Tarot Theory and Practice by Ly de Angeles

Grizabella

Has anyone else checked out this book? It's new but I thought it sounded interesting so I got it a few weeks ago or so. I haven't had a lot of time to devote to it but I've noticed, in what I did get to investigate, that she's got some rather unconventional ideas.

For instance:

That when you idly lay out spreads, you're actually going to experience everything in the spreads you've put out. Geez---am I ever in trouble, then! :bugeyed:

On page 225 she writes:

I have known of people who will get together and attempt to read Tarot over and over, seeking to see what they want to see and dealing out spread after spread until they think they have an outcome that suits them. The trouble is that everything else they have dealt out is going to also happen, so that if a series of disasters or unfortunate events is predicted on the way to seeking something ultimately pleasant,....the interpretations of discord will not go away and ultimately must occur.

So what do you all think of this idea? Do you think this is actually true? I don't, but I found it interesting. I think it might scare some who are new to Tarot. It might be the start of another Tarot myth, too. (No disrespect meant to Ms. de Angeles, who is fully entitled to her own opinion.)
 

Ange

I've not heard of that happening.....so by my nutty way of thinking, if I don't see it then it just don't happen...:):)

But just to be on the safe side, I'll stick with the Angel oracles that only tell me nice stuff....:)

Cheating or what eh...:)

Ang x
 

fyreflye

"Reality is that which, when you stop believing in it, doesn't go away" - Philip K. Dick
 

rwcarter

Griz,

I think what she is inelegantly talking about is readers who do predictive readings for themselves and who lay a spread but don't like the predictive outcome of the spread, so they lay another one that they don't like, so they lay another one, ad nauseum, until they get a predictive outcome they do like. If you use tarot as a predictive tool, the simple fact that you didn't use a given spread because you didn't like the outcome of the spread doesn't invalidate whatever was predicted in the spread. So if one laid five spreads until they got an outcome they were happy with, that doesn't mean what was indicated in the first four spreads won't happen. By the simple definition of using the tarot predictively, the four outcomes that were ignored are as likely to happen as the outcome that the reader finally went with.

The above also goes for Querents who go to multiple readers with the same question, ignoring what previous readers predicted until they find a reader who tells them what they want to know.

BTW, I don't have the book.

Rodney
 

ruski_svet

Just what I was looking for!

I haven't seen any discussion of this book, and I really do like it. She's the most unique, unusual (?) tarot author I've read. She's the least fluffy and most firm in her writing. That I've come across anyway.

Her theory part needs a few reads to really get it, and I don't know if I'm even there yet.
Her section on how she handles readings as a pro and run down of spreads is very helpful. I look back to it to try her spreads and may use her ideas for conducting readings (when I have the guts!).
I grabbed this book after reading tarot for at least a couple years, so I'm not a beginner. I found it to be very interesting as an intermediate reader, but it would have shown tarot in a different light had it been one of my first books. Maybe cut some of the cr*p away.
I really want others to chime in here, as there's much to discuss in this book. Gotta grab mine and see what I can add...
 

tarotgimp

first off i just wanna say i just ordered this book on amazon and i'm expecting it tomorow (hopefully) i did pay extra for shipping after all...anyhoo i digress, de angeles idk if many of you know is a life long witch if you're not into paganism some of her ideas may seem "odd" to the reader. i do however, agree with what she's saying in the aformentioned quote of the book. i read mostly for myself and i lay many spreads but not because i want a "happy ending," even though i do. usually i'll do 4 or 5 spreads at a time just to gain a clearer picture of whats actually going on. not because i believe or disbelieve that an event isn't going to happen. i do those spreads so that i may better prepare myself in the event that something bad is comming. i'm not rich so it's nice to know if i'm about to have problems in that area. some people use tarot to predict the future, some people use it to better themselfs in some way. and some use it for advice, i do all three. sometimes it helps sometimes it doesn't. good or bad we're all here for something so as dennis leary says "life's hard, get a helmet." to me, tarot couldn't be a better helmet :). also oscar wylde said "a true friend stabs you in the front" so i guess in that respect you could be thankfull when the tarot tells you something bad...atleast it's honest and you can't beat that with a stick :)

-peace
 

tarotgimp

ruski_svet said:
I haven't seen any discussion of this book, and I really do like it. She's the most unique, unusual (?) tarot author I've read. She's the least fluffy and most firm in her writing. That I've come across anyway.

Her theory part needs a few reads to really get it, and I don't know if I'm even there yet.
Her section on how she handles readings as a pro and run down of spreads is very helpful. I look back to it to try her spreads and may use her ideas for conducting readings (when I have the guts!).
I grabbed this book after reading tarot for at least a couple years, so I'm not a beginner. I found it to be very interesting as an intermediate reader, but it would have shown tarot in a different light had it been one of my first books. Maybe cut some of the cr*p away.
I really want others to chime in here, as there's much to discuss in this book. Gotta grab mine and see what I can add...

ok I've finally had a pretty good chance to read a lot of the material in this book. First I gotta say this chick blew my mind on the first read. Some of her card interpretations are completely original from what i've seen in other books. For instance she says the 3 of wands can represent a period of time where other books concider it time allready over. (completion of the first stage, moving a head with confidence) and so on. One of my favorite parts of this book is towards the begining where she describes her conversation with "merlin" as an archtype for time. I must admit though a lot of the quaballistic Microcosm/Macrocosm theory is pretty intense I had to read it myself a couple times just to be able to follow what she was saying, never mind comprehension. If i were asked to categorize this book in a beginner/intermediate/expert kind of way I'd have to say intermediate simply for the chapter on macro/microcosm. One last note of mention, the poem in the begining titled "tarot". I'm not especially familiar with Ly's works but i got a chance to sample some of the writing in her witchcraft book and this poem is just a perfect example of her writing style throughout the book. While written in a conversational type prose, ly does assume a certain level of intelect so if your vocabulary isn't up to snuff it might be beneficial to keep a dictionary handy.

tarot gimp

-blessed be
 

tarotgimp

anyone interested in a study group?

tarot gimp

-blessed be
 

Asher

I ordered this book today (great price on Amazon!) and will be interested to see what the author has to say. I'll post again when it arrives and I've a chance to do some reading.

Asher
 

tarotgimp

Asher said:
I ordered this book today (great price on Amazon!) and will be interested to see what the author has to say. I'll post again when it arrives and I've a chance to do some reading.

Asher

Excelent! hope you enjoy it as much as I am. I see you're a teacher of tarot. I'd love it if you found it interesting enough to get a study group going...I'm not totally new to tarot but it'd be great to get someone on board with some experience such as yourself. Look forward to your comments.

tarotgimp

-blessed be