Customer Reviews

The Tarot Handbook: practical applications of ancient visual symbols

5 star:		(22)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(3)
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1 star:		(1)

 

 

This is an Amazing volume of information, based-upon Anthropological & Jungian interpretations of The Thoth deck. If you love the Thoth Deck or you want to understand the underlying Symbolism of All Tarot cards, this book will be a great asset to your studies and to your collection!

I wish I would-have read this book several years ago, when I first acquired it. However, a friend loved it so much that I gave it to her. Luckily, we live-together, now--and she was more than happy to share. Therefore, I had the opportunity to delve into this Fascinating work, researched by someone familiar with cross-cultural and psychological Symbolism.

There are so many levels of The Tarot & so much Symbolism, that one can do hundreds of readings and not notice a certain aspect or Symbol of the Tarot Card that is calling-out to you. Yet, this Splendid Handbook will give you absolutely astounding results! If a certain Symbol or Image pops-out at you, more-so than the rest of the card, during one particular reading (or several subsequent readings) this well-written & well-researched Tarot book will help you understand what the Cards are trying to tell you. In my opinion, this Lady knows her stuff !

For those who do not understand how Tarot cards work, the System is based-upon Contacting Psychological Symbols and Archetypes in the subconscious mind--as-in Jungian Psychology. The hands simply manipulate the information into revealing itself, through psychokenesis. This means, basically, that your Subconscious Mind is trying to tell your Conscious (Incredulous <g> ) Mind certain information. This is a great way to contact your Inner Emotions and Knowledge learned from the Higher Mind.

It is not necessary, however, to study Jungian Psychology and Quantum Physics to understand all this stuff. Just grab a copy of this book and you will be set! You will soon consider this book to be an Invaluable Resource for information and lessons in how to read your Tarot cards. However, do not assume this book is ONLY representative of One deck. Because this Symbolism pervades ALL Cultures, Religions, Myths, etc. it is Infused into MANY Tarot Decks--no-matter who created them, when or where in the world ! There are a few decks out there that are completely Individual works, made by people with personal agendas, or without respect for The Tarot & this book will not help you with those decks--which are mostly just collector's items.

For most Standard Decks this "Tarot Handbook" will save you a lot of money and time researching (or scratching your head).

I believe that if a person purchases this book & one deck (Thoth, preferably), they will begin to understand The Tarot very quickly. I really cannot say enough good things about this work. "Practical Applications of Ancient Visual Symbols" is a very descriptive and perfect title for this thick handbook, filled with a wealth of Knowledge, drawings and copies of the Thoth tarot cards, for easy reference.

I hate to sound cliche' but, she could have just as easily named this "The Only Tarot Book You will Ever Need."

My main problem with this book is in the introduction. The author says that the reason for the book is that she didn't agree with Crowley's interpretation of the Thoth deck. (I have to agree that it's a difficult book.) She then tells us that she wants to present a universal view based on Lady Frieda Harris' visual interpretation. The fact is that Crowley assembled the images from his own knowledge and, being unable to paint as well as the deck deserved, he asked Lady Harris to do it. She knew absolutely nothing of the symbolism beforehand. He had to have her do some of the paintings two or three times before he approved them. Lady Harris' vision was the equivalent of that of an illustrator for a book she hasn't read. The author's rejection of Crowley is a rejection of the symbolism of the deck. And that calls into question either her understanding of universal symbolism or the very existence of such.

Beyond the reasons for the book, her interpretation isn't the worst I've seen. But it's a very personal interpretation, not universal as she intended. It's a little better than most books that are written for the purpose of fortune-telling, but probably not much good for meditation or insight unless you're the author.

A friend once let me borrow her copy of the first addition of this book and I found it extremely helpful and had to get my own copy. Its approach to Tarot is very positive and user friendly, and is an extensive source of esoteric symbolism. Although its interpretations of the Thoth deck may very from some of Crowley's, I found them very in-tune with the energy of the deck. I recommend it often to friends. Wonderful!

The book's main focus is on Crowley's Thoth deck. Until I read the other reviews here, I never really considered the idea of it working for other decks. I have trouble seeing it as being helpful for any deck other than the Thoth deck. In the descriptions for each card, the book discussed the symbols used in the Thoth deck. Angeles does cover much more than that though.

In the discussion of the Major Arcana, you will find 3 to 4 pages discussing each card. Very detailed!! For anyone who uses the Thoth deck, only one version of The Magus (The Magician) is analyzed here. The original Thoth deck has three different versions of The Magus. Recently, the deck was changed to include just one. There is at least one version available now that has all three versions included again.

