Tarot Tells the Tale
From Tarotpedia
Contents |
[edit] Tarot Tells the Tale: Explore Three-card Readings Through Familiar Stories
[edit] Author
[edit] Publication details
ISBN 0738702722 Softback, 269 pages
[edit] Date of Publication
2003
[edit] Publisher
[edit] Description
Tarot Tells the Tale uses James Ricklef's "Ask Knighthawk" readings (many of which were from articles he wrote for the American Tarot Association) as a way to show the reader how to use the simple yet effective three-card spread. After an introduction on how to use three-card spreads (including the issue of reversed cards, ethics, and how to actually read) Ricklef showcases 21 three-card readings, each one for a historical or fictional character (such as Sleeping Beauty or Joan of Arc.) He gives the interpretations of each reading as well as his own notes on why he interpreted them in the ways he did. Finally, Ricklef demonstrates how to do a reading using the ubiquitous, but unwieldy, Celtic Cross spread. He notes that you can split this large spread into mini-spreads of two to four cards each, making it easier to tackle.
The appendix includes brief card meanings, as well as links back to the readings themselves so that each card can be cross-referenced to an instance where it used in the context of a reading.
[edit] Author's comments
Long ago, when I was first learning how to read Tarot cards, I found books that explained individual card meanings and books that presented Tarot spreads. But what I most wanted to see -- which was sample readings that demonstrated the art of doing an actual Tarot reading -- was much harder to find. In time, I found a few such readings, but invariably they were for an anonymous person, and my lack of familiarity with that person’s situation limited how well I could make sense of the reading.
Years later, when I was considering how to help others learn about the Tarot, I decided to do a series of Tarot readings for famous characters from mythology, literature, and history in order to provide sample readings that anyone could relate to and understand. And in addition to making those readings informative and educational, I tried to make them fun and interesting to read, since people learn best when they are being entertained.
These readings, which were published in various Tarot magazines and newsletters, were well received, and my book, Tarot Tells the Tale presents many of them, along with comments about the challenges they presented, instructive observations about them, and things I learned in the process of doing them. In this way, the sample readings in my book give novice Tarot readers the kind of help I had looked for when I was in their shoes.
[edit] Author's website
James Ricklef - Tarot and More
[edit] Reviews
- The Tarot Institute review by John Gilbert
- Aeclectic Tarot review by Solandia
- The Diva Digest review by Delena Rasbold
- Janet Boyer’s Tarot Reviews review by Janet Boyer
- World Tarot Network review by Deni Richter
- Tainted Tarot review by Clare McHale
- Tarot Association of the British Isles review by Shelley King
- Tarot Passages review by Kim Huggens
- Tarot Passages review by Joan Cole
- Tarot Passages review by Ron Hogan
