Black and white illustrationsDecember 29, 2008 This book have very much useful informations but with black&white illustrations. I think it is very bad for reading card symbolism.
Not The Book of ThothJune 30, 2007 1 out of 1 found this review helpful
This book offers a very high level of detail on the Thoth tarot while also being very readible. I originally purchased this in the hopes that it would be something along the lines of Crowley's "Book of Thoth for Dummies". Anyone who's ever spent much time with Crowley's works would understand the common complaint that they are far from being comprehendible to the average person (at least without significant effort). I should note, then, that this book did not satisfy my intention. There is next to no connection to Crowley's stated definitions of the cards and very little in the way of association with the Qabalah. Students of (esoteric) Western Mysteries may be a little disappointed in this sense.
That said, for anyone who is not necessarily interested in Crowley, the Golden Dawn, Qabalah, Hermetics, etc (my guess is that this would be the majority), and just wants a practical book to go along with the Thoth deck, I see no reason not to recommend this. The descriptions of each card are well fleshed-out and do remain in the spirit of the fundamental interpretations of the 72 cards. There are a variety of spreads taught from the book and so I do believe most folks will get a lot out of this.
Extraordinarily Insightful & Useful for EveryoneApril 10, 2007 1 out of 3 found this review helpful
I have fouind this masterful work by Angeles Arrien to be of the highest quality and a useful tool for understanding aspects of our changing selves on multiple levels.
Fantastic Book!March 8, 2007 2 out of 3 found this review helpful
This book is a perfect companion for learning the Crowley Tarot. Very detailed & organized. I use it everyday & recommend it to anyone else wanting to learn this deck.
averageMarch 4, 2007 6 out of 7 found this review helpful
My main problem with this book is in the introduction. The author says that the reason for the book is that she didn't agree with Crowley's interpretation of the Thoth deck. (I have to agree that it's a difficult book.) She then tells us that she wants to present a universal view based on Lady Frieda Harris' visual interpretation. The fact is that Crowley assembled the images from his own knowledge and, being unable to paint as well as the deck deserved, he asked Lady Harris to do it. She knew absolutely nothing of the symbolism beforehand. He had to have her do some of the paintings two or three times before he approved them. Lady Harris' vision was the equivalent of that of an illustrator for a book she hasn't read. The author's rejection of Crowley is a rejection of the symbolism of the deck. And that calls into question either her understanding of universal symbolism or the very existence of such.
Beyond the reasons for the book, her interpretation isn't the worst I've seen. But it's a very personal interpretation, not universal as she intended. It's a little better than most books that are written for the purpose of fortune-telling, but probably not much good for meditation or insight unless you're the author.
