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Easy Tarot Handbook
Created especially for beginners, the Easy Tarot kit is the easiest way to learn to read Tarot cards. In the Easy Tarot Handbook, author Josephine Ellershaw shares tips, shortcuts, and time-saving techniques gained from more than thirty years of experience reading Tarot cards.
Using the beautiful Gilded Tarot deck, you'll learn how the seventy-eight cards link to one another and provide insight as their unique energies merge in the Cross of Truth, the Celtic Cross, and other spreads. There is even a list of card combinations that commonly indicate specific events-such as pregnancy, a wedding, a new job, and more. Also included in the Easy Tarot Handbook:
•⊂ A quick guide to card meanings
•⊂ Sample readings, safeguards, and ethical guidelines
•⊂ Tips on keeping a Tarot diary
•⊂ Troubleshooting advice that addresses questions such as, "What if the cards don't seem to connect?"
Using the beautiful Gilded Tarot deck, you'll learn how the seventy-eight cards link to one another and provide insight as their unique energies merge in the Cross of Truth, the Celtic Cross, and other spreads. There is even a list of card combinations that commonly indicate specific events-such as pregnancy, a wedding, a new job, and more. Also included in the Easy Tarot Handbook:
•⊂ A quick guide to card meanings
•⊂ Sample readings, safeguards, and ethical guidelines
•⊂ Tips on keeping a Tarot diary
•⊂ Troubleshooting advice that addresses questions such as, "What if the cards don't seem to connect?"
223 pages, Cards
First published May 1, 2007
58 people are currently reading
435 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 41 reviews
April 21, 2015
I got this as a set along with the cards themselves. The book was an easy read and very detailed. She explained things simply and thoroughly. A
Great start for anyone looking into tarot! Side note, the cards that came with them are beautiful!
Great start for anyone looking into tarot! Side note, the cards that came with them are beautiful!
November 28, 2014
loved it. liked how it teaches.
May 30, 2021
Great for beginners and is included in a set at a great value! So would definitely recommend for beginners but on the flip side does not explain reversals.
January 17, 2021
WHAT THE BOOK OFFERS: Using the Gilded Tarot as the deck for this book, and employing over 30 years' experience, author Josephine Ellershaw introduces the beginner, and not-so-beginner, to her method of tarot reading. She goes through each suit of the Minor Arcana, followed by their Court Cards, and finishes off the Tarot definitions with those of the Major Arcana. Also in the book are a very small variety of spreads, and instructions on how to learn to read the tarot intuitively. Ms. Ellershaw brings the reader from the basics of the tarot deck and provides her method on how to handle and read the cards.
WHAT I DISLIKED ABOUT THE BOOK: I grew weary of the frequency with which the subjects of romance and marriage came up not only in the Minor Arcana, but also in the Major Arcana. It almost seemed as if this was the author's private obsession, for it was included in the explanations of cards whose definitions I've never seen it a part of. Granted, my experience is limited, but no other tarot source I'm familiar with has suggested that romance/marriage be such a priority in the tarot, not even Power Tarot, and that book has subsections for each card, including one for romance.
I also felt like Ms. Ellershaw was handing this instruction down from on high. When I shared the passages I had difficulty accepting as mere advice to another reader who has far more experience than I have, they agreed that the author of the Easy Tarot Handbook was transmitting her personal method of reading the cards as something akin to the One True Way.
Beyond that, some of the cards, particularly a number of those in the Major Arcana had very brief explanations that would have left me clueless as to how to employ the card in a reading. While I currently find keywords helpful, I gravitated to the books I first bought because of their more comprehensive definitions of the cards. Sometimes the Easy Tarot Handbook left much to be desired in that realm.
And one final thing: Ms. Ellershaw advocates using tarot as a predictor of future events. As far as I can recall, every other source on tarot I've come across has focused on using tarot as a tool to understanding oneself and one's place in the world at a particular time. The author of the Easy Tarot Handbook even offers suggestions of questions the reader may ask the cards as they do their personal readings, and every single question prompted the type of query that asks for peeks into the unknowable future.
