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WTF is Tarot?: ...& How Do I Do It?
With the success of the Wild Unknown Tarot, which created a new image and audience, the art of tarot has become trendy once more. Tarot has been featured on Refinery29 and the New York Times, and decks are now sold at Urban Outfitters. Bakara Wintner, a professional tarot reader, breaks down the mysteries of the 72 cards in a fresh, approachable way. The Modern Witch s Guide to Tarot explains that there is no prerequisite when it comes to the cards; whether you want to use them for a meditative practice, impress your friends with personal readings or learn how to read like a professional, Bakara makes this archaic, mystical practice accessible and modern.
Chapters include What is Magic, How Do I Use a Deck?, Reading for Yourself and Others, The Major Arcana, The Minor Arcana, Other Ways of Getting to Know the Cards and Tarot Spreads.
Bakara Wintner is a professional tarot reader who studied with the Brooklyn Fools in New York City, where she then became a co-founder and instructor. She has been featured in Urban Outfitters, Refinery29 and Nylon.
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Chapters include What is Magic, How Do I Use a Deck?, Reading for Yourself and Others, The Major Arcana, The Minor Arcana, Other Ways of Getting to Know the Cards and Tarot Spreads.
Bakara Wintner is a professional tarot reader who studied with the Brooklyn Fools in New York City, where she then became a co-founder and instructor. She has been featured in Urban Outfitters, Refinery29 and Nylon.
"
160 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2017
358 people are currently reading
1775 people want to read
About the author
Bakara Wintner
3 books106 followersBakara Wintner is a tarot reader, dog mom, girlboss, writer and owner of Everyday Magic. In her few short years reading tarot, she has gained a reputation as an innately gifted intuitive and reader. Her dynamic and no-nonsense reading style has earned her a vast client base and recognition from Nylon, Refinery 29, Urban Outfitters and Stone Fox Bride.
After graduating Emerson College with an MFA in Writing, Literature and Publishing, Bakara went on to study with and then and co-faciliate the Brooklyn Fools, a six-month, experiential training of the Tarot’s Major Arcana and now teaches individual and group intensives. Trained in Core Energetics therapy and a graduate of Delphi University’s In-Depth Channeling program, she pulls across modalities and schools of thought to inform and supplement her readings.
Since opening Everyday Magic—an intentional lifestyle shop carrying crystals, tarot cards and ritual objects—Bakara has established herself and her space as a cornerstone of Durham’s healing community, where she lives with her pit mix Zadie Killer.
After graduating Emerson College with an MFA in Writing, Literature and Publishing, Bakara went on to study with and then and co-faciliate the Brooklyn Fools, a six-month, experiential training of the Tarot’s Major Arcana and now teaches individual and group intensives. Trained in Core Energetics therapy and a graduate of Delphi University’s In-Depth Channeling program, she pulls across modalities and schools of thought to inform and supplement her readings.
Since opening Everyday Magic—an intentional lifestyle shop carrying crystals, tarot cards and ritual objects—Bakara has established herself and her space as a cornerstone of Durham’s healing community, where she lives with her pit mix Zadie Killer.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 159 reviews
December 21, 2018
I feel like I'm the only one who can't quite jump on the hype this book is receiving? While I loved Bakara's honest and straight-forward language and personal stories related to the cards, I find her interpretations very black-and-white. The cards are portrayed as either good or bad and I simply disagree with this outdated ideology that is often a product of pop culture painting Tarot as nothing more than a party trick or a fortune-telling resource. I genuinely expected this book to have more depth and to honor Tarot as a whole; as a multidimensional tool that helps us connect with ourselves first and "all that is" second. Many of the card explanations were pure projections on the outside world, most obvious examples being found in the entire Court Cards section of the book (but props for choosing the family language versus the hierarchy one. I loved that!). So this was my biggest problem with the otherwise witty and beautifully personal book - failing to highlight the sacred medicine of the cards and focusing on the either-or view of Tarot. But in all fairness, the book was true to its marketing: a quick Tarot guide for millennial beginners who love a good hype, wild-child stories and sharp language.
July 26, 2021
This is a great book for any layman to pick up and read about the wonderful art of reading tarot.
The author writes the book as one big story. You start with the zero card, The Fool and as you go through the journey through the major arcana cards you find yourself faced with many different challenges both good and bad until finally reaching The World card and your rebirth.
