An absorbing analysis useful on more than one level

books:


	• The Secret Language of Tarot Wald Amberstone, Ruth Ann Amberstone Weiser Books, 2008 - 304 pages average customer review:based on 7 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

A Marvelous New Look at the Tarot

This book stands out sharply from all of the dozens of books in print that look at the symbolism of various Tarot decks. The other books all have one thing in common: they take the cards and dissect them into their various symbols. This remarkable work takes the symbols and integrates them with the cards.

Rather than simply go thought the Major Arcana and say "Oh, look there's a moon under the foot of the High Priestess", The Amberstones take the moon and look for its occurrences across the deck. The results can be surprising. Yes, the High Priestess does indeed have a crescent moon, but so does the Chariot, The Hierophant, The Moon and several Minor Arcana. As the author, so rightly points out, "Regardless of the card and regardless of its phase, every appearance of the moon in tarot brings with it the gift of all its meanings and references ready to the hand of the reader".

The same procedure is repeated for other common and important symbols: crowns, pillars, paths, mountains, horses, clouds and many more.

With forward by Mark Greer and afterward by Lon Milo DuQuette, two of Tarot's brightest lights join with the sterling reputation of the founders of The Tarot School to bring us a unique jewel in the crown of Tarot books.

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Wonderful way to connect to the images

This book will bring you closer to the symbols and images in your deck. Not only the symbols that they talk about in the book, but it makes you aware of all the little pieces that make up a deck. A wonderful beginning to a new way to explore.

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Not quite as...compendious as I'd hoped.

I had pretty high hopes for this book--apparently too high. The Amberstones are the ones who want to separate you and roughly $800 of your cash to learn tarot, and I figured this book would be a taste of what I'd get should I decide to take their course. Apparently not too stupid a decision, since this book seems to be one of their courses merely in book format (chapters begin with some sort of 'welcome to our class on....' formula). While there is good stuff in here and I definitely like the across-the-deck approach of symbols, on the depth of information, I honestly wasn't blown away. Good stuff, yes, but not exactly mind blowing. And every chapter I ended up *filling* with marginal notes like "what about this?" "And this?" For example--they talk about the five-petaled rose as a symbol in class, erm, chapter one. While they're spot on in what they do have, they don't touch on some pretty obvious numerology--five in the Middle Ages represents *humankind*--the five senses, the four limbs & the head, five fingers, etc. It's also more closely tied to the Virgin Mary than they say--anyone saying the rosary knows of the *five* sorrows and joys of the Virgin. As for white versus red roses--any Englishman (such as Waite) would almost automatically have considered roses, red and white, with Lancaster and York. So while they're not *wrong*...they're just not as *right* as I wanted them to be. And for the columns, they completely skip over the notion of the Hebrew names possibly being further representation of gender polarity--Boaz "in him is strength" masculine, Jachin "God prepares"--hello? The Virgin Mary again? Medieval notions of the female as the fertile bed upon which the masculine seed is acted?

If I sound frustrated it's because I bought this book expecting *experts*, (on their website they boast of more than 80 years of tarot experience) not just a few neat titbits. The only way I can reconcile myself to this book is to say that I must in contrast be a Tarot Super Genius, which I most certainly am NOT!

I gave it a four because I do like the notion of analyzing SYMBOLS rather than cards, and because what they do have is good stuff--just not as much as I would have liked. It's a good book for an intermediate tarot reader, but advanced readers might not find enough (like me) to justify shelling out the money. It's definitely a 'look before you leap' book. I'd recommend either of Mary Greer's big Tarot books before, and possibly instead of, this one.

But god bless 'em for having one of the very *few* good titles to come out in Tarot in the last few years!

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Absolutely Unique and Fascinating

As a student of Tarot for over a decade, its unusual for me to pick up a book and find a COMPLETELY fresh approach to the cards. I was/am delighted with the Amberstone's approach and their Tarot School is like the Big Bang -- Tarot is exploding for me like never before and it's beauty and expansiveness is opening wide. After buying every book I could find, studying Kabalah, Astrology, Alchemy, Jungian Psychology and joining an Esoteric School -- I've found the Amberstones bring the living tradition of Tarot and all the above-mentioned related topics together in a completely unique, articulate, and fascinating way I've never found before. After reading through the book at a single sitting, I ordered the Minor Arcana audio series from the Tarot School website and can not speak highly enough about it.

The book is the tip of the Amberstone iceberg but indicative of what's beneath -- an extraordinary and magical depth, breadth, and clarity of the subject matter combined with clear dedication, love, reverence, and appreciation for the Art of Tarot.

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An absorbing analysis useful on more than one level

The symbols universal in Tarot decks are reviewed in "The Secret Language of Tarot", a book which acts as either a reference to these images or as a series of guided meditations on each Tarot symbol. Each chapter offers a set of symbols that share a common theme, with plenty of background information surveying myths, realities and research. New age libraries strong in Tarot studies will find "The Secret Language of Tarot" an absorbing analysis useful on more than one level.

reviews: page 1, 2

Secret Language of Tarot sets itself apart from other tarot books by teaching readers how to translate the pictorial symbolism from one deck to another, strengthening the reader's ability to recognize specific icons in any deck and in the world around them.

The Secret Language of Tarot can be used as both a reference book and as a series of guided meditations on the individual symbols. Each of the seven chapters contain a set of symbols that share a common theme. Extensive research provides readers with the lore and mythological meanings of the symbols to help foster intuitive powers. The explanation of imagery is both insightful and eclectic.

When read from beginning to end, The Secret Language of Tarot reveals a hidden current of understanding and connection between the individual cards of the deck. Each chapter ends with an Integration Lesson and a special Symbol Spread to deepen the understanding of the cards.

The Secret Language of Tarot brings imagery and intuition into a course of study of the tarot. It is a must-have for any serious tarot reader that is written in accessible language for the novice as well.

?This book is about exploring these symbols found in the RWS tarot deck. Paths and mountains; moon and stars - these all have meanings which can apply to everyday situations...The authors also include meditations to better explore each tarot card, as well as a number of unique spreads that are quite innovative...This book is a lovely resource which I will be working with for some time to come.? -Diane Saarinen, New Age Journal

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