"Classic Tarot Spreads"
Okay, so I just got a copy of Sandor Konraad's "Classic Tarot Spread" (Whitford Press/ Schiffer Publishing, 1985), and I am simply over the Moon! I am so ecstatic because, based upon the title alone I expected that it would be little more than a compendium of tarot spreads, like Evelin Burger's and Johannes Fiebig's "Complete Book of Tarot Spreads".* But, it's not, thank goodness! It's much, much, MUCH more!!! It sets out a plan for learning the tarot in 30 days, but it also employs a system that may be used with Merseilles-style pip-cards (since I am a committed Indo-Europeanist as a freelance scholar, my mind becomes famished for patterns, particularly those that employ a competitive methodology!); though it can almost certainly be transferred to RWS clones, as well, though he cautions that RWS-style decks are a distraction to the true and accurate meanings of the cards. While this text does contain some tarot spreads--some that I am utterly unfamiliar with, since I have seen a LOT of spreads over the years--I was floored by some of the philosophical and brilliant, almost poetic, descriptions and insights of the Major Arcana. Since I am a Witch and I occasionally employ the Tarot in my Magick, these descriptions really inspired me to use The Moon card (I am also a Pisces) in a Witch Bottle Spell to protect a home or residence, with the Seven of Wands. I also learned something very interesting from this book that I haven't learned from another book, yet...an early name for the Strength/ Fortitude card was, "The Enchantress"! I really think that every Tarot Reader ought to add this gem of a book to their personal Library, though I worry that such a JUICY book suffers from a flawed and ill-suited title. I would particularly recommend it to other Merseilles-sty;e deck readers. Actually, I'm curious as to other books one would recommend for Merseilles-style readers to get the most out of their decks?
*For what it's worth, I would LOVE to see English translations of tarot books by European authors....I'm lookin' at you, Inner Traditions Press (they publish a lot of English translations)!