The minor arcana cards are put together by suits and the way that the author describes each minor arcana card makes it extremely easy for pretty much anyone to relate to what the author is saying about each individual card.
This book goes through each of the individual cards of a 78 card tarot deck as well as spreads and a brief history on the cards. Very well done!
The author writes the book as one big story. You start with the zero card, The Fool and as you go through the journey through the major arcana cards you find yourself faced with many different challenges both good and bad until finally reaching The World card and your rebirth.
The minor arcana cards are put together by suits and the way that the author describes each minor arcana card makes it extremely easy for pretty much anyone to relate to what the author is saying about each individual card.
This book goes through each of the individual cards of a 78 card tarot deck as well as spreads and a brief history on the cards. Very well done!
May 17, 2020
Kind of torn between 3 and 4 stars. Some of this was lovely, but some parts were a bit weird, like a card being "peak Fuck Boy energy". I'm also pretty sure beginners books shouldn't recommend the use of white sage, as it is already on the verge of going extinct. It's a bit disappointing that the book doesn't address these issues (or just recommends any other herb for "cleansing" like rosemary) and I have a sneaking suspicion that Wintner sells white sage in her shop herself
January 13, 2018
I’ve got a number of books on tarot, and this one is very unlike any of them. It’s a pretty basic book-brief intro, meanings of all the cards, a couple of sample spreads, and that’s it, other than a few pages at the end on chakras and crystals, etc. What makes it different are a couple of things: she’s removed the formal language that most tarot books are written with, and she illustrates the meaning of many of the cards using events from her own life. This humanized the descriptions, and made many of them easier to understand. This is not to say that she thinks the cards are just psychological archetypes or prompts; she is firmly on the side of them being magic. The minor arcana gets pretty short shrift a lot of the time, but the majors are very well done.
The title should give you a clue that there will be a lot of cusswords inside, so if you are offended by the F word, don’t buy this book. Four stars.
The title should give you a clue that there will be a lot of cusswords inside, so if you are offended by the F word, don’t buy this book. Four stars.
September 23, 2018
Finally, a tarot book that cuts out the crap and gives it to you straight. WTF is Tarot is a modest 150 page book (also, it is bound so that it stays open hands free on your table, so you can eat burgers while reading. Why aren't all books bound this way?) that assures you that the tarot is intuitive, accessible, and yours. She peppers in personal anecdotes about her life alongside each major arcana card, and it made me trust her more, to know what she has been through in her life thus far and how the cards have been an integral medium for her own navigation. I loved her section on the court cards, which are the most elusive and personified of the cards to me.
I can't say this book is perfect, there are AAVE phrases here and there and more than once does she reference being called out for cultural appropriation without lending understanding to those who do so. It's your pretty run of the mill usage of this, but I couldn't write this without bringing it up.
I can't say this book is perfect, there are AAVE phrases here and there and more than once does she reference being called out for cultural appropriation without lending understanding to those who do so. It's your pretty run of the mill usage of this, but I couldn't write this without bringing it up.
March 12, 2019
Reseña completa en el blog: https://elviajeporunlibro.blogspot.co...
May 17, 2019
Honesto, accesible y cuqui. Un tanto incompleto, un tanto caótico, pero lo recomendaría para empezar.
August 29, 2022
we love her, súper completo y la visión de la autora sobre el tarot y el esoterismo me fascinan, cómo hila todas las cartas va genial para conectar con ellas y entenderlas mejor y tb cubre un poco tema tiradas, chakras y rituales staneamos
December 21, 2020
I really enjoyed this book. It was a lot to take in but a brilliant tool to learn about tarot in a relatable way. I really appreciated the language used and the anecdotes used to get across the meaning of the cards in your every day life. I will have this one by my alter for reference going forward.
Unfortunately I couldn’t give it more stars for the white girl defensiveness displayed. I’m white and the whining about people calling her out on cultural appropriation made me uncomfortable. Girl, people aren’t calling you out for tarot they are calling you out to up your knowledge, stop using outdated terms and selling things they deem inappropriate. Perhaps listen instead of preaching how you’re doing nothing wrong and you know better. I can tell from referencing smudging, telling random white readers to go get a Native American deck with no discussion, completely disregarding Pamela pixie smith when recommending the rider Waite decks that you got some work to do. Like there is so much more that could be done to be a more inclusive author. Another thing that annoyed me was the comment on gender. Why even make a comment when you offered nothing new? Gender and gender traits are over. Stop it.