WHAT I LIKED ABOUT THE BOOK: Ms. Ellershaw provides some troubleshooting advice in the back of the book which may be helpful in readings; I haven't tested it yet, mostly because I haven't done any readings where I struggled with the cards. She also provides advice on how different cards relate to one another that I may find helpful.
I also liked her lesson suggestion which tells the beginner to take each card and write lists of what memories, thoughts, and associations the image thereon brings to mind instead of relying upon the explanation of the card from the book.
The author advises the new reader to keep a tarot journal with records of their exercises and their personal readings. She also suggests that the new reader practice doing personal readings until they understand the cards and how the cards work for them. I think both of these are sound advice.
WOULD I RECOMMEND THIS BOOK?: I would not recommend this book to a raw beginner, though that was Ms. Ellershaw's purpose in writing the book. Her fixation on romance/marriage would, I feel, mislead an impressionable new reader. Also, the brevity of some cards' definitions left me unimpressed. And I feel that the inflexibility of the "advice" provided on the care and handling of the deck would force a new reader into a mold and pattern of behavior that may not work well for them.
However, I would suggest this book for a more experienced student of tarot who has tested other books. I feel gaining a wider familiarity with tarot would benefit any newer readers who come to this book. That should enable them to determine how useful the instruction and explanations of the cards may be to them.
CLOSING REMARKS: While this book has merits, I largely feel that the fresh, new beginner to tarot would be better served by other books. As it is, I'd say this would be a middling-useful book to anyone who has the personal flexibility to understand what may best work for them and a willingness to study wider than the Easy Tarot Handbook.
WHAT I DISLIKED ABOUT THE BOOK: I grew weary of the frequency with which the subjects of romance and marriage came up not only in the Minor Arcana, but also in the Major Arcana. It almost seemed as if this was the author's private obsession, for it was included in the explanations of cards whose definitions I've never seen it a part of. Granted, my experience is limited, but no other tarot source I'm familiar with has suggested that romance/marriage be such a priority in the tarot, not even Power Tarot, and that book has subsections for each card, including one for romance.
I also felt like Ms. Ellershaw was handing this instruction down from on high. When I shared the passages I had difficulty accepting as mere advice to another reader who has far more experience than I have, they agreed that the author of the Easy Tarot Handbook was transmitting her personal method of reading the cards as something akin to the One True Way.
Beyond that, some of the cards, particularly a number of those in the Major Arcana had very brief explanations that would have left me clueless as to how to employ the card in a reading. While I currently find keywords helpful, I gravitated to the books I first bought because of their more comprehensive definitions of the cards. Sometimes the Easy Tarot Handbook left much to be desired in that realm.
And one final thing: Ms. Ellershaw advocates using tarot as a predictor of future events. As far as I can recall, every other source on tarot I've come across has focused on using tarot as a tool to understanding oneself and one's place in the world at a particular time. The author of the Easy Tarot Handbook even offers suggestions of questions the reader may ask the cards as they do their personal readings, and every single question prompted the type of query that asks for peeks into the unknowable future.
WHAT I LIKED ABOUT THE BOOK: Ms. Ellershaw provides some troubleshooting advice in the back of the book which may be helpful in readings; I haven't tested it yet, mostly because I haven't done any readings where I struggled with the cards. She also provides advice on how different cards relate to one another that I may find helpful.
I also liked her lesson suggestion which tells the beginner to take each card and write lists of what memories, thoughts, and associations the image thereon brings to mind instead of relying upon the explanation of the card from the book.
The author advises the new reader to keep a tarot journal with records of their exercises and their personal readings. She also suggests that the new reader practice doing personal readings until they understand the cards and how the cards work for them. I think both of these are sound advice.
