Tarot Plain and Simple.

jolie_amethyst

I love TP&S, and it is my go-to book, as well; however, I wonder if it is a bit expansive for a beginner. Louis's in-depth card "meanings" could be a little overwhelming for a newbie, I think. (How many times do we see a beginner ask, "But which meaning fits? There are so many of them listed!"

As a beginner: No, it's not too much. I started with the LWB (which actually was neither little nor white) that came with my first deck. Within two weeks, I was here, digging up as many meanings as I could find for each card. Six months in, when a card doesn't seem to fit a position (or within the spread as a whole) and intuition or the LWB have failed me, TP&S is now my first stop to get a ton of possibilities in one place.

I'm only sorry I didn't get it, and the Robin Wood deck, sooner in my journey. The more background information I feed my brain, the better my intuition becomes, because intuition, unlike psychic abilities, works best with a strong foundation of knowledge. TP&S provides a very solid place to start.

FYI--the RW book isn't as easy to come by as it once was, as it is no longer in print. Used copies are often outrageously priced, and when I looked a couple of weeks ago, Robin no longer sold the book on her site. Ebook format is basically the only economical way left to pick that one up. I know Amazon has it in Kindle format; don't know if anyone else sells it in EPUB or PDF formats.
 

cSpaceDiva

Well, I'm going to against the grain here. I have lots of tarot books, but I still feel like I'm lacking a basic tarot book with easily accessible information. (I started with Tarot for Beginners--not a bad book, but I can't necessarily say that I recommend it). After seeing the praise here for Tarot Plain and Simple, I decided to check it out. I placed a reserve for it at my public library, but then I found a copy for sale pretty cheap and I decided to just go ahead and buy it. Now I'm wishing I had borrowed a copy before deciding to buy.

I was taken aback when I saw "Queen of Swords Reversed: A real bitch." Right there at the top of the page. Um, wow. Ok. "Queen of Cups Reversed: A fickle woman." Hmm. Let me see what he says about the Kings. KW(R): Intolerance KP(R): Lack of business sense. Vulgarity. KS(R): Premeditated malice. KC(R): Sleaziness. So the Kings reversed represent negative characteristics, but the Queens reversed are inherently bad people--seems a little inconsistent. But the kicker was when I came across this little gem under the Queen of Wands (R) keywords: "Penis envy." Seriously, wtf?! Does anyone know which card represents pussy envy? King of Cups (R) would make the most sense, but I don't see it there. Is Anthony Louis a sexist or anti-feminist? I'm not sure. I'm disappointed because I really like the format of this book, and there's probably lots of really helpful info here. I just don't think I can be receptive to anything he has to say.
 

ana luisa

Well, I'm going to against the grain here. I have lots of tarot books, but I still feel like I'm lacking a basic tarot book with easily accessible information. (I started with Tarot for Beginners--not a bad book, but I can't necessarily say that I recommend it). After seeing the praise here for Tarot Plain and Simple, I decided to check it out. I placed a reserve for it at my public library, but then I found a copy for sale pretty cheap and I decided to just go ahead and buy it. Now I'm wishing I had borrowed a copy before deciding to buy.

I was taken aback when I saw "Queen of Swords Reversed: A real bitch." Right there at the top of the page. Um, wow. Ok. "Queen of Cups Reversed: A fickle woman." Hmm. Let me see what he says about the Kings. KW(R): Intolerance KP(R): Lack of business sense. Vulgarity. KS(R): Premeditated malice. KC(R): Sleaziness. So the Kings reversed represent negative characteristics, but the Queens reversed are inherently bad people--seems a little inconsistent. But the kicker was when I came across this little gem under the Queen of Wands (R) keywords: "Penis envy." Seriously, wtf?! Does anyone know which card represents pussy envy? King of Cups (R) would make the most sense, but I don't see it there. Is Anthony Louis a sexist or anti-feminist? I'm not sure. I'm disappointed because I really like the format of this book, and there's probably lots of really helpful info here. I just don't think I can be receptive to anything he has to say.

I hear you and agree that some definitions may be a bit "overboard". I personally like this book a lot and am NOT sexist or anti-feminist AT ALL. Perhaps it's because the way I use my books. I take what I want, what suits me at the time and I discard the rest. Never been fond of absolutes and I do not know of any written material that has been perfect. I am sorry you didn't like it... If you're not too put off by the above definitions, give it another chance. It has some very neat propositions for some cards that had me stuck for the longest time. Eg: HM - Flexibility. Daring to be different. Serenity. (thank goodness for something different from "sacrifice"!);TEMPERANCE - mercy, a mixed marriage, interracial harmony.
If it still bothers you, try Bunning's on-line course. It's free and you can have a look at the whole material before diving in ! :)
 

annabel398

I'm a Queen of Swords type personality and I don't particularly prize warm-and-fuzzy--give me cool and precise any day. But really, Joan Bunning strikes me as a person I'd want to be my new BFF... Her book is encouraging, clear, has lots of examples and exercises, and is generally so good that I paid for the book even though 100% of its content is free online. It's my go-to suggestion for folks new to tarot. Highly recommended!