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Tarot as a Way of Life: A Jungian Approach to the Tarot
Using Jungian archetypes, the I-Ching, and color/number combinations, Hamaker-Zondag shows you how to interpret the tarot without having to refer to a guidebook for definitions. Her methods will help you use the tarot to understand your personal innerchanges and their potential manifestations in daily life. She also makes an engaging comparison of the imagery in various decks, so that you can choose the deck that you like the best. Illustrated. Index.
286 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1995
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
March 21, 2017
A good idea that falls apart on closer examination
First of all I would like to say that I do believe this is a "Genuine" book that has been written by somobdy who really believes the subject material as opposed to someone trying to make a quick buck. But equally in joining Numerology with Tarot the Writer (in this publication at least) evidently hasn't thought things through very well. A big warning sign is that and based the book on Tarot Myth and not Tarot Fact, the writer states "As far as we know Tarot has always been used as a tool for divination", but of course this is completely untrue. Tarot Cards were invented, and used for, games of Gambling and were so for over Three Centuries before they morphed into the "Occult" tool we know today. If this book had been written in the 19th Century then the writer could be forgiven for thinking this but certainly not in 1995.
In simple terms what you find in these pages is something like this - say for example the cards that are Numbered "Nine", 5 + 4 = 9 so the Writer goes into great detail about the meanings of Five and Four in Numerology thus revealing the meaning of the card. All well and good but what about 7 + 2 - that equals Nine too. Or what about 3 + 6? Or 8 + 1? You see the problem here? Why has the author settled on this particular equation while ignoring the others?
Another basic fallacy that the Writer has made is the number of the cards in History. They make a great deal about the earliest Fourteenth Century origin of Tarot Cards, "The Classic Tarot" as the author calls it, and why the number was set at 78 cards - but of course it WASN'T set at 78 cards at all, this was a development with late Eighteenth Century Occultists who were debunked as hoaxers with the discovery of the Rosetta Stone. The Cary Yale certainly wasn't 78 cards. The Minchiate Certainly isn't 78 cards. The Visconti Sforza had had the "Missing" cards reproduced in the 1970's but the general consensus among experts is that they never existed anyway. How the author has missed such a basic fact as this is truly baffling.
Nevertheless, in conclusion I would say that there is some value here as alternative interpretations to think about but there are equally so many holes in the Writers theory that discretion needs to be employed when using this method.
First of all I would like to say that I do believe this is a "Genuine" book that has been written by somobdy who really believes the subject material as opposed to someone trying to make a quick buck. But equally in joining Numerology with Tarot the Writer (in this publication at least) evidently hasn't thought things through very well. A big warning sign is that and based the book on Tarot Myth and not Tarot Fact, the writer states "As far as we know Tarot has always been used as a tool for divination", but of course this is completely untrue. Tarot Cards were invented, and used for, games of Gambling and were so for over Three Centuries before they morphed into the "Occult" tool we know today. If this book had been written in the 19th Century then the writer could be forgiven for thinking this but certainly not in 1995.
In simple terms what you find in these pages is something like this - say for example the cards that are Numbered "Nine", 5 + 4 = 9 so the Writer goes into great detail about the meanings of Five and Four in Numerology thus revealing the meaning of the card. All well and good but what about 7 + 2 - that equals Nine too. Or what about 3 + 6? Or 8 + 1? You see the problem here? Why has the author settled on this particular equation while ignoring the others?
Another basic fallacy that the Writer has made is the number of the cards in History. They make a great deal about the earliest Fourteenth Century origin of Tarot Cards, "The Classic Tarot" as the author calls it, and why the number was set at 78 cards - but of course it WASN'T set at 78 cards at all, this was a development with late Eighteenth Century Occultists who were debunked as hoaxers with the discovery of the Rosetta Stone. The Cary Yale certainly wasn't 78 cards. The Minchiate Certainly isn't 78 cards. The Visconti Sforza had had the "Missing" cards reproduced in the 1970's but the general consensus among experts is that they never existed anyway. How the author has missed such a basic fact as this is truly baffling.
Nevertheless, in conclusion I would say that there is some value here as alternative interpretations to think about but there are equally so many holes in the Writers theory that discretion needs to be employed when using this method.
April 25, 2020
I have mixed feelings about this, but it was worth reading. physically, it seems like a self-published book. I don't think it quite was, but it's a pretty small publisher and not all that physically appealing. the text was printed too close to the spine of the book, I had to try to open it really wide. but the font, the quality of the reproductions - even the author photo was low resolution. it just gave me a sort of background vibe of this information is kind of off the wall...
