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Around the Tarot in 78 Days: A Personal Journey Through the Cards
Welcome to the land of tarot, where each and every card is an adventure of discovery Journey into the exciting world of tarot with this comprehensive 78-day course. Uniquely presented in a one-card-per-day format, this workbook provides a solid foundation in tarot―and offers new ways to enrich your life using the wisdom of the cards. Well-known tarot readers and instructors Marcus Katz and Tali Goodwin take you through the symbolic landscape of tarot card by card. Progress through the exercises in sequence, or study the cards in whatever order you like. Casting traditional interpretation methods in a fresh and modern light, Katz and Goodwin teach you how to interpret spreads by experiencing them as meditations, activities, affirmations, and oracles. Discover the keywords of each card and how to use them. Delve even deeper with gated spreads―a series of spreads guiding you toward a powerful experience―and integrative lessons on magick and kabbalistic correspondences.
456 pages, Paperback
First published May 1, 2012
132 people are currently reading
466 people want to read
About the author
Marcus Katz
65 books64 followersMarcus Katz is a professional tarot teacher at the Far Away Centre, the first independent contemporary esoteric training centre in the United Kingdom. As the Director of Tarot Professionals, www.tarotprofessionals.com the world's largest professional tarot organisation, he has studied and taught tarot for 30 years and has delivered more than 10,000 face-to-face readings.
Marcus is also the co-creator of Tarot Town, www.tarot-town.com the social network for tarot readers, with thousands of people worldwide sharing innovative tarot development. He graduated from the University of Exeter as the first student in the world to obtain a Master of Arts degree in Western Esotericism - as such he is one of the few recognised academics in this field.
A licensed neuro-linguistic programming (NLP) trainer and neo-Ericksonian hypnotherapist with 20 years of experience training, presenting and teaching, he has completed training with Paul McKenna, Richard Bandler, John Grinder, and many other NLP luminaries.
His esoteric, kabbalah and tarot courses and workshops are attended by students from across the world, and he delivers three online courses in spellcrafting, kabbalah and alchemy to students through the Magicka School. He has also travelled and taught private groups across Europe, Asia-Pacific and the United States.
Marcus has learnt from, met and corresponded with many of the leading names in occultism during the past 30 years, and has enjoyed unparalleled access to private and academic libraries and rare manuscripts. His own library of esoteric books, magazines and materials is one of the largest and most comprehensive in private collection.
Marcus is also the co-creator of Tarot Town, www.tarot-town.com the social network for tarot readers, with thousands of people worldwide sharing innovative tarot development. He graduated from the University of Exeter as the first student in the world to obtain a Master of Arts degree in Western Esotericism - as such he is one of the few recognised academics in this field.
A licensed neuro-linguistic programming (NLP) trainer and neo-Ericksonian hypnotherapist with 20 years of experience training, presenting and teaching, he has completed training with Paul McKenna, Richard Bandler, John Grinder, and many other NLP luminaries.
His esoteric, kabbalah and tarot courses and workshops are attended by students from across the world, and he delivers three online courses in spellcrafting, kabbalah and alchemy to students through the Magicka School. He has also travelled and taught private groups across Europe, Asia-Pacific and the United States.
Marcus has learnt from, met and corresponded with many of the leading names in occultism during the past 30 years, and has enjoyed unparalleled access to private and academic libraries and rare manuscripts. His own library of esoteric books, magazines and materials is one of the largest and most comprehensive in private collection.
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Displaying 1 - 24 of 24 reviews
May 15, 2012
This book has a lot of interesting and useful information about the tarot, but a different organizational system would've worked better for me. The basic structure is straightforward: work with one tarot card a day for 78 days. For each card, the authors list a couple of key phrases and various correspondences with numerology, astrology, and the Kabbalah. There is also an affirmation and a meditation. Next is the lesson for the day, followed by suggested meanings for the card and ways to work with it on that day. The book is divided into several sections by theme, and the book concludes with several appendices.
