{"id":15390,"date":"2017-12-01T01:10:41","date_gmt":"2017-12-01T06:10:41","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/paganpages.org\/content\/?p=16390"},"modified":"2017-11-27T20:05:37","modified_gmt":"2017-11-28T01:05:37","slug":"seeing-the-signs-36","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/2017\/12\/01\/seeing-the-signs-36\/","title":{"rendered":"Seeing the Signs"},"content":{"rendered":"

Three Books About the Tarot<\/b><\/u><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

If you are like me, the best gifts under the Yule tree are books. I like historical novels \u2013 Elizabeth Chadwick and Sharon Key Penman are favorites of mine \u2013 and books about goddess religions and divination \u2013 especially cartomancy. As I shop, I look for books that I want to give to my loved ones but I always find ones for myself. Here are three books about the tarot that might interest you \u2013 either as gifts for another person, or to give to yourself!<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Here are three books about the Tarot that would make great gifts for any Tarot enthusiast. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

The first one is <\/span>Fortune Telling by Tarot Cards: A Beginner\u2019s Guide to Understanding the Tarot<\/u><\/span>, by Sasha Fenton.<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

For Amazon information, click image below.<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/a>\"\"<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

I am well acquainted with the works of Sasha Fenton \u2013 I have her <\/span>The Fortune-Teller\u2019s Workbook<\/u><\/span><\/strong>, which was published back in the 1980\u2019s \u2013 and it is one of my favorite books. Anyone who is versed in divination literature knows who Sasha Fenton is. This is a fine book, a little over an inch in width. Published by Hampton Roads Publishing, it\u2019s a slick, shiny mass-market paperback in eye-catching red and yellow. Fenton stresses the \u201cstory-telling\u201d method of using the cards \u2013 a way of linking the cards together to create a narrative that foretells the future for your client. This is quite like the method that Caitl\u00edn Matthews talks about in <\/span>The Complete Lenormand Oracle Handbook<\/u><\/span><\/strong> \u2013 one card modifying another card and creating a complete sentence or concept. The one thing I found curious is that Fenton believes that VIII should be Justice and XI should be Strength \u2013 which is fine, many tarot decks switch those cards because of esoteric belief systems \u2013 but the Tarot cards shown in the book is the Rider-Waite deck, in which VIII is Strength and XI is Justice. I would have thought that Fenton would have picked out a deck that matched what she was writing about. But that\u2019s really a small flaw in an otherwise fabulous book. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

It\u2019s a great little handbook. Each card is presented with a keyword or several keywords for easy memorizing. There\u2019s an explanation of the card and then some additional information, with the reversal meanings as well. I\u2019ll tell you one thing I like about this book \u2013 she has a diagram on how to turn the cards over. I was doing it wrong for years and years. I had no idea! One day I figured it out on my own but here it is \u2013 on page 153. There\u2019s at least ten spreads with sample readings and examples of how to \u201clink\u201d cards and also how to tell time with the cards. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

If I bought this book as a gift for a friend or family member, I would buy the Tarot de Marseille<\/span><\/strong> as a companion to it.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

For Amazon information, click image below.<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/a>\"\"<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Tarot: Plain and Simple<\/u><\/span><\/strong> by Leanna Greenaway<\/strong> is also published by Hampton Roads Publishing Company.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

For Amazon information, click image below.<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/a>\"\"<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

This book is only an inch in width but is packed with information. Although Greenaway writes \u201cthat this book is intended to help a beginner to get a good start in the art of Tarot\u201d (p 9), I wouldn\u2019t buy this book for the novice. It is written for the serious Tarot card reader \u2013 the person who has decided to go into business. <\/span> <\/i>It is written for the person who wants to be a professional reader. There are handy charts to aid memory and exercises and tests throughout the book which, if used properly, will help the student to learn the Tarot to the point where they <\/span>will <\/i><\/span>be able to read for any client quite competently. There are only two spreads but there is a chapter on how to talk to your clients and the various kinds of clients you may encounter. For the person who is serious about reading the Tarot, this is definitely the book. I would purchase The Gilded Tarot by Ciro Marchetti<\/strong><\/span> to go with this book.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

For Amazon information, click image below.<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/a>\"\"<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The Modern Witchcraft Book of Tarot: Your Complete Guide to Understanding the Tarot<\/u><\/span><\/strong> by Skye Alexander is my favorite of the three.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

For Amazon information, click image below.<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/a>\"\"<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

