The Creative Tarot: A Modern Guide to an Inspired Life

by Jessa Crispin

A hip, accessible, and practical guide for artists and creative people looking to tarot for guidance and inspiration in the tradition of The Secret Language of Birthdays and Steal Like an Artist.What if the path to creativity was not as challenging as everyone thinks? What if you could find that spark, plot twist, or next project by simply looking at your life and your art through a different lens? Written for novices and seasoned readers alike, The Creative Tarot is a unique guidebook that reimagines tarot cards and the ways they can boost the creative process. Jessa Crispin guides you through the intuitive world of the tarot to get those creative juices flowing again. Thought to be esoteric and mystical, tarot cards are approachable and endlessly helpful to overcoming creative blocks. Crispin offers spiritual readings of the cards, practical information for the uninspired artist, and a wealth of fascinating anecdotes about famous artists including Virginia Woolf, Rembrandt, and David Bowie, and how they found inspiration. With five original tarot spreads and beautiful illustrations throughout, The Creative Tarot is an accessible, colorful guide that demystifies both the tarot and the creative process.

Genres: Tarot, Nonfiction, Writing, Self Help, Spirituality, Divination, Art

353 pages, Kindle Edition

First published February 16, 2016

About the author

Jessa Crispin is the editor and founder of Bookslut.com. Her writing has appeared in The Washington Post, The Chicago Sun-Times, The Guardian and The Toronto Globe and Mail, among other publications.

Reviews

[carol. · Rating 4 out of 5]

The tarot is a fascinating way to develop insight and introspection. Jessa Crispin takes an interesting approach by using the tarot to focus on the creative life. I picked this up based on Heidi The Hippie Librarian's review, as well as on the strength of the title, 'A Modern Guide to an Inspired Life.' The overview is done well, suitable even for novices to the tarot, and her approach will likely appeal to people who are interested but dislike excessive mysticism. It's also well-suited for more experienced readers who might want to use the tarot for creative direction in their projects.

A brief history of the tarot as well as her personal approach to using the tarot begins the book. She has a nice overview of the structure of the deck: the suits, the major and minor arcana, and their general meanings. Information on the history of different decks is briefly covered, but ultimately she suggests picking a deck that speaks to the reader.

The bulk of the book is devoted to reviewing and interpreting each card with a drawing, a couple of pages of detail explaining the general meaning of the card and relating it to a literary, movie and painting reference. It's an interesting way to think about each card and may help some people better relate and remember the meanings.

The final chapters discuss reading the cards, various 'spreads'--how to lay the cards out--and how to interpret them. I found this section of the book the weakest; though there are illustrations for each card in the card review, there aren't any in this section. The novice reader might very well be confused on how a Celtic cross layout is done. Greatest detail centers on unique spreads she created as ways of helping her identify a direction for her creative project.

She has a great hint for one of my own (and most likely many others') problems; that of identifying cards easily and remembering the interpretations. She has a nice suggestion of drawing a card a day and thinking about it during the day and how the card might be applied to various situations. What I loved most about the book is the idea that 'reading' the tarot involves telling a story in our search for meaning.


Three and a half starts rounding up for the storytelling.

[Julianne (Leafling Learns・Outlandish Lit) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing for bitter assholes like myself. I like tarot cards for 2 reasons: 1) they're spooky-looking, and 2) they serve as a great Rorschach test - you're going to look at a card and find a way for it to be applicable in whatever way you need it to be for what's on your mind. I like tarot cards as a means for re-framing your perspective on your situation. And The Creative Tarot was a perfect first book on the topic for me to figure out how the cards can be useful for me. The ties to creative projects are great. The stories and descriptions Crispin uses for each card are memorable & vivid enough that I don't feel as though I will forget the meanings of any of the cards. Great book to read through entirely then return to as you need it later!!

[Ginger · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a novice of tarot, I really liked this book.

The format that Jessa Crispin uses in the book is easy to follow and interesting.
I was engaged while reading The Creative Tarot and Crispin makes it fun to be comfortable with tapping into your intuition.

