Customer Reviews

Tarot as a Way of Life: A Jungian Approach to the Tarot

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This is a book that not only tells you what the Tarot cards mean--in plain English--but also gives a concise, credible explanation for why each card means what she says it means. She draws heavily on Jungian psychology in her interpretation of the Major Arcana, and on numerology (filtered through folklore and mythology) for the Minor Arcana, but in both cases she refers directly to what's actually on the cards--helping the reader see them as a coherent symbolic system, not just mysterious pictures. (She mostly uses the Rider-Waite deck, but gives an extended justification for her choice, comparing it symbolically with other popular decks.) I don't know that I necessarily agree with every one of her interpretations--but that's actually one of the book's great strengths. After reading it, I felt that I understood enough of what was going on in the Tarot to begin to have my own opinions. Hamaker-Zondag, who's a noted astrologer, includes a chapter on attempts to combine Tarot and astrology--and concludes that it may not be possible. She also includes straightforward, common-sense advice on how to conduct a reading and lay out the cards--instructions that are far more helpful than those in other Tarot books I've read. The one thing I don't like about this book is the title. It sounds like it's inviting you to join a cult. It's really one of the most feet-on-the-ground introductions you're likely to find.

I believe each person who discovers the Tarot is a seeker of wisdom and knows there is a Power greater than ourselves. The Tarot reflects the combined wisdom of humans who have sought an understanding of the Will of the Divine or as Joseph Campbell has said it the Will of "the thing that stands behind."

My own path originated in a diverse religious upbringing, winded through an academic setting filled with various social science perspectives, encompassed therapy, developmental workshops, spiritual retreats, etc., and came to rest in a 12-step program. After all these experiences, I recogize the Tarot as a cumulative human effort that places a face on the sum of my experiences. I too started as "the fool" and discoved the world.

A knowledge of Jungian psychology will help one understand and appreciate Karen Hamaker Zondag's TAROT AS A WAY OF LIFE. If you've taken a Myers-Briggs personality test, read Joseph Campbell's works on 'The Hero' or seen the Moyers-Campbell interviews, are familiar with T.S. Elliot's poem 'The Wasteland', or ever been in a 12-step program, you've been exposed to Jungian concepts.

Using Jungian concepts, Zondag explains how the Tarot deck can help the individual develop and use an organizing principle for living. Each of the cards of the Major Arcana represents some aspect of life that occurs for every conscious human being. Zondag divides the cards of the Major Arcana into three components: the basic drives; the construction of the ego; and the integration of the consciousness and unconsciousness. Zondag uses illustrations from several sets of Tarot cards to show why she prefers the Waite Tarot Deck illustrated by Pamela Coleman Smith over others.

Some who work with the Tarot use only the Major Arcana, but Zondag uses both the major and minor decks. The Minor deck has four "suits" comparable to a regular deck of playing cards: Cups (Water, Hearts, Wine, Clergy); Wands (Fire, Clubs, Rue, Peasants); Swords (Air, Spades, Angels, Ivy, Needles, Aristoi); Pentacles (Coins, Diamonds, Salt, Commerce).

Zondag associates the Yin/Yang principle with the cards. Thus Cups and Pentacles are receptive or feminine and Swords and Wands are creative or masculine. Interestingly, the Yang cards are frequently associated with strife and anger as well as building and accomplishment, whereas the Yin cards are associated with passivity, love, wealth, and happiness. There are Yang Queens and Yin Kings, so one cannot argue the cards are stereotypes in a negative sense although they may be "types" in a positive sense. Each person regardless of sex can exhibit any of the aspects reflected in the Tarot cards.

Zondag offers several ways to do a Tarot reading. Readings are designed to "guide" the recipient, not "forecast" the future. Conceivably, if one chooses to ignore the cards one can, and suffer the consequences. I've done several readings for a female who is a Leo with an IQ of 165, has red hair and a temper to match. We keep turning up the Queen of Wands who sits on a throne where lions serve as arm rests. Zondag says this card combines the receptivity of the Yin with the independence and activity of Wands. "The Queen of Wands is no stanger to the desire for attention. Her penchant for getting involved, and her natural activity, often result in firey enthusiasm, which she is mature enough to keep within bounds...the Queen of Wands provides a powerful stimulus to action." I always tell my Leo that she holds the key to her destiny in her own hands. The cards merely reveal the situation at hand and point to possible outcomes.

This book took my Tarot work to a whole new level.

Don't let the title throw you -- you don't need to be a psych major to understand the ideas presented in this book. The author relates the path laid out in the Major Arcana to life, so everyone should be able to relate.

This book is also a good reference. The book contains discussion of each major and minor arcana card, combining the symbolism of the suit with the card's number, and tying that into the image. As an advanced beginner, this was helpful, since it took me beyond associating keywords with cards, to using my intuition in my interpretation. After checking it out from the library for the third time, I knew this was one that I should own.

I am half way through reading this book and so far I find the information to be clearly presented, well organized, easily understood, very flexible/applicable to various decks, little to no biases and very informative. I highly reccomend this book for anyone interested in learning more about tarot.

I'm what you might call an intermediate tarot apprentice, so I've been reading several tarot books lately. This is by far the best book I've encountered for someone with a proficient level who is seeking a deeper understanding. Whether or not you're familiar with C.G. Jung's work, you'll find this book insightful and invaluable on your journey of self-discovery.

Hamaker-Zondag illustrates the importance of visual symbols as the language of the unconscious, thus arguing it is inefficient to disregard the artwork with your nose buried in the book. She compares the imagery of 6 different decks as an example. She explains the Jungian archetypal significance for numbers, which was MOST illuminating. She also gives well-balanced meanings for each of the cards, after having so thoroughly explained why such meanings are associated with each card.

I highly recommend this book. (But perhaps not so much for beginners).

THIS IS AN EXCELLENT COMBINATION OF JUNGIAN PSYCHOLOGY AND TAROT THAT HELPS YOU USE THE CARDS TO GUIDE YOUR LIFE...USES TAROT AS PSYCHOLOGICAL INSIGHT AND PERSONAL GROWTH. KAREN HAMAKER-ZONDAG IS A VERY REALXING, TO THE POINT, EASY TO READ AND ORGANIZED WRITER. GOOD READING LAYOUTS AND A VERY IN DEPTH ASTROLIGICAL LAYOUT. AN EXCELLENT PURCHASE. I HAVE HER HANDBOOK OF HORARY ASTROLOGY ALSO. IT IS VERY, VERY ORGANIZED, CLEARLY WRITTEN, AND A BOOK THAT CAN BE USED FROM COVER TO COVER WHEN DOING HORARY CHARTS...SINCE PURCHASING TAROT AS A WAY OF LIFE ON AMAZON, I HAVE PURCHASED SOME OF KAREN HAMAKER-ZONDAG'S ASTROLOGY BOOKS ALSO ON AMAZON AND AM ANXIOUSLY AWAITING THEIR ARRIVAL. SHE IS A MUST HAVE AUTHOR FOR ME.

This book is good for people with tarot background and some experiential understanding of Jung's concepts, but it is too broad in scope and superficial in its treatment of the subject for tarot beginners. It's also a good example of the higher caliber of writing Weiser used to publish and have sadly let go by the wayside in the last twenty years.