A hard-bound volume, two inches wide, it is published by Adams Media. Thick paper, really nice printing. Quality all the way. This is one of the most informative books I\u2019ve read about the Tarot in a long time \u2013 it ranks up there with books by Mary K. Greer and Sallie Gearhart. Written from a Wiccan point of view, it is definitely a <\/span>modern <\/i><\/span>book \u2013 it talks about the history of the Tarot but then brings it fully into the 21st century. Filled with quotes and charts and correspondences of all kinds, it\u2019s far more than just a book about the Tarot. It\u2019s a guidebook par excellence. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

There\u2019s a chapter on Numerology and the Tarot. Each Suit has its own chapter and the Major Arcana is covered in a large chapter. Each card has the usual keywords and description of the card and the upright and reversed meanings. There are also meanings for your job, your money and your love-life, since most readings are focused on one of those three issues. There are tarot spreads and spells and other ways to use the Tarot in magic. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

I can\u2019t recommend this book too highly. It is my new favorite Tarot book. Everything about it is wonderful. If I were to buy this for a Yule present, I would buy the Everyday Witch Tarot<\/strong><\/span>, because it\u2019s a modern witch tarot deck, like the book. Maybe I\u2019ll get it for myself for Yule!<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

For Amazon information, click image below.<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/a>\"\"<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Brightest Blessings!<\/span><\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

\n

References<\/u><\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Alexander, Skye. <\/span>The Modern Witchcraft Book of Tarot: Your Complete Guide to Understanding the Tarot<\/u><\/span>. NY: Adams Media, 2017. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Fenton, Sasha. <\/span>Fortune Telling by Tarot Cards: A Beginner\u2019s Guide to Understanding the Tarot<\/u><\/span>. Charlottesville: Hampton Roads Publishing Company, 2017.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Greenaway, Leanna. <\/span>Tarot: Plain & Simple<\/u><\/span>. Charlottesville: Hampton Roads Publishing Company, 2017.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/a> Matthews, Caitl\u00edn. <\/span>The Complete Lenormand Oracle Handbook: Reading the Language and Symbols of the Cards<\/u><\/span>. Rochester, VT: Destiny Books, 2014.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

http:\/\/www.aeclectic.net\/tarot\/cards\/everyday-witch-tarot\/<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

http:\/\/www.aeclectic.net\/tarot\/cards\/gilded\/<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

http:\/\/www.aeclectic.net\/tarot\/cards\/marseilles\/<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

For Amazon information, click images below.<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/a>\"\"<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

<\/a>\"\"<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

***<\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

About the Author:<\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\n

Polly MacDavid<\/b>\u00a0lives in Buffalo, New York at the moment but that could easily change, since she is a gypsy at heart. Like a gypsy, she is attracted to the divinatory arts, as well as camp fires and dancing barefoot. She has three cats who all help her with her magic.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Her philosophy about religion and magic is that it must be thoroughly based in science and logic. She is Dianic Wiccan and she is solitary.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

