Mindful Tarot: Bring a Peace-Filled, Compassionate Practice to the 78 Cards

by Esther Freinkel Tishman

Read Tarot in the Present Moment, Full of Joy, Prosperity, and Peace

Fill your heart with abundance and ease by uniting Tarot with the modern mindfulness movement. Combining the card archetypes and meanings with today’s well-researched methods of meditation, this groundbreaking book shows you how to find a clearer path forward through compassion.

Mindful Tarot cultivates our capacity to live and love what is unknown and unresolved. It is a practice of patience and openness, encouraging you to embrace the present complete, lavish, and unconstrained. Lisa Freinkel Tishman teaches you to develop skills on three mindful awareness of yourself and your querent, a deeper relationship with your cards, and a transformed understanding of the Tarot system. She also provides exercises, analyses of all 78 cards, and step-by-step examples of her own daily practice.

Genres: Tarot, Nonfiction, Divination, Spirituality

336 pages, Paperback

Published June 8, 2019

Reviews

[ABCme · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you ever watched Lisa on You Tube (Mindful Tarot) you know she's a good storyteller. So I had high hopes for this book. Being a tarot enthousiast myself I already know the basics and was curious to see what this book had to add.
It does go into mindfulness, to paying attention and living in the moment, but also covers a massive amount of history, philosophy, psychology, buddhism, meditation and poetry.
The writing style reminded me a lot of Rachel Pollack's Tarot Wisdom, but where Rachel has a format, this book is all over the place. My mindfulness almost started hyperventilating.
When we finally get to tarot, we're already at the 40% mark on Kindle. So get your deck out...oh and there's shuffling...another chapter. After an interesting spread, which I will definitely incorporate in my own readings, the second half of the book then covers all the cards. Again, the storytelling is chaotic and without format. And so it ends.

At the start of this adventure, I jotted down the book challenge: How can we help ourself embrace our fundamental unbrokenness and find and live our questions?
Pondering on this now after having finished the book I can only think of the 4 C's, but they are muddled by all the afore mentioned fields.
Mindful Tarot to me is not a book on mindfulness, but the musings of a brilliant mind. I will definitely keep watching and learning from Lisa on YT, but this book doesn't add much to my tarot journey.

Thank you Netgalley and Llewellyn for the ARC.

[Megan · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a mixed bag of a book. It was part memoir, part research, and part card meanings. Overall I found it more memoir with theory woven in than actionable ways to be mindful in/using Tarot. This was a decent book overall, but I was hoping for a little more “how to” than storytelling and theory. I voluntarily reviewed an ARC through Netgalley.

[Temperance Tarot · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read tarot for myself and have been reading tarot for myself for years. I own dozens of tarot books that are all basically the same thing –
1. What is the Tarot (including history of tarot that is frequently untrue).
2. How to pick a deck.
3. How to cleanse your deck.
4. How to shuffle your deck.
5. Reading for a querant (someone other than yourself)
6. Card Spreads.
7. Card meanings – with a heavy slant on predicting the future.

If this is what you are looking for, then Mindful Tarot is not for you.

I read tarot for myself as part of my spiritual practice. I have never found a book to help me with this – until now. I will admit I have read very little on mindfulness, so the first few chapters, which acclimate me to what a mindfulness practice might look like, I found very helpful. It put me in the right mindset to receive the main message and advice about using tarot daily as part of a spiritual mindfulness practice. I will begin working this into my practice TODAY!

She talks a lot about her own life experience with mindfulness – which I really appreciate. Rather than telling me what to do, she tells me what she has done and observed about herself.

The history is correct and is an amalgamation of Tarot history that I have read from other sources, particularly Robert M Place’s The Tarot: History, Symbolism, and Divination.

She does provide card meanings. Her card meanings are not to predict the future or find the answers, but rather to find the question.

I do think that, in trying to make this a book that was accessible for beginners, she fell into the trap of having to provide “basic” information, like card meanings. I would have preferred really creating an intermediate to advanced tarot book with additional mindfulness exercises and spreads. I can get my card meanings from other sources.

I don’t think that this book would be helpful for a beginner, for someone looking to read the tarot for others, or for someone who wants to use the tarot to predict the future. However, if you are reading tarot for yourself for self-knowledge and spiritual growth, this book is unique among the tarot books I own and I feel will be quite helpful.

[Anne · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an excellent book on the Tarot and mindfulness. I found it to be extensive and comprehensive in its depth and breadth. There is lots of useful information as well as practical suggestions here for combining one’s mindfulness practice with the Tarot cards

Thanks to NetGalley, the author and publisher for an advanced reading copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

[Naava · Rating 3 out of 5]

I received a free copy of the book in exchange for an honest review. Here we go!

I went in, looking forward to finding mindfulness exercises and Tarot spreads and a lot of stuff that might help me get my mindfulness on.

What I found was a lot of words about the importance of mindfulness, a lot of personal history, a lot of anecdotes about the author's life on the island she was writing the book on, one Tarot spread (and even that wasn't properly explained in my opinion), and a "mindful" explanation of each card's meaning. About 60 % of the book was just card meanings.

Now, I have found that doing the Tarot spread of the book for about a week now has helped me develop my skills when it comes to storytelling when I read the Tarot, so I'm not saying it was a complete waste of time to begin doing it. I've dedicated a notebook for it; I'll keep doing it at least until the notebook is filled.

The card meanings were from a slightly different point of view than those that are normally found in books and videos and courses (I've taken five Tarot courses since March 2018 and watched a bunch of Tarot videos and even read a few books when I've gotten my hands on one). I found that especially the Court card meanings helped me get a better understanding of the cards. See, despite taking all those courses and giving at least a hundred readings in the past year or so, I still struggle with the Court cards.

The four C's – which I can't even remember now because I didn't take notes, silly me – are something I'll definitely revisit, along with the Court card explanations.

Wouldn't recommend for an absolute beginner, wouldn't recommend for someone who seeks guidance or fortune-telling from the cards, wouldn't recommend for someone who seeks to find otu if the direction they're going is the right one. Would recommend for anyone who wants to incorporate mindfulness and maybe even meditation into their Tarot practice more.

Note: I didn't try the meditations that were linked in the book. I'm going through a dry spell when it comes to meditation, and I'd rather not force myself to do it.

[K · Rating 2 out of 5]

It’s not good.

I was expecting a well organized book. You know, bulleted lists, highlighted points, example exercises. Stuff that’s easy to skim and reference. Not this book. This book is structured like a novel. You must read all the text, because the author/editor does not structure it in a way that makes it easy to separate the fluff from the substance. Probably, because it’s all fluff.

The beginning is fluff about mindfulness. The end is fluff about card definitions. Maybe fluff is the wrong word, but all tarot books have card descriptions. This one wasn’t special.

There were 2 pages of useful info in the book. The chariot spread. You can watch Benebell’s channel to see that without having to read this whole book.

[Alexandra · Rating 3 out of 5]

In the book the reader does get a link to a few mp3 files that could be helpful. Reader does get some history and information throughout the book. The numbers and suits are grouped together when getting to talk about them. When get to the cards - there is no keywords, it is more situational, history of the card, slight descriptional. So it can be helpful to get a slight deeper connection to the cards.

[Jennifer Sacasa-wright · Rating 4 out of 5]

The preface gives the reader a very specific view into the interpretative style and way in which Dr. Tishman is going to incorporate a Mindful approach to using the 78 Keys as tools of integration and awareness. This is a different ideology than is the norm in treating the cards of the Tarot as tools for accessing predictive information or having a specific spiritual practice in mind that these interpretations may be fused into. Dr. Tishman is, after all, a Zen Buddhist minister, so the underpinnings of this book’s methodology are grounded in a more eastern, vs. Western Hermetic dialogue.

Mindful Tarot is separated into two Parts, the first giving a very thorough set-up for the reader who is more acclimated to the traditional hermetic approach in using the Tarot. Part One: From Mantic to Mindful Tarot begins with the author’s experience as she sat on the meditation cushion during a break in the seven-day silent retreat. The author tells us of the epiphany she had surrounding the simple phrase, ”This is ALL there is”…and the clarity of meaning she derived from that phrase when looking through a different perspective.