The book is broke down into the history of tarot, what each card symbolizes, and how to put a spread of cards together while interpreting what the spread means.

One of the best parts of the book was how she reviews each card in the Major and Minor Arcana.

Each card is explained and is related to a famous writer, painter, scientist, to even monarchs. The card explanation would also give examples to a painting, literary work or anything creative which gives more context to the meaning of the card.

If you’ve been interested in tarot or how to interpret a spread easier, this is a great book to pick up!

[Emma · Rating 2 out of 5]

I’m being generous with the 2 here. The book is ok, but there’s little new information here. I do like the way Jessa links the cards to films, books and artwork. That appealed to me. The rest is stuff you probably already know. If you’re a beginner, do yourself a favour and read Louis’ book. If you’re a more experienced reader, you probably know most of this stuff.

[Heidi Wiechert · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Creative Tarot: A Modern Guide to an Inspired Life is an excellent tarot card reading manual for beginners to the more experienced card reader.

I loved that Crispin gives novel, art, and film suggestions for each card so that the reader can immerse herself in the "feel" or "mood" of them. That was a lovely touch and different from any other book on tarot cards that I've read.

Mainly, the books that I've picked up have been about tarot card theory and how the cards tie in to the Tree of Life. It's a complex system and can only be talked about in metaphors.

Imagine my relief to read a book about just the cards themselves and not an arcane "theory of everything."

A.E. Waite was the co-creator of the Rider-Waite Tarot. He had some interesting thoughts about the tarot card reading qabalists, many of whom wrote books like the ones I've mentioned above. 

A.E. Waite's beliefs, which Crispin includes in the chapter entitled, A History of the Tarot, were: "Waite believed that the magical systems (tarot) of the Golden Dawn and other systems were not about imposing your will on a situation... or about telling the future... He believed they were for elevating the soul and for bringing what is unconscious conscious." pg 7.

I believe that too. But, if you can't explain the system in a way that makes sense, then what's the point of writing a beginner's manual. There can be no "elevation of the soul" if the beginners can't understand the first thing about reading tarot cards.

Thankfully, Crispin's interpretations are simple and clear. This is a book that will see some use, not become another expensive paperweight.

I liked Crispin's description of Temperance: "Temperance is an easily misunderstood card, as it has become associated mostly with abstention. Not drinking, not participating, denying yourself something. But that breaks away from the origins of the card, which traditionally portrays a hermaphrodite blending two cups of water- one hot and one cold- to create something in the middle between these two extremes." pgs 76-77

Temperance is about finding the middle way, not skirting along the edges from one extreme to another. Kind of ruins the idea of a "temperance movement," doesn't it.

I also liked this blurb about the Tower: "Remember that scene in Louisa May Alcott's Little Women, where Amy throws Jo's stories into the fire? That's the feeling of the Tower: the realization that all is lost, and you will have to start over from the beginning." pg 83

Yes, I'm a bookworm. Yes, Little Women is one of my favorite books. I think Crispin nailed the card's description with that scene.

I thought this description of The Moon was brilliant: "The Moon rules our dreams, and that's a good way to think about this card. They don't make sense on a logical level, but on a personal level, on an emotional level, they do. The location in a dream will shift without warning; dead people will walk beside the living; your mother will show up, say something nonsensical while wearing a jellyfish on her head, and then stab you in the heart. And you wake up and think, "Oh, of course, this is about that incident that happened when I was five."  

My dreams are just like that. In fact, I had that exact dream last night. :)

The tone in The Creative Tarot is very friendly and conversational, as if you asked your best friend to teach you a little bit about her favorite hobby- tarot cards. Highly recommended for artists, dreamers, and aspiring tarot card readers.

Its only weakness, in my opinion, is that I wanted more... more stories, more examples. I understand that we're dealing with 50 plus cards and they can't all receive extremely detailed treatment, otherwise we'd get the George R.R. Martin version of Tarot card books, but a girl can dream.

