded. Years later it came into my mind again. I was online one day and I had signed up at one of those online tarot reading sites months back and had forgotten about it. So it just so happens that it was my birthday and I recieved an email to have a free reading. So I went to the site and had a reading done, it wasnt very acurate. So began my search to learn the tarot for myself, and I came upon Joan Bunning's web site. I was amazed at how simple it was, but how in depth she described the positions and the meanings of the cards. That day I went out and bought the Rider Waite deck. I came home and started doing readings via the site. I finally decided to buy the book. It was a lot easier then going back and forth on the site. And to my amazement the book was almost EXACTLY like the site! I have been doing reading frequently ever since. I have discovered my "inner guide" and she has helped me a lot. This is one of the best books I have ever bought. And I will always carry it with me. If you are a beginner looking to learn the tarot BUY THIS BOOK. Trust me, you will NOT regret it. I haven't!

I've made frequent attempts to study the tarot, and found it extremely difficult. However, after I visited the author's website, I began to have a new understanding of the tarot. Her meanings are presented in a format that's easy to use and are extremely accurate. The exercises in the book enable the reader to gain a deeper understanding of the tarot. The exercises are optional, not mandatory, which allows the reader to pick and choose without missing out on anything. Visit www.learntarot.com to check out the book, which is virtually a copy of the webpages. I bought the book because it's easier to use than connecting to the internet everyday and also because Bunning is such an amazing teacher, that I want to support her work. There is also an option to contact the author with any questions. I own numerous tarot books and this is the only one that I use. If you're serious about learning the tarot, buy this book. You won't regret it.

This was not at all my first book on the subject, but I agree with other reviewers that the lesson chapters of the book explain Tarot basics in a concise, easy to understand way. The thing I love most in this book is the pages for individual cards. In additon to helpful keywords and question-oriented descriptions of the card illustrations, each has several suggested Reinforcing and Opposing cards listed. For me, considering the possible relationships that my current card might have with other cards gave me a huge leap of insight in how to view cards interact in a spread. While there are other books that cover that subject in depth, I've never seen it presented in such an accessible way before this. I gain a little more appreciation for this book every time I pick it up.