Tarot Journaling: Using the Celtic Cross to Unveil Your Hidden Story (Paperback)

~ (Author) "When tarot readers begin a session, they often choose one card-the significator-to represent the subject of the reading..." (more)
Key Phrases: Major Arcana, The Pictorial Key, Minor Arcana (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

A tarot journal can help you learn more about the cards, but it can also teach you a great deal about yourself. Beginning tarot students are advised to keep a tarot journal, and many experienced tarot readers are devoted to the practice. The only book of its kind, Tarot Journaling covers everything needed to create, keep, and preserve a personal tarot journal.

Readers will discover hundreds of ideas to inspire and enliven their tarot journals, including considerations when choosing journaling materials, how to save time when recording readings, techniques for getting past writer's block, tips for turning negative energy into a positive brainstorming tool, and innovative ideas for protecting privacy. Tarot Journaling offers readers the tools to record and reflect upon the stories told by the cards-the stories of our lives.

About the Author

Corrine Kenner specializes in bringing metaphysical subjects down to earth. Her work on the tarot is widely published, and her classes and workshops are perennial favorites among students in the Midwest. Corrine is a certified tarot master, and she holds a bachelor's degree in philosophy from California State University, Long Beach. <br>

Corrine is the author of Tall Dark Stranger, a handbook on using tarot cards for romance, and Tarot Journaling, a guide to the art of keeping a tarot diary. She was also the creator of Llewellyn's Tarot Calendar. She is a contributor to the 2005, 2006, and 2007 editions of the Llewellyn Tarot Reader. A former newspaper reporter and magazine editor, Kenner edited Llewellyn's popular Astrological Calendar, Daily Planetary Guide, and Sun Sign Book. She is also the author of Crystals for Beginners.<BR>

Corrine has lived in Brazil, Los Angeles, and the Twin Cities of Minnesota. She now lives in the Midwest with her husband Dan and her daughters Katherine, Emily, and Julia.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 216 pages
• Publisher: Llewellyn Publications (January 1, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0738706434
• ISBN-13: 978-0738706436
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 6 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #288,842 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

29 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Read this book!, January 24, 2006

By	Patricia Grace "patriciagrace" (USA) - See all my reviews

If you are new to Tarot or journaling, read this book! If you are an experienced Tarot reader or journalor, read this book! If you have ever even vaguely considered journaling - with or without Tarot - read this book! Author Corrine Kenner has created an amazingly accessible and thorough introduction to the rich world of journaling based in use of the Tarot.

Let me stress first, as the author does, you need not know anything about either Tarot or journaling to benefit from this book. Kenner offers clear, concise, uncomplicated Tarot basics, including how to choose a deck if you do not have one. Suggestions for choosing one's physical journal (spiral, looseleaf, electronic, etc.) and the styles of journaling are also included. On the other hand, I have kept various journals (dreams, Tarot, daily, etc.) for many, many years and I found a great deal of value in her book.

Kenner's outlining of the many benefits of journaling is not only accurate based on my own experiences and the shared experiences of many friends over the years, but is backed up by reference to research. She addresses the various inner hitches you may come across in journaling, always emphasizing that we respect ourselves as we would another person. The ethics of journaling are covered, including the issue of whether to read Tarot cards about someone else without their knowledge.

The author suggests that a journal can be the foundation for in-depth work with the Tarot, offering exercises and ideas for deepening your relationship to each of the cards. A great many of her ideas are gold mines for creative writers, even those not specifically suggested for such a use. And her suggestions for Tarot journaling from the time frames of past and future could be not only a great deal of fun, but offer healing, enlightening insights and fresh perspectives.

The chapter on family and friends is rich and intense. (As with all of the author's suggestions throughout, one can pick and choose what one wishes to work with, or not.) In another chapter, Kenner carefully addresses the issues of "fortune telling," and intuition vs. psychic talent. She stresses that the cards are not "psychic," that only the reader may be - though you need not be to work with the Tarot. She nicely defines the various psychic abilities some folk may have. And Kenner ends the book with very good suggestions on how to best approach developing your psychic abilities which, as she states earlier, the cards can help you do.

Many Tarot readers, including myself, find that they have lost interest in the well-known, several card Celtic Cross layout for Tarot cards. Progressing through the Celtic Cross, Kenner uses a position meaning of the layout as a springboard for each of the chapters. By the end of her book, I found the Celtic Cross layout had been revivified for me.

The appendices are very helpful and uncomplicated, including Tarot card reading templates for journal records, and brief definitions for each of the 78 cards in a standard deck.

In my early years with the Tarot I read every new (and old) Tarot book I could afford or get my hands on. But in recent years, too many new books seemed to be re-hashing previous ones and I stopped (for the most part) doing more than reading online reviews. When I recently came across an ad for "Tarot Journaling" I was immediately excited by the fresh subject and I have not been disappointed. I believe "Tarot Journaling" is the single best book about Tarot, journaling, self-healing and inner worlds exploration that I have read in many years. It is also, by far, the most accessible and "user friendly" for readers of all levels of interest and experience.