I was impressed by how much information the authors included. They take seven days to work through how to read the Celtic Cross layout, which is commonly taught to tarot students, but they also spend five days on the Opening of the Key method, which isn't discussed nearly as much. They talk about how to read a card at different levels (literal, symbolically, etc.), how to meditate with a tarot card, how to tell when a court card represents a person or a situation, the use of astrological correspondences and elemental dignities, and much more. The book is packed with original layouts, and I think the authors' Keyword Kaleidoscope is a fascinating and thought-provoking exercise. What is driving me up the wall, however, is the way it's organized and the difficulty of finding any one topic in it. There is no index and the table of contents only lists the cards, not the lesson topic that goes with each card. Often, a lesson has no apparent connection to the card of the day. For instance, Day 53's card is the Four of Wands, but the day's lesson is a discussion of the "resources" position in the Celtic Cross, using the Nine of Swords as an example. Now that I've read the book, I want to use it as a reference, but I'm afraid that I'll lose a lot of time just flipping uselessly through it, hoping I stumble across whatever it is I'm looking for.
I was impressed by how much information the authors included. They take seven days to work through how to read the Celtic Cross layout, which is commonly taught to tarot students, but they also spend five days on the Opening of the Key method, which isn't discussed nearly as much. They talk about how to read a card at different levels (literal, symbolically, etc.), how to meditate with a tarot card, how to tell when a court card represents a person or a situation, the use of astrological correspondences and elemental dignities, and much more. The book is packed with original layouts, and I think the authors' Keyword Kaleidoscope is a fascinating and thought-provoking exercise. What is driving me up the wall, however, is the way it's organized and the difficulty of finding any one topic in it. There is no index and the table of contents only lists the cards, not the lesson topic that goes with each card. Often, a lesson has no apparent connection to the card of the day. For instance, Day 53's card is the Four of Wands, but the day's lesson is a discussion of the "resources" position in the Celtic Cross, using the Nine of Swords as an example. Now that I've read the book, I want to use it as a reference, but I'm afraid that I'll lose a lot of time just flipping uselessly through it, hoping I stumble across whatever it is I'm looking for.
February 26, 2024
Mixed feelings! On one hand, I really appreciate the various activities and perspectives shared by the authors. Each card has an affirmation, a meditation, a ‘don’t do this’ section, ways to connect, and what the card might say. However… it’s not great for beginners. I so wish I could re-organize the book into different sections! The cards are presented in a different order that follows the Kabbalah and the activities are interwoven throughout. It makes it hard for someone new to tarot to build a schema. I am grateful that I read this over a long period of time with a bookclub and folks have shared different ways they have interacted with the activities. It’s been fun practice!
May 30, 2012
Detailed, Brilliant, Unique and Painless! Around the Tarot in 78 Days, by Marcus Katz and Tali Goodwin, is by far the most comprehensive look at the Tarot I've seen. It is brilliantly executed with a unique approach that leads even the most frustrated student into seamless learning. It is clear that the authors are experienced in delivering instruction of a subject they are obviously passionate about.
Right away the reader is taken into an intriguing and exciting journey, while sensing a feeling of encouragement and equal ability to grasp the concepts - no matter the current level of experience with the Tarot. From there, readers will find over 400 pages packed with valuable, well-executed information. Along with several approaches to looking into the cards from any perspective, there are quick references, Kabbalistic associations, various spreads, legal and ethical matters for Tarot reading, practices in understanding the deeper concerns of the querent, construction of meaningful associations through delivery of the reading itself, and so much more.
This isn't the typical "memorize these keywords for this card" mode of instruction. For students like me, lessons done in that fashion are soon approached with apprehension until I eventually throw my hands up in despair - staying "stuck" at my current level of understanding. With THIS book, however, I've found myself "learning" painlessly as the cards come alive sensibly.
Right away the reader is taken into an intriguing and exciting journey, while sensing a feeling of encouragement and equal ability to grasp the concepts - no matter the current level of experience with the Tarot. From there, readers will find over 400 pages packed with valuable, well-executed information. Along with several approaches to looking into the cards from any perspective, there are quick references, Kabbalistic associations, various spreads, legal and ethical matters for Tarot reading, practices in understanding the deeper concerns of the querent, construction of meaningful associations through delivery of the reading itself, and so much more.
This isn't the typical "memorize these keywords for this card" mode of instruction. For students like me, lessons done in that fashion are soon approached with apprehension until I eventually throw my hands up in despair - staying "stuck" at my current level of understanding. With THIS book, however, I've found myself "learning" painlessly as the cards come alive sensibly.
March 25, 2016
This is a large book with a lot of interesting exercises and spreads and certainly some innovative ways of approaching the tarot. However, I do not recommend it as a beginner book. It's too complex, and the layout is too confusing and non-linear. This is an advanced book for those familiar with the tarot but looking for ways to deepen their understanding and ways of using the cards.