Jessa Crispin has modernized a system that seems to want to stay inaccessible to the beginner. I wish more of the books about the tarot were like this one.

[Ali · Rating 4 out of 5]

Until recently, I’d never understood that a tarot deck is, more or less, a way to interpret personal stories – a hero’s journey told in cycles and represented through universal archetypes. As a lit enthusiast, writer, and designer by trade, I'm frankly surprised it took me so long to tumble down this particular rabbit hole. Tarot speaks my language. Almost to a fault, I process life through symbols, metaphor, and the patterns/connections they create – as smaller narratives nested within larger narratives, the micro and the macro mirroring each other.

After reading a couple of different guidebooks in an effort to absorb card meanings, Crispin's book gave me the big-picture clarity I was looking for. She focuses on using the cards as a tool for foregrounding intuition and stealing past creative blocks – exactly what fascinates me about them (at this point). I love the way she pairs up different artists' stories with each card, and her brief history of the tarot at the beginning of the book is the most concise and illuminating I've read so far.

[Stef · Rating 1 out of 5]

I skimmed this before abandoning it. I hoped for something more from a book about tarot with such a title, but it had the same format as others: a brief history of tarot, a description of each card with a little list of references, and some spread ideas. I didn't find it terribly creative at all.

[M. Sarki · Rating 4 out of 5]

http://msarki.tumblr.com/post/1418511...

To demonstrate my ignorance regarding tarot, I confess at first sight I pronounced this word as if it rhymed with carrot. In my defense, because there is no one in my life who practices in believing or even reading these cards, I had never heard the word pronounced correctly. And even to this day there is only Jessa Crispin instructing me and sharing with me all things tarot. But I do want to learn more about it, and not because I think it will help me be a better writer or person, but rather due to my continuing development as a person seeking out knowledge on every level. In this particular book, Crispin’s instructions are simple, straightforward, and interesting, which is evident in the many positive reviews this publication has already received. And those reviews state almost unequivocally that this guidebook is helpful to both novice and seasoned tarot readers alike. Her work is accessible and demystifying. And I have absolutely no doubt that this book is everything the tarot people say it is. But the book failed for me in a manner I feel I must elaborate on.

To my knowledge there is no contemporary female writer living as courageously as Jessa Crispin appears to be. Her most recent memoir The Dead Ladies Project - Exiles, Expats & Ex-Countries is a perfect example of what I mean. Not only did Crispin take traveling risks few of us can ourselves muster, but she often recorded, at times ferociously, the most challenging and enlightening literary and emotional discoveries she made for herself on what seemed a daily basis. She offered us revealing glimpses inside her life that read honestly and without agenda nor malice. Her writing is generally clever and smart and often spell-binding. So it is my hope that Crispin has published this instructional book on the tarot as a way to reach even more readers by simply and adroitly teaching us a practice that makes us honestly examine our own lives. And once we have learned the smallest bit about reading these cards, and looking within ourselves, I believe Crispin will use tarot to make her future work even more personal. This courageous warrior will take us on a fresh and more personal tarot journey, sharing intimate experiences of her own, and the processes in which she applies her newfound wisdom. The only failure in The Creative Tarot for me was in Jessa Crispin herself missing from it. She is the main reason I read her work at all. It is her bite, her personality, her mind, her audacity, that brings me to read her every page. And my guess is that this was her master plan anyway, and her next move is to take us even further inside.

[Chrissy · Rating 3 out of 5]

On the plus side, I really liked the history of the tarot and how the cards can relate to artists. Both were incredibly interesting.

On the negative side, I didn't like her approach of having to memorize themes for cards. When I do readings, I use my intuition for what the card means for the person I'm reading. Instead, her approach is memorize everything! Which is okay, but doesn't use your intuition at all (which I rely on my intuition more than anything).

So far, I haven't seen any tarot spreads at all (I was hoping for a few at least) and she included pictures of her cards in the book which was a bit odd. It's like "Oh, by the way, here's the deck I created!" It didn't fit with the flow of the book at all and felt a bit like showing off.

