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Tarot: Your Everyday Guide: Your Everyday Guide - Practical Problem Solving and Everyday Advice
Every day you make choices. Some are big, some are small-but all will affect the course of your future. The good news is that you don't have to do it alone-the tarot can give you advice when you need it most! Reading the tarot for advice requires a different approach than reading for prediction. "Tarot: Your Everyday Guide "presents a new method of tarot interpretation. You'll learn how to use the tarot to help you make an informed decision and determine a course of action for just about any life situation. For example, in an advice reading the Two of Wands could mean you should set up your own challenges to work out goals, define issues, and work out compromises. If the King of Cups comes up in an advice reading, it means you must give encouragement, acknowledge the accomplishments of others, give rewards, and let others enjoy the limelight. Alternatively, it could mean you need to seek a mentor who has these qualities. The position of a given card within a spread, and the cards before and after it, will clarify the cards' advice for you. You can even use advice readings to augment traditional divination. If a divinatory spread shows trouble ahead, consult the cards for advice on how to avoid the situation or lessen its impact. Whether you're an experienced tarot reader or have never even shuffled the cards before, this unique and practical book will open new doors of understanding and help you integrate the rich symbolism of the tarot into your daily life. Winner of the 2001 Coalition of Visionary Resources (COVR) Award for best Self-help Book
288 pages, Kindle Edition
First published June 1, 2000
6 people are currently reading
89 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
December 2, 2008
The concept of using Tarot to guide myself and others was new to this Tarotist's mind when she was younger. I began playing with ways to not predict with the cards but to live with them in all aspects of my life. This book opened doors for my creativity and my concept of what the cards can do.
So like all books with "memorize these descriptions" pages I never looked at it again. But it did open doors for new ways to utilize the cards.
So like all books with "memorize these descriptions" pages I never looked at it again. But it did open doors for new ways to utilize the cards.
December 6, 2015
This is a book I LOVE a lot. I have another of her texts and she says she has a child with learning disorders. Well, I have one too and find Janina's books comprehensive and really gives information.
This book does reversals and has a bit on Tarot and advice per card, the images has 3 different deck images per card which is brilliant for learning. I would advise any tarot reader getting this book. Janina is an author (You don't mind me calling her by her first name?) which is a must have in any tarotista's collection.
This book does reversals and has a bit on Tarot and advice per card, the images has 3 different deck images per card which is brilliant for learning. I would advise any tarot reader getting this book. Janina is an author (You don't mind me calling her by her first name?) which is a must have in any tarotista's collection.
November 8, 2009
Hands-down the best guide for using the wisdom of the Tarot in daily life. Clear, practical, sensible, and insightful. I have been reading the cards for more than 20 years and I still refer to this book regularly.
October 6, 2022
tl;dr Okay book, not one really worth seeking out. Does offer a few interesting perspectives, but in a more disorganized way, and doesn't really say anything ground-breaking. I would also say this isn't beginner friendly. There are definitely better books out there by now. One I'd recommend is "Guided Tarot" by Stefanie Caponi.
Not tl;dr:
I specifically wanted to read this book since I saw it used example cards from the deck I own, and my first Tarot deck. I was curious to see what they were going to say and how they'd use the cards. Though, to my disappointment, the cards were more so just flair, and not impactful on the text. The author just wanted a few example decks per card and not just the RWS, which I do appreciate at least. It's nice to see how other decks and artists depict the meanings of the cards.
I did appreciate how early on, the author mentions that this book isn't the end all be all, and that you don't have to take or agree with the advice in here if you don't want to. They emphasize the importance of trusting your own intuition.
I also appreciated the usual mention of how the gender of the card's characters doesn't reflect the reader or querent, but this author took it a bit of a step further, admitting that there are sexist traditions related to those cards, and that it is an unfortunate historical aspect of Tarot, and advised readers to be open to more freely interpreting the cards they draw and the decks they use. (Though the language is still cis-het.)
BUT for some of the gendered aspects later, like the Empress, the author doesn't relate the card to femininity, rather, women in general, which was really disappointing to read, especially after the author explicitly mentioned trying to avoid sexist interpretations as much as possible. As an example, for the Empress, the author mentions how this card, for a man reading it, could interpret it as him looking for a woman who has the qualities of the Empress, and if a woman reads it, to interpret it as her embodying those qualities. A man could just as easily (as all men do) have the qualities of the Empress in varying amounts. That's the point of Tarot. To embrace those different sides of us. So even in a relationship reading for a man, you could make the interpretation of him needing to not shy away from his femininity (nurturing, patience, creativity, etc).
It was a pleasant surprise to see some of the interpretations of the cards dive into not just a general reading, relationships, or career, but also creatively. As an artist, I appreciated this addition. Though there were large inconsistencies with each card description, so not every card had every, or any, specific scenario included. Which was really unfortunate. Though each card does have a brief paragraph at least touching on reversals.
I do wish the descriptions were a bit more organized or consistent in some way. The flow from card to card was a little disjointed for me at times. In general though, the meanings of the cards weren't bad, but they weren't my style. Hard to pin-point specific details, some felt too fortune-telly (the three of swords meaning you might need surgery?! Probably the most wild example), or lacking of introspection. Some of the real world examples were nice though, but this book could've used quite a bit of clean up.
I will note that in the first appendix, I feel the author does a poor job explaining Tarot's history (a lot of fluff and opinion, despite us having some concrete ideas of its origins), and also uses a slur when referring to the Romani people.
I don't think it was a waste of my time to read this, I certainly got some interesting tid-bits out of it, but it never really captured my attention and kept me reading non-stop like previous Tarot books I've read. I doubt I'll return to and reference this, but I appreciated some of the perspectives it offered.
