Pocket guide to tarot ??

Has anyone read a Pocket Guide to Tarot by Alan Oken?? Do you know if this book is good to purchase and great for beginners? THANks!!

Very good little book. Have it and have reached for it often. It's also small and compact enough to take with you anywhere. It is illustrated with the Rider -Waite deck. There is a nice section about spreads. And it has upright and reverse meanings. Some bigger and more expensive books don't have half the information of this one. I don't think you will be disappointed if you pick it up. Very good for beginners too.

This little book (like Pollack's much talked about _78 Degrees of Wisdom_) doesn't necessarily describe what message and divinatory meanings Waite/Smith intended by the imagery, but gives the author's own, intuitive take. In the case of almost every card, Oken points out the main imagery in the picture and, in his own way, explains it and ties it together into a meaningful whole. This sure can help a beginner out in working intuitively with the deck. I'm surprised that when book recommendations are being given on various tarot forums, this one isn't mentioned.

I have that book. I didn't know anyone else but me had ever heard of it!

I don't use the Rider Waite decks anymore, so it doesn't serve me. However, I must say I was very impressed by it and found it an extremely well-written out book. Very thoughtful, not too intellectual, not silly, and somehow, kind of humble.

I use it when people on Aeclectic are talking about Rider Waite meanings and I need to check on what they're talking about. It's never failed me!

I bought this little book years ago because Alan Oken is a respected astrologer, and I figured that his work on tarot would probably be helpful. I was not disappointed. This is a surprisingly good book, despite its small size.

I just ran into this thread...
This is, in fact, one of my all-time-favorite tarot references.
Despite it's size, I have gleaned much information from this little book over the years.
A resource not to be overlooked, especially for a beginner.

I just got it, and I'm going to chime in that it's one of the best companion books for the Rider Waite Smith deck I've ever seen.

Oker does an excellent job of linking meanings to specific pictorial elements in the cards, which makes them easy to remember.

In the main, the meanings correspond with Waite/Mathers attributions, with some changes of emphasis.

Except for the first cahpter, on the history of the cards. Tell everybody to skip that. It's full of hoodyhoo.