Read
December 15, 2025No rating. Read this as part of a study group. This book is more properly suited for intermediate or advanced tarot readers, or those looking to expand their repertoire with clients.
August 23, 2020
A tarot guide that shakes up the superficial beginners' meanings to offer multiple options for new approaches.
This probably isn't a good book for a raw newbie in the tarot, but excellent for the point I was at, which was after a period of intense beginner's study, then becoming bored with hearing the same things over and over. A good book as you're crossing a threshold into intermediate study, maybe, like your first book on the science of cooking rather than a recipe collection. As the authors try to dig down to the ideas behind the cards and how to combine them, they use a variety of approaches to suggest areas of further research, rather than giving you a comprehensive class on that approach.
Be warned that the cards are not presented in a straightforward order, possibly to address the fact that the cards are usually presented in a straightforward order, and our brains need to be shaken up a little at this point. But possibly also to emphasize certain themes and groupings, like reviewing the aces together or connecting the dots between major arcana cards that aren't numerically adjacent. Useful, but bound to annoy some people.
Recommended if you're looking for the tarot equivalent of learning the science behind cooking, not recommended if you're in the "just give me the recipe, I'm hungry!" stage or a professional chef stage.
This probably isn't a good book for a raw newbie in the tarot, but excellent for the point I was at, which was after a period of intense beginner's study, then becoming bored with hearing the same things over and over. A good book as you're crossing a threshold into intermediate study, maybe, like your first book on the science of cooking rather than a recipe collection. As the authors try to dig down to the ideas behind the cards and how to combine them, they use a variety of approaches to suggest areas of further research, rather than giving you a comprehensive class on that approach.
Be warned that the cards are not presented in a straightforward order, possibly to address the fact that the cards are usually presented in a straightforward order, and our brains need to be shaken up a little at this point. But possibly also to emphasize certain themes and groupings, like reviewing the aces together or connecting the dots between major arcana cards that aren't numerically adjacent. Useful, but bound to annoy some people.
Recommended if you're looking for the tarot equivalent of learning the science behind cooking, not recommended if you're in the "just give me the recipe, I'm hungry!" stage or a professional chef stage.
November 3, 2019
Quick impressions: Though it claims to be for both beginners and advanced readers, this book is more geared to the advanced high level reader. It has concepts that it could explain and develop better, but it feels like the authors assume readers will know those concepts so they do not bother expanding. Though they offer a structure, they also say you can study the cards in your own pace and order, so to be honest, the structure is not that essential either. May work better as a reference book.
I will have a full review on my blog later.
I will have a full review on my blog later.
June 20, 2019
Very good book. I guess as other Marcus Katz books, it deals with nothing superficial, it goes deeper and deeper into Tarot meanings and other ways to read , a really good book to open your mind to new ways to incorporate and give more in-depth readings.
January 15, 2020
This book was full of information, wonderfully creative spreads and just what I was looking for! It is the perfect textbook to have on the subject and helped my understanding so greatly. A must have for the serious card reader. Just wonderful. Will be reading more Katz soon!
December 24, 2024
This is a real mishmash, hodgepodge and potpourri of a book that I wouldn’t recommend but which I enjoy revisiting from time to time. It has some interesting ideas mixed in with some complete nonsense. It purports to be a “comprehensive 78-day course,” which is probably misleading because I think it will take most people longer than 78 days to try everything in it and yet it will still leave a lot of gaps.
The best thing I can say about it is that it offers lots of suggestions for different ways of spending time with the cards, deepening your understanding of them and expanding your knowledge.
The primary audience seems to be people who want to give tarot readings as a form of divination but it doesn’t ignore those who want spiritual enlightenment: “in no time at all, you will be working with the tarot to divine your future, change your present, and understand your past.”
One random suggestion is to learn the language of tarot by treating the major arcana as nouns, the minor arcana as verbs and the court cards as adjectives or adverbs.
It is very clear that the authors are not grammarians in spite of the fact that one of them is a licensed trainer in Neuro-linguistic Programming.
To make sure you know what a noun is they give an example: cat.
They then give an example of a noun for the Tower card: shock.
So far so good.
Things go awry when they give an example of a verb for the Three of Cups: “celebration.”
