The Tarot Workbook Paperback – January 1, 2008

Balanced and informative, this book is for both novices and old hands at Tarot-card reading. Nevill Drury takes his readers through the history of the cards, their links to various spiritual practices, and their uses in readings and meditation. Each card is illustrated, described, and interpreted in both its positive and negative aspects. The interpretations then form the basis of a series of introspective questions. The latter part of the book provides instructions for various methods of reading and suggestions for meditation. Bottom line: this is a workbook, which can be used to guide readers to better understand the Tarot and themselves. However, readers can choose the extent to which they follow the exercises or buy into the rationale. There are a number of Tarot books out there, but this one should appeal to almost everyone who wishes to know more about this ancient practice. Check it out. See if it works for you.

This book claims to be "a step-by-step guide to discovering the wisdom of the cards" and to some extent it is. However, the workbook exercises are more about using the cards for self development rather than learning how to use them in a reading. Although the explanation of each card extends to at least a whole page each, too much of these explanations focus on describing the card (completely unnecessary for those that also include a picture) and only a small proportion of it relates to the card's meaning, which even then is discussed in a very limited context. The book does cover some of the main spreads but offers no guidance on interpreting the cards within the different positions. I would have expected a workbook to include example spreads with a discussion of their interpretation but this is sadly lacking.If you want to actually learn to give a tarot reading this is not the book for you.

Was a present for someone.