Your Tarot Guide: Learn to speak the language of the cards

by Melinda Lee Holm

Uncover the meanings of the cards to interpret the past, present and future with this inspiring guide from expert tarot reader Melinda Lee Holm.


In this beautifully illustrated handbook, expert tarot reader Melinda Lee Holm shares her method of understanding tarot as a language, helping you to gain fluency in your readings. Beginning with the basics, you'll find out about the deck structure and suits, the history of tarot and how to choose your deck. Learn about different spreads, or patterns of cards chosen for a reading, and discover how the cards combine to tell stories and provide guidance. The book also includes a dictionary of the meaning of each of the 78 tarot cards, its layers of text and imagery, and the different ways it can function. With their symbols and richly detailed scenes, Rohan Eason's stunning illustrations provide visual clues to the meanings of the cards. Whether you are a complete beginner or would like to add further depth to your readings, this unique approach to tarot will help you to gain insight into your past, present and future, and find the wisdom and answers that you need.

Genres: Tarot, Spirituality, Nonfiction

263 pages, Kindle Edition

Published October 10, 2023

Reviews

[Karen · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a certified tarot reader of two years and a general practitioner of the art for a little over three, I'd say that I'm an intermediate when it comes to tarot. I have a basic understanding of the Major and Minor Arcana, the different suits and their court cards, and their numerological meanings. I also still find myself checking the meanings of the cards in the guidebooks every now and again to inform my intuition, but let's be real, I want to be one of those cool tarot readers that can just read the cards on their own. Plus, what if I'm at a cocktail party, and I want to give a bit more of the history about tarot and its Qabbalistic associations? I don't want to be just any tarot reader. I want to be that tarot reader.

Well, I'm in luck because Your Tarot Guide by Melinda Lee Holm helps me do all of these things. It's a perfect reference and springboard for anyone's magickal practice, regardless of experience, gender, religion, or arcane denomination.

I wish I had this book when I was first learning the meaning of the cards. Instead I was using The Ultimate Guide to Tarot Card Meanings, which was not a bad guide in the slightest. It was a great reference for all the tarot cards, how they could be read reversed, and how they could be read for careers, love, and money. But it was more than 400 pages long and felt as heavy the bundle of staves that man in the Ten of Wands card is carrying. By trying to do one thing too well, it ended up being too burdensome.

Your Tarot Guide doesn't do this at all. In this book, Melinda Lee Holm is your new magickal bestie who sits down with you and tells you everything you've ever wanted to know about the cards and more. Organized in easy charts and bite-sized paragraphs, this book will get you on your way to tarot mastery in no time and become your newest favorite reference.

Or, at least, it's becoming mine.

[Tysha · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a fantastic tarot handbook, within which Melinda shares her method of understanding and using tarot as a language, and using it as a tool for navigating life. The information is easy to read, so perfect for beginners, and easy to follow along with. Even though I don't consider myself a beginner anymore, I still got a lot out of this book, and I'm definitely going to spend a while with the Tarot of Tales again, just using Melinda's methods to "read the map".

After a section taking you through some spreads, starting with a single card, and working up to using 12 cards for The Year Ahead spread, we get into information on each individual card in a standard tarot deck. The Major Arcana cards all have their divinatory messages, something to think about regarding that card, extra meanings based on what type of spread you've done (projection, love & relationships, career & money) a challenge/reversal meaning, as well as astrological association, Hebrew letter, crystal and apothecary correspondences, and an affirmation. Once you get into the Minor Arcana, each suit gets its own overview, as well as crystal and apothecary associations, then each card gets a divinatory meaning.

This book is illustrated throughout by Rohan Daniel Eason, and shows off all the cards from both the Elemental Power Tarot and the Tarot of Tales. Each card page shows that card from both decks, making it easy to compare them (and I've been playing a very fun game of spotting the symbols that appear in both).

I'm very glad to have this book in my tarot library, and I'm sure I'm going to get a lot of use out of it.

[Athena Beanbowl · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is already my favorite Tarot book for beginners that I have found so far. I started out by getting the books ranked as the essential guides for tarot, but I found them difficult to focus on. My beginning deck is actually the Mermaid Tarot Deck from etsy by Dame Darcy. I felt a connection more to this deck than to my beginner smith-waite deck. So since I wanted to focus on making connections to the symbols on my custom deck it was even harder to remember meanings i associated with the cards when the beginner guides focused on interpreting cards based on the smith-waite illustrations specifically. It's almost immediately illuminating to read this guide with open interpretations of the cards. The example images are of the author's own custom decks, which are beautiful, but the examples are not distracting from your own readings. There are only a few journal exercises suggested in the reading, and it's honestly such a relief to not find a workbook, but just the introduction to your deck.

[Caleb Thomas · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another great resource for those new to tarot. I like the way this is laid out and offers great insight into connecting with the cards and offering up some traditional meanings to learn along your learning journey.

[Julianne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent

[Annie MacPherson · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don't give a hoot about Tarot... Tarot card illustration on the other hand.... !

[Michaela · Rating 4 out of 5]

Much more modern psychological spin. Well done, organized, and nicely illustrated.