Not tl;dr:
I specifically wanted to read this book since I saw it used example cards from the deck I own, and my first Tarot deck. I was curious to see what they were going to say and how they'd use the cards. Though, to my disappointment, the cards were more so just flair, and not impactful on the text. The author just wanted a few example decks per card and not just the RWS, which I do appreciate at least. It's nice to see how other decks and artists depict the meanings of the cards.
I did appreciate how early on, the author mentions that this book isn't the end all be all, and that you don't have to take or agree with the advice in here if you don't want to. They emphasize the importance of trusting your own intuition.
I also appreciated the usual mention of how the gender of the card's characters doesn't reflect the reader or querent, but this author took it a bit of a step further, admitting that there are sexist traditions related to those cards, and that it is an unfortunate historical aspect of Tarot, and advised readers to be open to more freely interpreting the cards they draw and the decks they use. (Though the language is still cis-het.)
BUT for some of the gendered aspects later, like the Empress, the author doesn't relate the card to femininity, rather, women in general, which was really disappointing to read, especially after the author explicitly mentioned trying to avoid sexist interpretations as much as possible. As an example, for the Empress, the author mentions how this card, for a man reading it, could interpret it as him looking for a woman who has the qualities of the Empress, and if a woman reads it, to interpret it as her embodying those qualities. A man could just as easily (as all men do) have the qualities of the Empress in varying amounts. That's the point of Tarot. To embrace those different sides of us. So even in a relationship reading for a man, you could make the interpretation of him needing to not shy away from his femininity (nurturing, patience, creativity, etc).
It was a pleasant surprise to see some of the interpretations of the cards dive into not just a general reading, relationships, or career, but also creatively. As an artist, I appreciated this addition. Though there were large inconsistencies with each card description, so not every card had every, or any, specific scenario included. Which was really unfortunate. Though each card does have a brief paragraph at least touching on reversals.
I do wish the descriptions were a bit more organized or consistent in some way. The flow from card to card was a little disjointed for me at times. In general though, the meanings of the cards weren't bad, but they weren't my style. Hard to pin-point specific details, some felt too fortune-telly (the three of swords meaning you might need surgery?! Probably the most wild example), or lacking of introspection. Some of the real world examples were nice though, but this book could've used quite a bit of clean up.
I will note that in the first appendix, I feel the author does a poor job explaining Tarot's history (a lot of fluff and opinion, despite us having some concrete ideas of its origins), and also uses a slur when referring to the Romani people.
I don't think it was a waste of my time to read this, I certainly got some interesting tid-bits out of it, but it never really captured my attention and kept me reading non-stop like previous Tarot books I've read. I doubt I'll return to and reference this, but I appreciated some of the perspectives it offered.
January 29, 2019
Kinda wordy, but overall good and still relevant today.
November 16, 2016
Janina Renee's approach to card reading is unique in that it encourages smaller spreads that zoom in on everyday matters requiring specific advice. She focuses on learning to read the cards as a way to determine a course of action, and gives excellent and practical examples in the beginning of the book of how to get started interpreting cards for advice. For example, if you need to know whether to proceed with something, and you do a three card spread in which all three cards depict action, the cards are saying "go for it!"
Both the major and minor arcana are examined in detail. Many books that look at the individual cards give much more info on the majors, almost ignoring the minors except for a quick blurb. Not so here! Much to her credit, the minors and court cards are examined in just as much detail as the majors. Unique details about each card are given, as well as examples of what the card may mean if drawn for specific types of advice.
However, I do think that these detailed definitions may be a little overwhelming if this is your very first encounter with Tarot. I believe you need to set down firm building blocks to start with. If you are an absolute beginner, I would recommend first reading Joan Bunning's Learning the Tarot: A Tarot Book for Beginners and Anthony Louis's Tarot Plain and Simple, as these two books give a solid grounding in understanding Tarot. This book by Ms. Renee is an excellent continuation of that learning process, and will greatly enhance your experience with the cards. Highly recommended for those with at least a basic understanding of reading.
Both the major and minor arcana are examined in detail. Many books that look at the individual cards give much more info on the majors, almost ignoring the minors except for a quick blurb. Not so here! Much to her credit, the minors and court cards are examined in just as much detail as the majors. Unique details about each card are given, as well as examples of what the card may mean if drawn for specific types of advice.
However, I do think that these detailed definitions may be a little overwhelming if this is your very first encounter with Tarot. I believe you need to set down firm building blocks to start with. If you are an absolute beginner, I would recommend first reading Joan Bunning's Learning the Tarot: A Tarot Book for Beginners and Anthony Louis's Tarot Plain and Simple, as these two books give a solid grounding in understanding Tarot. This book by Ms. Renee is an excellent continuation of that learning process, and will greatly enhance your experience with the cards. Highly recommended for those with at least a basic understanding of reading.
June 21, 2022
Come scrive l’autrice nella prefazione, questo libro illustra i modi in cui ci si può rivolgere ai Tarocchi per ricevere un consiglio o una dritta per affrontare diverse situazioni nella nostra vita. Non spiega le carte come sono descritte di solito nei vari testi, bensì nell’ottica del consiglio e dà per scontato che il lettore già sappia che cosa sia un mazzo di Tarocchi e che li abbia già studiati in qualche altro libro.
La Renée ha uno stile felice e accogliente, dalle sue parole si evince chiaramente il suo desiderio di essere di aiuto al lettore e, in più, qua e là nel testo ci delizia con delle chicche antropologiche.
E la carta spessa sulla quale è stampato il libro è un altro punto a favore.
La Renée ha uno stile felice e accogliente, dalle sue parole si evince chiaramente il suo desiderio di essere di aiuto al lettore e, in più, qua e là nel testo ci delizia con delle chicche antropologiche.
E la carta spessa sulla quale è stampato il libro è un altro punto a favore.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews