Tarot Journaling by Corrine Kenner a review by Errol McLendon, CTM, CTI

Cut this book up! If I were an active journal writer looking for a never ending stream of ideas focused primarily on Tarot, I would copy every page of this book, cut out each idea and daily draw out my inspiration.

I have only read one other journaling book in my life and it left me cold because it focused entirely on the theoretical aspect of keeping a journal. Pages were devoted to the psychological and emotional benefits of journaling, but almost no suggestions were given for practical ideas. Corrine Kenner’s book fills this gap nicely. She devotes just enough time in the preliminary material touting the benefits of keeping a journal and exploring types of journals. I especially like her nod to less traditional forms of journaling. This information appeals very strongly to those of us who lean more toward the creative.

After the introductory material, Ms. Kenner gives us 141 pages of very unique and individual approaches to journaling. As I said before, a journal writer (or creative writer of any kind) could randomly pick from Ms. Kenner’s hundreds of suggestions and fill several years of writing. On the other hand, the novice journal writer may easily find their favorite approach which starts the creative juices flowing and keeps them journaling for a lifetime.

Don’t avoid this book if you are not a Tarot reader. There are plenty of helpful guides to assist you with learning about that aspect of the book, as well. In the appendix, there is a wonderful twenty step system for reading Tarot cards along with an index of Tarot card keywords and a reading work sheet. Ms. Corrine has done a wonderful job of compressing a beginning Tarot class into less than 15 pages.

The best technique for learning Tarot is to read the book cover to cover. The layout of the book is built around the Celtic Cross spread. Each chapter focuses on a different card in the ten-card spread. Within the chapter, the journaling suggestions are influenced by the card being discussed in that chapter, so while you are gathering innumerable suggestions for journaling, you are also gently learning one of the more advanced spreads in the Tarot world.

Tarot Journaling (ISBN 0-7387-0643-4) is a book which should be explored by creative writers of any type, whether they read Tarot cards or not. It is an invaluable tool to be placed in the reference area of any writer’s bookshelf. I expect my own copy will deteriorate from use in a couple of years and will have to be replaced.

"Tarot Journaling",
by Corrine Kenner
© Llewellyn Publications
Images used by kind permission from Llewellyn Publications.