Clearly, it is not a verb but they are diligent teachers and so they tell you that a verb is a “doing word” and the Six of Swords also has its own doing word: “resting.” Resting is a verbal participle, it’s not doing very much at all and I think they mean it to apply to the Four of Swords, not the Six. (Their book Secrets of the Waite-Smith Tarot twice repeats this confusion between the Four and Six of Swords, and it’s a symptom of sloppy editing in both books.)
As if this wasn’t confusing enough, they put the Three of Cups and Tower together to give you a “shocking celebration.” Suddenly the first noun has become an adjective and the so-called verb is still a noun.
Now come the court cards, which are supposed to be adjectives in this system. Adjectives, they remind us, are descriptive words like big or small. If the adjective doesn’t work, which it doesn’t in their example (Blasted Tower, Three of Cups, King of Pentacles) then you can change the adjective to an adverb.
Their definition of an adverb is “a verb we have added ourselves.” Is it a joke? Apparently not. Let’s look at how they translate this “tarot language” into words:
“The friendly group (Three of Cups) broke up (Tower) steadily (King of Pentacles).”
The verb has become a noun, the noun has become a verb and the adverb is … indeed an adverb.
The next stage is to change the tense. “The group will steadily break up” and — lo and behold! — you have a prediction.
If you’re not convinced by their grammar, maybe their divinatory powers will impress, but even here I had my doubts.
While the structure they give you is faulty, the interpretation is arbitrary and devoid of context. If you followed the structure of noun-verb-adjective more faithfully, the same three cards could mean you are dealing with the shock of a break up by partying with your friends but a time will soon come when you are ready to go steady with the right person. There are other potential meanings, too, of course, depending on context. Attributing meanings to cards without any context is random and unhelpful in my view.
Most of their examples of divination are in the style of “you need to focus on what’s most important”, “you still have choices on the road ahead,” and “you may know more than you think.”
They have numerous strategies for encouraging you to use your intuition. I liked these sections. But if you failed the intuition test there is a script in the appendix for what to say for every major arcana in every position of the Celtic Cross spread. That’s 220 scripts, they declare proudly. It must have been a lot of work.
I gave these scripts a road test. I did one reading for Violet Effingham, who was wondering what would happen if she married Lord Chiltern. I did another for Madam Max Goesler who was pondering her burgeoning friendship with Phineas Finn.
These are characters in the novel Phineas Finn by Anthony Trollope, which I’ve reviewed separately but I did the readings while I was unsure of what would happen in the future.
As may be expected, I was not able to use the scripts verbatim and had to change a few sentences but, in general, with a bit of hokum, NLP and old-fashioned fudging, I was able to make them fit the circumstances.
Did they work as divination?
Well, yes and no. Both Violet and Madam Max got readings that were relevant to them but the predictions didn’t come true.
In conclusion, this book epitomises some of the woolly thinking, vague promises and pampering self-help that characterise the modern trend in tarot and which the authors have defined in their own custom academic discipline of “Tarosophy” which you can study in “Tarot-Town.”
My own view of Tarot-Town is that I wouldn’t want to live there but it’s an entertaining day out.
The best thing I can say about it is that it offers lots of suggestions for different ways of spending time with the cards, deepening your understanding of them and expanding your knowledge.
The primary audience seems to be people who want to give tarot readings as a form of divination but it doesn’t ignore those who want spiritual enlightenment: “in no time at all, you will be working with the tarot to divine your future, change your present, and understand your past.”
One random suggestion is to learn the language of tarot by treating the major arcana as nouns, the minor arcana as verbs and the court cards as adjectives or adverbs.
It is very clear that the authors are not grammarians in spite of the fact that one of them is a licensed trainer in Neuro-linguistic Programming.
To make sure you know what a noun is they give an example: cat.
They then give an example of a noun for the Tower card: shock.
So far so good.
Things go awry when they give an example of a verb for the Three of Cups: “celebration.”
Clearly, it is not a verb but they are diligent teachers and so they tell you that a verb is a “doing word” and the Six of Swords also has its own doing word: “resting.” Resting is a verbal participle, it’s not doing very much at all and I think they mean it to apply to the Four of Swords, not the Six. (Their book Secrets of the Waite-Smith Tarot twice repeats this confusion between the Four and Six of Swords, and it’s a symptom of sloppy editing in both books.)