WOULD I RECOMMEND THIS BOOK?: I would not recommend this book to a raw beginner, though that was Ms. Ellershaw's purpose in writing the book. Her fixation on romance/marriage would, I feel, mislead an impressionable new reader. Also, the brevity of some cards' definitions left me unimpressed. And I feel that the inflexibility of the "advice" provided on the care and handling of the deck would force a new reader into a mold and pattern of behavior that may not work well for them.
However, I would suggest this book for a more experienced student of tarot who has tested other books. I feel gaining a wider familiarity with tarot would benefit any newer readers who come to this book. That should enable them to determine how useful the instruction and explanations of the cards may be to them.
CLOSING REMARKS: While this book has merits, I largely feel that the fresh, new beginner to tarot would be better served by other books. As it is, I'd say this would be a middling-useful book to anyone who has the personal flexibility to understand what may best work for them and a willingness to study wider than the Easy Tarot Handbook.
May 31, 2024
while the card descriptions are helpful for the most part, i don't appreciate how bossy and self righteous she is in the beginning/teaching parts. she makes it sound as if you have to handle and use the cards the way she tells you to, because she's the one that created the deck. no. i bought this deck and will use it how i please. and so should anyone!
"you can only shuffle a certain way."
"no information on reversals for now because i don't use them."
"charge your deck. here is how."
"you need to do this before a reading."
stuff like that. just bossy! i also don't find the explanations of
court cards very helpful. i think she could've added more information on them, especially the knights. she ties the knights to specific events that dont usually have anything to do with your reading. so i would use other sources when it comes to the court cards as they may cause more confusion than anything. the imagery is also not helpful for a beginner. the colors are beautiful and most of the art is, but it's just not done in a way where a beginner can use the pictures to tell a story or understand the message of the cards. so to use the deck, you either need to rely heavily on the guidebook or use it after gaining a decent understanding of the cards.
another thing i personally don't like is that using this deck as a beginner may completely throw them off in interpretation. like when you compare these card interpretations to the ones in a traditional rws guidebook, it's totally different on a lot of the cards. it's not necessarily bad because every deck and guidebook creator seems to put their own twist on things. but if you are marketing this book and deck as something for a beginner, then the artwork and guidebook should be something similar to the traditional way because that's the foundation of tarot anyway. so yeah i just don't think this is a good book for a beginner. this is better for someone that's intermediate and has a basic understanding of the tarot cards and are ready to advance and learn new potential ways of interpreting cards or even using different imagery to read the cards. this is just my opinion.
overall she has some useful information in the book, but she is also not really giving you a guide on tarot. she's giving you a guide on the way she does and sees things regarding tarot. wouldn't suggest for a beginner on its own, but it's a nice secondary source to have, if you disregard the first portion and focus on the card meanings/descriptions. but one thing i love is the chart in the back that shows a brief overview of the card meanings!
"you can only shuffle a certain way."
"no information on reversals for now because i don't use them."
"charge your deck. here is how."
"you need to do this before a reading."
stuff like that. just bossy! i also don't find the explanations of
court cards very helpful. i think she could've added more information on them, especially the knights. she ties the knights to specific events that dont usually have anything to do with your reading. so i would use other sources when it comes to the court cards as they may cause more confusion than anything. the imagery is also not helpful for a beginner. the colors are beautiful and most of the art is, but it's just not done in a way where a beginner can use the pictures to tell a story or understand the message of the cards. so to use the deck, you either need to rely heavily on the guidebook or use it after gaining a decent understanding of the cards.
another thing i personally don't like is that using this deck as a beginner may completely throw them off in interpretation. like when you compare these card interpretations to the ones in a traditional rws guidebook, it's totally different on a lot of the cards. it's not necessarily bad because every deck and guidebook creator seems to put their own twist on things. but if you are marketing this book and deck as something for a beginner, then the artwork and guidebook should be something similar to the traditional way because that's the foundation of tarot anyway. so yeah i just don't think this is a good book for a beginner. this is better for someone that's intermediate and has a basic understanding of the tarot cards and are ready to advance and learn new potential ways of interpreting cards or even using different imagery to read the cards. this is just my opinion.
overall she has some useful information in the book, but she is also not really giving you a guide on tarot. she's giving you a guide on the way she does and sees things regarding tarot. wouldn't suggest for a beginner on its own, but it's a nice secondary source to have, if you disregard the first portion and focus on the card meanings/descriptions. but one thing i love is the chart in the back that shows a brief overview of the card meanings!