Chapter Two: Cartomancy and Mindfulness-gives even more insight to the interweaving of the tried and true Tarot expectations and how these may be used in a more mindful way. She sites the words of Tarot icon, Mary Greer as having been instrumental is pushing her to seek deeper meaning for the individual…

Many people come to tarot in hopes of “fixing” their lives-obtaining information and guidance that will help them make the “right” decisions and no mistakes-guaranteeing perfection. I ask you, as a Tarot reader, how can we help the querent “embrace brokenness”? 1. Tarot for Your Self, 2nd Edition: A Workbook for Personal Transformation by Mary Greer

I especially liked Chapter 7: The Daily Pull– Dr. Tishman using the acronym of PULL for Pausing, Unknowing, Looking, and Leaning In. Many of us are familiar with the concept of pulling a card daily, not only as a way of learning the deck but also as guidance for the day’s energies. The author encourages us to cultivate the (zen) “beginner’s mind” of absolute aliveness and openness to “what’s that”. We then move on to the practice of patience, an excellent reminder that things unfold as they unfold, regardless of the amount of coercion we attempt to place on the desired (immediate) outcome. Each of the steps of PULL have an experiential exercise following the descriptive of how to, which is very helpful In training the individual towards being present and fully engaged in the action.

Part Two: Reading the Cards is separated into the usual format beginning with the Trumps (Major Arcana), the Pips (Minor Arcana), the Court Cards. Each of the cards is given a key word of focus and much like the books contained with a Tarot deck, information is provided regarding that key word and its application to a mindful Tarot practice.

Mindful Tarot is filled with references and quotes that those who have a solid background in Buddhist or mystic practices will easily recognize and be able to make use of, which may leave those who are coming from a hermetic mantic approach may not readily embrace. I think this is an excellent book directed towards an audience that is both versed in the nuances of a “real” Mindfulness practice-not the buzz word version so popular nowadays and has a firm grasp of understanding of the Tarot Keys using the more traditional predictive interpretations. The Works Cited section completing the book, gives validation to Dr. Tishman’s research and exploration used in penning Mindful Tarot. Many of these, again, are not your staple tomes for Tarot studies, which makes it all the more fascinating to read.

Having such a background to draw from, I found Mindful Tarot to be a very interesting read that gave me enough thought-provoking information to easily direct my focus for the Keys use in the way most revealing for what I was hoping to receive.

About Lisa:

Lisa Freinkel Tishman, PhD, began studying the Tarot as a grad student at Berkeley in the late 1980s. She has published extensively on Petrarch, the Renaissance poet sometimes thought to have influenced the tarot trumps. An award-winning teacher, Zen Buddhist minister, and certified mindfulness educator, she is a former humanities professor and dean at the University of Oregon (UO) and founding director of UO’s Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction program. Lisa is now an interfaith chaplain at Sacred Heart Medical Center in Springfield, Oregon, and continues to offer mindfulness classes, trainings, and Tarot readings through her business, Calyx Contemplative Care. She can be found on YouTube and Instagram as “Mindful Tarot.”
by Robin Fennelly of PaganPages.org
http://paganpages.org/content/2019/04...

[Bonnie · Rating 3 out of 5]

In “Mindful Tarot” Tishman combines the modalities of mindfulness, meditation, and the Tarot archetypes to assist the reader in actively placing compassion into their lives. The focus is on developing skills on three levels: (1) mindful awareness of yourself and your querant, (2) a deeper relationship with your cards, and (3) a transformed understanding of the Tarot system.

In her preface, Tishman talks about living in the present with joy and generosity. She defines a complete Tarot practice as about learning to live a more abundant and joyful life, in addition to deepening the reader's connection to the 78 Archetypes of the Tarot.

The first several chapters of this book help the reader to define mindfulness in the present moment, and that the present moment is all there is. (Very Eckhart Tolle.) It is best to treat these chapters as what they are – rather a stream of consciousness writing, and one that wanders and rambles at times. One good take from this is that in mindful Tarot nothing is hidden, and nothing is broken.