Unfortunately I couldn’t give it more stars for the white girl defensiveness displayed. I’m white and the whining about people calling her out on cultural appropriation made me uncomfortable. Girl, people aren’t calling you out for tarot they are calling you out to up your knowledge, stop using outdated terms and selling things they deem inappropriate. Perhaps listen instead of preaching how you’re doing nothing wrong and you know better. I can tell from referencing smudging, telling random white readers to go get a Native American deck with no discussion, completely disregarding Pamela pixie smith when recommending the rider Waite decks that you got some work to do. Like there is so much more that could be done to be a more inclusive author. Another thing that annoyed me was the comment on gender. Why even make a comment when you offered nothing new? Gender and gender traits are over. Stop it.
April 9, 2019
bakara's descriptions of everything - to the cards, spreads and reading for others - are accessible, original, inspiring and entertaining. a goldmine of information and a book ill be coming back to for a long time to come.
December 10, 2018
Bakara's "WTF Is Tarot?" might be the millenial's tarot bible! With smart, witty, yet profound interpretations for each cards that are written in the tone for the millenial set, it is definitely a guide every tarot beginner and master should have on their shelves.
May 4, 2024
really accessible and sticky -- adding to wishlist for my own copy!
November 9, 2018
4 stars
I received this book as a gift from my friend Anatha, and it was kind of uncanny because I swear this book was already on my radar from thinking about getting into tarot... she read my mind ;) (that's a bad tarot joke).
Anyway, I was glad she did think of me because I'd be considering trying out tarot reading for a while now, ever since I started doing Susannah Conway's "Unravel Your Year" workbook and the whole Word of the Year thing. She's a big proponent of using tarot as a mindfulness practice. I feel like this is always going to be my feeling about it, and I'm never going to get into the woo-woo magic aspect of it because I'm just too much of a skeptic (though 10-year-old Harry-Potter-loving me would have loved for magic to be real.... sigh).
So particularly towards the end of this book, where the author starts talking about chakras and crystals and the VERY PROBLEMATIC space clearing aka sage burning (I don't think I even need to get into this... but like I said, I'm interested in tarot for self-reflection, not pretending to be tapped into the mystic traditions of culture I do not belong to. Ahem.), idk fam, I kinda checked out. But I liked the 130 or so pages beforehand and found Wintner's explanations of the cards very straightforward and approachable. I appreciated the personal anecdotes that brought the card meanings to life, even if I found myself getting a bit exasperated with Wintner's personality by the end of the book (I 100% could not be friends with the author, bless her heart).
I don't know that I'll ever do readings for anyone else, but am excited to get started using the cards to continue working on myself as I have been through journaling and other forms of self-reflection (okay, mostly journaling... I try meditating, but I'm not consistent). Wish me luck!
So yeah, if you can withstand the unbearable (and often defensive!) whiteness of the author, this is a pretty good read, at least from the perspective of a beginner like me who has zero previous experience with the tarot beyond what I know from pop culture and the immensely enjoyable Raven Cycle series by Maggie Stiefvater. :3
I received this book as a gift from my friend Anatha, and it was kind of uncanny because I swear this book was already on my radar from thinking about getting into tarot... she read my mind ;) (that's a bad tarot joke).
Anyway, I was glad she did think of me because I'd be considering trying out tarot reading for a while now, ever since I started doing Susannah Conway's "Unravel Your Year" workbook and the whole Word of the Year thing. She's a big proponent of using tarot as a mindfulness practice. I feel like this is always going to be my feeling about it, and I'm never going to get into the woo-woo magic aspect of it because I'm just too much of a skeptic (though 10-year-old Harry-Potter-loving me would have loved for magic to be real.... sigh).
So particularly towards the end of this book, where the author starts talking about chakras and crystals and the VERY PROBLEMATIC space clearing aka sage burning (I don't think I even need to get into this... but like I said, I'm interested in tarot for self-reflection, not pretending to be tapped into the mystic traditions of culture I do not belong to. Ahem.), idk fam, I kinda checked out. But I liked the 130 or so pages beforehand and found Wintner's explanations of the cards very straightforward and approachable. I appreciated the personal anecdotes that brought the card meanings to life, even if I found myself getting a bit exasperated with Wintner's personality by the end of the book (I 100% could not be friends with the author, bless her heart).
I don't know that I'll ever do readings for anyone else, but am excited to get started using the cards to continue working on myself as I have been through journaling and other forms of self-reflection (okay, mostly journaling... I try meditating, but I'm not consistent). Wish me luck!
So yeah, if you can withstand the unbearable (and often defensive!) whiteness of the author, this is a pretty good read, at least from the perspective of a beginner like me who has zero previous experience with the tarot beyond what I know from pop culture and the immensely enjoyable Raven Cycle series by Maggie Stiefvater. :3
May 26, 2022
Me pareció fácil de entender y digerir, me gustó el enfoque de bienvenida de la autora y las conclusiones a las que me hizo llegar. Como novata en este tema me hizo sentir segura de lo que estoy haciendo y me motivó a seguir aprendiendo. También mucha referencia a Harry Potter, me hizo conectar.
January 2, 2018
Feels like it's written for the Urban Outfitters crowd - magic for hip young ladies (nothing wrong with magic for hip young ladies, of course). Some great insights, though, and even if I don't love the exceeeeeedingly approachable relatable tone, I am also perfectly happy that someone's making tarot approachable and relatable for all the ladies.
January 11, 2019
Some good stuff here, but I didn't love this tarot book. The author admits she doesn't have a ton of experience and hasn't been reading tarot all that long. Cursing and language don't always feel necessary (this coming from a gal that LOVES thug kitchen!). Some gems and important info, but not my fave tarot book out there.
June 20, 2020
Buen libro para empezar a entender las cartas, dinámico, moderno y fresco. Lo malo es que es muy personal y hay apreciaciones de la autora sobre algunas cartas que no me cuadran nada. Se notan sus propios sesgos y problemas personales en la interpretación. No dudo que sea una gran tarotista, su interpretación es ideal para ella, pero no para los demás
November 11, 2019
Interesante, una forma muy libre de leer, ahora solo me queda practicar.
Read
April 8, 2020Ha sido una lectura interesante.
Donde he podido entender un poco más el tarot desde la percepción de la autora.
En esta lectura, la autora abre su carrera profesional en la cartomancia y nos explica como introdujo el Tarot a su vida, como lo usó y lo convirtió en profesión.
También nos enseña cómo interpretar las cartas según sus secciones y complementos.
Cómo echarlas, entender la Magia del tarot y convertirte en espíritu y no en cuerpo.
Hay un apartado que me ha llamado bastante la atención y consiste en “cómo tratar a los escépticos”, clientes que acuden a sus servicios simplemente para poner sus capacidades a prueba.
Y creo que es un tema bastante guay.
Algo que me ha gustado mucho es que constantemente aplica ejemplos sobre sucesos que han pasado a lo largo de su carrera y llegas a comprender un poco más cómo te puede aplicar esos datos en la vida real.
Donde he podido entender un poco más el tarot desde la percepción de la autora.
En esta lectura, la autora abre su carrera profesional en la cartomancia y nos explica como introdujo el Tarot a su vida, como lo usó y lo convirtió en profesión.
También nos enseña cómo interpretar las cartas según sus secciones y complementos.
Cómo echarlas, entender la Magia del tarot y convertirte en espíritu y no en cuerpo.
Hay un apartado que me ha llamado bastante la atención y consiste en “cómo tratar a los escépticos”, clientes que acuden a sus servicios simplemente para poner sus capacidades a prueba.
Y creo que es un tema bastante guay.
Algo que me ha gustado mucho es que constantemente aplica ejemplos sobre sucesos que han pasado a lo largo de su carrera y llegas a comprender un poco más cómo te puede aplicar esos datos en la vida real.
September 5, 2021
This is a great book about the tarot for those who have a general idea of what it is already. There are a few descriptions of the cards that don't completely jive with some of the well known meanings but that's fine. I rarely discuss texture or artwork but this book deserves an A for the quality of the paper, makes it easier to write notes upon; I disliked the artwork style. The concept of the book is well done and I appreciated the author's anecdotes and things that were probably hard to divulge personally but it helped to develop a rapport. This book will be an excellent book for carrying along as needed with a set of cards. It does have a short and quick spreads section but also a description of Chakra.