August 5, 2025
If you are interested in predictive reading, honest to god believe in crystals and psychic abilities and other esoterica, and are willing to follow Ellershaw's method exactly until you get comfortable with the cards, this is not a bad place to start. It's very much tailored to the "tarot is a real tool to predict the actual future" crowd in a way that many beginner tarot books these days aren't.
If you do not believe the woo woo, the only reason to get this book is Ellershaw's Life Spread (which is fun to use even if you don't believe in fortune-telling), and that you can do just as easily by picking up her sequel to this: Easy Tarot Reading. Grab Barbara Moore's Tarot for Beginners along with your favourite RWS-based deck or Llewellyn's Tarot Made Easy kit (different book by Barbara Moore + Llewellyn's Classic Tarot deck) to learn the cards, then go for Easy Tarot Reading for the Life Spread and some intermediate approaches to tarot. All the woo woo in here will just irritate anyone who doesn't already agree with Ellershaw's beliefs.
If you do not believe the woo woo, the only reason to get this book is Ellershaw's Life Spread (which is fun to use even if you don't believe in fortune-telling), and that you can do just as easily by picking up her sequel to this: Easy Tarot Reading. Grab Barbara Moore's Tarot for Beginners along with your favourite RWS-based deck or Llewellyn's Tarot Made Easy kit (different book by Barbara Moore + Llewellyn's Classic Tarot deck) to learn the cards, then go for Easy Tarot Reading for the Life Spread and some intermediate approaches to tarot. All the woo woo in here will just irritate anyone who doesn't already agree with Ellershaw's beliefs.
May 10, 2019
Clear, simple explanations for the beautiful cards (Ciro's deck) that came together with my purchase. The imagery is beautiful as everything that Ciro creates. The author of the handbook gives easy to read and understand explanations for the cards. She does not use or include reversals, however, in her book. There are simple instructions for the beginner as well in getting to know your deck and starting to use it. The size of the book makes it easy to tuck into your purse so you can pull it out when time allows to read. I think beginners may benefit more from the traditional imagery of The RWS cards but these are absolutely beautiful for when you have mastered a basic understanding of the traditional cards themselves and can carry that over into the imagery of this deck.
November 12, 2018
This is an excellent tool for beginners looking to learns the foundations of Tarot. I think this text does a wonderful job of offering you the basic information you need to have a working knowledge of the Tarot that you can then expand and play with as you choose. I did the whole book, as instructed, and was able to complete my first reading fairly confidently. I did find myself looking into other interpretations of the major arcana as I became more comfortable with the work and wanted more detail, and the book allows lots of wiggle room for tailoring the work to your personal needs and specifications.
January 9, 2020
Great book to read for the first tarot book to read for anyone interested in tarot. I did not agree with all the methods of approach to how to do tarot readings because, I felt a litter more experienced in tarot than the perception of the book had towards the reader. I also felt some practices of the tarot presented in this book would not necessarily work for some like sleeping on your tarot deck because I sleep with my arm under my pillow and toss and turn in my sleep and could possibly damage the tarot deck. It is the level 1 book of tarot reading.
September 21, 2021
This is a really nice set. I am just starting out with tarot and wasn't sure where to start. The booklet is very informative and helpful and the deck included with the book is really nice. Nicely printed, nice card stock and a good size for the hand and well coated. Easy to use, and the illustrations are very nice as well. I haven't used the larger mat and the spread on it yet, but am happy with the set and look forward to many years with this set. Highly recommended to anyone looking for a starting point with Tarot.
