This was an excellent review. This book has now gone from my 'maybe buy' list and firmly onto my 'to buy' list. I too enjoy a good bibliography. Thank you for sharing your thoughts.
I love your videos so much. You're as much of a book nerd as I am! 😍 I just got this one and her other books, and even just reading the intro, I love it. I am glad to know it's one you can read cover to cover. Also thank you for linking Vivi's video, which I somehow missed. Great discussions. I look forward to reading this one. I'm studying 36 Secrets right now.
❤😊 Aw thank you friend! Yes, we are definitely book nerds, no question. I don't have 36 Secrets but am definitely interested in it -- the decans are mentioned in Tarot Correspondences as well.
This isn't a book I own or have heard much about until now, at least not in such an insightful review. It's really intrigued me after hearing your thoughts and sounds like an incredibly worthwhile read at some stage. Thank you, your book reviews are always so thoughtful.
Thank you! I have the book, but somehow hadn't paid attention to the middle section, which sounds incredibly rich. A side note on the order of the suits: I order my decks based on how I would cast a circle: starting in the North and proceeding to the East, South, and West, and so in my mind I recite the elements as earth, air, fire, water, and then go to pentacles, swords, wands, and cups. As you quote Chang, not a direct correspondence, but one that is evocative for me. Oddly, I think of the Trumps as spirit, but put them first, not last, so it's not a completely systematic correspondence.
Yes, the second section is great! Very worth a read. ❤😊 Ooh you cast in a different order to me (I start with east) but have the same elemental/directional correspondences, and I also put the majors first. I think clearly there is no 'right' way here, but it was interesting to find out the GD order anyway.
This was really helpful thank you for sharing! I recently picked up this book and I did consider this about whether or not to read cover to cover especially when I saw really how each section is structured. Its been so helpful already and I've not got stuck into it yet so I really think I'm going to enjoy it! Really enjoyable review as well. Thanks 🙏 😊
No idea. I don't have (but plan to get) Tarot Deciphered; I'm sure there is some overlap in information but as far as I know that one focuses more on visual symbols in the cards than this book does. I would think they might be complimentary!
Ohh thanks, I was really looking forward to hearing your thoughts about this book. It's good that it highlights the difference between Jewish Kabbalah and Hermetic Qabalah and the trouble of gendered correspondences. I also love how the courts are elementally explained because that's how I read them 😝 This is a book I want to read and study, but that I will postpone until the summer holidays, as I don't have enough mental resources for this kind of undertaking right now hehe. Thanks again, this was a lovely review!
Makes sense. ❤😊 This is definitely a demanding book in some ways though it's also easy enough to put down and pick up as desired. Yes the elemental explanation of the courts is largely how I read them too!
I have been using this book as a reference, but I tend to do that with a lot of Tarot books. I really should set myself to for reading it, cover to cover. Thank you for the encouragement and gift of review 💚 Yes Crowley's politics and prejudices were vast and deeply offensive; however Waite, Smith and Golden Dawn associates were not far behind. Crowley, from what little I have read, liked the drama his expletives caused, and I hope helped people to look at themselves, but alas the reality is that his ideas mainly helped people to stay cocooned in their fear of 'other'. I am a student of Classical Astrology, which predates Golden Dawn (GD) and Ettlia (sp). Therefore my approach to the elemental associations is definitely on the holistic side of things. Whereas GD like to separate stuff to fit their world view of the esoteric, I also think there was a GD for initates and a GD for the non initiated... because 'secrets'. My flippant self wants to dismiss GD and crew, as a bunch of cis white men of privilege, who in a desire to find meaning, understanding and purpose in their lives, got together, studied alchemy, took copious amounts of psycho altering drugs and felt like Tom Hanks " I created fire " at their " discoveries " . On the other hand, if they hadn't done that, would I be able to be so arrogantly dismissive of the nature of their exploration? Everything is for a reason and they were a product of their time. Which leads onto the T.S.Chang's book. Her deep dive into the correspondences is epic. She has done the