Paul Fenton-Smith

Overall, even though this book has a 2008 copyright date, it feels old-fashioned to me. As Tarot books go, this one is very prescriptive (the Two of Wands means this; the Hanged Man reversed means that). I didn't necessarily disagree with his definitions; I disagreed with presenting them as if they were the only meanings the cards could have, just like the Little White Books that come with decks do. The author's definitions rely heavily on the original Rider-Waite-Smith deck's symbolism, which may make it difficult for new readers to work with any other decks except the most exact of RWS clones. Although the author says more than once that the traditional physical descriptions that go with the Court Cards really only work with white people, he appears to use them a lot himself, and seems committed to the traditional age and gender associations with those cards.

Very little in this book encourages beginners to trust their intuition. Indeed, the author warns readers not to try reading with any cards they're not familiar with. (There are 78 cards in a standard Tarot deck: it could take a while to become familiar with them!). It can be really hard for beginners to let go and trust their own readings of the cards. I don't see how a book that basically suggests that there are right ways to read them—which suggests that there are also wrong ways—is going to help with that. And yet, for all those reasons I've just listed as to why I didn't care much for this book, I think a beginner might find it reassuring. It's nice to have solid definitions for the cards and not just encouragement to intuitively "know" what the cards mean, and this book will give you just that.

I did like parts of this book, by the way. Most interesting to me was the author's view that when a card appears reversed in a reading, it's a signal that the querent needs to go back to the previous card and master its lessons. For instance, getting the reversed Five of Swords suggests that you need to return to the contemplation and reflection of the upright Four of Swords for a while. Perhaps other Tarot authors have mentioned this, but this is the first time I've encountered this idea. I also enjoyed reading many of the anecdotes he sprinkles throughout the book.… (altro)