A few of the Major Arcana cards have been moved to a different number or renamed. In most Tarot decks, Strength is #8 and Justice is #11. In the Thoth deck, Justice/Adjustment is #8 and Strength/Lust is #11. (Adjustment and Lust are terms used in the Thoth deck.) Judgment (#20) is called The Aeon in this deck.

The Minor Arcana are presented in one page descriptions - great details. Although I understand the reasons, the decision to have the Kings, Queens, Princes, and Princesses (The Royalty Symbols) in their own sections makes the book sometimes difficult to use as a reference during readings.

Overall, I do find this book very well written. Even with my minor complaints, I would still recommend this book. For the Thoth deck, it is the best book I've seen and superior to Crowley's own book about his own deck. Personally, I would not recommend it for use with other Tarot decks. Some of the symbolism discussed might be useful for general knowledge but not for other decks.

As a tarot reader of twenty years (I made a color video called "Learning Tarot" and wrote about tarot for New Woman Magazine) and teacher of tarot at Santa Fe Community College for nearly seven years, I can vouch for this book's authenticity. Each card is meticulously reviewed, with excellent attention paid to the symbols. She pulls together the astrology and numerology as well...so important for the tarot novice to understand. This is, in fact, a favorite book among my students and clients.

There is a lot published on tarot and one has to be very mindful in what they choose, especially as a basic source. I found Arrien Angeles' book to be immensely useful both for a beginner like myself and for a friend who is an advanced tarot reader. Well worth the money.

I like this book because it takes both psychology and spirituality into consideration. I consider it to be material for the advanced Tarot user, not for a beginner. It does focus on the Thoth deck (Crowley), but I find that the energy of a card is the same from one deck to the next, even though the interpretation is different, so this information can be applied to other decks.Also, this book gives significant energy to the fact that a woman painted the illustrations of the Thoth deck, and gives her credit where it is due! Adds a whole new dimension to the Thoth deck for me.

Far from the golden dawn and the deck author intended meanings. As an example, the 9 of swords, ``cruelty'', displays yellow drops in the background of the card. Crowley intended them to be venom, and in this book are said to be ``tears of the spirit'' (!). This sort of thing abound. The author of this book should have read ``The book of Thoth'' at least. My opinion is that an author of a Tarot Book based on a certain deck should have researched *a bit* about the deck, not just jump in their own interpretations based on his own background. The interpretations for the images on the cards are not bad, they just doesn't match the ones from Crowley (who is the *author of the deck*).

The numerology/astrology sections and comments are *very* simple-minded as well. As an example, the threes are interpreted as always giving a message about the followin three weeks or three months, and the aces are said to be a message ``for the next year''.

The book includes an astrology symbol appendix. For me, not knowing them, this was by far the most usefull part of the book.

Overall, this book is about one view of tarot, a very personal one. It's not a bad view but it doesn't rest on the occult tradition, and it contradicts that tradition many times. That could have been not that bad, if the author made that explicit in some part of the book, say the introduction.

The Thoth tarot deck was the first one I ever bought many years ago, and despite Crowley's dubious reputation in some quarters, I still find it to be the most compelling and to contain the most symbolism. Though I have dozens of other tarot decks, many of them beautiful and fascinating, I always return to this one.

This is a masterful book that examines each card in great detail, and it includes numerology and astrology as well. Arrien's approach is excellent, and while some of the ideas may take a little more work for the novice, I always believe in starting with the best despite one's level of sophistication and experience in a subject.

Highly recommended.

This book offers a very high level of detail on the Thoth tarot while also being very readible. I originally purchased this in the hopes that it would be something along the lines of Crowley's "Book of Thoth for Dummies". Anyone who's ever spent much time with Crowley's works would understand the common complaint that they are far from being comprehendible to the average person (at least without significant effort). I should note, then, that this book did not satisfy my intention. There is next to no connection to Crowley's stated definitions of the cards and very little in the way of association with the Qabalah. Students of (esoteric) Western Mysteries may be a little disappointed in this sense.

That said, for anyone who is not necessarily interested in Crowley, the Golden Dawn, Qabalah, Hermetics, etc (my guess is that this would be the majority), and just wants a practical book to go along with the Thoth deck, I see no reason not to recommend this. The descriptions of each card are well fleshed-out and do remain in the spirit of the fundamental interpretations of the 72 cards. There are a variety of spreads taught from the book and so I do believe most folks will get a lot out of this.