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The Secret Language of Tarot sets itself apart from other tarot books by teaching readers how to translate the pictorial symbolism from one deck to another, strengthening the reader's ability to recognize specific icons in any deck and in the world around them. The Secret Language of Tarot can be used as both a reference book and as a series of guided meditations on the individual symbols. Each of the seven chapters contain a set of symbols that share a common theme. Extensive research provides readers with the lore and mythological meanings of the symbols to help foster intuitive powers. The explanation of imagery is both insightful and eclectic. When read from beginning to end, The Secret Language of Tarot reveals a hidden current of understanding and connection between the individual cards of the deck. Each chapter ends with an "Integration Lesson" and a special "Symbol Spread" to deepen the understanding of the cards. The Secret Languageof Tarot brings imagery and intuition into a course of study of the tarot. It is a must-have for any serious tarot reader that is written in accessible language for the novice as well.… (more)
User reviews
It's written more for the spiritual seeker than the grubby symbol-collector, so I did skip the meditations and some of the more general introductions, but I appreciated their research into Kaballah and alchemy, as well as some familiarity with Waite's Golden Dawn milieu. There were also glimpses into some of the numerological significances of the minor arcana.
That said, I would have enjoyed more of that kind of information, and less of the more general discussion of what (for example) clouds mean to us. I can come up with six or eight possibilities as quickly as the next English major, but I don't know as much about the gnostic tidbits of the last century, so I might look for a book that covers similar information in greater depth.
I did like the images of the R-W cards that illustrated each symbol, removing the necessity of hauling out your deck and sorting through it each time you tackle a new symbol.
The book seems to have been adapted from a tarot symbolism course the couple has taught; it seemed a bit odd that the greetings to the class were preserved in the text. The book bid me "hello" and "welcome to our class" several times each chapter.