Customer Reviews

Wisdom of the Tarot

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

 

 

This book has an accompanying deck of the 22 major arcana cards - no minor arcana. The cards I bought come in a plastic slip - an improvement over the cardboard boxes.

The cards themselves are conservative & simple, no complex scenes in the background and they are similar to Rider-Waite cards and Italian decks, but I find them pretty. They certainly serve the purpose of the book.

[for some reason I couldnt find the deck in Amazon or B&N - I bought it in a shop in Haifa]

The cards, in colours, are reproduced in the book. The English source has the cards printed as the first 11 pages of the book, which is less convinient than the hebrew translation that has the card printed at the beginning of the section that explains it.

I really like the book because it explains every detail of every card. The only problem is that sometimes the explanation doesnt match the cards, e.g. the text says (in both the Hebrew and English versions) that the woman in the world card wears a red cloth while the picture (in both the English & Hebrew books and in the cards) she wears a blue cloth.

This is one of the most astonishing and beautiful books I have read, from a human being who had access to profound and deep wisdom. The 22 cards of the Major Arcana that are listed show the development of the soul toward awakening and healing. Elizabeth Haich's explanations are written by a person who "knows" what it is she is writing about. Along with her book, Initiation, these are a must for anyone to read who has an interest in learning about the soul's growth and development and if you planning, by chance, to take a pilgrimage into ancient Egypt's remarkable past.

The focus of this book is the initiatory journey as depicted in the greater arcana of the tarot. Haich has deep knowledge of the human condition and the path of self realisation as it is mirrored in the tarot cards. She gives insightful discussion of each of the 22 cards and how they help us on the seeker's path to knowledge of ourself and ultimately God. Her understanding of the issues is deeper than most other writers on the tarot I have seen. The dedicated seeker will find much useful instruction in this book.

So many people believe (erroneously) that the Tarot is all about fortune telling! It is in fact, a mystical tool that helps the would-be adept to awaken spiritually, in other words, it is a pathway towards enlightenment. As most students of spirituality know, enlightenment is not a destination -- it is a process. The ancient ones always knew this, and during a time when most people were illiterate, the use of symbol and picture was used to convey this ancient wisdom.

This wisdom is revealed in this rather old, but timeless classic.

This book is a definite "must have" for anyone studying tarot or wishing to understand the spiritual journey. The author goes into great detail about the inner wisdom symbolised by the pictures on the cards. It is well written and quite concise and, perhaps most importantly, contains information not found in the usual run-of-the mill books on this topic!

I felt that this was a failed attempt to convey the esoteric truths of the Major Arcana of the Tarot. I'd recommend the works of Dr. Paul Case instead.