"Ultimate" RWS book by Fiebig and Burger

bogiesan

(2013.04.04) A new Waite-Smith book is announced over at Llewellyn. Looks like a fun read although
I tend to be wary of anything that has "ultimate, final, absolute, best, or extreme in the title as it never turns out to be any of those. The preview offered suggests the book might have been better as "Waite's Symbols and References Explained."

The Ultimate Guide to the Rider Waite Tarot

By: Johannes Fiebig, Evelin Burger
Imprint: Llewellyn
Specs: Trade Paperback | 9780738735795
English | 216 pages | 6 x 9 IN
Pub Date: April 2013
Price: $18.99
In Stock? Yes, ready to ship
 

Le Fanu

Now this may well be an interesting read and I may be tempted to buy it.

A good guide for those who find it tough ploughing through AE Waite himself. There's definitely a space in the tarot market for a reader-friendly guide to the esoteric symbolism of the RWS. Sort of like Snuffin did for the Thoth...
 

Jeanette

The "Ultimate" Guide to the Rider Waite Tarot....

I just got my copy in the mail; I haven't had much of a chance to go through it other than a quick look, but I like the size of the book (easy to hold in my hands) and the layout. It's printed on glossy, cream-colored paper. From just my quick look at it, I think I'll be using it as a companion book (with 78 Deg. or something similar) to examine symbolism in RWS cards. I'm happy I bought it; I've been needing something to get me involved in tarot again, and this might be the jump start I've been needing!
 

Linfang

I read the German original and it was quite a good one, especially the detailed explanation of the symbolism. They have a refreshing new view on some cards, compared to Hajo Banzhaf, author of the most read Tarot books in German.
 

agno3

I got this book today... well, I got an "uncorrected proof". I compared it to the final print version and the difference seems to be mainly black & white versus color printing.

The intro has a few lists of ten most important _______. Each of the cards has a two page spread with the ten most important symbols explained on the left and on the right there are some interpretations of the card. The end of the book has some spreads. I think you can guess how many.

It looks to be an interesting book, even if it is kind of choppy to read. My version anyway, does not have an index, which would be nice to see which cards have the same symbols/images on them.

Cover:
https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-.../AAAAAAAAASw/tkjLrAhYhX8/s635/ultimaterws.jpg
Inside pages:
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-18bfUDpBOJ8/UXgm8dHX1bI/AAAAAAAAATk/D2a9m-kcVJY/s1128/inside.jpg
 

ValerieReikiLMT

I have this book and I really enjoy it. I like how they picked out the different aspects of the artwork and broke down the symbolism of each card. It is very facinating, and I plan to use it in my Tarot discussion group.
 

Jeanette

I have to admit I'm more impressed with this book the more I use it; it's given me a new perspective on a few things! So I'm really happy that I have it the more I use it.
 

Carla

I just had a look at the 'Search inside this book' feature on amazon. Pleased that most of what I saw there is stuff I seem to have worked out myself over the years. That's always nice. Is this book based on contemporary conventional tarot wisdom, or is it in fact based on Arthur Edward Waite's intentions for the symbols? Because there's probably quite a difference there.
 

Le Fanu

I have my eye on this book.

I'm hoping it is full of detailed dissections of the symbolism on all the cards.
All that stuff that everyone tells me they continue to discover and be surprised by after 25 years and which I for the life of me cannot see even though I've been looking since 1982.

I really hope I am finally made aware of all the incredible symbolism of the deck.
 

Richard

I have my eye on this book.

I'm hoping it is full of detailed dissections of the symbolism on all the cards.
All that stuff that everyone tells me they continue to discover and be surprised by after 25 years and which I for the life of me cannot see even though I've been looking since 1982.

I really hope I am finally made aware of all the incredible symbolism of the deck.
I hope you are not disappointed. I looked around in the book at amazon.com. Found something I didn't know. The crown of stars on the Empress means taking the stars from heaven and bringing them to fruition on the earth (or something like that). That is the task of the Empress. Hmmm..............