Personally, I would rather have a tarot book that explains choosing the cards, spreads, and using ones intuition from the images on the card than a memorize everything thing. Yes, there's a theme but that theme will mean different things for different people.

[Kathleen Kelly · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have always been interested in the Tarot and have dabbled a bit over the past 30 years. I was never really successful and I wish that there had been a book like this back then. The Creative Tarot gives the reader a history of the tarot and the Artists that created the card designs and the meaning behind each one. The author also goes a bit into her experience with tarot. The reader also learns how to do a reading, from setting up the cards, learning about the cards, choosing a deck, and then deciphering the meaning behind the cards. You can also learn how to do a reading for someone else! What I liked about the book was that each card was thoroughly explained and that there were listings of other resources in which to learn more. If you are interested in learning more about the tarot, give this book a try!

[Kathleen Flynn · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am still reading this, but I might as well rate it, having finally stopped renewing the library copy and bought my own. Although supposedly rational, I consult my tarot cards nearly every day, along with this book, in the manner that Crispin recommends here, as a route into the unconscious and as a way of thinking about creativity. I still have a lot to learn, but Crispin in the one I want to learn from.

[Katherine · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book is… okay.

The Creative Tarot is about how to use tarot to help your creative life. Whether that’s painting, writing, designing, making, etc., this book provides card interpretations and spreads to help you when you’re stuck (or reassure you when you’re doing well and just worrying.) The spreads weren’t my cup of tea, but they are probably great if you’re looking to use tarot for creative endeavors.

The author provides two-to-three works (from books to paintings to operas) at the end of each card’s description. The pieces are meant to show how the card’s meaning is embodied by a certain artist, or in a certain medium. I was really into this idea, but ultimately it only works for the Major Arcana. Once you get to the Minors, the whole structure falls apart.

Crispin uses a lot of different kinds of artistic and intellectual types. On paper, this is awesome, and I ended up googling who a lot of these people were and learning quite a bit. But after the Majors, it felt like the creatives used as examples for the cards were a stretch. An I-need-to-finish-this-English-essay-and-don’t-really-get-the-symbolism stretch. Either the author was cherry-picking parts of the people’s lives to fit the card, or vice versa, but it's obvious straws were being grasped.

Here’s some of the bigger issues I had:

With the Page of Cups, Crispin says “not every failed love affair is a waste of time, either. Maybe the beloved left you in torment, led you to financial or emotional ruin, maybe he drove you to drink. But I bet you got a bunch of good stories out of it.” And to me, saying, “Well at least you have some funny stories!” from addition, debt, or abuse from a romantic relationship is… not the best way to look at the situation.

In the Seven of Swords, Crispin takes the stance that plagiarism of any kind is bad ("Be the higher version . . . Stealing is the coward's way out"). But later, when talking about Page of Swords, she implies that it was actually okay for F. Scott Fitzgerald to steal his wife Zelda’s stuff because, “without her husband, many of her thoughts, ideas, and witty lines would have been lost to us.” So plagiarism is… good when the person you’re stealing from is “not much of a writer” even when taking her husband’s controlling behavior into account? Really??

For the Knight of Swords, Crispin uses Irmgard Keun as an example, saying Keun “fled Germany with her lover Joseph Roth, an Austrian journalist and novelist, but then faked her suicide and sneaked back in the country under an assumed name.” Except biographers of Keun say that she lied a lot about her life, for her entire life. Most of the people who have studied Keun’s life don’t take most of what she said about herself seriously. You wouldn’t know any of this if you didn’t pause to look it up, and while it isn’t lying, it doesn’t feel truthful either; it’s like Crispin is just picking the stories about Keun that fit her need to describe the Knight of Swords.

With the Queen of Wands, she talks about photographer Sally Mann, and how when taking photographs of her children for her art she "she couldn’t worry how the images of her half-naked five-year-old daughter would be seen by others—she had to put that aside to take the shot." To me, this implies heavily that for the sake of her art, Mann couldn’t/shouldn't worry about pedophiles seeing and reacting to pictures of her children. Maybe I’m not as much of a creative type as I thought, but the safety of my children would always have to come first over “art”. I don’t want to support anyone who thinks otherwise.

When talking about the Queen of Wands, Crispin continually flips between the Queen’s personality. First, the Queen goes out and gets what she wants (“If she wants something, she draws it into her life. If she wants information, she’d go about getting it like Mata Hari”). But she also doesn’t do anything herself; she waits and attracts what she wants (“does not go out hunting for what she wants, she waits for what she wants to come to her. She is a figure of seduction.”). Crispin also uses Casanova as an example of this card: “But Casanova, while he certainly seduced lots of married women, did it not to steal them away from their husbands but to bring them pleasure for the first time.” It seems like adultery is okay for the sake of the art. For the sake of pleasure. Wouldn’t it be better to say this side of the Queen is dangerous—that at times you can’t always get what you desire, and shouldn’t let your desires run unchecked without regard for how they affect others? Because “the Queens have dignity. They show restraint.” after all.

There’s plenty of other things, like the implication that terrorists and murderers are inherently unintelligent. That intellectuals of the 1930s and 1940s who supported Stalinism and totalitarianism didn’t really know what totalitarianism was. Describing Lilith, an important religious figure, as a caricature and demon-f*cker who left Adam because he wouldn’t let her be on top (and no one else’s reasoning for fitting a card got the same treatment.) There’s a generalization about spies with the Queen of Wands that says spies don’t actually seek out information, it just happens to find them, and that spies only do the job because it’s exciting (which falls apart if you think about people who spy because they want a fascist regime taken down… it’s all about the thrill babey!)

There are parts of this book that insightful, sure. However there was also a lot that made me stop and say, "What the f*ck?!", and not in a good way.

[Rowan Hampton · Rating 2 out of 5]

I usually hate half stars (and am glad Goodreads doesn't seem to have them) but I would give this one 2.5 if I could, because 2 seems too harsh but 3 too generous.

This book just isn't what I expected (or wanted) it to be. I was hoping for a book that would talk about using tarot to help with creative projects and only really got 10 or so pages of that. The rest of the book is the author's interpretations of the cards and how it could relate to a question about a creative project. That's not nothing, but not what an advanced tarot reader like me wanted. Especially since I tended to disagree with a lot of the interpretations, or found them cookie cutter, or could tell where the author struggled to really connect the card to the topic at hand.

This is a book more aimed at someone new to Tarot and who didn't know you could apply it to questions that weren't fortune telling or about relationships. As someone who was already using Tarot for writing, it was just a disappointment. The spreads section of the book is very good, but oh so short. I wanted more of that and less Tarot 101. I'm glad I got this at the library instead of buying it.

The deck the author created seems pretty cool though.

[Emily · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you’re curious about the tarot, this is a wonderful introduction. Creative work doesn’t need to be your full time job either, if you only work on creative projects in your spare time I think you’ll still enjoy learning about the tarot through the lens of creativity. Even if you’re incredibly skeptical about the tarot — if you’re interested in the subject of creativity and the art of creation, you may end up enjoying how this guide approaches the creative process, and how artistic stumbling blocks can be rethought and reshaped to move a project forward.

My full review: http://www.booksuniverseeverything.co...

[Berna Labourdette · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hay muchísimos libros de tarot pero creo que este entrega muchos tips y tiradas para el trabajo creativo (como bien dice su nombre). La autora entrega sugerencias de obras de arte, libros o películas que resuenan con los distintos arcanos y da luces sobre a qué poner atención para que un proyecto pueda prosperar (ojo con la tirada sobre cómo entregar el proyecto creativo al mundo, super clara y completa). 

[Taveri · Rating 2 out of 5]

the library phoned to say there was a book in for me. I went there, and there was this Tarot book. I don't remember requesting a Tarot book; I'm not interested in Tarot. What was it doing on my To Read list?