January 8, 2022
consegue fazer o aprendizado de um tópico que é no geral muito gatekept ser divertido, e compartilhando as experiências pessoais dela, ela nos aproxima do assunto com gentileza. amo o tom de "tudo bem não saber tudo sobre tudo" (algo que é muito difícil aceitar na vida moderna) e "não existe erro, só está aberto a novas interpretações". também o tom meio sarcástico, que é legal porque torna esses conceitos por vezes tão antigos em algo do nosso dia-a-dia. é bonita a relação íntima e de amizade que ela tem com as cartas. obrigada step pela recomendação!!!
April 29, 2024
Pensé que se trataba de un manual como tal, pero lo sentí más como un anecdotario o compilación de experiencias de la autora con cada una de las cartas del tarot, supongo que su intención era que el lector relacionara las cartas con la vida diaria y de esta manera fuese mas fácil entender sus significados, pero siento que crea mas confusión.
Los significados de las cartas los sentí poco concisos y con mucha divagación incluso llegan a ser repetitivos. No me gustó, se recomienda para principiantes, pero creo más que claridad, aporta bastante confusión (eso me pasó a mi); para alguien un poco más familiarizado con el tarot puede que sea buena opción.
Los significados de las cartas los sentí poco concisos y con mucha divagación incluso llegan a ser repetitivos. No me gustó, se recomienda para principiantes, pero creo más que claridad, aporta bastante confusión (eso me pasó a mi); para alguien un poco más familiarizado con el tarot puede que sea buena opción.
June 18, 2019
Excellent guide to learning the tarot. Wintner has a casual, practical, often irreverent style, and I found her descriptions and explanations of the cards very understandable and relevant to everyday life. I was looking for a good book to get me started on my tarot-studying journey, and this was perfect.
February 18, 2018
Bakara's no nonsense guide was exactly what I needed. Her descriptions were so organic and intuitive and I have learned so much about the cards and my relationship with them. Now a go to resource book for me!!
November 2, 2017
One of the best tarot books I've read and I've read quite a few.
January 6, 2022
Sassy and informative. I'm really glad that I picked it as my first reading to immerse myself in the world of divination (specifically, if you haven't already guessed, Tarot).
February 1, 2019
This book is written in modern language that made it easier for me, an absolute tarot beginner, to read, although I think this language will also make it quite dated in the not-so-distant-future. Lots of slang and Harry Potter references will not resonate with everyone that chooses to read this book. But I did appreciate the casual, talking-to-a-friend approach that the author took. I borrowed this book from the library and read it once all the way through. I think it would be even better to own and have as a companion, alongside my tarot deck, guiding me as I learn the true intricacies of the tarot.
March 3, 2023
4.75 stars
March 16, 2023
tl;dr Definitely the worst tarot book I've read yet. The author lacks experience, knowledge, and nuance, and in general, there were many parts that made me uncomfortable. (I still can't get over describing using a shock collar on a dog as a form of "masculine" love, as an example for the Emperor. How is no one talking about this?!) I link to other tarot books at the bottom of my review that I recommend MUCH more than this one. If you're a book collector, I get it, this one has a funny title, but this is otherwise very much a skip.
Book content warnings: suicide, sex, drugs, animal abuse
Also this book speaks in gender binary terms aimed at a white cis-straight-female audience.
Not tl;dr: (Be warned, I had a LOT of thoughts while reading this, I did NOT like this book.)
I can't get over the uncomfortable vibes I had after I started this book. While I couldn't care less for the shock-marketing ploy of using "fuck" for a book title, I had heard nothing but glowing reviews about this book, as everyone around me seemed to be recommending it, so I decided to pick up a copy. But the more and more I read, the more and more turned off I was at the author. Their viewpoints, way of describing things, opinions, and life decisions aren't ones I entirely agree with, and were wildly distracting as I read.
That said, let me briefly cover what is in the book first:
Things don't start off too bad, with the author introducing themselves, their history with tarot, and, without naming it, imposter syndrome. She then describes a bit of the history of tarot, picking a deck, and an overview of the system.
This books leans spiritual, though in the card descriptions themselves, it's fairly neutral for the most part, so no big deal for any secular readers. Though there are sections on magic, chakras, spell work, etc.
Each major arcana card has an original artwork, a quote, a plethora of keywords, description of the meaning, a personal anecdote from the author of a real life experience that emulates the card, and how to interpret the card in a reading.
For the minors, each is organized by suit, with the suit having a couple keywords and short paragraph description, and for each card (1-10), a short jokey tag line, and short description (compared to the majors) of the meaning, with cards that that reinforce or oppose each card. Each suit has three card artwork examples.
