Holistic Tarot: An Integrative Approach to Using Tarot for Personal Growth

I bought this in the paperback form, as I find reference books difficult to use on a Kindle. When it arrived, I groaned a bit, because it is huge. Huge as in 2 inches thick and 873 pages! However, if you're at all interested in working with the tarot, don't hesitate to order this book. I've been reading selected chapters, and I must confess I think this is probably the best overall 'how to' book on tarot that I've ever read--and I personally own about 20 of them. The author's tone is matter-of-fact, and focused on getting a person up to speed on reading, rather than the more ethereal view of tarot. Her attitude seems to be that this is less a predictive tool, and more a tool for people to understand a situation, cope with problems or re-envision their future. While the ability to see things that might happen is part of the tarot-reading process, Ms Wen is more concerned about making connections between cards and their positions in the spreads and relationships to one another. She uses these connections to think about issues, and help the 'seekers' get to grips with their lives. She uses the Rider-Waite deck, and her examples are often illustrated, and very easy to work with. I am totally impressed, actually. Every single question that arose in my mind as I was reading was immediately answered, and almost always illustrated as well. I have been especially impressed with the way she deals with the court cards, which, as any semi-experienced reader knows, can be difficult to work with. Do they represent people? Astrological signs? Ages? Sexes? Personality types? Situations? Her answer is 'all of these.' However which version you choose depends on the question being asked and the relationships of the other cards. This is the first book I've read that deals with odd groupings of court cards as well. There is something to consider if you get more than one of the same suit, or more than one of the particular levels, such as three Pages, or four Knights. I also read, with interest, her sections on card-reading ethics, which goes into much more detail about who should be sent elsewhere, for medical, legal or psychological counselling instead of a tarot reading. This is hard-hitting, level-headed stuff. I don't normally review a book until I've finished it, but this one is unique. Everything I've skimmed or read in detail has been totally impressive. I do believe one of the blurbs on the back cover, which says, basically, this is the only tarot book you will ever need. I agree. This is really good, helpful and enlightening stuff, and I look forward to absorbing it all, in time! UPDATE: 9 years later, I am still of the same opinion. This book is nothing short of fantastic. I refer to it frequently. Highly recommended.

This is the ultimate book on Tarot, just holding it you have a timeless sense that the information held within is far superior than that of any Tarot book ever written in the history of time. A highly intellectual book that teaches and supports you on a journey of learning tarot, as well as a wealth of facts and reference, it is THE book for all levels. Benebell’s knowledge, professionalism and enthusiasm shines so brightly, I treasure this book.

Just received it in the post. It’s a thick, heavy book (which I wasn’t aware of) but I’m not fussed about. seems to be condensed with important info. As a tarot reader myself, this will help me to expand my approach in reading the cards alongside fortifying my intuition by using this guidebook. Will update this review later on, but so far so good. EDIT/ UPDATE: WOW! There’s a lot of valuable information within this book, from spreads to diff cultural perspectives to other insights on how to read and interpret the cards which I hadn’t considered in the past, this is THE book you MUST buy if you want to get into tarot 🙌🏼

I want to thank Benebell, not just for this amazing book but for all the work she has done to help all of us expand our knowledge of the Tarot. Benebell's generosity in providing free courses on her website and her youtube videos, all presented with good humour and in a way that's easy to engage with. I just don't know how she's managed to achieve all that she has. Holistic Tarot is a very thick book, you certainly get your money's worth with this and it's a pleasure to work through, I'm using it alongside the courses on the website and the videos. I can't praise this book enough.

This book is BIG it’s no coffee table read! I’ve just started it and I’m engrossed already, the writing style is beautiful, it’s complex but understandable. It is possible if you read this book front to back you may never have to read another tarot book again!

A must have for any tarot reader. This is like the Bible of tarot. Lots of info and spread ideas.

I am still working my way through this book as a novice tarot reader but I find it easy to comprehend and follow, plus totally comprehensive. Another major bonus I think is that the author provides all sorts of supporting materials, to support book study on her website. I've printed them all off and am following her training "plan" rather than reading book from start to finish (see here for the materials: [...] I feel that this book will be a 'go to' that I will revisit often and dip in to, to support my interpretation of readings etc. I think novices and experienced people alike will find the book useful.

I have several books on the Tarot but this is the best for me..it has plenty of diagrams and I found I am easily getting more insight into the cards after using this book. The only problem is the weight of the book, I know it's on the Kindle but the subject matter requires skipping back and forwards and e book not really suitable for this. I can honestly say if you want to learn/ use the Tarot then this is the definitive book to get.