work, many haven't got the patience for. Plenty of Virgo and Aquarius in her chart and for that I am deeply grateful. As for the gender binary and symbolism within the cards. On the one hand, in this age it is easy to see the dualism in each person/situation and filter the symbolism in the cards to fit where we are at now. The whole anima animus argument. However, the unconscious repeated layering of destructive misogyny in a typical tarot card, is very much present and speaks to what has been nurtured and serves to be pattern sustaining. It is very hard to get out the centuries old habits.... is this partly why you like nature decks? Where no socially construct gender can be placed on the cards? Hmmmm interesting. Anyhoo, back to work. 👋🏼
Ooh I appreciate your thoughts so much, thank you! ❤😊 Yes, to be clear, in pointing out the serious issues with Crowley I do not mean to suggest that other GD members did not also write their share of problematic things as well. And in noting that I was glad he was not cited as a Kabbalah resource, I also could've been clearer that I *was* glad that the list of sources for that section was, from the ones I know anyway, predominantly Jewish-authored texts. As for nature decks, yes some of my love of those decks has to do with getting away from associations like gender. But, I do love plenty of decks with people in them -- I will discuss this in a future video but I have some decks that keep traditional court titles but mix up the gendered representation (so, the names are King, Queen, etc., but the King cards don't all have men, the Queen cards don't all have women...), others that use gender neutral titles; I see merit in both approaches. I think there are a lot of possibilities for disrupting gender stereotyping without going the direction of people-free decks. And I love my gender -- I just don't love the idea that there is a "right way" to express it, or that it means I should or shouldn't be or do particular things.
@@aquamarine18 cool cool, I wasn't totally clear with my question, I did not assume you reject yours or anyone's gender presentation. Just that if a tarot art has a narrow view of what gender means, and that view is repeatedly represented as the only, can be exhausting and was this partly why you sometimes chose landscape decks? Or do you just like fields? My fast self can comment and not always see how my responses may land. I need to stop doing that. X
@@Jo_-_-t.a All good. Honestly I think it is a little bit of both -- both exhausted by narrow representation AND me liking fields! As I became more confident with tarot, I really found myself attracted to more abstract decks + decks with less human representation, including landscape decks. The human depicting decks would frustrate me partly because repetition of particular gendered depictions (pregnant Empresses galore!!!) felt... yes, exhausting absolutely. Still does, so I'm glad to have a range of human decks that vary in that regard. But even beyond the gender stereotype issue, I did kind of hit a point in my tarot learning when the Smith-Waite inspired human decks started to feel limiting in their meanings and things like landscape decks and pips started to appeal to me because they felt much more open to interpretation (like, an image of five wands or a forest feels less specific than an image of five guys fighting). Now, I would say my love of landscape decks specifically (as opposed to more abstract decks in general) has really solidified with Naturescapes -- it wasn't my first per se (I had Augenblick first, which has landscape, architecture, building interiors, etc), but it really just... is a very special deck, I've never bonded with one in quite the way that I have with it, and loving it so much has made me a serious landscape deck enthusiast. ❤😊
@@aquamarine18 frustration, yes that's the word. Too often a deck falls just below the standard of where we could be in any type of representation. I get that lack of "stretch", to coin Tom Benjamin's term, in scenic minors and I would also say for Majors also. This is where my 'hold my horses' for this year, depth year, is helping me. As my tastes in tarot are changing, the more I understand about the craft, the less restrictions I want. Thanks for elaborating for me. Have a great weekend. J
I love how this was not too extensive and yet how detail oriented your review was. Loved your insights this was very helpful. Thank you.
❤😊 I'm glad, thank you!
This is such a clear, concise and informative review bolstered by an easy-going, inviting presentation style. Impressive! Thank you.
Thanks so much! 😊 Glad the review was helpful.
Thanks! Such detailed book review. Was very helpful!
I'm so glad! ❤😊 I hope you enjoy the book if you decide to read it!
