I read all the Amazon.com reviews of this book, including the negatives, so I knew what to expect. Still, I managed to be initially disappointed and it took awhile to figure out exactly why. I think the problem lies in the book's premise that "techniques for uncovering your own unique painting style" can work in a book packed with gorgeous images of the writer's own painting. On the one hand the reader is exhorted to find a completely unique and personal mode of expression, on the other hand they are inundated with eye candy, ideas, and prompts for artwork that is in a very specific, consistent style (vibrant, bold, semi-abstract, spontaneous, playful, deeply layered).

So I can understand some readers' complaints that the book doesn't offer enough instruction in technique to really recreate this style successfully. It's like Bowley ends up teaching you her style while withholding some of the detailed technique information that might have been most interesting and helpful, in the name of wanting you to develop your own style. It's a bit contradictory and the very generic ideas and prompts can be a bit frustrating or even irritating.

All this said, and understanding the limitations of the book, I did come to really appreciate it. The gorgeous imagery was enough to keep me coming back for another look and along the way I began to see the subtlety and wisdom behind the accompanying text. The highest praise I can give the book is that it has gotten me painting again after a long time away from it. Now that I've started painting I just have to put the book away to not be overly influenced by Bowley's beautiful images! :)

The packaging on this deck doesn't make it clear that only the major arcana and court cards are illustrated. It says "Each of the 78 cards contains an exquisite, specially commissioned painting," and the box shows several fully illustrated major cards. However, when you open the deck you find out that the 40 pip cards just have the same generic background (same within each suit) with a repeated symbol (for instance, 3 of cups has the standard cups background and three identical cups arranged on it, like the number cards in a standard deck of playing cards).

Yes, this practice goes back to a tradition before people started illustrating all the tarot cards, but in this day and age of fabulous deck artistry it feels cheap or lazy, and greatly reduces the usefulness of the deck for me. As I like to read for myself and others using the images to spark intuitive insights, having to rely on a memorized formula for the card meanings trivializes the process. Perhaps for someone who already knows the tarot meanings inside out, this would be less of an issue, but it certainly would detract from the enjoyment and utility for anyone new to the practice as I am. Just looking at an image of 5 identical cups is unlikely to mean much.

On the good side, the artwork on the illustrated cards is very pleasing, calm, clean and uncluttered yet detailed enough, in most cases (many of the court cards are a bit generic), to draw out the traditional meanings as well as some intuitive insights. The pictures are very gentle and would be suitable for younger readers or anyone who doesn't like some of the harsher or more violent imagery in some decks. Death and the Devil are both represented in a non-frightening way that suits modern practices of reading those cards as, if not positive, at least not strictly literal. Perhaps to broaden the audience for the deck, all the figures are clothed except, inexplicably, the Star figure who is entirely nude (so I'm not sure what the overall philosophy was about this issue).

Do not confuse this deck with Kat Black's Golden Tarot which was published some years earlier and is a classic among tarot enthusiasts. There is some concern that the publisher using the same name for this deck is acting unethically. It also bothers me that even though the artwork is the only redeeming feature of the deck, the artist's name, Melissa Launay, isn't even included on the package, and is only mentioned in small print in the included book. Whatever the reason for this, it smacks of not giving adequate credit.

Had Launay been contracted to provide full original illustrations for all of the cards, this might have been one of my favourite all purpose decks for reading for others. As is, I'm unlikely to use it except perhaps if I am doing any majors-only readings.

I really like the recipes in this book, a good mix of traditional and more creative dishes, and my kids love looking at the mouth watering photos and planning which dish to try next. Ingredient lists are manageable and the recipes are all very clearly written. If you don't want to do all the steps you can always adapt (which is true of any cookbook), for instance I am not adventurous with peppers and so am following her tip to simply use a dash of hot sauce instead. Flavours may suffer slightly but the results are still wonderful. This is a great cookbook both for browsing and using, inspiring and practical at the same time.

At 1400 recipes this book is enormous, almost overwhelming with choices for virtually every kind of dish. For every type of dish I've looked at there are multiple variations so you can get a good sense of how other people have approached the same dish and choose the one the best suits the ingredients you have on hand, your cooking style, or your family's tastes.

There are numerous other books available where the author presents his or her own favourite version of something, which is great if you find an author whose style and taste matches your own closely. That's not what this cookbook does or claims to be. Instead this gives you a broad cross-section of ways that other people approach each dish. Personally, I love having both kinds of books available. To make something special or really different I will usually choose the first kind of cookbook, but when I just want to get a general idea of how to put a dish together, or some inspiration to make something a bit different, this cookbook is very helpful. I might not follow any of these recipes precisely (mind you I almost always vary recipes somewhat anyway), but from looking at the variety here I can get an good idea of how to make the dish for myself.

With any slow cooker recipes the user will have to take into account how their crock pot varies, as there can be big differences in heat settings, moisture retention, and so on. This isn't a flaw of a cookbook but the nature of using slow cookers. Once you get to know your individual cooker you can better predict results and adapt recipes accordingly.

For the dishes that I've used this book to look for (e.g. pulled or bar-b-que pork), there are usually variations that use packaged seasonings or sauces as well as those that work from scratch, so you can adjust your method based on what ingredients you have on hand and how much prep work you want to do. Reviews that critique the book for including some recipes that use packaged ingredients are off the mark, I think, as this variety is exactly what makes this book excellent for what it sets out to do.

I agree with reviewers that say thumb tabs for chapters would be very useful, as it would be nice to be able to quickly flip to a section to browse through. I've found the index to be competent enough. There are things to quibble with about it but overall it does the job fine.