Throughout the book Tishman has included her own life experiences, examples of Tarot spreads (such as the Wheel of Life and the Chariot), and exercises to help the reader put the information presented ot work in their lives.

Tishman associates the four suits with what she terms as “abodes”. Wands are the abode of compassion, Cups are the abode of Cheer, Swords are the abode of calm, and Pentacles are the abode of Care.
In Part Two each of the 78 cards of the Tarot is presented with a black and white scan, the energy of the card, and a short explanation. For example, The Fool carries the energy of Beginner’s Mind, with the thought that when it appears in a reading, the reader is being asked to lean into the present of the present moment. I found it interesting that Tishman refers to The Fool as “she”.

While the concept of mindfulness and the Tarot lends itself to endless possibilities, I found it to be a bit sketchy to put together from this book. I found the book interesting, but what I would say is that the reader is best served by taking away what works for them and leaving the rest behind. It also comes to mind that revisiting this work from time to time will bring the reader fresh insight.

[Jamie Bee · Rating 3 out of 5]

Somewhat Surprising; Wanted More Tarot at the Start

I have been studying the tarot since the mid-eighties, but I'm always looking for new books with novel approaches to help inspire and inform my own readings and understanding of this ancient art. In this respect, this book filled the bill. I found this author's approach to each of the tarot cards, as detailed in the later part of the book, differed from most other interpretations I've read. The Major Arcana card section, in particular, helps you build bridges of understanding to the archetypes and relates them to the here and now. All these interpretations alone make the book worth reading if you are a medium-to-advanced tarot practitioner who enjoys seeing another's unique spin on our beloved tarot. After the introduction where the author set up the concept of mindful tarot well, the section before the card interpretations seemed to take a deep swerve away from what the author stated the book and its purpose would be. It seemed much more like the author's personal memoir (and travelogue) than anything that could be universally applicable to readers. Yes, she did share some basic tarot information, but I felt like that was overwhelmed by all the personal stories. In a book like this, some personal sharing is okay and can even be informative to help you understand your own practice better, but it didn't come across like this to me. So I recommend this book with reservations. I do appreciate the mindful approach to tarot and her unique way of looking at the cards, but I just wish the book had focused more on tarot takeaways for the reader.

I received a free copy of this book, but that did not affect my review.

My book blog: https://www.readingfanaticreviews.com

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mindful Tarot was provided to me through NetGalley by Llewellyn Worldwide as an ARC for an honest review (thank you!), Although I found it slow to start as a self proclaimed meditation flunkey, I kept going and found a plethora of information in Part 2 where the author addresses the cards. Does she give keywords and phrases for each card ;like 90% of the other books out there? No. Instead, she provides meaningful descriptions to enhance the way the reader may already identify with each card. I like the way she provides examples for some of the cards for reference i.e.: 7 of wands as the Michelle Obama card. She provides history for understanding as well utilizing a great reference list. This book is not designed, in my opinion, for foundational knowledge of tarot with the beginner in mind. Instead it holds a place for those who have some background in tarot and would like to enhance and/or combine their knowledge with a mindfulness practice.

[Merije · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you've done anything tarot or mindfulness related, the only chapter of interest is Chapter 7. Everything before that explains the basics of mindfulness, everything after it is an interpretation of the cards.

Even chapter 7 is not that enlightening; if you strip away the fluff, it just says: meditate so you get close to what is, without judging. Draw the cards. No magic, no mystery, just random cardboard images. Describe what you *see*, not what you think you know about the card. Meditate again. Write about the details you notice, the feelings they evoke, the questions they pose. Try to see how the cards mirror you, as you are right now.

That's it.

It's a good practice, one I will be incorporating. For me, that chapter should have been the basis of the book. I would have liked variations on the process, different spreads, meditations designed for it. More in depth descriptions of how we tend to interpret the card, and how that matches how we interpret stuff that happens in life, when all we have to do is observe.

This book contains a seed of something great, but you have to search for it. I had hoped for a tree.

