Tarot Plain and Simple (Paperback)

~ (Author) "For those who believe that science can explain all natural occurrences through cause and effect, the idea of a spiritual dimension to the universe may..." (more)
Key Phrases: Major Arcana, Celtic Cross, Eight of Cups (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Tarot Plain and Simple by Anthony Louis is the book you've been waiting for! As the title indicates, this book presents the Tarot in clear language that anyone can understand. If you've had trouble learning the Tarot, this book gives the meaning of each and every one of the 78 Tarot cards -- both in simple terms and in-depth ones, both upright interpretations and those for when a card is drawn reversed. Illustrations are from the elegant and mystic Robin Wood Tarot.
This book leaves nothing out! It includes an overview of the history of the Tarot and suggests why this divinatory method works from a scientific point of view. It even includes several spreads and example readings. That way you can see exactly how the Tarot works, how the cards play off of each other and how to give a reading.
Turn to any page and see how you can learn meanings and interpretations. The Five of Cups shows a cloaked person with head down and three of five cups knocked over, spilling their contents. Upright the card means "mourning." But the key words and phrases give you so much more. It can also mean regret, sadness, loss of trust, an emotional letdown, betrayal in love, and much more. How can you tell which expression best fits the card? It depends upon where it falls in the spread and the cards that surround or lead up to it. This is explained in the clear but comprehensive section on Tarot card spreads, and is illustrated in the sample readings.
If you have been waiting for an ideal book to help you learn the Tarot, this is it. The longer you wait, the longer it will be before you can give effective Tarot readings. Get out that Tarot deck and get this book today!

From the Publisher

There are hundreds of Tarot decks being published today. Llewellyn is very proud to be one of the world's leading publishers of Tarot decks. Tarot Plain and Simple by Anthony Louis helps you understand the meaning of the cards so you can give an excellent reading with any Tarot deck. Illustrated with the beautiful art of Robin Wood, you'll have no trouble relating the descriptions of the card meanings to any deck (although of course I hope you'll use one of ours!)
One of my favorite parts of this book is the sample readings. You can learn all the spreads and card meanings you like, but until you see how they are put together, you aren't giving a complete reading. This section will show you exactly how to do this. Traditionally, this is known as "synthesis." But remember, the title of this book is Tarot Plain and Simple. No need for fancy words here. Louis simply calls this section "Putting It All Together." Nothing could be more appropriate or easy to understand.
Don't mistake the notion of simplicity for being simplistic. This book avoids using confusing concepts or difficult language. It makes the unclear clear, the complex simple. It doesn't simplify, it clarifies. The result is that you will have a deeper and more intuitive understanding of the Tarot cards.
This book can really enhance your Tarot skills. Whether you are a beginning or advanced reader, you will find that studying this book will make your reading stronger and more accurate. That will help your readings become more intuitive. Try this book and add the zip your Tarot readings need. And if you're new to Tarot you'll be reading like a pro in no time!

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Product Details

• Paperback: 336 pages
• Publisher: Llewellyn Publications; 1st edition (September 1, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1567184006
• ISBN-13: 978-1567184006
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 6 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.5 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (52 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #43,249 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

34 of 35 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars IF YOU BUY JUST ONE TAROT BOOK-BUY THIS ONE, June 30, 1999

By A Customer

I'm serious. This book is incredible. I have bought a ton of books on tarot that claimed to be for beginers and plain and simple. They ALWAYS left me confused. But not this one. It is really plain, I mean really easy to understand. I love the section on the use of numerology and astrology in the book as well. Truely opened my eyes, and a lot of the time I could be heard stting in the corner reading it going,"Oh, okkkk now I understand." I must say a million praises to the author for the clarity and ease in which in this book reads. If you a beginer- GET THIS BOOK AND SAVE YOURSELF A WHOLE LOT OF MONEY AND TIME.

22 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Book to Keep On-Hand, February 5, 2000

By	Melusine (Texas) - See all my reviews

I own many, many tarot books, but this is the one I keep next to my deck when I need to check something or get confused on a meaning. It's well laid out and the card descriptions are sorted by number rather than suit. There's also a bit of information on astrology and numerology as it relates to tarot. I'm not a fan of the Robin Wood deck used for illustration (although this deck is extremely popular) but since it's a Rider clone, it will give you a good idea. Overall, a well written book good for both the beginner and the more experienced tarot reader.

39 of 44 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Let the Tarot speak for Itself, May 26, 2005

By	Boudica (Ohio USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)

Anthony Louis' background is in psychiatry which augments his study of various systems of divination. He has authored the book Horary Astrology which he also lectures on as well as teaches.

This book explores the art of tarot. You would think a book that is entitled Plain and Simple would be much smaller. But this book of 322 pages covers much ground in the art of tarot. The opening of the book explains Mr. Louis' idea on writing the book as well as his approach to reading tarot:

The goal has been to remain close to the source and to let the Tarot speak for itself. The content of this book is based on existing literature about the Tarot and on many years of recording my own experiences with the cards.

This book is a good beginners book. Mr. Louis begins at the beginning with a brief history of the tarot, some background notes, and an overview of Jungian theory associated with the tarot. It follows that a psychiatrist would find Jung an interesting source for tarot. He also adds some thoughts on the probability of chance, space and time and finally faith. I found the authors lines of thought interesting, and his reasoning is sometimes amusing, sometimes makes sense.

The author also goes into tarot spreads, and presents his own version of the tarot spread. His approach is to allow the cards to "speak for themselves" and to try to not read into the cards but allow the cards to unfold their meanings to you. Mr. Louis includes some of his own experiences with readings, showing some readings he did on particular days and associations with events that occur. He goes into further discussion on getting to know the cards, caring for them, doing spreads for longer periods of time, significance of cards that "jump out" during shuffling, and much more. I found his notation of keeping a journal on your readings to be good advice for the novice.

He covers the basics of card spread and reading well. The most basic beginner will have no trouble following the directions and advices given here. It is all spelled out for you step by step. Discussion include reversed cards, selecting a significator, choosing a spread, associations of suits and signs, as well as a good overview of the Major Arcana.

The bulk of the book is comprised of a card by card description of the cards and their meanings. The artist or publisher decided to use black and white prints of Robin Woods deck, which is a good middle of the road choice. While not as archaic as the Rider Waite deck, it is a lovely deck that follows the original Rider Waite correspondences.

The author also follows the traditional "Journey of the Fool" through life format of the Major Arcana, giving the progression for each cards as you read through the Major Arcana. He provides key words for meanings, situations and advices for each card and gives a people association for each card. He then lists the reverse meaning for the card with the same information.

I found his interpretations to be sound, and while not totally traditional, very close to it and not out of line. His people association is insightful, and his situation and advice appears to be sound. I enjoyed going through his material, it was well written, very clear in his meanings and easy to read. He does not revert to obscure symbolism on the cards, but rather takes the route of looking at the overall picture and allowing it to give you the meaning, part knowing the intent of the card and part intuition I thought.

The Minor Arcana is grouped according to the numbers rather than the suits. We are given a different vantage point here, where we examine the numbers while giving the meaning of the suite an overview. There is good introduction to the suits at the start of the section, exploring the elements, the various names of the suite (swords/spades etc), a seasonal association and again key words and phrases.

We then dive into the numbers, going from aces to twos to threes, etc. Again, a black and white picture from the Robin Wood deck accompanies each card examination, along with key words and phrases, a Corresponding Major Arcana Card for the numbers, situations and advice and a Personal Year for the numbers and a people overview. We are also given a reverse meaning for each card.

Again, I found this too be an interesting variation, and found myself comparing the different suit numbers to each other to see the variations. We are so accustomed to comparing the cards within the suit, this is a very insightful process and one to explore.

There is also a section on Astrology and Numerology in the Tarot. Again, interesting reading for the beginner and seasoned reader. There are some original insights that are out of the ordinary.

The book has an interesting bibliography and is indexed.

Overall, the book is a good overview of the tarot reading process. The material is very basic which is good for the beginner but also offers some insights and variations that the seasoned reader may find interesting if not useful. If you are looking for a good handbook to guide you through your first steps into reading tarot cards, you may find this book a good starting place. If you like to compare your methods to other professional readers and see how others interpret the cards, this book offers yet another persons insight into the art of tarot reading. boudica