I am a beginner and teaching myself tarot, and have several decks that I use for different purposes. I was drawn to this deck immediately as the creative potential of circular images and the quirky, lushly detailed images are captivating and intriguing. While I still love this deck for looking at and contemplating, I haven't been able to use it well for readings yet as the LWB is very limited and the images sometimes depart substantially from traditional Rider-Waite-Smith symbolism so I don't know what to make of it.

Some cards are fairly straight-forward, like Judgement, while others leave me confused or completely baffled. The Empress, for example, abandons the usual earth-mother and fertility associations and instead focuses on the idea of mirror-images. I have yet to figure out any convincing connection between this card and the Empress in other decks that I've looked at; it just seems to exist off in its own world.

Is there some larger story or connection between all the cards in this deck that explains the unusual choices and interpretations? The LWB is of no use in figuring this out and so far I haven't felt motivated to spend the time doing a thorough study of the deck. There are some online tarot study groups and those may be of some help.

The cards are printed on high quality stock and feel wonderful in the hand. I am hoping that as I deepen my tarot knowledge or develop more confidence in reading intuitively I'll be able to make better use of them, as the artwork is compelling and seems to offer some fresh, interesting possibilities.

I love the general feeling and mood of this deck, as does everyone I've used it with (all female). The overall tone of the deck is consistent, with symbols like the moon and crows appearing in most cards, and young, attractive, moody human figures used as models. This was the first deck I ever used and I credit it with drawing me into tarot further. The cards are sometimes difficult to associate with the 'traditional' meanings, but have good intuitive possibilities (many people I've read for interpret the cards very differently or even opposite to the included book).

My big complaint about this deck is that the scale is completely off. The artwork is so compressed that it is extremely difficult to make out many of the details. Even with a magnifying glass some of the details are too small or unfocused to make out, which is frustrating and reduces the value of the images. The book does not always help in this regard, as it often doesn't make any mention of the included details or gets them wrong. For one card the book says there is a box under a bed but using a magnifying glass you can see it is a stack of books, not a box, which would change the meaning. I don't know if the author of the book (who is not the illustrator) was given a different version of the artwork to write on or if she didn't use a magnifying glass, but either way it doesn't exactly inspire confidence.

Using a nicer card stock to print on would have also enhanced the deck, but for me the scale issue limits its usefulness and as soon as I had other decks to use I left this one behind.

One the plus side, the plastic wrapping on the deck was cut and the top three cards cut as well (this is inside the shrink-wrapped outer box, so was clearly done during manufacturing somehow), and when I emailed Llewellyn about it they quickly sent me replacement cards for the damaged ones, at no cost. Great customer service!

The overall dark and futuristic artwork of this deck isn't my favorite style, so I'm surprised to find that I really enjoy reading from it and using it for comparative purposes with other decks.

Unlike so many decks where there is fabulous artwork but shrunk down to such a scale that you can't make out the details (I literally have to use a magnifying glass with some decks), this one was created with a clear idea of the final card size so the scale is just perfect. Easy on my middle-aged eyes and when reading for others they can easily see as well.

I also like that the symbolism is so clear and easy to read intuitively. The imagery is similar to the traditional Rider-Waite-Smith cards, but updated to appear fresh and modern, sometimes with interesting twists. I always learn something new from studying these images.

The 'story' in the book (that comes with the deck) didn't catch me, but the card descriptions are wonderful and very insightful. I especially like that each card as commentary by more than one person, so you get a variety of perspectives. Unlike many deck books and LWBs, this one is actually interesting and useful.

The card stock used for printing seems a little cheap to me. It may hold up fine, but just out of the box it didn't particularly feel good in the hand.

To the other reviewer who had a cut in the plastic wrapper and some cards, I had the same thing happen with another deck from Llewellyn (the Mystic Dreamer deck). I emailed them and they immediately shipped me three replacement cards for the damaged ones, at no cost. Outstanding customer service from a publisher!

I read other reviews of this book before purchasing and should have heeded the warnings. Because I am interested in abstract and unconventional approaches to drawing, I thought this would be perfect for me, but after flipping through it I don't feel able or inspired to begin.

There is a monotonous sameness to the drawings all through the book, as though 'expressive' means the same thing to everyone who does it, like random scribbles. It was also disappointing to see that so many exercises required large scale paper attached to walls. I do understand the reason for this and how nice it would be able to do, if one had a large, open studio to work in, but it doesn't seem possible for me to do most of these exercises in my home, as I had imagined.

I do believe the author has valuable lessons here and don't doubt that someone who puts in the effort would have great results, it just isn't practical or inspiring to me. I'm hanging onto it hoping that some day I'll be able to use it.

I am just teaching myself to read tarot and this book has quickly become my 'go to' reference. I usually consult it even before (or instead of) looking at the LWBs or larger interpretive books that come with tarot decks. I love taking a comparative look at tarot decks and this book is perfect for that since it compares several decks for each card, explores the history of each card, and its symbolism and associations in different esoteric traditions. Much of the information is over my head at this point, but I am able to use it to gain an instant understanding of cards while also knowing I will be able to come back to the book over the years to deepen my knowledge. The book is easy to use, clearly written, and a joy to consult. With this I can place each deck into the larger tarot tradition, instead of being limited to what each deck designer presents.

I really like this bag, it is soft, supple, pretty, well-made, and has ample room for a standard size or round tarot deck (I use it to hold the Circle of Life tarot and there is plenty of extra room; the colouring and design are also perfect for that deck). The colour is a little more light aqua than the picture looked on my monitor, and it is very cheery and light-feeling with the sun embroidery and full yellow lining. The seams appear to be reasonably well-sewn but the fabric is on the delicate side so I wouldn't treat it too roughly (but then I wouldn't anyway).