Tarot Card Combinations [Paperback]

Dorothy Kelly (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 1995

Tarot Card Combinations is a unique, comprehensive and highly practical presentation of interpreting the tarot that has helped thousands master the ancient divination. Dorothy Kelly's easy-to-understand approach shares everything one needs to know to unlock the story presented when the cards are drawn. Reading tarot cards one after another never reveals the rich meaning of the cards considered together. Use this book to unlock the depth and meaning.

--This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Dorothy Kelly has been working with the tarot and teaching others for more than two decades. This book is the result of her frustration over the lack of books available to her beginning students that deal with the cards in combination. She lives in Australia.

Joan Bunning has worked as a writer, computer programmer, and website developer. In 1995, she launched the Learning the Tarot website, www.learntarot.com, an Internet-based course in learning to read the cards, which includes sample readings, card explanations, and other tarot-related material. Bunning lives with her husband and two sons in Virginia. --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Paperback: 368 pages
• Publisher: Red Wheel Weiser (May 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0877288291
• ISBN-13: 978-0877288299
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,810,229 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

34 of 36 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A good second book on tarot, June 5, 2000

By 

Uri Raz (Israel) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Tarot Card Combinations (Paperback)

This is not a beginner's first book, but rather second book.

Most books I know give more or less detailed description of each card, a couple of spreads, and maybe a few examples.

For a tarot beginner who does not yet have a lot of experience, a book of that type does not give enough examples of how to interpret a few cards together.

And that's where this book fits in - it gives a lot of tarot cards combinations (with both straight and reversed cards) and their meanings.

A previous reviewer wrote that only keyword meanings of cards are given and that the way the combinations meanings are not explained.

The first issue is, in my humble opinion, a minor issue *if* the book is not used as one's first tarot book.

The second is, in my opinion, a good challenge for the reader - figuring out the way the meaning was reached makes for a better studying.

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars a lot to get through, but worthwhile!, November 5, 1999

By 

Steffy (Northern CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Tarot Card Combinations (Paperback)

This is a bigger and more detailed book than I expected, but I'd rather have more than less. It will be most helpful in learning the combinations (or at least basic ones that you can use and learn in order to apply to other ones as you go). I think it is very useful and a great reference for any tarot reader who (like me) is having a hard time connecting the cards, and reading with their associations to one another rather than one by one - a much more complete picture emerges.

16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars So so, but worth the read, December 4, 2002

By 

Erica (Virginia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Tarot Card Combinations (Paperback)

First off, I'm really glad that this book is in my collection, and this is not a book I'd recommend to a beginner. This book covers good ground, but does not waste time hashing over the basics. I'd recommend having a solid comfort level with interpretations of single cards before starting in on this book.

Starting with the negative side, I didn't agree with many of the card interpretations. They were generally simplistic, however it may be that the author intended it that way in order to better illustrate the concepts that she was trying to convey. Many of the combinations are also simplistic due perhaps to the same principle. The author's approach is to assign a shortlist of keywords to each card, then read them like flashcards. If 4 Staffs is "Peaceful" and 6 Cups is "Often", the two cards together mean "Peaceful Often". Although my own experience is admittedly limited, I do not personally know of anyone that reads so literally.

On the positive side, the author's oversimplification freed me up to not overcomplicate relationships between the cards. While I do feel that the specific examples are oversimplistic, I also think that was useful to break down my fear of allowing it to just be simple. I haven't found that I've directly used the lessons from this book, but it has definately had an influence on the way I link cards together.

One wonderful thing about this book is that the focus on combinations means that it can print repetitive combinations for certain sets. Such as (example is from my head, not book): Ace Wands/Two Wands, Ace Wands/Three Wands, Ace Wands/Four Wands, etc. It clearly can't cover every combination that exists, but it covers enough to allow you to exrapolate your own beyond a certain point. It also makes for easy light reading -- would be easy to read a few pages here and there when you have the time.
I feel that this book is generally most useful for those who have a good feel for what the cards mean on their own, but aren't as comfortable reading them together or in spreads.