 |
What's in the Cards for You |
I received this book today and, contrary to the way a normal consumer should do it; I read it cover to cover in one sitting. Mark's humor and down-to-earth suggestions are nothing short of brilliant. In this short book, Mark provides thirty days of experiments designed to either change the skeptical mind about Tarot or provide the inquisitive mind new and fertile ground to explore. I look forward to spending the next thirty days experiencing these exercises.
If you have never touched a Tarot card before, but are just interested in "What is all this about?", (Exactly how I got into the business ten years ago) this is the most comfortable and guided introduction you will ever receive. This is not a beginning Tarot book whose pages are filled with the meanings of each card. In his second chapter, Mark guides the reader through ten different ways to look at a card and determine the meaning. This is much easier than being burdened with memorizing 78 different cards.
After the reader feels comfortable with "making meanings" in the cards, they have all the tools they need to explore the cards through some of the most original exercises I have ever seen. Some of the exercises are wrapped up in one day (some with specific instructions for the beginning of the day and others for the end of the day) and some can span several days (or years, in one case). Each exercise also offers "For Extra Credit" exercises which give variations or expansions on the original exercise. So if a student finds an exercise that really works for them, they can choose to expand their knowledge in that area.
Another nice feature of Mark's book is that he charts at the end which exercises relate specifically to six various fields of study. This chart allows a new student to identify an area of expertise based on the exercises which held the most appeal. For advanced students working in one of these six areas, the chart provides a reference of exercises which may be useful to the student in their daily activities.
"What's in the Cards for You?" by
Mark McElroy (ISBN 0-7387-0702-3) has just taken its place next to Mary
K. Greer's "Tarot for Your Self" as my all time favorite hands-on
Tarot book. Sorry, Mark, you are still number two. Buy this book and have
a blast.
"What's in the Cards for You",
by Mark McElroy
© Llewellyn Publications
Images used by kind permission from Llewellyn
Publications.