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24 of 25 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Back in Time Tarot Book by Janet Boyer. Review by Chris Butler, Illustrator for the Quantum Tarot, published by Kunati., November 2, 2008
When there are so many good tarot books on the market it's a real treat to find one that says something totally and uniquely original. This isn't to belittle what's available but if like me and you've been dealing with the Tarot for almost thirty years, you begin to find that each new title, however excellent it may be, only embellishes what you already know with a choice selection of extra insights. Janet Boyer's new book is something quite different. It's one of those rare titles that manages to tread well-worn territory whilst turning all your maps on their heads. It is truly original.
How do most of us first encounter the Tarot? For me, it was through watching a James Bond film where a beautiful fortune teller shuffled the cards, selected at random and used the upturned cards to foretell the future. Of course, I soon realised it's not that simple. The Tarot is a powerful tool for shedding insight on past, present and future but fundamental to its application is the principle of randomness--or so I thought prior to reading Janet's book.
The Back in Time Tarot Book is the ultimate "card reversal" of the Tarot world. Rather than relying on random selection, Janet encourages you to take control of the Tarot deck and use it as a tool to illuminate your past through means of deliberate card selection. As such, she has given us a powerful tool for self-understanding.
Her Back in Time (BIT) Method involves selecting an incident from your past, summarising it into a "snapshot" by identifying the key points you wish to clarify and then selecting cards to represent these key points. Cards are selected either based on their traditional meanings or alternatively, because of your intuitive response to the images themselves.
One aspect that impressed me greatly was the author's emphasis on card combinations. I frequently work with Lenormand cards as well as with the Tarot and here, card combinations are paramount. An individual card such as the Coffin can mean something very different on its own to when it's paired with a card such as the Heart. So it is with Janet's BIT Method. If an aspect of your "snapshot" is too complex to be represented by a single card then you're encouraged to select two or more that connect together for you on an intuitive level.
The benefits of this method are far reaching. In creating a symbolic "photo album" of such key past events in your life, the tarot symbols you select will often uncover aspects of your past you hadn't realised or acknowledged. I've also found that in using this method I've begun to build up a whole new raft of personalised card meanings and associations that I've been able to bring back to my conventional readings.
The proof of the pudding is in the eating as they say. In this respect, Back in Time Tarot is almost self-endorsing. The first section is Janet herself, laying out the BIT Method whilst the second part is based around a stellar array of other Tarot writers and artists writing on their usage of Janet's methodology and providing their own BIT Snapshots. Names include Mary K. Greer, Monte Farber, Zach Wong, Lisa Hunt, Riccardo Minetti and Joan Bunning amongst others. What better seal of approval could you get than this? Each of their accounts is carefully framed by Janet's own commentary on their experiences.
Adding to the goody bag are further exercises, where the BIT Method is applied to a range of other events such as current affairs coverage or movie storylines. It's amazing what the cards can say in such situations!
This is a truly clever book, well written and presented in a way that showcases not only Janet's infectious enthusiasm, but also the respect and enthusiasm for her BIT Method shown by some of the world's best Tarot writers and artists. Add this to your bookshelf whenever you get the chance. If, like me, you had fallen into the trap of thinking there wasn't much more to learn, this book will soon prove you wrong. It's a winner in every way.
The Back in Time Tarot Book by Janet Boyer is published by Hampton Roads Publishing Company Inc. ISBN 978-1-57174-587-3
Chris Butler discovered the Tarot nearly thirty years ago. He has created and illustrated four tarot decks of his own and is the illustrator of the Quantum Tarot, co-created with author Kay Stopforth.Quantum Tarot: A Tarot of New Physics
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12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A refreshing new way to use our old friend tarot, October 21, 2008
Janet Boyer's Back in Time Tarot Book is a ground-breaking new way to use Tarot to add meaning and make sense of our lives. What has happened to us in our life has a major influence on who we are.
Janet's BIT Method empowers even a complete Tarot novice to use a deck's archetypical images to analyze those events, both large and small, that have lodged deep in our memories and have had a lasting influence. By choosing cards that remind us of aspects of a situation in our past, we can look with fresh eyes for the reasons why that event happened, and its impact on the person we've become.
Some of my personal favorites were Ann Cass's heartwarming story "You Can Catch a Robin If You Put Salt on Its Tail" and Mary Greer's "Discovering the Tarot", although many of the BIT Snapshots in the book showed how Janet's BIT Method can be helpful even in dealing with painful memories and life challenges. For example, Teresa Michelsen's "Journey through the Dark Night of the Mind" detailed an inspiring journey of learning to deal with life when suffering chronic pain.
Both Janet Boyer and Mark McElroy's very personal and revealing stories about their deep sense of satisfaction as they discovered a more inclusive version of Christianity were very uplifting to read.
The Back in Time Tarot Book is also a fascinating collection of highly insightful tales from Tarot icons--but don't let that put you off if you're new to Tarot. The wonder of Janet's BIT Method is that is works even if you have no idea of the traditional "meanings" for each of the cards. The important thing is that they act as visual triggers, sparking insights from your subconscious.
The human mind is more complex than any computer, and Janet's BIT Tarot Method could help you to find important messages from your past that you thought you'd forgotten. They are all part of who you are.
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9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Refreshing and enjoyable!, October 27, 2008
I thoroughly enjoyed Janet Boyer's fascinating book, `Back in Time Tarot'. Janet takes her many years of experience and knowledge of Tarot, and passes them on generously with a warm and down to earth writing style which instantly engages the reader. The `Back in Time' or `BIT' method, which is the focus of the book, is a wonderfully refreshing approach to Tarot which any reader or Tarot enthusiast will just be itching to try themselves!
The bulk of the book is made from various examples of this method in action, not only from Janet herself, but also some very well known names from the Tarot world, such as Lon Milo Duquette, Lisa Hunt, and Mary Greer. This gives great insight into not only the many possible ways to perceive a card, but also a fascinating peek at how these great Tarot minds think!
Janet's book, and the `BIT' method, gently encourage you to think outside the normal strictures and methods of Tarot, teaching us to look at the cards in a new way. This method can help novices really start to understand and acquire their own personal meanings for the cards, and offers experts a much needed refreshing new angle to take. Rather than learning by rote from a book of essential meanings, we are encouraged to look at situations from our life and THINK for ourselves about which cards would describe or evoke that situation, thus enabling us to build up our own database of very personal meanings. This has enormous potential for improving reading skills and understanding of Tarot, which can be daunting for some.
I would heartily recommend this book and Janet's innovative method to anyone with an interest in Tarot, an open mind, and willingness to learn. You won't be disappointed!
Emily Carding (Creator of the Transparent Tarot)The Transparent Tarot
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