July 5, 2019
A good book for beginning tarot readers, and a fine freshener for more experienced ones. I haven't yet begun the steps in the book (had to wait for some items to arrive), but I appreciate Ms. Ellershaw's basic idea, to familiarize yourself with the cards as you personally understand them. Once I finish, I anticipate being able to do a reading without ever having to open a book to learn the meaning of a card.
April 22, 2020
Restarted and read it all in the past week.
Mostly as a curiosity, high-level overview for general principles. No in-depth studying.
Just gathering a feel for symbolism and approach.
(According to the dates below, it took just shy of 8yrs to actually read it.)
Mostly as a curiosity, high-level overview for general principles. No in-depth studying.
Just gathering a feel for symbolism and approach.
(According to the dates below, it took just shy of 8yrs to actually read it.)
January 15, 2022
It was alright. There are much better books out there in my opinion. Especially since it doesn't use the original Smith deck to teach you the basics. It can be quite confusing for those just starting out.
November 29, 2022
Whether you pair this with the corresponding tarot deck or not, the card meanings in this book inadvertently cover traditional 72-card tarot decks in general, not specific to the exact deck of tarot cards it’s sold with. I reference this book religiously during my tarot readings.
August 12, 2018
No reversals meanings.
September 19, 2018
Excellent
April 30, 2019
Great help and written well,easy to understand .
October 24, 2019
Very informative.
Took me a while to read as I read every page and wrote out quick reference guide myself
Took me a while to read as I read every page and wrote out quick reference guide myself
March 10, 2020
Very informative and helps immensely to give your first reads.
July 14, 2020
Very informative and interesting. I got it with the tarot cards. I haven't tried doing a reading yet, but this book was organized in a nice way so I'll use it as reference.
August 15, 2021
Not my favorite take on reading cards but if you're interested and starting out it will give you the basics in order to explore tarot more.
December 29, 2022
So not easy. There's too many options. It doesn't make research and understanding flow but adds to confusion.
January 21, 2023
This is a useful little handbook. I only wish I had marked pages with useful info so I could easily flip back.
February 19, 2023
Really good way to learn!
January 12, 2024
Good beginning book, but left a few questions for a complete newbie.
January 15, 2024
Standard, solid intro book. Good all around basic beginner read.
February 21, 2024
Excellent book for the beginner. Well thought out; good explanations and exercises to help the learner. Highly recommend for anyone looking to learn tarot.
December 18, 2016
Loved this book!!! Ms. Ellershaw made reading and understanding the tarot so easy for me....so much great information in clear and concise writing....I would recommend it to anyone who was beginning to learn about reading the tarot cards. It's best to also use the beautiful Guilded Tarot deck (Ciro Marchetti) with this book, as that is the deck she uses in the book to explain the cards.
June 13, 2018
I read this about 8 years ago and then again recently and I had to change my 2 stars to 3. This book approaches beginning tarot in a very easy and comprehensive way. I don't read professionally, just recreationally and for friends and family if they ask nicely, but I got the bulk of my information from this book. It does a very good job of giving you all the basics and showing you how to be a thoughtful card reader who is emotionally in tune with the cards and their meanings so as to give the best readings to clients. My book came with a gilded tarot deck by Ciro Marchetti and its a beautiful deck. I find the illustrations particularly helpful when it comes to learning the deck. There are several spreads taught in this book that are covered in good detail. I like the voice of the author, and this book is a great resource I return to again and again. There is a helpful cheat sheet in the back to jog your memory when trying to recall the meanings of cards.
December 6, 2013
I'm a fanatic at buy and collecting tarot cards over the years, then feeling guilty because I'm told they're evil then throwing them away, only to buy the same ones Again. Now I ignore all those ignorant comments from people who try to stop me buying things I love. While I'm not a fan of the book in this set and think the INstant Tarot reader is a good book for beginners or when you're lazy like me., I do LOVE the designs of this deck. They are gorgeous. I don't use the book nor like it, especially for beginners, because those I'm trying to teach don't find it user friendly either. All in all, worth the just buying these beautiful artistic cards.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 41 reviews