This was an excellent review. This book has now gone from my 'maybe buy' list and firmly onto my 'to buy' list. I too enjoy a good bibliography. Thank you for sharing your thoughts.
❤😊 You're welcome! It is really a great one - no matter what system you're studying it has something useful, I think.
Well done. Thank you.
You're welcome! ❤😊
I love your videos so much. You're as much of a book nerd as I am! 😍 I just got this one and her other books, and even just reading the intro, I love it. I am glad to know it's one you can read cover to cover. Also thank you for linking Vivi's video, which I somehow missed. Great discussions. I look forward to reading this one. I'm studying 36 Secrets right now.
❤😊 Aw thank you friend! Yes, we are definitely book nerds, no question. I don't have 36 Secrets but am definitely interested in it -- the decans are mentioned in Tarot Correspondences as well.
This isn't a book I own or have heard much about until now, at least not in such an insightful review. It's really intrigued me after hearing your thoughts and sounds like an incredibly worthwhile read at some stage. Thank you, your book reviews are always so thoughtful.
❤😊 Thank you! It's a great book.
Hi. It would be great to see the pages of the book while youre talking. It gives us a diferent perspective. Thank you.
Thank you for your suggestion!
Thank you! I have the book, but somehow hadn't paid attention to the middle section, which sounds incredibly rich. A side note on the order of the suits: I order my decks based on how I would cast a circle: starting in the North and proceeding to the East, South, and West, and so in my mind I recite the elements as earth, air, fire, water, and then go to pentacles, swords, wands, and cups. As you quote Chang, not a direct correspondence, but one that is evocative for me. Oddly, I think of the Trumps as spirit, but put them first, not last, so it's not a completely systematic correspondence.
Yes, the second section is great! Very worth a read. ❤😊 Ooh you cast in a different order to me (I start with east) but have the same elemental/directional correspondences, and I also put the majors first. I think clearly there is no 'right' way here, but it was interesting to find out the GD order anyway.
This was really helpful thank you for sharing! I recently picked up this book and I did consider this about whether or not to read cover to cover especially when I saw really how each section is structured. Its been so helpful already and I've not got stuck into it yet so I really think I'm going to enjoy it! Really enjoyable review as well. Thanks 🙏 😊
❤😊 You're welcome, + I hope you enjoy it! I feel like section 2 in particular is very much worth a linear read.
Love your content!
I got Tarot Deciphered which I think goes with this but I wonder which is better.
No idea. I don't have (but plan to get) Tarot Deciphered; I'm sure there is some overlap in information but as far as I know that one focuses more on visual symbols in the cards than this book does. I would think they might be complimentary!
Ohh thanks, I was really looking forward to hearing your thoughts about this book.
It's good that it highlights the difference between Jewish Kabbalah and Hermetic Qabalah and the trouble of gendered correspondences. I also love how the courts are elementally explained because that's how I read them 😝
This is a book I want to read and study, but that I will postpone until the summer holidays, as I don't have enough mental resources for this kind of undertaking right now hehe.
Thanks again, this was a lovely review!
Makes sense. ❤😊 This is definitely a demanding book in some ways though it's also easy enough to put down and pick up as desired. Yes the elemental explanation of the courts is largely how I read them too!
I have been using this book as a reference, but I tend to do that with a lot of Tarot books. I really should set myself to for reading it, cover to cover. Thank you for the encouragement and gift of review 💚
Yes Crowley's politics and prejudices were vast and deeply offensive; however Waite, Smith and Golden Dawn associates were not far behind. Crowley, from what little I have read, liked the drama his expletives caused, and I hope helped people to look at themselves, but alas the reality is that his ideas mainly helped people to stay cocooned in their fear of 'other'.