The courts have their own section, with slightly more detailed descriptions than the rest of the minors, and an illustration of a house, to represent what each 'family' in their respective suits would live in.
The back of the book has information on spreads, giving readings, dealing with difficult clients/people about tarot, and various spiritual information.
--Okay, on to the review review--
The book at times felt rather basic in its descriptions and the author's knowledge. The author even admits right at the start of the book to being very new to tarot and she gave up doing research on it early on, since she struggled studying from other perspectives, which like I feel like should've been a red flag towards the quality of this book. As someone who has spent countless hours reading book after book, listening to podcasts, videos, and looking up articles, from loads of different people, all to work out my own understanding of the deck, I still don't feel qualified to teach. And for someone to publish an educational book (let alone teach classes so soon after starting AFTER having abandoned their studies) without the respect or care for that process is um, a bit, well, not the best. (To be frank, as someone who considers themselves an educator in other subjects, this is just insane to me.)
Because of this, I can't say I recommend this book as a sole resource for beginners. (In general, I don't recommend this book at all.) Please please don't be like the author, and be more open-minded to learning from multiple perspectives. The cards have a lot more nuance than the author describes, and to call any card a "shitty card" already feels like a misunderstanding to me. (I get the joke, but I don't agree with the sentiment. Each card, even the "shitty" ones, have a purpose AND positives to them. Even cards like the Two of Cups can have its "shitty" moments.)
Along with the card descriptions feeling a bit lack-luster, several for me felt confusing. Like the Strength card, I still have no idea what meaning the author was trying to get across. (And I was especially interested in that one, since she used keywords I've never seen associated with it, so I thought she might have interesting insight. Um. No.) My partner read it as well, and he also wasn't sure what she meant.
I think the problem is that a LOT of the prose in this book is very flowery poetic fluff. "Purple prose" as it is typically called. A lot of words with no real substance, and several anecdotes that felt weirdly connected to the author's card meanings. (She mentioning studying publishing in school, working as a literary agent, and having an education in writing. But this read fairly bland and amateur for the most part, and average at best.)
There are also times where the author provides NO information:
Makes sense how? This is never explained. (I know we may all have our own opinions on it, but I'm reading this book to get the AUTHOR'S opinion, which she never gives. And for a beginner, bringing this up without more detail could just lead to confusion.)
My Nit-Picks and Issues:
-Doesn't use Oxford commas :/ (Very minor in the grand scheme of things lol)
-Refers to the Rider-Waite-Smith deck as the Rider-Waite, and doesn't bring up the artist at all. For all these modern tarot books written by women especially, I have no idea why they erase the female artist who popularized the imagery we all know and love. (In fact, the way it's written, the author gives all the credit to Waite specifically.)
-The author uses the word "woke" a couple times, but...I don't think she knows what it means. It seemed very randomly and ignorantly used.
-The writing feels more like it was intended for a female (cis-straight) audience, which I get that that's the author's life experience as a woman so that might more naturally come across, I just wish the book felt more neutral while reading it. As a whole, even in the card meanings, it's almost entirely gender binary, with like, one or two exceptions. (The court cards are also all still gendered.)
-The discussion of her dog in The Emperor and using a shock collar to teach him not to bark was...uncomfortable to read, to say the least. And to describe it as a "masculine" form of love is kind of, um, disgusting and horribly sexist??? Just super unhealthy mindset. I'm shocked no other review mentions this. I had to put the book down for a while after reading that part.
-Repeated keywords. Several major arcana cards have the same keywords, which I feel like is easily avoidable and could help make things clearer beginners had she kept them all unique.
-Not in love with how severely severely negative her interpretation of the court cards of the sword suit are. All of them are depicted as bad horrible people. In fact, most all of the court cards are depicted largely negatively. Which is frustrating, because again, all cards have their positives and minuses, and by showing only one or the other, you're missing the beauty and value in the other half.
-Not a lot, if really any, detailing as far as actually using the cards. Fine for me, but if you're a beginner, there is no explanation on how to actually use spreads, nor are there any reading examples in the entire book. Just a heads up there.
-As I've seen mentioned in another review, the mention of white sage. Native American/Indian tribes in the US have already voiced, for a long time now, their distaste and anger for non-tribal members using their rituals and items, not just because of appropriation but also due to the potential endangerment of the plant. Wild because earlier in the book the author explained in paragraphs of detail how she went to great lengths to research products for her shop to avoid culturally appropriating or selling unethically sourced products. She should've known this. (The author in general seems averse to any form of criticism when it comes to questioning the products she uses/sells and practices she engages in.)
