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Tarot: A New Handbook for the Apprentice
Book by Connolly, Eileen
1 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1979
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
October 9, 2020
Tarot: A New Handbook for the Apprentice: The Connolly Tarot, RevisedEileen Connolly
This is a revised 1990 edition of a book first published in 1979. It is a classic and should be appreciated in the context of when it was written. Some of the language and concepts are very dated and not up to 2020 sensibilities. That doesn't diminish its contribution to the evolution of esoteric tarot literature. Just dive into it with that expectation.
The Daily Record Book (p.13) was incredibly helpful for me when I first read this book edition when it was new. She was the first author I read as a young tarot reader that mentioned keeping a tarot journal. Like much of her advice, it is still useful today and something I advocate to beginning tarot readers.
The way the book is laid out, the enthusiastic use of CAPITAL LETTERS in the middle of sentences takes a little getting used to. I don't consider any published system of esoteric attributes and correspondences as "The Right Way To Do It" so how that information is presented in this book vs. how its presented elsewhere didn't impact my enjoyment of this book.
The author is a Christian mystic and writes about the KBL/QBL from that middle pillar kind of perspective. This makes her a lot like Paul Foster Case. Her own tarot, the Connolly deck, illustrates the card meanings sections and referenced throughout the book. It is a RWS-based deck, however, and so much of what she says can really be generally applied to any RWS-based tarot. But there is a lot of focus on spiritual development from a very Christian-based perspective and if that isn't something you feel comfortable about, you probably won't like this book . That isn't my own belief system and she waxed too enthusiastically about it from time to time for my tastes.
This is a revised 1990 edition of a book first published in 1979. It is a classic and should be appreciated in the context of when it was written. Some of the language and concepts are very dated and not up to 2020 sensibilities. That doesn't diminish its contribution to the evolution of esoteric tarot literature. Just dive into it with that expectation.
The Daily Record Book (p.13) was incredibly helpful for me when I first read this book edition when it was new. She was the first author I read as a young tarot reader that mentioned keeping a tarot journal. Like much of her advice, it is still useful today and something I advocate to beginning tarot readers.
The way the book is laid out, the enthusiastic use of CAPITAL LETTERS in the middle of sentences takes a little getting used to. I don't consider any published system of esoteric attributes and correspondences as "The Right Way To Do It" so how that information is presented in this book vs. how its presented elsewhere didn't impact my enjoyment of this book.
The author is a Christian mystic and writes about the KBL/QBL from that middle pillar kind of perspective. This makes her a lot like Paul Foster Case. Her own tarot, the Connolly deck, illustrates the card meanings sections and referenced throughout the book. It is a RWS-based deck, however, and so much of what she says can really be generally applied to any RWS-based tarot. But there is a lot of focus on spiritual development from a very Christian-based perspective and if that isn't something you feel comfortable about, you probably won't like this book . That isn't my own belief system and she waxed too enthusiastically about it from time to time for my tastes.
January 23, 2014
This book gets many associations wrong that I thought were unimpeachable—e.g. conflating the association of Justice/Libra with Capricorn instead, claiming The Star is representative of Gemini energies, & most infuriatingly, subscribing to a Christianized conception of the Qabalah (of utmost importance to the Tarot) by, for example, placing Virgo at the head of the zodiac's procession through the major arcana (the virgin from whom there was our saviour & without whom there would be none) in the High Priestess card instead of the obvious, classical placement of Aries in the Emperor; I mean the list just goes on & on—as well as drawing some seriously spurious interpretations of certain minor arcana; at random I turned to the Three of Cups page which the author describes as indicating "Happy conclusion, success, and the beginning of a new lifestyle" when it pretty visibly limns a scene of festivity among friends & should loosely indicate communal efforts at happiness of some sort. I guess this would be good if you've literally never given any thought to the Tarot, but why bother trying to learn about it at all if that's the case?
July 7, 2021
very helpful and informative..excellent for a beginner practitioner
April 9, 2008
I read a much older edition of this book. I believe there are two volumes (if I'm not mistaken). Excellent book if you want to be more than a dabbler and learn the craft. Lots of great information, good teaching/learning strategies.
December 26, 2007
This is my "public" deck. The cards are non-threatening without nudity, a 'devil' or 'death' card. The art is very pretty and the cards are a nice size.
March 24, 2015
Very systematic. Lots or structure and rules.
May 7, 2016
Instructions and deck, from Lynne
May 22, 2016
Wonderful book for anyone who is interested in the art of Tarot.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews