The Tarot Handbook

by Hajo Banzhaf

Learn about tarot through hands-on experience! Ideal for use with all tarot decks, especially the Rider-Waite and Universal Waite decks.

Genres: Tarot, Nonfiction, Divination, Occult

184 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1986

About the author

Hajo Banzhaf, one of Europe's foremost Tarot authors, was the husband and co-author of Brigitte Theler.

Reviews

[Siren · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was the first book I owned on tarot. It was given to me as a gift. I'm glad I started with this book, and I've read pretty much the entire book. His writing is incredible, he was a very talented writer and you can see that he spent a lot of time writing this book. It's not some quickly-put-together, mass marketed book. Each of the 78 cards in the tarot have their own page, and he has a section 4 sections that you can read: The overall meaning of the card, the meaning of the card in a relationship reading, the meaning of the card in a spiritual reading, and the meaning of the card in a business or finance reading. In addition to the meanings, there is also a page for each card on what they mean in each position of the Celtic Cross Spread. This book was awesome. I read that Hajo Banzhaf passed away suddenly a few years ago unfortunately, I'm glad he got to write this book during his lifetime.

[Less_cunning · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was second Tarot-related book I read & as a beginner i do not recommend it: definitely not as a 1st book orientation. Luckily I began w/ the Complete Illustrated Guide to Tarot so that reinforced & illuminated what I had read from that book.

The Tarot Handbook focuses on the 7-card "the Path" spread but as it states on page 176 of Additional Systems of Laying the Cards section: "With the explanations of the cards in this book, you can also understand and interpret other games [/tarot spreads]."

Aside from the astrological & mythological parallels, what I learned most was how many cards have similarities in that that they grouped together i.e. the 7 of Pentacles, 4 of Swords & the Hanged Man are in the "temporal delay" grouping. & other cards have "shadow" cards. et cetera. Also this book illustrated how some cards in the Minor Arcana have bigger reputations, so to speak. In that regard it really demystified & made more sense of the Minor Arcana to me.

This is a very solid book that I will probably end up consulting again in the future. I wish I of read it later after I had read some of the other beginner books on the Tarot but I pretty much just checked-out everything I could find at the Library except for "Tarot for Dummies." It is highly readable to the tarot novice though and I think it has given me a good foundation nonetheless.

[Burak Emiralp · Rating 3 out of 5]

1991 yılında aldığım bu Tarot kitabı ile tarot falını öğrenmeye çalışmıştım. Kitapla birlikte bir tarot destesi de veriliyordu.

Daha önce okuduğum kitaplarında tarot kartlarına yönelik bilgiler edinmiştim ve çok merak ediyordum.

Bu kitap sayesinde bir kaç kıza baktığım tarot falları ile başlayan romantik kısa ilişkilerim oldu.

Kitabın bende nostaljik bir anısı var.

[Stephen Weinstock · Rating 5 out of 5]

My all-time favorite Tarot book for help reading the cards. It is Jungian based, so the interpretations are rich and thought-provoking. Interesting alternate spreads to the Celtic cross, too.

[Eduardo Xavier · Rating 5 out of 5]

Não é um livro que se lê do início ao fim. Ele serve mais de referência. Ele é ótimo, principalmente pra ler em categorias, mas não recomendo ele pra iniciante. Ele referencia muitos livros melhores, inclusive traz recortes.

[Robert Tetteroo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dit boek en de kaarten zelf zitten vol spoilers!

[Funda Bilgin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Tarotun yol gösterici açılımlarından olan Yol’u sayısız örnekle ve bütün kart kombinasyonlarıyla anlatmış ve açıklamış iyi bir rehber.

[T.J. · Rating 2 out of 5]

it's ok if you wanna focus on that one particular spread. i was under the impression from the title though, that there would be more to it and i was wrong. i mean, there was good info but i think you can find that same info in other books with more to offer

[Marie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very good author.

[Marko]

I have the german version.