I am a student of Classical Astrology, which predates Golden Dawn (GD) and Ettlia (sp). Therefore my approach to the elemental associations is definitely on the holistic side of things. Whereas GD like to separate stuff to fit their world view of the esoteric, I also think there was a GD for initates and a GD for the non initiated... because 'secrets'. My flippant self wants to dismiss GD and crew, as a bunch of cis white men of privilege, who in a desire to find meaning, understanding and purpose in their lives, got together, studied alchemy, took copious amounts of psycho altering drugs and felt like Tom Hanks " I created fire " at their " discoveries " . On the other hand, if they hadn't done that, would I be able to be so arrogantly dismissive of the nature of their exploration? Everything is for a reason and they were a product of their time. Which leads onto the T.S.Chang's book.
Her deep dive into the correspondences is epic. She has done the work, many haven't got the patience for. Plenty of Virgo and Aquarius in her chart and for that I am deeply grateful.
As for the gender binary and symbolism within the cards. On the one hand, in this age it is easy to see the dualism in each person/situation and filter the symbolism in the cards to fit where we are at now. The whole anima animus argument. However, the unconscious repeated layering of destructive misogyny in a typical tarot card, is very much present and speaks to what has been nurtured and serves to be pattern sustaining. It is very hard to get out the centuries old habits.... is this partly why you like nature decks? Where no socially construct gender can be placed on the cards? Hmmmm interesting.
Anyhoo, back to work. 👋🏼
Ooh I appreciate your thoughts so much, thank you! ❤😊 Yes, to be clear, in pointing out the serious issues with Crowley I do not mean to suggest that other GD members did not also write their share of problematic things as well. And in noting that I was glad he was not cited as a Kabbalah resource, I also could've been clearer that I *was* glad that the list of sources for that section was, from the ones I know anyway, predominantly Jewish-authored texts.
As for nature decks, yes some of my love of those decks has to do with getting away from associations like gender. But, I do love plenty of decks with people in them -- I will discuss this in a future video but I have some decks that keep traditional court titles but mix up the gendered representation (so, the names are King, Queen, etc., but the King cards don't all have men, the Queen cards don't all have women...), others that use gender neutral titles; I see merit in both approaches. I think there are a lot of possibilities for disrupting gender stereotyping without going the direction of people-free decks. And I love my gender -- I just don't love the idea that there is a "right way" to express it, or that it means I should or shouldn't be or do particular things.
@@aquamarine18 cool cool, I wasn't totally clear with my question, I did not assume you reject yours or anyone's gender presentation. Just that if a tarot art has a narrow view of what gender means, and that view is repeatedly represented as the only, can be exhausting and was this partly why you sometimes chose landscape decks? Or do you just like fields?
My fast self can comment and not always see how my responses may land. I need to stop doing that.
X
@@Jo_-_-t.a All good. Honestly I think it is a little bit of both -- both exhausted by narrow representation AND me liking fields! As I became more confident with tarot, I really found myself attracted to more abstract decks + decks with less human representation, including landscape decks. The human depicting decks would frustrate me partly because repetition of particular gendered depictions (pregnant Empresses galore!!!) felt... yes, exhausting absolutely. Still does, so I'm glad to have a range of human decks that vary in that regard. But even beyond the gender stereotype issue, I did kind of hit a point in my tarot learning when the Smith-Waite inspired human decks started to feel limiting in their meanings and things like landscape decks and pips started to appeal to me because they felt much more open to interpretation (like, an image of five wands or a forest feels less specific than an image of five guys fighting). Now, I would say my love of landscape decks specifically (as opposed to more abstract decks in general) has really solidified with Naturescapes -- it wasn't my first per se (I had Augenblick first, which has landscape, architecture, building interiors, etc), but it really just... is a very special deck, I've never bonded with one in quite the way that I have with it, and loving it so much has made me a serious landscape deck enthusiast. ❤😊
@@aquamarine18 frustration, yes that's the word. Too often a deck falls just below the standard of where we could be in any type of representation.
I get that lack of "stretch", to coin Tom Benjamin's term, in scenic minors and I would also say for Majors also.
This is where my 'hold my horses' for this year, depth year, is helping me. As my tastes in tarot are changing, the more I understand about the craft, the less restrictions I want.
Thanks for elaborating for me. Have a great weekend.
J