By Nina Lee Braden

Buy & read reviews at: [Amazon.co.uk] [Tarot Insights] [Aeclectic.Net]

ISBN: 0-7387-0170-X

Paperback

Publisher: Llewellyn

Released July 2002
Foreword Mary K Greer [Tarot for Yourself]

Cover art by Brian Williams [Renaissance Tarot]

Cover design by Kevin R. Brown

168pp

Author’s website: http://www.ninalee.com/ - no longer seems to be available

“While the Tarot is commonly used to predict the probable course of future events, it is an ideal tool for self-discovery.”

This is one of the first book in a series - “Llewellyn’s Special Topics in Tarot series was created in response to an increasing demand for more Tarot books on advanced and specialized topics.”

For this review I’m going to start at the very beginning and by that I mean with the cover. Llewellyn have chosen a great style for their series of ‘Special Topics in Tarot’, of which this book is one of the first. The book’s a nice size too, six inches by nine.

Brian William’s representation of the Hermit, the traditional older man with lamp, (dressed this season in pastel pinks, blues and yellows), looks good against a lovely deep blue background with elegant, and decorative light blue corners, which nicely contain the title and author’s name in white.

This tableau is framed top and bottom with sepia, (a sort of light stone brown), that holds a small picture of a Jester and the words, ‘Special Topics in Tarot’ at the top of the book and at the bottom, advertises the foreword written by Mary K. Greer, a well known and respected tarot author.

Can you tell I like the cover yet?

The back matches, naturally, and the category in the top left hand corner puts the book in ‘Tarot/Personal Growth’, and this sums it up perfectly as does the title.

Using tarot for self-discovery is what Braden’s work is about and it’s an attitude I can really get into and identify with. It’s how I feel about tarot, and why I really looked forward to getting this book.

As soon as you open it there is a message from the author asking, ‘What Can the Tarot Teach Us?’ ‘On its own, Tarot is neutral, except perhaps in one regard. There seems to be an inherent message of balance in the cards themselves.’

Everywhere you look there’s a great quote to be had; ‘Like a mirror, the Tarot reflects the pleasure and pain of the human experience.’ - blurb on the back of the book.

“I like to think of Tarot cards as a bridge connecting the conscious mind to the subconscious mind.” - page 1.

And it all makes sense, what better; gentler and more imaginative way could there be to ease the road to self-discovery and honesty than using Tarot?

Nina Lee Braden makes it interesting too, the Forty-seven exercises are divided into categories, and there’s even a section on how to write your own, a generous move by the author as she could be doing herself out of a sequel!

The categories are, ‘Easy Tarot for Self-Discovery Exercises’, Intermediate, ‘Exercises for Special Occasions and Situations’ and there’s also a section of examples as ‘Sometimes it’s helpful to see how others have worked the exercises.’

Mary K. Greer’s foreword is flattering and interesting; ‘As Nina Lee makes so clear, self-discovery is about seeing our faults and flaws; balancing denial and self-blame; and discerning blessings, gifts, and strengths.’ And even has a Star Trek reference at the end about this series of books, ‘they are designed to take our knowledge and uses of the cards where no one has gone before’. That’s a good thing in case you were wondering.

The bases are all covered, as long as you remember that this is the kind of book where you get out of it what you put in; “Self-discovery is difficult. It often takes great works, great effort. It takes time. It takes energy. It often takes brutal honest’, if you’re willing to do the work you’ll reap the benefits.

There’s no specific order to the exercises, so you can jump in with any exercises that jump out at you when looking through the book and it provides you with all the guidance you need to set up a journal to document your work and get started straight away.

It’s fun, it’s interesting, and there are no right or wrong answers. Anyone with a Tarot deck can play and learn.

Near the beginning there’s an exercise where you get to cut off people’s heads, just thought I’d mention it.

And what’s more there’s an, ‘Introduction to Chakras’, a ‘Crash Course in Astrology’ complete with a list of correspondences, and a couple of pages about the Order of the Golden Dawn; ‘an esoteric group that combined various occult sciences into one system of study.’ It’s this system of correspondences that the author uses in her work.

There is also a three-page bibliography for anyone interested in investigation the author’s influences further.

This book is a must for anyone interested in Tarot, learning more about themselves and gaining an insight into the human soul, but only if you dare to look beyond the veil… sorry, got carried away there!

Buy the book, for the Hermit in you, just itching to shine a light in all those dark recesses you’ve never dared explore before, or you could just frame it.

I do like that cover!