As if this wasn’t confusing enough, they put the Three of Cups and Tower together to give you a “shocking celebration.” Suddenly the first noun has become an adjective and the so-called verb is still a noun.
Now come the court cards, which are supposed to be adjectives in this system. Adjectives, they remind us, are descriptive words like big or small. If the adjective doesn’t work, which it doesn’t in their example (Blasted Tower, Three of Cups, King of Pentacles) then you can change the adjective to an adverb.
Their definition of an adverb is “a verb we have added ourselves.” Is it a joke? Apparently not. Let’s look at how they translate this “tarot language” into words:
“The friendly group (Three of Cups) broke up (Tower) steadily (King of Pentacles).”
The verb has become a noun, the noun has become a verb and the adverb is … indeed an adverb.
The next stage is to change the tense. “The group will steadily break up” and — lo and behold! — you have a prediction.
If you’re not convinced by their grammar, maybe their divinatory powers will impress, but even here I had my doubts.
While the structure they give you is faulty, the interpretation is arbitrary and devoid of context. If you followed the structure of noun-verb-adjective more faithfully, the same three cards could mean you are dealing with the shock of a break up by partying with your friends but a time will soon come when you are ready to go steady with the right person. There are other potential meanings, too, of course, depending on context. Attributing meanings to cards without any context is random and unhelpful in my view.
Most of their examples of divination are in the style of “you need to focus on what’s most important”, “you still have choices on the road ahead,” and “you may know more than you think.”
They have numerous strategies for encouraging you to use your intuition. I liked these sections. But if you failed the intuition test there is a script in the appendix for what to say for every major arcana in every position of the Celtic Cross spread. That’s 220 scripts, they declare proudly. It must have been a lot of work.
I gave these scripts a road test. I did one reading for Violet Effingham, who was wondering what would happen if she married Lord Chiltern. I did another for Madam Max Goesler who was pondering her burgeoning friendship with Phineas Finn.
These are characters in the novel Phineas Finn by Anthony Trollope, which I’ve reviewed separately but I did the readings while I was unsure of what would happen in the future.
As may be expected, I was not able to use the scripts verbatim and had to change a few sentences but, in general, with a bit of hokum, NLP and old-fashioned fudging, I was able to make them fit the circumstances.
Did they work as divination?
Well, yes and no. Both Violet and Madam Max got readings that were relevant to them but the predictions didn’t come true.
In conclusion, this book epitomises some of the woolly thinking, vague promises and pampering self-help that characterise the modern trend in tarot and which the authors have defined in their own custom academic discipline of “Tarosophy” which you can study in “Tarot-Town.”
My own view of Tarot-Town is that I wouldn’t want to live there but it’s an entertaining day out.
February 4, 2018
Book is good to deepen your knowledge of Tarot and add some of the spreads to your skills.
April 4, 2020
This is the best book on tarot that I have read so far. I learned a great deal.. Highly recommend
May 24, 2020
Interesting approach to the deck.
Love the idea of traveling through the cards one card at a time.
Will definitely consider working through the book, especially as a daily practice builder.
Love the idea of traveling through the cards one card at a time.
Will definitely consider working through the book, especially as a daily practice builder.
November 6, 2021
I think this book would be good for a beginner, and intermediate because it has a lot of good information and different ways of reading the cards.
May 16, 2023
Around the Tarot in 78 days
This book goes on a journey of giving us an up-close and personal look at each card. For each card, it gives an affirmation, a meditation, its numerology, astrology, kabbalah, element, perfume, and timing. It then gives a lesson for the card and talks about what the card means in (career and finance, health, relationship, travel and lifestyle, education, and spiritual awareness and self-development). It then tells how we are blocking the card, how to connect to the card, and what the card says. Lastly, it gives keywords that are connected to the card. This was NOT an easy read. Instead of a journey as it promised, it felt like being given a map that was written in gibberish. So much so that in order to get through the book (I couldn’t read it because when I tried my mind would wander all over the place and not absorb half of what I was reading). I had to have it read to me by Alexa. It was written in a way that was hard for a beginner to comprehend. On the positive side, I think it will be a great resource as I try this year to draw a card daily. I’ve read that it isn’t organized in a way that you can find a particular card easily. However, if you have the Kindle edition of the book you can locate the card easily enough by going under library and locating the correct chapter. I also could understand and found what the card said beneficial to grasp their meanings. However, the lessons of the day were highly confusing. Most time they weren’t about the card at all, but about different spreads (which lost me and just made me feel like I was reading words until I got to how the card related to the different topics). Listening sometimes hard enough, I could understand a tiny bit how the spreads work. I found the “Home” spread interesting and sometimes I would like to try. But for most of the others, I was completely LOST! I guess if you studied the Kabbalah as a more advanced tarot reader (I’m not even sure what that is as it wasn’t explained but mentioned as if the reader would understand what the method is). In short, I wouldn’t recommend this book to a beginner It’s WAY too complicated to understand. I pressed through it just to finish it but nothing really stuck and towards the end, it felt 10 pages longer than it needed to be.