besides that, the contents didn't really live up to the title. I expected a lot of card meaning discussion, and there was that, but also maybe sort of the junctures at which you might use tarot. it was more like the author's personal collection of information. she started, oddly, with a comparison between the RWS and other tarot decks, which seemed to mostly say that by changing the artwork in other decks some of the pertinent jungian symbolism was abolished. anyway, considering the ugliness of the image reproduction in this publication, odd choice to include. then she goes into the jungian numerology of the suits, which was useful. her description of the court cards was probably the most useful. then she discusses all the major arcana with respect to the phase of development of the psyche that they describe. in this section she always puts, "if you stay in the phase of the hanged man too long, you become..." but she doesn't really give an indication of how you know you have been in a phase too long or how to know to move on to the next phase. and while the major arcana does trace the fool's journey of development, it's less helpful to understand this in sequence when you're looking at cards in a reading, which likely won't be in any such order.
at the end, she has a chapter about assigning astrological correspondences to the cards, which basically concludes with "don't, there isn't a way to do this". then she goes through the kabbalic tree of life, showing how to do a layout using the form of the tree of life as the spread. I personally don't care for kabbalah. it's not a system that clicks for me. and there are sample spreads, on the tree of life, the celtic cross, and one where she does 3 rounds of cards into the 12 astrological houses, which she also spends a chapter describing. the celtic cross reading makes a fair amount of sense, but the astrological one is pretty complex. so none of that bit was too useful for me, as I don't really like the celtic cross layout anyway.
it wasn't really what I thought it would be, but I did get some value from it, to sum up.
besides that, the contents didn't really live up to the title. I expected a lot of card meaning discussion, and there was that, but also maybe sort of the junctures at which you might use tarot. it was more like the author's personal collection of information. she started, oddly, with a comparison between the RWS and other tarot decks, which seemed to mostly say that by changing the artwork in other decks some of the pertinent jungian symbolism was abolished. anyway, considering the ugliness of the image reproduction in this publication, odd choice to include. then she goes into the jungian numerology of the suits, which was useful. her description of the court cards was probably the most useful. then she discusses all the major arcana with respect to the phase of development of the psyche that they describe. in this section she always puts, "if you stay in the phase of the hanged man too long, you become..." but she doesn't really give an indication of how you know you have been in a phase too long or how to know to move on to the next phase. and while the major arcana does trace the fool's journey of development, it's less helpful to understand this in sequence when you're looking at cards in a reading, which likely won't be in any such order.
at the end, she has a chapter about assigning astrological correspondences to the cards, which basically concludes with "don't, there isn't a way to do this". then she goes through the kabbalic tree of life, showing how to do a layout using the form of the tree of life as the spread. I personally don't care for kabbalah. it's not a system that clicks for me. and there are sample spreads, on the tree of life, the celtic cross, and one where she does 3 rounds of cards into the 12 astrological houses, which she also spends a chapter describing. the celtic cross reading makes a fair amount of sense, but the astrological one is pretty complex. so none of that bit was too useful for me, as I don't really like the celtic cross layout anyway.
it wasn't really what I thought it would be, but I did get some value from it, to sum up.
April 13, 2010
A very good introduction to using tarot cards and what are the meaning of the cards, though it's quite dense so hard to remember (but would be a good source of reference). I believe in a lot of Carl Jung's psychology, which is the angle of this book, so I related well to the descriptions while someone who doesn't like Jung might find another book on tarot more useful.
Want to read
February 29, 2012I'm betting this just rehashed the book on Jung & the Tarot which I like so much. I wonder if she has anything new to say?
November 19, 2024
this book was a very helpful guide for me in shaping my Tarot practice around healing the psyche and bringing elements of the unconscious into consciousness. love the perspective of the Major Arcana as a progression through the Hero's Journey. mostly avoids over-reliance on gender essentialism, which is one of my major turn-offs for both Tarot guidebooks and Jungian analysis. highly recommend!
May 17, 2024
I chose to read this for the Jungian perspectives and found the links between Jung’s work with symbolism and tarot imagery and symbolism to be well explained. If you’re not a psychologist or well versed in some of the thinking in Jungian perspectives, it’s probably not for you.
July 1, 2024
Some really juicy descriptions of the cards in here — I did technically read most of the book but skipped the end chapters (spreads) as they weren’t of interest to me. This book was a decent read and a great introduction to those new to the Jungian approach to tarot.
July 6, 2024
This is a classic read for an approach to tarot that focuses on archetypes and using the cards to illuminate one's unconscious thoughts to learn more about oneself. Love that hse has images of a range of cards and refers to multiple decks.
January 8, 2021
classic
November 19, 2022
Only giving four stars because the typos were distracting - solid information though
November 22, 2024
Very recommend this to anyone who's interested in learning tarot. An in-depth and unambiguous analysis of the individual cards, their history, and various spreads.
February 18, 2017
Wonderful writer as she also has Astrology books. Offers clear information without pushing a particular system of Esoteric correspondences at you, but instead offers other sources of information.
July 27, 2015
My main interest in reading about the tarot was not for divination purposes, but to gain a better understanding of the symbology of the cards. This book gives some great information about the cards from a Jungian archetypal perspective. Exactly what I was looking for, as well as the use of the major arcana as a guide through the hero's journey.
October 31, 2023
Ontzettend interessant boek en eerste kennismaking met Tarot.
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews