Keslynn
I just received my copy of The Tarot Handbook by Angeles Arrien in the mail yesterday. I've been reading like a madwoman since then. I really like this book! For the longest time I was so confused by the Thoth symbols that I had put down the deck and never expected to pick it up again. Her explanations are straightforward and they make sense! Now I know what all those snakes wrapped around eggs mean, among other things. I also like that she includes some astrological correspondences for the cards, but only with some of the cards, which is a little disappointing. Then again, I'm sure a whole other book could be written about astrological correspondences so I don't blame her for paring it down some. Overall, she gives pretty good explanations. I like her concept of constellations which really ties the majors in with both each other and the minors. Along with discussing the meaning of the card, she gives helpful meditation suggestions to help you bring that particular card's energy into your life.
The only thing I didn't find useful was all the numerological junk about lifetime card and year growth card. Too much math when all I want to do is understand what those cards mean. I have been skipping over those sections in the descriptions of the minor arcana and I still find the book very enlightening.
Overall, I give it the big thumbs up. Hopefully I'll be able to use my Thoth and Rohrig decks more easily when I'm done reading this book.
Kes
The only thing I didn't find useful was all the numerological junk about lifetime card and year growth card. Too much math when all I want to do is understand what those cards mean. I have been skipping over those sections in the descriptions of the minor arcana and I still find the book very enlightening.
Overall, I give it the big thumbs up. Hopefully I'll be able to use my Thoth and Rohrig decks more easily when I'm done reading this book.
Kes