Rating: 3 Good for resource material but HARD to comprehend! I didn’t get out of it what I expected or needed to.
This book goes on a journey of giving us an up-close and personal look at each card. For each card, it gives an affirmation, a meditation, its numerology, astrology, kabbalah, element, perfume, and timing. It then gives a lesson for the card and talks about what the card means in (career and finance, health, relationship, travel and lifestyle, education, and spiritual awareness and self-development). It then tells how we are blocking the card, how to connect to the card, and what the card says. Lastly, it gives keywords that are connected to the card. This was NOT an easy read. Instead of a journey as it promised, it felt like being given a map that was written in gibberish. So much so that in order to get through the book (I couldn’t read it because when I tried my mind would wander all over the place and not absorb half of what I was reading). I had to have it read to me by Alexa. It was written in a way that was hard for a beginner to comprehend. On the positive side, I think it will be a great resource as I try this year to draw a card daily. I’ve read that it isn’t organized in a way that you can find a particular card easily. However, if you have the Kindle edition of the book you can locate the card easily enough by going under library and locating the correct chapter. I also could understand and found what the card said beneficial to grasp their meanings. However, the lessons of the day were highly confusing. Most time they weren’t about the card at all, but about different spreads (which lost me and just made me feel like I was reading words until I got to how the card related to the different topics). Listening sometimes hard enough, I could understand a tiny bit how the spreads work. I found the “Home” spread interesting and sometimes I would like to try. But for most of the others, I was completely LOST! I guess if you studied the Kabbalah as a more advanced tarot reader (I’m not even sure what that is as it wasn’t explained but mentioned as if the reader would understand what the method is). In short, I wouldn’t recommend this book to a beginner It’s WAY too complicated to understand. I pressed through it just to finish it but nothing really stuck and towards the end, it felt 10 pages longer than it needed to be.
Rating: 3 Good for resource material but HARD to comprehend! I didn’t get out of it what I expected or needed to.
September 23, 2016
A different way to get carded.
There are books you read and books you do; this is one of the latter. Framed as an actual journey through the deck, Katz's instruction manual teaches a new and different thing each day about the history and practice of both fortune-telling and spiritual development with cards. Each card contains multiple interpretations and insights, and there's a smattering of everything else you might need or want to know as you go along: various spreads, correspondences, uses, systems, and things to think about. Periodically there is a mini-ritual in which you do a spread for yourself with specific cards (suggested accompanying music choices interesting, but optional, IMHO, unless the tune really works for you). Katz rounds out the book with a list of websites to peruse (somewhat dated, with broken links), books to read, and--most useful for anyone considering setting out their shingle--a code of ethics for reading for and interacting with clients.
Katz's book leans heavily on the Golden Dawn practices, which makes sense, because Mathers & Co. are the ones who grabbed the deck and really ran with it in the West, bringing it to the public eye. As a result, readers already familiar with Western esoteric systems might already be familiar with a lot of this material (not a bad thing - the GD is freaking complicated as hell, and its methods deserve repetitive looks if you're going to take them seriously). The book might be a touch overwhelming for complete newbies, but intermediate to serious students will find much to enjoy here. Katz suggests you use a notebook, though, and so do I: if you don't, you might find yourself wanting to go back for another trip to retain the material better. Of course, if you enjoy this sort of thing, you might want to do that anyway. Recommended for larger collections, or where there is already an established interest in tarot.
