Right, I've had the book for a little over a week now (in Australia so we got ours first this time - hurrah). It's not what I was expecting.
It's beautifully produced, just as Tarot Fundamentals was. It looks nice on the shelf next to the other one. But, it is full (and I mean full) of stock art. Sure there are some lovely images of cards, but there is so much stock art that it detracts from the actual text. Did I mention the stock art?
It's really all about the reading process. How to do a reading, what types of readings, time management (!), approaches to readings, spreads, spreads and more spreads, ... I'm sorry I just found this stuff to be either obvious, unoriginal, or worse; so condescending that to call this the 'intermediate' book in the series was perhaps an overstatement. Hidden in some 500 odd pages, are some interesting ideas but they are surrounded by some really trite stuff. Now, please remember I was thinking this was an intermediate book and therefore would be more advanced than Tarot Fundamentals. For me it felt like a remedial text book, with lots of colourful pictures to make it 'pretty'.
The one section I did enjoy was the Advanced Thematic Card Meaning section pages 497-576. I felt it built on the previous book, but could have been so much more comprehensive. Where the first book hinted at correspondences, astrology, Kabbalah, etc., this book almost completely ignores them.
Ok, so I may have been too harsh. I may not be the kind of reader this book is aimed at. For absolute beginners this series may well be a fine investment. Will I pledge for the final volume, yes for two reasons: 1. I'm a completionist so want all 3 volumes and 2. Lo Scarabeo and their team deserve support for their efforts.
I'll be very curious to read others' impressions of the book once it starts getting out into the wider world. Again I reiterate my disappointment is mine alone. I fully expect other people's reaction to differ from mine. In fact I'm hoping some of those reactions will make me reasses my own negativity towards the title.
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