The Tarot Bible: The Definitive Guide to the Cards and Spreads [Paperback]

I bought this book with the hopes of supplementing my small library of tarot books. If this had been my first book on tarot, perhaps my feelings would be different about it. In my opinion, Sarah Bartlett presents both good and bad material, but enough bad that I'm fairly disappointed.

First, what I don't like.

1) The card descriptions, being the meat of the book, have barely more content then the LWBs (little white books) for most decks. Cards are given one brief paragraph of general description, then two or three paragraphs of what the card would mean if it appears in certain spread positions. Example, for Rider-Waite-Smith's The Empress: "If you draw this card in a 'future outcome' position, you can be assured of progress in any plan, however daunting it may seem." It is very formulistic, almost the sorts of descriptions you would expect to hear from a quack tarot reader on TV.

2) The author ignores reversals, and forces her readers/students to do so as well. She does go into brief detail about how reversals are used (that the card is "blocked" or the energy is undeveloped, etc). However, she then goes on to explain why she personally doesn't use reversed cards, how "the rich symbolism of the upright cards will tell you what is lacking..." This would be an acceptable statement to make if tarot symbolism was actually covered within the book. Unfortunately, the work falls on your shoulders to decipher the symbolism through intuition and guesswork, with little to no guidance on her part.

A note here: I understand that using reversed cards is a highly controversial topic among readers. I personally don't utilize reversals myself, due to doing exactly what Bartlett suggests. Yet I study extensively and have used reversals in the past. My gripe with her method is how she ignores the option completely (even encourages you to turn any reversed cards around in a reading), which I feel would hurt a new student to tarot.

3) The only deck covered extensively in this book is RWS. There are reviews covering a few other decks, but all other information given is based on RWS. For a work claiming to be "definitive," the omission of other decks is bothersome and limiting.

Now, what I do like about this book.

1) There is a nice collection of spreads, which are broken into categories of Everyday, Relationship, Revelation, and Destiny. Each spread also has an example reading and how the author would interpret it.

2) Some basic information is listed about astrology, numerology, crystals, colors, kaballah, and meditation techniques. All of this can be found for free online, but it's a nice option to have it all in one volume.

3) Decent size, layout, and print quality. Not your typical black-and-white-on-cheap-newsprint book. Everything is in full color and a nice resolution so you can really see the cards. The small size (5.5 inches by 6.5 inches) makes it easy to carry in a purse while remaining discrete.

Overall, I get the strong feeling that this book is slanted at potential women tarot readers who are put off by plain-looking (but better written) tarot books found on store shelves. For new tarot students, as long as this book is purchased as a companion to a meatier, albeit drier work (such as Rachel Pollack's Seventy-Eight Degrees of Wisdom ), this is good for taking with you for readings away from home as you get familiar with the cards. As a stand-alone source of information, this will barely get your feet wet.

While this book probably doesn't have the detail to help advanced readers, it's an excellent primer for someone getting started.

The main area where this book shines is in the card descriptions. Unlike Bunning (who gives masses of indigestible bullet points) or Greer, who sometimes gets bogged down in paragraphs of detail, Bartlett does a great job of mixing prose and bullet points. An image of the card (from a RWS-inspired deck) and a list of key ideas makes each card's meaning very accessible, while 3-4 paragraphs of detailed guidance help you find more sophisticated meanings and understand what the card could mean in various contexts.

Bartlett also does a good job of explaining the meanings of both the suits and the numbers, giving the student a solid foundation in figuring out meanings even when you don't remember exactly what that particular card is supposed to mean. Her writing is clear and concise - enough detail to ground you without drowning you.

The book is not without faults, however. Bartlett is somewhat dismissive of reversed cards. This may be a wise choice for the beginning reader, but her treatment of the subject will be far too superficial for those who want to delve into that area. (Greer's "Tarot Reversals" would be a good addition to the library for people who care about reversals, but it's much less approachable than this book.)

Also, Bartlett throws a lot of spreads at the reader, and the book could probably benefit by being more selective in that area. While it's nice that she supplies "daily spreads" "relationship spreads" "revelation spreads" and "destiny spreads," the result is a little unfocused. WIth 40 spreads, how could it not be? Cutting the number of spread in half (or more) and giving more examples would have improved this book.

But really the meat of any book on the tarot is the card descriptions, and Bartlett provides the best organized section for really learning that material, with the best mix of depth and easily-assimilated detail, that I've seen.

I use Sarah Bartlett's TAROT BIBLE as the text book in a beginning class on Tarot reading. I think it is excellent and worth buying. It is very comprehensive and its organization and layout are very helpful, particularly if you are new to tarot. This is truly a tarot handbook for the interpreter of meaning rather than a book about tarot.

What I especially like about this book is that it is easy to use in interpreting a layout. For the most part, its interpretations are positive rather than negative. Using other books, readings were confusing at best and alarming at worst. Using this handbook was easy, extremely helpful, and the readings feel very insightful. My students find it very helpful.

I contrast this book to Eason's COMPLETE GUIDE TO TAROT (which was neither complete nor a good guide.) Using the same cards and the two books, I got a much better reading -- more insight, more on-target, more directive -- using Bartlett's book. Also, the TAROT BIBLE is MUCH easier to get around in and locate material. I added a few plastic tabs to locate suits and the layouts I want to use. The color-indexed pages do the rest.

I particularly like it that every card is covered and in about the same depth. Some books slight the minor arcana to a degree that choosing a minor card in a central position implies a disappointment and a weakness. Also, every card is illustrated. I use another deck and design but the pictures in the book (all in color) are helpful and improve my understanding of her points and descriptions. Every card is presented in a 'you, now' position, a 'blockage' position and a 'future' position as well as descriptions of its general influence. This is extraordinarily helpful to me in interpretation.

The book presents several layouts in each of five categories and enough information to explore other layouts -- or even develop your own. The author does not cover reversals except in broad (may delay or up-end a card's meaning.) I didn't find that to be a problem and it's an approach many books take. As a novice, I am not interested in highly refined meanings and detailed predictions. Also, the author does not explore alternative decks to a great extent but this is no problem at all unless a reader wants to invest a particular design with its own particular meaning. Again, not for the novice.

Overall, this is a fine book, especially if you want to establish a solid grounding in the tarot without becoming completely dominated by the cards.

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