There are books you read and books you do; this is one of the latter. Framed as an actual journey through the deck, Katz's instruction manual teaches a new and different thing each day about the history and practice of both fortune-telling and spiritual development with cards. Each card contains multiple interpretations and insights, and there's a smattering of everything else you might need or want to know as you go along: various spreads, correspondences, uses, systems, and things to think about. Periodically there is a mini-ritual in which you do a spread for yourself with specific cards (suggested accompanying music choices interesting, but optional, IMHO, unless the tune really works for you). Katz rounds out the book with a list of websites to peruse (somewhat dated, with broken links), books to read, and--most useful for anyone considering setting out their shingle--a code of ethics for reading for and interacting with clients.
Katz's book leans heavily on the Golden Dawn practices, which makes sense, because Mathers & Co. are the ones who grabbed the deck and really ran with it in the West, bringing it to the public eye. As a result, readers already familiar with Western esoteric systems might already be familiar with a lot of this material (not a bad thing - the GD is freaking complicated as hell, and its methods deserve repetitive looks if you're going to take them seriously). The book might be a touch overwhelming for complete newbies, but intermediate to serious students will find much to enjoy here. Katz suggests you use a notebook, though, and so do I: if you don't, you might find yourself wanting to go back for another trip to retain the material better. Of course, if you enjoy this sort of thing, you might want to do that anyway. Recommended for larger collections, or where there is already an established interest in tarot.
August 28, 2017
This book is great for encouraging readers to explore their tarot deck and really get to know the individual cards. I decided to use it as a chance to meditate on each card and try to really honor the meaning of each card. I kept a journal for each of the cards, as well as the individual spreads that are designed to help you along the journey. I'm writing this review at 20 days into the project.
One critique of this book is that it's chock full of typos; the editor really fell down on the job. But it doesn't really take away from the book.
I think the thing that earns it 4 stars from me instead of 5 (though really I'd give it more like 4 and a half) is the typos and also what feels like sometimes half-assed meditations sometimes. The first one was absolutely fantastic, but from there they vary in quality. I like the idea of having a sort of guide to your meditation on each card, but I want better than what the book offers (which is why I liked the tandem journaling so much - it allowed me to really explore each card).
Having completed the book now, having gone through each card and gotten to know it, I can say that it's a really great way to get to know a deck. Doesn't have to be a new deck; you can just as easily do this with one you know well.
One critique of this book is that it's chock full of typos; the editor really fell down on the job. But it doesn't really take away from the book.
I think the thing that earns it 4 stars from me instead of 5 (though really I'd give it more like 4 and a half) is the typos and also what feels like sometimes half-assed meditations sometimes. The first one was absolutely fantastic, but from there they vary in quality. I like the idea of having a sort of guide to your meditation on each card, but I want better than what the book offers (which is why I liked the tandem journaling so much - it allowed me to really explore each card).
Having completed the book now, having gone through each card and gotten to know it, I can say that it's a really great way to get to know a deck. Doesn't have to be a new deck; you can just as easily do this with one you know well.
August 31, 2012
78 Days takes beginners through advanced students and practitioners deep into the tarot deck via memorable interactive exercises that allow the reader to investigate tarot by personal experience rather than hearsay. The organisation of the book builds in opportunities to understand Kabbalah correspondences; astrological -- including Sabian Symbols -- and numerological correspondences are also included. If you can only afford one book on Tarot, this is the one that will take you furthest for your investment.
August 18, 2012
If you ever wanted to know how to read Tarot this is a stellar book. It takes you through each card one day at at time. And it gives you the explanation of each card in career, relationships, health, lifestyle, education, and spiritual so you don't have to guess, plus keywords and so much more. You also learn tons of spreads for just about any situation. I really love this book and will definitely be referring to it often as I continue my learning.
August 23, 2012
I loved the way they taught one card a day and a task to do also it helped to retain it in my memory much better and taking the cousre along with it was great. I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in Tarot and even if you don't want to do Tarot readings for others it is a helpfultool for yourself.
September 13, 2013
I have this book, having done the course. This book is interesting, with loads of information. It in depth and is written from a scholarly and serious viewpoint. I would recommend this book, if you're prepared to work through it. I found this workbook useful and interesting. It provides a solid foundation to build your arot study on.
April 5, 2012
Review to come!
July 9, 2025
3,5 anziché proprio 3.
Ricchissimo di materiale, questo sì, ma spesso infarcito di troppo misticume.
Ricchissimo di materiale, questo sì, ma spesso infarcito di troppo misticume.
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January 3, 2018Still haven't done 78 days in a row.......
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