Tarot Deciphered: Decoding Esoteric Symbolism in Modern Tarot

This book is filled with information! I'm very excited to dive deeper into it. I really appreciate the depth that the author goes into with each card, and the fact that it doesn't ONLY revolve around Rider-Waite-Smith symbolism.The only problem I've come across is the elemental symbols for Air and Earth seem to be swapped (pictured). Earth should point down, Air should point up. I noticed this in the beginning section and in the correspondence list for The Fool. I'm not sure yet if it's this way throughout the entire book. I'm assuming this is just a simple printing error, because they really seem to know their stuff :PIt's not huge deal, just something to be aware of.Each card section begins with its title and name, and a correspondence list: card number, planet/sign and dignities, Hebrew letter, Hebrew letter meaning, path # on the Tree of Life, 'color scales in the Four Worlds,' and card themes and keywords.Next, there are pages/paragraphs going into detail for Astrology/Element, Mythology/Alchemy, Qabalah, Rider-Waite-Smith Symbolism, Thoth Symbolism, Related Cards, and 'Advanced Concepts for Further Exploration.'There is also some extra informations on some cards, like specific elemental interpretation, 'Geomantic Figure/I Ching Hexagram', time of year, or related decans.Fantastic! Just SO MUCH information.I'm pretty new to tarot, and personally I prefer to research and extract as much specifically intended symbolism and meaning from the cards as I can, rather than feeling it out myself. This book seems to be perfect for me :)

I purchased this book back in November and today (1/20/22) I realized while searching for some interpretations pertaining to a Major Arcana, that information had been left out - physically left out.As in, a set of pages (75-98) is not present in the book I purchased. There is however a duplicated set of pages, 51-74. A trade-off of sorts.The research that took place to pull these sources together is fantastic! Thank you to the authors and contributors, present & past alike*I was looking for information regarding VIII (Strength). The information missing from this book pertains to VII, VIII and IX - The Wheel of Fortune starts on page 101

A real book on tarot. The system is respected and the information is clear, precise and rich. A broad vision where everything makes sense.This is the book for beginners and advanced readers as well.

I am so happy to have this in my collection. It walks through every card, laid out very well, and dives into the deeps meanings. if you are wanting to know more about the signs and symbols of Tarot this book is amazing

This book is a veritable course on tarot. The distinct discussions of Waite-Smith and Thoth tradition and consistent categorical evaluation of Kabbalah, etc with each card, make it an idea companion to Rachel Pollock’s Tarot Wisdom.

Excellent resource for studying tarot.

I am happy with this purchase

I have been a student of the tarot for over two decades, and the first word that springs to mind about this detailed and amazing book is simply “WOW”! In this book, the authors delve deep into tarot symbolism by deconstructing the images from the Rider-Waite-Smith and Thoth decks. They also include a detailed analysis of the cards in relation to astrology (especially as viewed by The Order of the Golden Dawn, which strongly influenced both decks) and the qabalah. The authors explore both the major and minor arcana in depth, starting with the major. Sections for each major arcana card include astrology, mythology, qabalah correspondences, symbolism in the two decks, an image of the card from another deck (aside from the two being studied in depth), other cards related to the particular card, and further ideas to explore about the symbolism and meaning of the cards. As you might imagine, the setup is slightly more simple for the minor arcana. You certainly need to read the introductory material before you delve deep into any particular card. The introductory material explains several points that will help you appreciate what is stated in the card sections later. The only fault I can see in this book is that it does not include the images for the Thoth cards as it does for the Rider-Waite-Smith deck. If you consider yourself a serious student or practitioner of the tarot, you need this book! It will certainly give you a grounding in tarot symbolism that will be a foundation and springboard for your intuition as you work with the cards.I received a free copy of this book, but that did not affect my review.

This book, like the previous 2, is brilliant, well written and very comprehensive of multiple esoteric Tarot Schools. The typesetting and layout is beautiful and very pleasant to follow. This book is destined to be always at hand. If you are a Tarot practitioner buy this book and Ms. Chang’s other two books as well as Ms. Meleen’s decks today. Highest recommendation.

It does have a lot of useful information but definitely not for the beginner or even intermediate reader. It goes very indepth into astrology, mythology and even some numerology. Which is great but something about how it was laid out was very hard for me to digest and get the information I was looking for. I would say the book assumes you have a very detailed knowledge on tarot already and are looking to go super, super deep. This is more a warning to beginners looking for a great reference guide rather than me saying its a bad book overall, its not, its just very, very heavy.

From a content perspective it's a good book. However, when you receive a used book in which other, previous purchasers, have handwritten their own notes in it one begins to question Amazon's return policies and how many used items are being passed off as new. Just sayin' . . .

Haven't read this yet and I assume it's great BUT what happened with the publishing ? There are a pile of pages that are a different SIZE and are BOUND together still. What a mess

This book is for some that want deeper information about tarot in a more academic way. It's a really thick book. Too much for me at the stage I am just now so I decided to return it.