Customer Reviews

Tarot and the Tree of Life: Finding Everyday Wisdom in the Minor Arcana

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

It is unusual to find a Tarot book which gives more than a one-liner to each of the minor arcana. A book exclusively about the minor arcana is unique. This book is not only unique but excellent. It has similarities to the Eakin's book, "Tarot of the Spirit", which has more in-depth material on the Tree of Life, and also to Rachel Pollack's "78 Degrees of Wisdom". But the special touch here is the loving and humourous visual analysis of each minor arcanum - at length. The material is based on the Universal Waite deck, the analysis being entirely attached to the visual details of the cards. It gives one a heightened respect for this deck! And being visual, the explanations are so memorable. The introductory chapters make an excellent no-nonsense introduction to the Tree of Life. The essays about the cards are eminently readable in a pick-up-and-browse-anywhere style. Lovely for people who like to pull a card for the day. Lovely for normal people who are adding depth to their lives daily with the Tarot.

Of the many books on Tarot that I've read, this is one of the very best. Kliegman brings together the Minor Arcana and the Kabbalah through anecdotes, observations and analysis of the Rider-Waite images in a way that invites the reader in, providing an informative and enjoyable read. I came to look at a number of the cards in a new light, and I'm sure I'll refer back to this volume often. This book is a must for any serious student of the Tarot. Now, if Kliegman will only follow it up with a book exploring the Major Arcana!

In TAROT AND THE TREE OF LIFE, Isabel Kliegman-who apparently believes you have to give it away to keep it-shares some of the knowledge and insight she has acquired through years of studying and working with the Tarot. Many authors have written about the Tarot and most have something useful to say to the reader. However, the majority of these experts have linked the cards of the major arcana with various aspects of psychology, religion, and/or literature and ignored the cards of the minor arcana. Kliegman focuses her examination on the cards of the minor arcana because she says: 1) the minor cards are often treated as secondary but she believes they contain much relevant information; 2) the imagery in the minor cards is more accessible (unlike the major arcana which depict `archetypes', the cards in the minor arcana show "real" people doing more or less "real" things; 3) studying the minor arcana can illuminate the different gifts of the two decks.

Kliegman teaches English and comparative religion and it is evident from her writing that her background has contributed to the formation of some unique and inspired ideas about the links between Jewish mysticism and the Tarot. Although her primary purpose, as indicated by the title of her book, is to link the Jewish `Tree of Life' with the Tarot, she infuses her work with other religious material and connections as well as a bit of Jungian psychology. The most unusual aspect of this book-for which she makes a compelling case-is the notion that swords are symbolic of fire (and the thinking function) while wands are associated with air (intuition function and inspiration). Whether you agree with her ideas or not, you will want to read this book to expand your awareness. She is a provocative writer and her book complements Rachel Pollack's work on the major arcana and the minor arcana. Kliegman lives and works in California, where she writes and consults on the Tarot.

In an easy to read, down to earth format, Kliegman provides a number of guidelines and keys to making sense of the minor arcana cards. Each card is explored at length in its relationship to the tree of life as well as the suit it represents, and how the imagery of the card fits into these structures. Well written. A must for anyone who is developing their own relationship to the Tarot.

Very few tarot books out there REALLY draw you in and make you realize that the tarot is not only about archetypes but also about everyday life. Isabel has the amazing ability to not only to bring the minors to life, but to explain them in relation to the Qabalah in a way that makes both subjects easier to understand. Each card is looked at in detail, with real life examples of how the situations play out. The opening chapters cover the Tree of Life and a brief synapsis of the Qabalah. There are separate chapters for each of the suits, and an additional one for the Court Cards. She uses the Universal Waite deck for illustating each card, but since 90% of the decks out there are based on Waites, parallels are easy to make.

It really is an exceptional book. Funny, well written and very informative. I don't remember the last time I read a tarot book cover to cover in one sitting.

This is one of the top five books I recommend for all my tarot students and also to all those people out there who think tarot is nothing but fortune telling.

Enjoy !

After reading this book you will hope you were a friend of Ms. Kliegmann. She is refreshingly herself. I have read more rigurous works both on Tarot and the Kaballah , but this blends simplicity and knowledge . You will realize that ultimately you can make your cards a part of your personal history , past and future. Ascribing meaning to the cards is not a theoretical task divorced from everyday experiences. Compassion and common sense reign. I would heartily recommend this book to non-Tarot readers as well , provided they are interested in the human plight. There is a card for every human situation- contends Ms. Kliegmann - . How true.
Not one of those books that you will " leave for study when you have the time " : you will find that you DO have the time - NOW.

This book typifies just about everything that is wrong with contemporary Tarot scholarship. It's not really the author's fault, she's only a product of what's become the New Age blight on Tarot -- during the last three decades -- a sort of Tabla Rosa situation where everyone and anyone projects endlessly (their childlike, magical thinking) onto the Tarot. The opportunity was truly grand here, to actually take a step-by-step inquiry into how the various sefirah correspond to the numbered suits of the Minor Arcana. Of course this has already been done, cogently, and succinctly, by (one of Quest Book's favorite author's) Aleister Crowley in his Book of Thoth. Read his section on the Naples Arrangement -- and prepare to have your mind challenged AND inspired -- search Google for a taste. Crowley details the way numbers, moving from 1 to 10, complicate and thicken in their descent into matter, finally colliding, piling and melting into a problematic, paradoxic heap when they reach the 10 spot. You'll be huanted by his description and, perhaps, driven to hunker down and explore and study and learn. Kliegman's book takes one of the most profound aspects of the Tarot and denudes it (with her clunky attempts at colloquial-styled writing) into a guazy, New Agey, cotton candy-ish, plattiude-riddled froth. Yet another book showing that when it comes to the Tarot -- the carnival STILL hasn't left town.

This book is awesome, and oh, so enlightening. So far, it's my favorite book on the Tarot, bar none. I love the explanation of the symbolism of the minor arcana cards, the history, the Kabbalah connections and the mythological connections. It's amazing how much easier it is to learn (and step into) the cards when you have some historical perspective to draw upon. I memorized the suit of Swords and the suit of Cups this weekend after reading the chapters on each of them. If you're new to Tarot and desire a deeper knowledge of the minor arcana, then this book is a must-have for your Tarot library.

i have been reading tarot cards for 15 years and oftentimes have found myself bored by the minors, hoping to pick majors instead. after taking some time off from tarot, i realized i needed help appreciating the entire deck. for me, this book did that. i enjoyed isabel's personal stories about her experience reading with the cards. i found her to be very aware and delving. she recommends spending time with the court cards to feel which ones resonate and which ones don't - a refreshing idea. i also had little experience with the kabbalah and tarot connection, and this was a nice intro. a warning: some may find her personality irritating, she can tend to go on, but i forgive this as just genuine enthusiam for the cards and kabbalah.

I wish I could rate this book much higher than five stars. This has to be one of the best books I've ever read--and not just on Tarot. The author not only communicates her passion for the often neglected Minor Arcana cards, but makes the somewhat esoteric concepts of Kabbalah understandable to those of us who know very little of this intriguing topic. I wish more Tarot authors would spend as much time and effort on the Minor Arcana as this author. I myself have often been just as, or more, intrigued by the Minor as the Major Arcana and have found this book fufilling my desire to know more about these cards that actually make up the bulk of the Tarot deck. On the other hand, even though I realize that other authors have taken up the connections between the Major Arcana and Kabbalah, I believe that if this author wrote a book on the Major Arcana both books together would make one of the greatest works on Tarot ever written.