tarot made easy

This book has gotten a pretty severe verbal beating in some of the treads I've just been reading. I haven't read it yet but thought I would point out why I just bought a copy. The sample cards are not b&w gray scale replicas of some deck. This book has Pamela Coleman-Smith's line drawings without any color. That's what they look like to me. This is a great source for a color your own deck starter.

Many people don't like the laundry list of meanings this book gives each card. This was a source of confusion and overload to many beginners. I can't argue that. What I have to say in the books defense is this. Many people buy several books so they can get a feel for the wide variety of meanings that can be applied to each card. They look for a different take on the cards to broaden their understanding. Think of this book as 20 or so books that one can referrence when studying a particular card.

Happy meditating.

Hey Juice

You know, I agree with your way of thinking. So many books define each card, and then another book will define the same card differently. I made a point of that in a thread recently about the vast differences you will find in print, for each card. I think it's really a process where people start with a definition and then tweek it themselves, as they start living the cards more from the inside.

IMHO, it can be more confusing to get one definitive meaning for a card, and then find out later on (and not that much later on) that ain't always the case...

Its complicated, because there can be variations of meaning for each card, whether you are reading upright or reversed. Then there can be additonal variations depending on the symbolism of the specific tarot deck you are using. As a beginner, I find it helpful to reference more than one source so I can begin to build my "tarot vocabulary" - and already I am starting to know cards when they come up in a reading. And because I am learning from more than one source I can draw on what interpretation fits that particular reading.