Complete Idiot's Guide to Tarot by Lisa Lenard and Arlene Tognetti

• Paperback: 384 pages
• Publisher: Alpha; 2 edition (July 1, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1592570666
• ISBN-13: 978-1592570669

Because of the important role this book has played in my life, I need to start this review out with my first time reading the book. I purchased this book and a mini Rider-Waite traditional deck back in the late spring of 2007. I was just finding myself as a Pagan, and my life was in utter turmoil. I was in an unhealthy relationship, just barely an adult at 19, and foolishly thinking I could handle anything. The unhealthy relationship took a turn for abuse, and I ended up at rock bottom. I'm lucky to be alive today. I chose to sign myself into a mental health ward to get away from all the negative influences in my life to try and turn my life around. Looking back, I realize it was the first step on my journey into not only adulthood, but to becoming true Pagan. I was finally growing into a spiritual person and not just a child dabbling with things I only barely understood. The only items besides clothes I took into the hospital with me were that deck and this book. Whenever I wasn't in therapy, I read and read, drinking in all the knowledge and desperately hoping that it could give me the answers I needed. My very first reading I did the day before I left the hospital. It told me that I'd have a long and difficult road ahead, but if I stuck to my therapy I'd be ok. I wasn't ready to hear something like that. Almost five years and countless mistakes later, I realize that reading was the absolute truth. I can look at it with the jaded eye of experience, and cringe at all the times I should have followed that reading's advice. Rereading this book has been not only a learning experience with the Tarot, but also a reflection to the most painful time of my past. I'm happy to say that this book and I have stuck it through, and we're both still in one piece.

Anyway, onto the bones of this review. From the introduction, you can notice the authors trying to make the topic of Tarot approachable and welcoming, despite how intimidating it may seem to have to "memorize" meanings to 78 different cards. They use a lot of pop culture references, such as Glinda and Dorothy from "The Wizard of Oz" by Frank Baum, and quite a few others as you go throughout the book. The picture quality isn't the best, but enough to get the idea of the Rider-Waite cards to the reader. I highly advise having the deck next to you to actually be able to see the symbols. Honestly, the italics use is far too heavy, as is the use of exclamation points. It feels campy versus a serious introduction. But, there is some wisdom slightly hidden among the fluff.

The book is divided into a few sections to make understanding the Tarot easier. Section one is probably the most fluffy of all the book. It's the introduction, explaining about the history of the Tarot images and other oracles, such as the I Ching. I personally really liked the section on Tarot and Psychology in Chapter 2. The use of archetypes pervade literature and entertainment, and the fact that the authors used examples from Lord of the Rings by J.R.R Tolkien, The Wizard of Oz by Frank Baum, and Star Wars by George Lucas is a great way for people to relate to archetypes without having studied any mythologies extensively. The emphasis on Tarot being a journey through the cards as we journey through life is nice, but there is too much repetition of the idea without new ideas being introduced with it. Getting into chapter 3, I frankly was a bit annoyed about using the Aces as "yes" cards along with the 9 of Cups. Nine of Cups is frequently used as the "Wish Card" and seen as the querent receiving their desires. Aces frequently are the card of beginning, and what it begins depends on the suit of the card. I felt how they wrote it was misleading and confusing for a beginning student. One of the good points about that chapter was the emphasis on making the question for the reading a "how" versus a yes/no. Frequently new students to the Tarot come and think the cards can answer everything for them, or they want validation of their ideas with a yes or a no. This at least helps to dispel that idea from the start. Further on in the chapter in a section about Tarot and its therapeutic benefits, there is a reference to Tony Soprano and his therapist from the show The Sopranos, formerly on HBO, which only serves to muddle the point by showing an unhealthy therapy relationship versus a healthy one. Granted, a few sentences later they use how incorrect that therapy dynamic is to illustrate how a bad tarot reader can steer you wrong just as a bad therapist can do the same. It still doesn't change how useless the reference feels. 

Section Two I feel is the most valuable section of the book. It gets into the symbolism of the cards, and is the main reason why I like this book. The charts in Chapter 4 for colors, symbols, and ties to mythology are short, but a good starting point for starting to look at the cards as not only pretty pictures but images with symbolic meaning. Chapter 5 divides the Major Arcana into four arcs, describing each a time period in a person's life, from beginner, to intermediate, to struggle, to enlightenment. I agree with the section on Tarot life cycles to a point. You can't really put ages where certain Major Arcana cards will usually show up. It depends on the person and their life journey. Some of the exercises in this chapter are valuable, such as finding the cards that draw and repel you and trying to figure out why. That's a pretty standard Tarot exercise that you'll find in many different books. The section about how the cards are neutral gets a little sickly sweet to the point I reach for my toothbrush in fear of a cavity. Chapter 6 gets into how to use the Tarot and has some good ideas, but some of the ideas come across as commands and now, as a more experienced reader, turn me off and quite frankly irritate me a bit.   The authors discuss how you need to "season" your cards and how to clear them of negative energy ick. They make no mention of their being multiple ways of doing this and to find the way that works best for you, they just say their method like it's the only method in the universe! Barring that, the rest of the chapter is actually pretty decent about starting to learn to read the cards. 

Parts 3 and 4 begin the sections of the authors' interpretations of the cards. The only things I like about the interpretations are the discussion of the symbolism and how it relates to the meaning of the card and the list of archetypes under each Major Arcana card. The rest is just standard, run-of-the-mill meanings that you could find in any little white book included in with your deck of cards. The examples they give in Chapter 7 for how to combine card meanings in the reading are ok, but they are just the interpretation and not really going into the details and how to figure out the method for blending meanings and seeing how the cards work together. 

Each part of the book has a little cartoon on the cover page. The one for Part 5 not only irritates me, but would probably irritate any reader with a set of ethics. The quote reads "I was going to a psychiatrist to learn about myself, but instead I saved a few bucks and bought a Tarot deck." Never, under ANY circumstances, use Tarot to replace help from a medical professional, including therapy. I mentioned earlier how I started reading this book and learning the Tarot while receiving such therapy myself. There is no replacement EVER for it. Now, getting on to the actually chapters, it's pretty generic and there were no glaring errors that I noticed. It's quite obvious that the authors are experienced readers and this section was where they felt more comfortable, and it's a little bit more complex, rightfully so, than the rest of the book. 

My overall reaction to the book? While this book may have helped my sanity during a dark time, I'm past it. Anyone who has basic knowledge of the Tarot will probably find this book stifling, irritating, juvenile, or all of the above, but a beginner might get some useful knowledge out of it if they take it with a hefty hunk of salt. It'll cut down the sweetness at least.