Well I thought I'd give it a try. It gives some of the history of Tarot and meaning of the cards. I still don't care for it but for someone who might be interested it does give particulars and background. I guess at all just strikes me as a Nine of Swords approach "try to turn off your brain as much as possible" (page 204).

[Eva · Rating 5 out of 5]

Otro hobby pal buche

[Álvaro Arbonés]

Todo interés que pueda tener el tarot es puramente creativo. No nos va a contar nada del futuro ni de nuestras vidas. Cualquier lectura que hagamos será, necesariamente, por extrapolación. Igual que un buen libro nos convence, o nos dejamos convencer pon un libro no necesariamente tan bueno, el tarot nos cuenta una historia y nosotros nos proyectamos en ella, intentando ajustarla a nuestras vidas. Porque, al final, si el autor está muerto es porque siempre existe un receptor.

Jessa Crispin en The Creative Tarot se limita, la mayor parte del tiempo, a desgranar el significado de las cartas. Y ahí es donde el libro resulta interesante. Al desentrañar las implicaciones de cada arquetipo, de cada símbolo, de cada lectura general, nos da una perspectiva muy útil para cualquier persona que le interese el arte de contar historias: nos enseña cómo identificar las hebras emocionales más importantes de una narración y cómo hilvanarlas entre sí. Nos enseña cómo ser emocionalmente creíbles en nuestras historias.

El problema es que Crispin no se limita a eso.

Ya sea por la constante repetición de referencias a lo largo de la explicación de las cartas, interpretaciones no tan inspiradas, un horrendo diseño de cartas comisionado por ella misma (que es mucho menos claro y mucho más arbitrario que los diseños clásicos de la baraja) y cierto espíritu de auto-ayuda recorriendo el libro, por momentos se hace farragoso, si es que no ridículo, seguir leyendo un libro que no sabe si cree o no o todo lo contrario en lo que está explicando. Algo muy propio del tarot, pero poco aceptable en un ensayo.

Ese es su interés. No abrir al lector al fascinante mundo del tarot o hacerle más creativo a través de tirar cartas, sino ayudarle a entender mecanismos narrativos a través de abstracciones concretas formalizadas en cartas.

A fin de cuentas, de eso trató siempre el tarot. De contar historias. Pues lo que cada cual use como método de auto-ayuda ya es cosa suya.

[Mrs Mommy Booknerd http://mrsmommybooknerd.blogspot.com · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have to admit I am a novice tarot user. I have long been fascinated with the ancient practice. When I saw Ms. Crispin's book THE CREATIVE TAROT: A Modern Guide to an Inspired Life I knew that this would be my chance to begin to learn tarot in a new, modern and practical way. Crispin has found a way to teach the way of tarot in a clear, concise and easy to understand way. Her experience and expertise shines in this wonderful guide. I was so excited to being reading and learning. I began right away and I have been practicing every day. I have already found it be be a great way to work through difficult times, feel closer to my dearly departed father and find my creativity when it is blocked. The layout of this guide is amazing. It will not only help guide new practitioner but it will also help guide and aide long time tarot users as well. The guide helps you find exactly what you need and provides the ancient interpretations and Crispin's new modern take. It is a perfect marriage of past and present. I adore this guide and look forward to continue to gain confidence and knowledge in the art of tarot. It is no something learned over night and requires you to take time to learn the card and ways to read them. It is a journey of self expression and understanding.
5 stars

About my deck: I bought the RIDER TAROT DECK. This deck is an amazing deck and works perfectly with this guide book. The cards are beautiful, sturdy and a perfect compliment to the book.

[June Bash · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun and interesting read. Lots of ideas and insights. Not convinced of any actual 'magical' power in the cards, but interested in its use for semi-random decision-making, self-inquiry, and creativity.

[gudetamama · Rating 3 out of 5]

Did not finish. Too intellectual/artsy for me. Felt like I was going back to college and having to take a general arts and literature class. Might revisit when I feel like exerting a little more brain power.