-In general, her "I'm not like other girls" attitude is off-putting.
I had more to nit-pick, but I didn't want to get too egregious with it. But the more I read, the more I thought back to previous parts and felt more and more issues with it. The book just doesn't feel very welcoming.
Which is a shame, because when this book is good, it is good! I still saw it as valuable to see and try to learn from another perspective, and there were definitely times where I came upon ideas I hadn't considered. Just the negatives for this book outweigh the good for me, and make me not want to recommend this.
Overall, I did not enjoy reading this book. I can't say I am happy I bought this book. I definitely went in with biased expectations, given how hyped up this book was, but even with that, this book doesn't feel good to me. I didn't want to give it one star though, since clearly there are things you can take away from this book. There were definitely parts that were interesting or helpful. But it definitely is not the best one out there, by far.
Books that read more gender-neutral, less toxic, more informative, helpful for beginners, and overall are more enjoyable that I'd recommend instead:
-Guided Tarot
-Your Tarot Toolkit (nb + disabled author)
-Tarot: Connect with Yourself, Develop Your Intuition, Live Mindfully (bipoc author)
Book content warnings: suicide, sex, drugs, animal abuse
Also this book speaks in gender binary terms aimed at a white cis-straight-female audience.
Not tl;dr: (Be warned, I had a LOT of thoughts while reading this, I did NOT like this book.)
I can't get over the uncomfortable vibes I had after I started this book. While I couldn't care less for the shock-marketing ploy of using "fuck" for a book title, I had heard nothing but glowing reviews about this book, as everyone around me seemed to be recommending it, so I decided to pick up a copy. But the more and more I read, the more and more turned off I was at the author. Their viewpoints, way of describing things, opinions, and life decisions aren't ones I entirely agree with, and were wildly distracting as I read.
That said, let me briefly cover what is in the book first:
Things don't start off too bad, with the author introducing themselves, their history with tarot, and, without naming it, imposter syndrome. She then describes a bit of the history of tarot, picking a deck, and an overview of the system.
This books leans spiritual, though in the card descriptions themselves, it's fairly neutral for the most part, so no big deal for any secular readers. Though there are sections on magic, chakras, spell work, etc.
Each major arcana card has an original artwork, a quote, a plethora of keywords, description of the meaning, a personal anecdote from the author of a real life experience that emulates the card, and how to interpret the card in a reading.
For the minors, each is organized by suit, with the suit having a couple keywords and short paragraph description, and for each card (1-10), a short jokey tag line, and short description (compared to the majors) of the meaning, with cards that that reinforce or oppose each card. Each suit has three card artwork examples.
The courts have their own section, with slightly more detailed descriptions than the rest of the minors, and an illustration of a house, to represent what each 'family' in their respective suits would live in.
The back of the book has information on spreads, giving readings, dealing with difficult clients/people about tarot, and various spiritual information.
--Okay, on to the review review--
The book at times felt rather basic in its descriptions and the author's knowledge. The author even admits right at the start of the book to being very new to tarot and she gave up doing research on it early on, since she struggled studying from other perspectives, which like I feel like should've been a red flag towards the quality of this book. As someone who has spent countless hours reading book after book, listening to podcasts, videos, and looking up articles, from loads of different people, all to work out my own understanding of the deck, I still don't feel qualified to teach. And for someone to publish an educational book (let alone teach classes so soon after starting AFTER having abandoned their studies) without the respect or care for that process is um, a bit, well, not the best. (To be frank, as someone who considers themselves an educator in other subjects, this is just insane to me.)
Because of this, I can't say I recommend this book as a sole resource for beginners. (In general, I don't recommend this book at all.) Please please don't be like the author, and be more open-minded to learning from multiple perspectives. The cards have a lot more nuance than the author describes, and to call any card a "shitty card" already feels like a misunderstanding to me. (I get the joke, but I don't agree with the sentiment. Each card, even the "shitty" ones, have a purpose AND positives to them. Even cards like the Two of Cups can have its "shitty" moments.)