OH MY GOD !! I simply LOVE THIS BOOK. I do own quiet a few books on Tarot but I've not found anything like this. This is truly amazing. This is quiet an achievement if I would say so myself. There are just so many reasons as to why I love this book and I would recommend it to any one who is interested Tarot. I like the contents of this book, its division and subdivision is neatly put. Chapter One - Tarot Analytics, a chapter where she tells What is Tarot? and describes her approach to tarot. Chapter 2 - A Concise History Lesson, now it is very difficult to sketch the history of Tarot and to do so more accurately is a challenge in itself. I had no idea that the earliest playing cards are said to have originated in China, Tang Dynasty, 618AD to 907AD. And where do I get the info, that's right Holistic Tarot and not only that, she beautifully describe it origins and how we have along so far with the Tarot right in the modern days. I should comment that her research on this is just flawless. Chapter 3 - Allaying Fears and Offering Theories, Oh my! this is one of my favorite chapters, as I don't think there are many tarot books that talk about this, of course not the ones I know. However, there are many people who are afraid of Tarot cards and especially with certain cards like Key 13 DEATH, Key 15 THE DEVIL, Key 16 THE TOWER and so on and really that is only because of fear resulting in ignorance. I would like to quote her here - "The tarot represents the spectrum of the human condition, the good, the evil, the light, and the dark. Do not fear the darker aspects of the human condition. Understand them. The tarot is a storybook about life, about the greatness of human accomplishment, and also the ugliness we are each capable of... So confront your fears. Start by studying the Major Arcana cards..." She discusses the various theories of how tarot works. Chapter 4 talks about Choosing Your Deck like Which deck to use? The book contains a lot of diagrams, illustrations, charts and it's neatly done. Chapter 6 a chapter dedicated to maintaining a tarot journal. Chapter 9 Cyclopedia of Card Meanings, great chapter on Tarot meanings, you have chunky paragraphs and pages on card meanings including reversals. Key words and reversal key words. Chapter 10 talks about Signifier or Significator cards. From Cutting, Shuffling lay out the cards to Tarot spreads and numerology t's all here. From Astrological association to elemental dignitaries all in this massive book.Tarot ethics to foot notes. This book is a must to own it and read it. 'Opening of the Key' to 'First Operation' all in this gigantic book. I could just go on and on. It's a great book.

Aunque es un libro bastante grueso, es de muy fácil y rápida lectura y va al punto en cada sección. Benebell Wen es muy bien organizada en su forma de exponer su método de aprendizaje del Tarot. El Tarot en general puede parecer un tema oscuro y subjetivo, pero con este libro se aclaran y aterrizan muchos puntos que lo convierten en una herramienta verdaderamente útil para conocerse a uno mismo y a su entorno, para conectarse con el Universo y alcanzar a ver un poco más allá de lo cotidiano, sin comprometer las creencias personales. Este libro basa su análisis de simbología y significados en el Tarot Rider-Waite, pero creo que no es difícil aplicar varias de las propuestas y metodologías a otras tradiciones de Tarot como Marsella o Thoth. En su página personal, la autora publica actualizaciones al texto y en su canal de YouTube hace videos que acompañan y extienden las explicaciones de este libro, con su personalidad generosa, ligera, sencilla y muy organizada. Lo cual hace a este texto aún más útil y rico como material de estudio. Sin lugar a dudas es una excelente opción tanto para los que quieren empezar a leer el Tarot, como para quienes quieren adentrarse un poco más en sus estudios.

Livro Excelente 😸💜 Já é um Clássico Contemporâneo ❤😄🤩

I started getting into tarot about February of this past year. I have been using several websites, including the author's, to learn about the tarot and it was going fairly well. However, I am a fairly methodical person and like a very structured, more academic approach, to learning things. Once I saw Wen's companion course on her website, I ordered the book. It was exactly what I wanted. She is very methodical and structured in her approach to learning tarot. I love her appendix and endnotes. When she makes a statement, be assured that it was thoroughly researched. This is not a book you just read through. It is a book that you use a highlighter with, use page markers, take notes on, buy other books, and could probably launch an entire thesis off of for a PhD program, just saying... Please don't get the wrong idea though, all of that is optional and her book isn't stuffy in the least, it's just not a "sitting at your neighbor's table throwing down the cards" sort of style. While I enjoy all of the woo-woo stuff associated with tarot, I didn't want it to interfere with learning the tarot. Wen has removed all the mystical stuff and has provided a distilled version of tarot so that after you have a very solid understanding of the tarot, you are free to use it however you want and she encourages you to do so. Her analogy to learning the violin is exactly what she provides in Holistic Tarot. That being said, I don't think this book is perfect for everyone. I started with Biddy Tarot's website and it helped me feel like I couldn't mess things up. Once I got comfortable, it just wasn't enough and Wen's approach was exactly what I needed. If you are all about intuition, you didn't enjoy school, you hate journaling/recording things, etc., then I would probably recommend looking elsewhere. It's not that you wouldn't understand her work, it's just that you probably wouldn't enjoy the process and that kind of defeats the purpose of learning tarot, in my opinion. Things I particularly like: she touches briefly on the history of tarot and then recommends other authors to pursue to further develop your understanding of how tarot developed and why it is still relevant. I appreciated this because I have since paused in the companion course and am reading a few other books on the history of tarot that are definitely drawing on the art history and history classes I took in college, making this a thoroughly enjoyable research experience for me. I like that she includes planetary references, numerology, elements, and a whole bunch of other things to create a complete rabbit hole experience that will keep me occupied for months. I had forgotten how much I had enjoyed the research aspect of being at university and this has just made me completely happy. I have expanded on the journal template she provides in the companion course and downloaded Xotero to organize my notes and other books I'm using as references while I read hers. I like that the companion course really breaks the book down into buildable chunks so that it isn't overwhelming when you receive this massive tome at your front door because it certainly isn't fitting in your mailbox. She genuinely covers everything. For those of you who do want to incorporate tarot into Craft, I would recommend checking out her online courses. She does offer a course that deals with using tarot for Craft that is inexpensive and goes in a completely different direction than her book. Bottom line: if you genuinely are interested in getting a solid understanding of the tarot AND like structure, then do not hesitate to purchase this book.

Every Tarot reader needs this book. Has all that you can possibly need in this excellently written book with depth, clarity and loads of information