She blogs at\u00a0silverapplequeen.wordpress.com<\/a>. She writes about general life, politics and poetry. She is writing a novel about sex, drugs and recovery.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Three Books About the Tarot If you are like me, the best gifts under the Yule tree are books. I like historical novels \u2013 Elizabeth Chadwick and Sharon Key Penman are favorites of mine \u2013 and books about goddess religions and divination \u2013 especially cartomancy. As I shop, I look for books that I want to give to my loved ones but I always find ones for myself. Here are three books about the tarot that might interest you \u2013 either as gifts for another person, or to give to yourself! Here are three books about the Tarot that would make great gifts for any Tarot enthusiast. The first one is Fortune Telling by Tarot Cards: A Beginner\u2019s Guide to Understanding the Tarot, by Sasha Fenton. For Amazon information, click image below.   I am well acquainted with the works of Sasha Fenton \u2013 I have her The Fortune-Teller\u2019s Workbook, which was published back in the 1980\u2019s \u2013 and it is one of my favorite books. Anyone who is versed in divination literature knows who Sasha Fenton is. This is a fine book, a little over an inch in width. Published by Hampton Roads Publishing, it\u2019s a slick, shiny mass-market paperback in eye-catching red and yellow. Fenton stresses the \u201cstory-telling\u201d method of using the cards \u2013 a way of linking the cards together to create a narrative that foretells the future for your client. This is quite like the method that Caitl\u00edn Matthews talks about in The Complete Lenormand Oracle Handbook \u2013 one card modifying another card and creating a complete sentence or concept. The one thing I found curious is that Fenton believes that VIII should be Justice and XI should be Strength \u2013 which is fine, many tarot decks switch those cards because of esoteric belief systems \u2013 but the Tarot cards shown in the book is the Rider-Waite deck, in which VIII is Strength and XI is Justice. I would have thought that Fenton would have picked out a deck that matched what she was writing about. But that\u2019s really a small flaw in an otherwise fabulous book. It\u2019s a great little handbook. Each card is presented with a keyword or several keywords for easy memorizing. There\u2019s an explanation of the card and then some additional information, with the reversal meanings as well. I\u2019ll tell you one thing I like about this book \u2013 she has a diagram on how to turn the cards over. I was doing it wrong for years and years. I had no idea! One day I figured it out on my own but here it is \u2013 on page 153. There\u2019s at least ten spreads with sample readings and examples of how to \u201clink\u201d cards and also how to tell time with the cards. If I bought this book as a gift for a friend or family member, I would buy the Tarot de Marseille as a companion to it. For Amazon information, click image below.     Tarot: Plain and Simple by Leanna Greenaway is also published by Hampton Roads Publishing Company. For Amazon information, click image below.   This book is only an inch in width but is packed with information. Although Greenaway writes \u201cthat this book is intended to help a beginner to get a good start in the art of Tarot\u201d (p 9), I wouldn\u2019t buy this book for the novice. It is written for the serious Tarot card reader \u2013 the person who has decided to go into business. It is written for the person who wants to be a professional reader. There are handy charts to aid memory and exercises and tests throughout the book which, if used properly, will help the student to learn the Tarot to the point where they will be able to read for any client quite competently. There are only two spreads but there is a chapter on how to talk to your clients and the various kinds of clients you may encounter. For the person who is serious about reading the Tarot, this is definitely the book. I would purchase The Gilded Tarot by Ciro Marchetti to go with this book. For Amazon information, click image below.   The Modern Witchcraft Book of Tarot: Your Complete Guide to Understanding the Tarot by Skye Alexander is my favorite of the three. For Amazon information, click image below.   A hard-bound volume, two inches wide, it is published by Adams Media. Thick paper, really nice printing. Quality all the way. This is one of the most informative books I\u2019ve read about the Tarot in a long time \u2013 it ranks up there with books by Mary K. Greer and Sallie Gearhart. Written from a Wiccan point of view, it is definitely a modern book \u2013 it talks about the history of the Tarot but then brings it fully into the 21st century. Filled with quotes and charts and correspondences of all kinds, it\u2019s far more than just a book about the Tarot. It\u2019s a guidebook par excellence. There\u2019s a chapter on Numerology and the Tarot. Each Suit has its own chapter and the Major Arcana is covered in a large chapter. Each card has the usual keywords and description of the card and the upright and reversed meanings. There are also meanings for your job, your money and your love-life, since most readings are focused on one of those three issues. There are tarot spreads and spells and other ways to use the Tarot in magic. I can\u2019t recommend this book too highly. It is my new favorite Tarot book. Everything about it is wonderful. If I were to buy this for a Yule present, I would buy the Everyday Witch Tarot, because it\u2019s a modern witch tarot deck, like the book. Maybe I\u2019ll get it for myself for Yule! For Amazon information, click image below.   Brightest Blessings! References Alexander, Skye. The Modern Witchcraft Book of Tarot: Your Complete Guide to Understanding the Tarot. NY: Adams Media, 2017. Fenton, Sasha. Fortune Telling by Tarot Cards: A Beginner\u2019s Guide to Understanding the Tarot. Charlottesville: Hampton Roads Publishing Company, 2017. Greenaway, Leanna. Tarot: Plain & Simple. Charlottesville: Hampton Roads Publishing Company, 2017. Matthews, Caitl\u00edn. The Complete Lenormand Oracle Handbook: Reading the Language and Symbols of the Cards. Rochester, VT: Destiny Books, 2014. http:\/\/www.aeclectic.net\/tarot\/cards\/everyday-witch-tarot\/ http:\/\/www.aeclectic.net\/tarot\/cards\/gilded\/ http:\/\/www.aeclectic.net\/tarot\/cards\/marseilles\/ For Amazon information, click images below.     *** About the Author: Polly MacDavid\u00a0lives in Buffalo, New York at the moment but that could easily change, since she is a gypsy at heart. Like a gypsy, she is attracted to the divinatory arts, as well as camp fires and dancing barefoot. She has three cats who all help her with her magic. Her philosophy about religion and magic is that it must be thoroughly based in science and logic. She is Dianic Wiccan and she is solitary. She blogs at\u00a0silverapplequeen.wordpress.com. She writes about general life, politics and poetry. She is writing a novel about sex, drugs and recovery.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":197,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"iawp_total_views":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-15390","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15390","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/197"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=15390"}],"version-history":[{"count":19,"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15390\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":14913,"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15390\/revisions\/14913"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15390"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=15390"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=15390"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}