LOL...I'd fancy a first! Apparently the book that goes with is very good. Have you read it?
*clears throat*
Actually (yes I have) I don't find the book
at all what it's cracked up to be. At the risk of sounding horrendously snobbish - Oh well - here goes - it does a very good job at conveying tarot as something incredibly complex and kabbalah-y and thoth-y and you learn how Mercury is exalted and Jupiter rules and that the kindred spirits are - lest you forget - the Daughters of the Reconcilers.
But actually I don't (personally) find the book very substantial. It does something very odd in its card meanings, which I only recently realised. You have 4 or 5 pages of information about each card which is - like -
wow, except I realised as I was reading how it just repeats itself over and over again. It's like listening to your grandmother telling you the same thing again and again and again. Take Judgement for example (excerpts below, a few random phrases from three & a half pages);
"The message of this card is that a situation can be solved by making a clear judgement...
"We must weigh all the elements and qualities to come to an objective viewpoint..."
"This judgement is made from a detached place..."
"(We must) measure the various viewpoints to arrive at a true appraisal."
"A strong approach of discernment and discrimination is called for."
"In essence the card is about weighing the actions..."
(got the message yet?)
"Judgment urges us to consider any issue or matter carefully."
"[we must take] the time to compare and understand all perspectives."
"Being objective and impartial allows us to see the true essence of things."
"This type of judgment involves a criticism based on contemplation."
But it's all the
same. And all the card descriptions feel like this. Incredibly repetitive and unedited. The book is 299 pages long and could actually be about 50 IMO. All the card descriptions have this rambling "stuck record" feel.
But I have the deck with me this week and my plan is to do a few (more) readings with it when I can and see what comes up...I like it
slightly more than I did last year.