Along with the card descriptions feeling a bit lack-luster, several for me felt confusing. Like the Strength card, I still have no idea what meaning the author was trying to get across. (And I was especially interested in that one, since she used keywords I've never seen associated with it, so I thought she might have interesting insight. Um. No.) My partner read it as well, and he also wasn't sure what she meant.
I think the problem is that a LOT of the prose in this book is very flowery poetic fluff. "Purple prose" as it is typically called. A lot of words with no real substance, and several anecdotes that felt weirdly connected to the author's card meanings. (She mentioning studying publishing in school, working as a literary agent, and having an education in writing. But this read fairly bland and amateur for the most part, and average at best.)
There are also times where the author provides NO information:
In some decks, Justice will appear as card 8 with Strength showing up a bit later as card 11. However it makes sense to me that Strength shows up as the natural evolution from the Chariot and Justice as the middle point of the major arcana.
Makes sense how? This is never explained. (I know we may all have our own opinions on it, but I'm reading this book to get the AUTHOR'S opinion, which she never gives. And for a beginner, bringing this up without more detail could just lead to confusion.)
My Nit-Picks and Issues:
-Doesn't use Oxford commas :/ (Very minor in the grand scheme of things lol)
-Refers to the Rider-Waite-Smith deck as the Rider-Waite, and doesn't bring up the artist at all. For all these modern tarot books written by women especially, I have no idea why they erase the female artist who popularized the imagery we all know and love. (In fact, the way it's written, the author gives all the credit to Waite specifically.)
-The author uses the word "woke" a couple times, but...I don't think she knows what it means. It seemed very randomly and ignorantly used.
-The writing feels more like it was intended for a female (cis-straight) audience, which I get that that's the author's life experience as a woman so that might more naturally come across, I just wish the book felt more neutral while reading it. As a whole, even in the card meanings, it's almost entirely gender binary, with like, one or two exceptions. (The court cards are also all still gendered.)
-The discussion of her dog in The Emperor and using a shock collar to teach him not to bark was...uncomfortable to read, to say the least. And to describe it as a "masculine" form of love is kind of, um, disgusting and horribly sexist??? Just super unhealthy mindset. I'm shocked no other review mentions this. I had to put the book down for a while after reading that part.
-Repeated keywords. Several major arcana cards have the same keywords, which I feel like is easily avoidable and could help make things clearer beginners had she kept them all unique.
-Not in love with how severely severely negative her interpretation of the court cards of the sword suit are. All of them are depicted as bad horrible people. In fact, most all of the court cards are depicted largely negatively. Which is frustrating, because again, all cards have their positives and minuses, and by showing only one or the other, you're missing the beauty and value in the other half.
-Not a lot, if really any, detailing as far as actually using the cards. Fine for me, but if you're a beginner, there is no explanation on how to actually use spreads, nor are there any reading examples in the entire book. Just a heads up there.
-As I've seen mentioned in another review, the mention of white sage. Native American/Indian tribes in the US have already voiced, for a long time now, their distaste and anger for non-tribal members using their rituals and items, not just because of appropriation but also due to the potential endangerment of the plant. Wild because earlier in the book the author explained in paragraphs of detail how she went to great lengths to research products for her shop to avoid culturally appropriating or selling unethically sourced products. She should've known this. (The author in general seems averse to any form of criticism when it comes to questioning the products she uses/sells and practices she engages in.)
-In general, her "I'm not like other girls" attitude is off-putting.
I had more to nit-pick, but I didn't want to get too egregious with it. But the more I read, the more I thought back to previous parts and felt more and more issues with it. The book just doesn't feel very welcoming.
Which is a shame, because when this book is good, it is good! I still saw it as valuable to see and try to learn from another perspective, and there were definitely times where I came upon ideas I hadn't considered. Just the negatives for this book outweigh the good for me, and make me not want to recommend this.
Overall, I did not enjoy reading this book. I can't say I am happy I bought this book. I definitely went in with biased expectations, given how hyped up this book was, but even with that, this book doesn't feel good to me. I didn't want to give it one star though, since clearly there are things you can take away from this book. There were definitely parts that were interesting or helpful. But it definitely is not the best one out there, by far.
Books that read more gender-neutral, less toxic, more informative, helpful for beginners, and overall are more enjoyable that I'd recommend instead:
-Guided Tarot
-Your Tarot Toolkit (nb + disabled author)
-Tarot: Connect with Yourself, Develop Your Intuition, Live Mindfully (bipoc author)
June 25, 2023
me lo tatuaría en la cornea
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