23 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Book on Using the Tarot for Journaling, December 29, 2005

By	Janet Boyer "JanetBoyer.com" (Pennsylvania) - See all my reviews (TOP 50 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

"You don't need to know the ins and outs of the Celtic Cross to use this book. You don't need to be a master of the tarot or a long-time, experienced journaler. You just need a few basic supplies and a willingness to explore your life with the tarot as your guide." - From the book

With it rich symbolism, familiar archetypes, and arresting images, the tarot is a perfect tool for brainstorming, problem solving, and inspiration. In her book Tarot Journaling, author Corrine Kenner explores various journaling techniques for getting the most out of your "wicked pack of cards".

Using the famed Celtic Cross spread as a template, Kenner explains how journaling with the Tarot can help you spot roadblocks, uncover attitudes, generate insights, tune in to your higher self, and create the future you want.

Your Self: Kenner discusses the various types of journals that you can create using the tarot and the three P's of selecting the best journal for your purposes: portability, price, and permanence.

What Covers You: The section covers the backdrop and surroundings of the journaling process-including sacred space and ritual-as well as several helpful charts of abbreviations to use in journaling. For example, Kenner provides abbreviations for the Majors and Minors, as well as a chart of astrological glyphs and a checklist for recording pertinent facts during your journaling session.

What Crosses You: This helpful section deals with confronting the inner critic, procrastination, overcoming writer's block, and reviving a tired journal.

What Crowns You: Kenner addresses privacy issues when journaling, as well as personal ethics.

What Grounds You: This is my favorite chapters in Tarot Journaling. Kenner provides excellent exercises designed for getting to know yourself-and the cards-on a more intimate level. For example, you can play matchmaker with the cards, setting up "dates" between characters from different cards. Or, try your hand at age progression or regression. What was the Empress like when she was a little girl? What kind of person will the baby in the Sun card grow up to be?

What Lies Behind You: This section delves into exploring the past, including re-working painful memories with the help of the Tarot. As Kenner says, "While the process of rewriting history might not change reality, it will change your attitude."

Your Self: Who do you think you are? Kenner shows you how to probe your psyche with the use of the Tarot.

Your House: It's said that you can choose your friends, but you can't choose your family. This section encourages journalers to re-connect with family through writing prompts and karmic exploration.

Your Hopes and Fears: Wish lists, success stories, unreasonable fears and worst-case scenarios are intriguing (if not scary) places to explore for a rich journaling session.

What Will Come: Kenner discusses psychic powers and development. This is the only section that I found disappointing. The author insinuates that many Tarot readers that call themselves "intuitives" rather than "psychics" because of embarrassment. She says, "When we call our gifts intuitive, we diminish them. We make them smaller. We claim them as our own creations, and we trace their origin back to our innermost selves, rather than accepting our psychic talent as a gift from a power greater than ourselves."

Well, for some intuitives like me, we believe that we are One with All That Is. God-or some mystical bestower of psychic gifts-isn't "out there", but "in here". In my opinion, humans have been making THEMSELVES "smaller" by projecting all that is good, benevolent, and powerful "out there" rather than realizing the divinity inside.

Another small sticking point is that Kenner declares that clairvoyance isn't always visual, but is most often "expressed as a sudden flash of insight or understanding that springs suddenly into one's consciousness." Actually, clairvoyance is French for "clear seeing" and does, indeed, have to do with the visual realm. "Sudden flashes of insight and understanding" is known as Claircognizance, or "clear knowing".

The Appendices provide information like Tarot keywords and Minor Arcana correspondences. Unfortunately, someone didn't catch a mistake on the color correspondences. The attributions should be Wands=Red, Cups=Blue, Swords=Yellow, and Pentacles=Green. Appendix II gets 3 out of 4 wrong, attributing Yellow to Wands, Red to Cups, and Blue to Swords.

Despite these errors, Tarot Journaling is an excellent book for both experienced readers and those who know nothing about Tarot. Kenner is an able guide, helping journalers navigate the deep waters of the psyche while retaining a sense of play and joyful exploration.

Janet Boyer, author of The Back in Time Tarot Book: Picture the Past, Experience the Cards, Understand the Present (coming Fall 2008 from Hampton Roads Publishing)

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A certified tarot master's new book for beginners, April 20, 2006

By	D. Donovan, Editor/Sr. Reviewer "California B... (California, USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)

Corrine Kenner is a certified tarot master and in TAROT JOURNALING has a new book especially for beginners as well as more experienced tarot readers. The process of journaling with tarot is a focus few others take: users are informed on how to start and maintain a tarot journal. From locating journaling materials and keeping appropriate records to overcoming blocks and using the journal as a positive force for change, TAROT JOURNALING uses the Celtic Cross spread as an organizing point.