[Dee · Rating 5 out of 5]

You might guess from the title that this book is about Mindfulness and Tarot. The great pity is that I suspect it will mainly be read only by those who already have an interest in these subjects prior to their coming across Lisa's absolutely charming and well researched volume. I have fifty + years of trying to practise Mindfulness & somewhat less experience in Tarot but I think that those who miss out on reading "Mindful Tarot" may be the ones who need it most. It's fun to read, highly informative and presents a valuable new perspective on it's subject matter. Lisa is very personable and encourages the reader to allow her/his own personality/intuition to shine. From the many historical references and the Bibliography one may find much further reading to pursue. I pulled a card for fun to see who Lisa is. Queen of Cups was a very fitting result. Enjoy.

[Cheryl · Rating 4 out of 5]

A well informed, interesting and thorough exploration of the Tarot - and how to use it mindfully. The book is both practical and spiritual, encouraging the reader to use the present moment to its fullest extent in order to gain a more intuitive and accurate reading. As a relative newcomer to Tarot, I appreciated the card by card breakdowns as well as the gentle introduction to mindful practice. I will definitely be returning to this book as I continue to explore my Tarot deck.

Thank you to NetGalley, and to the publisher, who gave me a free ARC copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

[Jill Long · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great book if you are looking to incorporate Mindfulness into your tarot practice. The author gives stories and details on how to do this.
Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher and author for this ARC.

[Latasha · Rating 2 out of 5]

I am not a big fan of books that reference other works/authors extensively. I appreciate the credit given, it just doesn’t make for a cohesive reading experience. The card guidance and “descriptions” may come in handy for those who are not used to using tarot intuitively.

[Ileana Renfroe · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very well written book that taught me a lot. This is the first book by this author and I hope it is not the last. I am keeping this book to read over and over again.

[L.A. Jacob · Rating 2 out of 5]

DNF
Tried again.So woo-woo.

[Erin Nguyễn · Rating 4 out of 5]

An alternative, helpful way to look at Tarot.

[Trina]

I started this book a few days ago- July 14th I guess and here it is 4 days later and I simply don’t have the energy to continue reading.
Aug 5- picked this book back up yesterday and am eventually going to finish this book.

[Sarah Nealon · Rating 5 out of 5]

The cheesy cover design belies the substantive wisdom that’s shared within these pages. The author weaves together mindfulness, pop culture allusions, and historical insights into her descriptions of each card. This has become my go-to reference when reading tarot.

[Lisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

The author has an expert understanding of mindfulness, which comes through in her in-depth research and presentation of the material. Once we are given an understanding of mindfulness, the author shares the picture of a tarot practice approached mindfully; changing us from seeking answers from tarot, to posing questions in mindfulness tarot. Once familiar with the explanations of the spreads and the point of view each spread comes from, the author is able to show which spreads are more beneficial to mindfulness. The content is also laid out in a pleasing manner that makes me want to keep reading and learning. I have a much deeper understanding of the history and detailed explanations of each card and each spread. The content is researched so well, I've come away with a new found excitement towards tarot.

[frugalitymom · Rating 4 out of 5]

Filled with great facts and thoroughly researched this book weaves together the facts to turn an interesting tale of a wonderful topic into a must read.

[Annarella · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting book as it mixes tarots and mindfulness, two themes I'm interested in.
The book is well written and it kept my attention till the last page.
It's full of interesting and useful hints, facts and advice.
Recommended!
Many thanks to Llewellyn Worldwide and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine.

[Heather Bennett · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mindful Tarot is a interesting book mixing mindfulness and tarot. The author is well researched on both topics and the book is written well. I learned a lot on tarot.

[Cherry · Rating 4 out of 5]

I wanted to like this book more than I did, unfortunately. I was looking for more ideas of practical exercises rather than a heavily worded philosophical approach. However, if that is more your style, it is a well thought out and written book. And I do really love the cover design!
Thanks to NetGalley for the review copy. The opinions expressed are my own.

[Michelle Noble · Rating 3 out of 5]

I volunteered to give an honest review in exchange for a free copy of the book pre-publication. The author focuses on mindfulness in tarot and not predictive or future telling. The book does give an easy to understand description of the cards. However, I personally like the future telling aspect. I expected to learn how to tell the future with tarot based on card placement.