Question for Geenius at Wrok re Mary Greer

Thread originally posted on the Aeclectic Tarot Forum on 05 May 2002, and now archived in the Forum Library.

Diana	05 May 2002
edited

Kissa	05 May 2002
Even if you didn't address your question to me, I can give you my feelings about TFY, not Mary Greer as a person, I wouldn't go for personal attacks ;) -- I wouldn't dare speaking for Geenius at Wrok but it seems we are not that many ppl here getting problems with TFY so here are my 2 cents on that one... I bought the book as it is so popular here and I got really confused by her first chapter, with all this mix of different things (astrology, numerology, meditation etc.) I was already a bit suspicious at the time I read in a thread here that M. Greer advised to bury your deck in your garden if others purification rites couldn't get rid of bad vibes, nevertheless I bought the book to see why it is so popular. So here I am with my TFY book, on a box upon the bookshelf getting dusty as a tarot student doesn't devote that much time to cleaning or housework in general ... I have decided to give it time but for now, I am just "sick" of this mixed salad, it is something too heavy for my little brains. Maybe when I have a stronger knowledge about the cards, I will dare starting the workbook. Now I just fear it confuses me if I ever succeed in digging myself in it. I am a big fan of J.Bunning, this is what I need at the moment and I am considering A. Louis's "Tarot plain and simple" as well. I hope I didn't offend anyone since many of you really love this book. Pls remember this is just an opinion and moreover, opinions can change with time. I dunno, I am just confused ... Kissa

Kaz	05 May 2002
kissa, i am one of the ppl that likes the book, hmm, maybe read some threads in the studygroup forum, you can see what we do actually and its not so confusing i think. just have a look there...... kaz

MeeWah	05 May 2002
Kissa: It is alright not to like Tarot for Your Self. The same books do not appeal or work for everyone. You can try Kaz' suggestion. It may give you a different view of the book. I have found the book to be very helpful in general. I use some of the material, not all of it. I am not familiar with Joan Bunning's book, but Anthony Louis' "Tarot Plain and Simple" is also amongst those recommended. You may also like "Power Tarot" by Trish MacGregor & Phylllis Vega. It also contains many different spreads of varying sizes for different purposes. As for burying a deck in the ground as a remedy for any lingering/undesireable energies--I believe that is a reference to a Wiccan/Pagan concept to neutralize energies. It also pertains to grounding & can be used for other objects, too.

Geenius at Wrok	05 May 2002
Oh, Lord, where to start? Simply put, "Tarot for Your Self" is the sort of claptrap that I have no patience with whatsoever. Her numerological manipulations are pure silliness; you could find more true meaning in a game of solitaire. Ditto her conflation of tarot with astrology. As for her various exercises, I've been using tarot successfully for some time now without having resorted to her deep-breathing rituals and "card-entering" visualization sessions—masturbatory Gedankenexperiments that offer nothing in the way of genuine understanding—which she presents as prerequisites to complete before doing any tarot reading at all. The time it would take to go through and perform all these preliminary exercises, let alone the whole book's worth, is much better spent actually living one's life . . . that is, if one isn't using tarot as a means of fleeing from life rather than an aid in dealing with it. Particularly in her "Prosperity and Planning" chapter, I'm disturbed by the degree to which she seems to encourage bypassing rational examination of problems or goals and running straight to the tarot for answers, instead of using the cards to give yourself a nudge in the right direction when, despite earnest contemplation, you still find yourself at a loss. And then the stuff about crystals . . . what in the name of Jimmy Stewart is this doing in a book on tarot? :TEMPR THE EMPEROR HAS NO CLOTHES! :TEMPR Cripes, I'm never gonna be able to unload my copy now, am I?

Zhritza	06 May 2002
I don't really read many tarot books at all (for authors thus far I'm only really interested in Rachel Pollack), so I have no firsthand knowledge of this book, but I think at least one person on the forums has commented on the card-entering exercise as being helpful...

Aerin	11 May 2002
I've found some of the book helpful, and some not. For example, liked the Court Card exercises, liked the approach to some of the spreads, have already done some card entering meditations and find it helpful vs. don't align to any of the astrology, wouldn't use a yes/ no spread if it came up and bit me, crystals put my skeptics muscle in full cry. On the whole, the book has helped me far more than it has made me grumpy. Oh, and numerology is one of things I just don't have any affinity for, but I still did some of the exercises for fun and to get more experience with the cards. I do seem to remember that she says somewhere to find your own approach and to read a lot of different ones, not to take anything on 'someone wrote it so it must be true' trust. I agree that Tarot or any other esoteric subject should not take over your life, that is up to how the book is used though. Aerin ps I like the Rachel Pollack 78 Degrees of Wisdom book, but may I quickly rant about pi NOT EQUALLING 22/7. It is an irrational number. For goodness sake. (end small rant)

DollChica	11 May 2002
To be blunt, TFY is too much for me. I find that I'm getting more from the Non-Illustrated Pips thread than from the books lining my bookshelf. Simple is better. At least for me. And if I need a reference book, my fav is the Janina Renee "Tarot for a New Generation".

The Question for Geenius at Wrok re Mary Greer thread was originally posted on 05 May 2002 in the Talking Tarot board, and is now archived in the Forum Library. Read the active threads in Talking Tarot, or read more archived threads.