The Complete Tarot Reader: Everything You Need to Know from Start to Finish

by Teresa Michelsen

Tarot study can be daunting, with all the complex associations that the cards hold. The Complete Tarot Reader by Teresa C. Michelsen is possibly the best-structured learning tool, because it is organized like a study guide, including goals, activities and exercises. You learn easy methods for familiarizing yourself with a Tarot deck, as the book encourages you to use your own life experiences and knowledge to develop a personal understanding of the cards that transcends any memorized list.

Everything is covered in depth. You'll come to

• The basis of intuitive Tarot reading
• Suit correspondences and numerology of the numbered cards of all suits
• Astrology and personality for the court cards
• Historical and personal themes in the Major Arcana
• Reading for yourself and others
• How to overcome reader's block
• Intermediate reading techniques

The Complete Tarot Reader covers basic and complex methodology, including reversals, elemental dignities, timing of events, formulation of questions, numerology and the Tarot, astrology and the Tarot, symbols on the cards and much more.

Genres: Tarot, Nonfiction, Divination

288 pages, Paperback

First published April 1, 2005

Reviews

[Angelina · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book provides a lot of useful information, but you will need at least some knowledge of astrology to fully comprehend it. For me it was quite difficult sometimes to understand.

[Elizabeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book back when it came out in 2005, and thought that it would be good to reread it. And it was, but it's clear that the book is intended for beginners. Many of the exercises in the early chapters are for readers who know little or nothing about the tarot. Readers who are already familiar with the cards may have trouble "forgetting" what they know when doing these exercises and may not get that much use out of these chapters. Also, unlike many tarot authors, Michelsen doesn't include a list of card meanings. This will either help beginners learn to rely on their intuition or send them running off to find books that do include them.

This time around, I found the book more useful in the later chapters. Michelsen discusses reversed cards thoroughly, covering several ways of interpreting them in readings and making clear that readers don't have to stick with only one way. She also has a chapter on elemental dignities. which are not often discussed in beginners' books, and her explanations are clear and easy to understand. She includes a system of astrological and mythological correspondences to the Major Arcana that is an alternative to the one popularized by the Golden Dawn, and I found it interesting. The appendices include numerological and astrological associations, a glossary of symbols found in the cards, and rules for how to play tarocchi.

This is a good book for beginners, although beginners could probably learn the basics just as easily from other books. It may be of more use to the intermediate student who's developing their skills with larger readings and possibly reversals and/or elemental dignities.

[DDog · Rating 4 out of 5]

Picked this out of the library to help me with my Doctor Who tarot project. I mostly skimmed it, but it was helpful for making connections between cards and providing tips on symbolism. It has a lot of exercises to do with your deck so you can build a familiarity with what cards show up in certain types of readings, and your own associations with the imagery to supplant or augment the booklet that came with the deck.

[Nicole Diamond · Rating 3 out of 5]

If it has one star I liked it a lot
If it has two stars I liked it a lot and would recommend it
If it has three stars I really really liked it a lot
If it has four stars I insist you read it
If it has five stars it was life changing

[Holly Cicci · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very good general resource.