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13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Enhance your life with a little Tarot magick, September 2, 2001
Most people are familiar with Tarot as a system of divination. But the potent imagery of Tarot cards can also be a powerful meditative tool and an aid in enhancing magick spells.Donaldson, who's previous works include the Dragon Tarot and the Lord of the Rings Tarot provides 40 simple spells that seem designed to be performed by all levels of magickal practitioners. But, the more magickal knowledge you have, the better. Those with more background in how to work magick will be able to enhance these simple workings with a few ideas of their own. The book is beautifully illustrated and includes pictures of the altar layouts for each of the individual spells. There is a brief history of the tarot at the beginning of the book along with a brief introduction into the practice and ethics of magic and spellcasting. Donaldson also provides readers a handy spellfinder guide to help you find the most appropriate spells in the book for your specific need. One thing I was a bit unsure about -- Donaldson recommends consecrating your cards with lavendar oil (do at your own risk...I'd just run them through the smoke of some lavendar incense). There is a spell for each of the 22 Major Arcana cards. Each of these spells are carefully constructed to utilize the energy behind the individual card's symbology. These spells are largely based on meditative work. For example, the spell for the Devil card has the participant meditating on the two warring factions inside of them...the negative and the positive elements within, and visualize the two merging together into a unified, balanced whole. The 19 other spells in the book use combinations of Tarot cards from both the major and minor arcana. These spells are for specific purposes such as a spell for friendship, one for self-protection, and one for uncovering secrets. Supplies needed, spell overview, the magical intent of the working, and how to information is provided for each. There are some very clever touches in this book, though I wish there was a bit more elaboration (the vast majority of the spells are only one side of a page long). But Donaldson provides tarot magickal enthusiasts with more ways in which to utilize the power of the Tarot. Not since the book, Tarot Spells by Janine Renee, has there been any other book solely devoted to Tarot spellworking. This book is a wonderful resource for magickal practitioners of all levels.
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