Tarosophy Marcus Katz

[Carla]

I've looked at the other two threads on Tarosophy and neither had much information about the book itself, by Marcus Katz. Just some arguing about his self-promotion and a bit of outrage at the price of the book being charged by a secondary seller on Amazon.

It's been over a year now since those threads, so I wonder if anyone here has read the book and what do you think of it. I am interested in knowing more about the book itself.

[Elendil]

I have the book (bought at a reasonable price). I keep dipping into it. It is an extremely interesting read with lots of charts and exercises to help get a handle on the cards or to develop a system for using them. It covers a lot of ground including the A word Carla (with some indication of how you might combine those astrology attributes and assignments into readings IF YOU WANT TO). I don't find the book at all preachy and the exercises are interesting and FUN. In some ways it reminds me of Tarot for Yourself and 21 Ways... (the Mary Greer books). It doesn't give concrete card meanings but offers different ways to work them out/establish them for yourself.

Verdict: Well worth the effort.

[Carla]

Originally Posted by Elendil

I have the book (bought at a reasonable price). I keep dipping into it. It is an extremely interesting read with lots of charts and exercises to help get a handle on the cards or to develop a system for using them. It covers a lot of ground including the A word Carla (with some indication of how you might combine those astrology attributes and assignments into readings IF YOU WANT TO). I don't find the book at all preachy and the exercises are interesting and FUN. In some ways it reminds me of Tarot for Yourself and 21 Ways... (the Mary Greer books). It doesn't give concrete card meanings but offers different ways to work them out/establish them for yourself.

Verdict: Well worth the effort.

Thanks for the review. Who knows, if someone explained the A word to me in a way that clicked with me, I might LOVE it. Maybe I'll make the effort.

[Alpha-Omega]

I reviewed Tarosophy, here is the review


“Tarosophy will be sure to become a new instant classic in the tarot community that in 50+ years people will still be reading & learning from it.” – Angelo Nasios

Unique, comprehensive, ambitious, fresh and elegant, these are just a few words you could use to describe Tarosophy: Tarot to Engage Life, Not Escape It. Even these words limit how excellent this piece of tarot literature truly is. Tarosophy combines the words Tarot & Sophia (Greek for Wisdom) which simply means Tarot Wisdom / Wisdom of tarot. This book is packed full of wise words and excellent information, the material in here lives up to the name Tarosophy.



Marcus Katz author of Tarosophy has done the almost impossible, compiling 30 years of studying, reading and teaching tarot into one book that is suitable for beginners to advance readers.



Tarosophy is not another Tarot 101 beginner’s guide/ card meaning cookbook. This book is more like a professors lecture. If that sounds boring trust me this book is no dud. The writing style of Marcus is one of my favorites. In the world of Tarot books most authors are female, there is a small percentage of male tarot authors simple because there is a small percentage of male readers. I love to read a tarot book that is written by a man, simply because of the clean, cut and the less “woo-woo” airy aura, that female readers often attach to their work. Marcus is a down to earth author who presents tarot in the right way to new readers without them feeling they are getting into something that requires special spiritual lexicon or understanding.



Tarosopy is broken into three sections, with each section broken down into separate parts. The first section is for beginners. The second section is for intermediate and the finale third section is for advance tarots, which focus in on spiritual/progressive subjects like astrology and Kabbalah. I will talk about section one mostly for this review.



Marcus introduces us to tarot and goes to work throwing out the myths of tarot like the requirement that a deck be gifted to you and the like. What is the Tarot? Marcus goes on to explain that tarot is a metaphor, a map, compass; it’s a mirror and can be used in many ways. It can be used for casting spells, making talismans, telling fortunes and to discover yourself. Marcus says, “tarot is not a solitary system, it likes to make friends”. The tarot has been connected and associated with astrology, kabbalah, psychology, magick, Gnosticism and much more. Simply put, tarot is a lot and has no limits to how you want to use it and what to apply it to. It is flexible.



Marcus then goes to talk quickly about Tarot History and those dam pesky gypsies and bunk and junk in that is floating in the air about tarot origins.



After than comes some very good information that all readers should read. The parts about Metaphor, Symbols, Archetypes and How does Tarot Work were very enjoyable to read and very fresh. Marcus explains what a metaphor is (via three qualities) and how tarot is a metaphor by way of the symbols in the images. Symbols are components of the metaphor, which are seen as clues and triggers to something hidden or unknown to us.



How does Tarot work? Marcus takes his own jab at this with the help of some quantum physics (based on Itzhak Bentov’s description of holograms) I wont go into detail about this, you need to read it yourself. Synchronicity is next talked about as a way tarot may work and Marcus explains it better than any other person. There is some confusion as to what synchronicity is and how it relates to tarot and Marcus clears the air about this.



Archetypes are touched upon quickly, mainly to explain what they are and are not in the tarot. Marcus makes it clear that The Fool is not an archetype its self. “The Fool is an example of an underlying archetype of which the fool, jester, clown, trickster are all arising images”.



This is all just a small part of Section one. Now just imagine the rest of the book! Tarosophy is filled with exercises (50 of them!) as well as illustrations. Tarosophy is also sourced and footnotes are everywhere, so if you can look at Marcus’ sources for yourself. Tarosophy will be sure to become a new instant classic in the tarot community that in 50+ years people will still be reading & learning from it.

[shadowdancer]

thanks for the review. I have never come across this author before, but having seen his latest release on amazon I was interested in reading more about his approach.

Funnily enough my two favourite tarot authors are guys: James Ricklef and Mark McElroy. Something about their style that really does work with me.

Davina

[vee]

This book looks awesome. Is there any way to get it that doesn't cost an arm and a leg?

[bogiesan]

Originally Posted by vee

This book looks awesome. Is there any way to get it that doesn't cost an arm and a leg?

I suppose that depends on how much value you place on the author's point of view and his ability to make a living in the tarot business. It's too new to be avaialble at remainder sellers or on the used market. If you can wait a few months it will show up at Powells Books or Abe. You could request your local library purchase the volume and place it into circulation and then get your name on the hold list more than once. Maybe you could find two or three friends to share the expense and share the book until one of you wants to buy the others out.

[MountainGirl]

This is the website for the book:
http://www.tarotprofessionals.com/tarosophy.html
If you go to the press release on the left and scroll past the promotional stuff, there is a description of the 3 parts of the book as well as a detailed table of contents. Looks pretty intense, I think this one will go on my wishlist.
There are also some free articles by the author so you can get a feel for his writing style and see if you like it.

Blessings,
MountainGirl