Recommended to: young creatives.

[Rabbit {Paint me like one of your 19th century gothic heroines!} · Rating 4 out of 5]

A tarot book focused on writers and artists creating? Hell yeah!

[Story · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun and potentially useful.

[Jess ● The Bookish Ghost · Rating 5 out of 5]

LOVED this book! It resonated well with my own way of interpreting the Tarot, would read it again in a heartbeat!

[Holger Haase · Rating 5 out of 5]

Now I am probably one of the least spiritual people around and I don't believe in fortune telling but I have always been fascinated by the imagery of the Tarot, especially the Rider-Waite-Smith deck with its clear imagery and emphasis on tapping into a range of different universal tropes.

I find that focusing on those images can often just help redirect my mind into seeing things in a different way or unearthing methods of problem solving that my usual way of thinking would not normally consider.

Trouble is... I suck at reading those cards. I have a rough understanding of some of them but never lasted the mile when it came to Tarot courses or books that would analyse the deck one by one. It often just became too monotonous (never mind the often rampant new age-y language being used).

Crispin's approach, however, had me hooked. She does mainly focus on the Tarot for creative purposes - the likes of Italo Calvino and Alejandro Jodorowsky have e.g. often integrated it into their books or movies - but it can also be read by anyone who just wants to learn about reading the cards in general. What particularly fascinated me is that she connects certain cards with works of art, music and literature making it much easier to anchor connections between the images and what they represent.

By doing so she also helped me discover a good number of artists who had previously been unknown to me and who I have since become fascinated with, e.g. Leonor Fini as a representative of the 5 of Cups.

For exposing me to those new artists alone, this work deserves my gratitude but also of course for finally helping me to get a better understanding of the deck itself. No doubt this will become a well thumped book over time.

[Estanteriadecho · Rating 4 out of 5]

Este libro comienza hablando sobre el tarot y lo relaciona con la creatividad para, posteriormente, profundizar en cada carta de la baraja, explicando someramente sus símbolos y luego ahondando en el significado de cada carta con respecto a la creatividad. Cuando ya tenemos todo lo necesario para realizar nuestras tiradas, la autora propone modelos que nos serán de utilidad durante todo el proceso de creación de nuestra obra hasta mostrarla al mundo.

Mi impresión general de El tarot creativo ha sido muy buena porque supone una nueva forma de abordar un bloqueo artístico. Gracias al libro ¿WTF es el tarot? pude superar en su momento mi miedo al tarot, concibiéndolo como una posibilidad para reflexionar sobre algo que nos preocupe. El tarot creativo: Una guía moderna para una vida inspirada, extrapola esta reflexión al nivel artístico y, para ello, la autora se encarga de ofrecernos con detalle el significado de cada carta, llevándola a este terreno.

Reseña: https://laestanteriadecho.blogspot.co...

[Gretchen · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is incredibly my jam. Meditation through archetypes but also being pretty irreverent about them yes please. Minus one star for the multiple mentions of Coco Chanel and no discussion of her fascist tendencies (similar things were called out in other people so not sure why the blind spot here). But overall I think an incredibly helpful guide for the skeptical reader.

[Briar 🏳️‍🌈 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Often, books on tarot, etc can be kind of dry to me. Or it’s just lists of characteristics of the card and I forget them. I listened to the audiobook version of this book as I was anticipating it being the same. It was actually interesting and easily digestible! It suited my neurodivergent mind wonderfully with its imagery and explanations. I’m buying a physical copy now (though, I’m happy my local library has this to borrow!).

[Anna · Rating 4 out of 5]

For the most part, I really liked this and I think it was a really fresh perspective on how to think about tarot in a more solid way than purely esoteric. Wasn't sure what to make of a few of the recommended reading materials, which is what lost it the star, honestly.

[Hannah Brauer · Rating 5 out of 5]

A hidden gem. Completely changed how I view my creative process — I listened to the audio version but purchasing the hard copy to use as a daily guide!