The Tarot Set: The Illustrated Book of Tarot [Paperback]

Jane Lyle (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 22, 2003

The Tarot Set includes 22 cards of the Major Arcana and 56 cards of the Minor Arcana featuring the rich symbolism of Medieval Europe, along with a purple reading cloth to preserve the energy of the cards. The Illustrated Book of the Tarot offers a clear and comprehensive guide to Tarot, explaining the theories behind the practice and a step-by-step guide to reading the cards. Over 100 color illustrations are also provided.

Product Details

• Paperback: 176 pages
• Publisher: Thunder Bay Press; Pap/Crds edition (August 22, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1592231381
• ISBN-13: 978-1592231386
• Product Dimensions: 14.1 x 6.7 x 1.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,225,056 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A bargain at this price, October 4, 2004

By 

S. Gustafson "Holy Roman Emperor" (New Albany, IN USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Tarot Set: The Illustrated Book of Tarot (Paperback)

The deck, though inexpensively printed, is the star attraction here. What you get is a very standard historical reproduction of a Nicholas Conver style Tarot de Marseille, which was originally printed in 1760. Other reprints of this deck are available, but the one in this set is the least expensive. This is a historically accurate and traditional deck which has not been remade after the image of any group's specific teachings. The deck was originally made for playing a card game, and came to the attention of occultists shortly before the French Revolution. This is the deck that stands at the root of all subsequent esoteric systems; the symbols they contain begin here.

Jane Lyle's book, unfortunately, while good enough in itself, is a poor fit for the deck. She gives mostly Rider-Waite-Smith meanings for the cards without the "training wheels" of the Rider-Waite-Smith illustrated pip cards. For a beginner, using that system with these cards is going to involve a lot of memorization. For learning to read the Tarot de Marseille, a system based on numerology would be more appropriate. The French "tirage en croix" system, which uses only the trump cards, could also be taught with this deck. I gather that the book and deck were put together as a marketing decision. Still, it's an excellent deck, and a fairly good beginner's book, but the unique virtues of the deck are not mirrored in the book.

9 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Definitely worth the cost, October 22, 2003

By 

Marilyn Sullivan (Nazareth, PA USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Tarot Set: The Illustrated Book of Tarot (Paperback)

I had read a few reviews of Jane Lyle's work and remembered that she was generally highly recommended. I concur. The book that accompanies this set is worth the price tag. I have plenty of books on tarot and card interpretation. This one is definitely one of the best. The focus here is simple: card meanings. There are a few spreads and some other information at the end of the book, but it is in the interpretation of the cards that the book shines. She does not go into the history of the tarot or other information that many books contain, which might be interesting but not particularly necessary. The only weakness in that area, in my view, is in the section on court cards, which was skimpy and lacked depth. Each card meaning is given in upright and reversed positions.

It is also a good thing that the book is so strong, because the deck that is included isn't the greatest. It is a Marseille deck, and the cards are cheaply made. They are usable, but that's about it. (The pip cards in the Marseille deck, unlike many others, give no indication of the meaning of the card - one must memorize the symbolism from other sources.) They are not well colored and the cardboard is not something that will hold up. Also, I have small hands and found them hard to manage.

If the cards were just a little nicer I would have given this set five stars.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Basic, no bs tarot, March 11, 2007

By 

T. Benjamin (Worthington, MN) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Tarot Set: The Illustrated Book of Tarot (Paperback)

I like this set, it's a basics, no b.s. version of the tarot. It's simplicity is what draws me, not the bells and whistles of other decks/book sets. Will purchase again. I'm a tarot reader and fortune teller, been doing readings for 9 years, and this is the only deck I will use from now on.