Tarot Plain and Simple

Rating:
Summary: Very Thorough and Easy to Understand Card Interpretations
Review: I agree with an earlier post that the wide variety of meanings given for each card can be a little overwhelming for the beginner. However, I also think that this same feature helps beginners to stay open to the possibility of different interpretations and encourages beginners (as the author does explicitly) to find through experience their own meanings for the cards.

I started learning the Tarot several years ago relying heavily on this book as one of my primary resources. It's a great reference book to have on hand for its thorough card interpretations. My only two complaints are (1) There are a few typos in the section explaining the Celtic Cross spread, which could lead to confusion; and (2)There isn't enough explanation for how beginners can learn to integrate all the meanings in a spread to give a unified and coherent reading.

Rating:
Summary: The Door Is Finally Opened!!
Review: I gave up on the study of the Tarot in the early 1980s because I couldn't find a book which was not written in archaic, stilted English. I found "Tarot Plain and Simple" several months ago and will say that it has changed my life. I find it the perfect tool (now that I can understand, in depth, the meaning of the cards and their relationships) for focusing my intuitive abilities. Regardless of where you are personally in your Tarot study, this book cannot but help you in so many ways to develop your innate perception of the human condition. And if you are a Tarot beginner, as I was, you will be amazed at the ease with which you can progress in your pursuit of understanding. I wish I had had this book twenty years ago! Enjoy.

Rating:
Summary: A real treasure
Review: I liked the format of this book. It is a good book for beginners to advance readers. The author gives key words for each card, which is the sytem that appeals to me the most. He also gives advice on how to interpret the card in a reading and the people who best exemplify the card. That alone made the book worth owning, but we get more, he includes reversals. For cards that I find it difficult to read the symbolism, this book comes in handy. I find myself returning to it time after time

Rating:
Summary: Still The Best
Review: I've been doing readings for six years now and have stopped buying new Tarot books. In my begining years, this was the book that taught me the most. Now that I am in the intermediate stages, I find this book still is the clearest, best-written guide I have found to date--and I have read a lot of guides. I know that when I reach the point that I consider myself a master tarot card reader, this will still be my guide of choice. It is devoid of esoteric fluff and chockful of meaningful, concise explanations.

Rating:
Summary: Great book that is easy to understand....
Review: If you have any interest in learning how to master the art of tarot, I highly recommend this book. It gives you step by step instructions for different spreads, but the best part has to be that it takes every single card and goes over its complete meaning. The title definitely knows what it's talking about. Tarot has never been more plain and simple.

Rating:
Summary: Simple to understand, profound leraning
Review: In its easy to read manner the author took us to Tarot world in a simple but meaningful way. A book I recommend to all my students.

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Summary: Clear and concise, simply ourstanding!
Review: Look no further, this is simply the best tarot introduction book. The book is really all-round, written in a clear and simple language which everyone can understand. I have several other tarot introductory books, but all of them fail to give me clear explanations of the court cards (maybe it's just me:-)), and the court cards have been a headache to me when it comes to doing a tarot reading. Now with Tarot Plain and Simple, I finally begin to grasp the court cards and put them into my reading at ease.

Most importantly, the book doesn't skimp on the reversals. Most tarot books for beginners seldom put emphasis on reversals and tell you to neglect it. This one doesn't. The explanation of every card's reversal is as detailed as the upright meaning, and right to the point. I am really impressed.

Five stars, no doubt.

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Summary: A Book That Demystifies the Mystical!
Review: Picking up a deck of Tarot Cards is like jumping feet first into a cold lake. It may be exhilerating, but it's pretty intimidating as well, especially to a seeker who has no idea what he or she is about to get into. This book offers hope, practical advice, and common-sense answers to the beginner, the intermediate student, and the advanced adept alike.

Lavishly illustrated <and let us hope future editions could be illustrated in color!> with the lovely Robin Wood cards, but applicable to any deck, Louis' remarkable observations and essays on each card are on the mark, easily understood, and readily remembered to any serious student of the Tarot.

Louis seeks more than "how to read," and instead teaches the meaning of each card as a tool of self inspection. If the reader cannot read his or herself, she or he cannot read another. Instead, Louis looks to the symbolism, the richness, and the history of each card as pertains to the reader. "Know thyself" was the inscription of the Oracle of Delphi, and Louis has tried to apply that knowledge to his interpretaion of the cards.

The result is a splendid text for beginner or experienced practitioner alike. A wonderful read, a glorious illustrated guide, and a charming introduction to an art too long held too arcane for the layman. "Tarot: Plain and Simple" is the best addition to the field in thrity years!

Rating:
Summary: Simply the BEST introduction to the Tarot in 30 Years!
Review: The Albano-Waite Tarot has held sway for too many years. Worse still, their are too many pretenders to the throne!

Louis's book, with Ms. Woods delightful redoing of the cards, gives a thoughtful re-imagining of the symbolisms attached to each card removes the pusedo-christianity form the Waite original designs.

For the beginner, or the thoughtful student of divinatory arts, Mr. Louis' book is a handy compendium on the subject.

Buy with confidence, and study hard.

DesCartes once said "Cogito, ergo sum." I respecfully submit, that, "Summa, ergo Cogito."

Jerry

Rating:
Summary: Destined to be a Classic!
Review: The title of this lovely volume says it all; Tarot, Plain and Simple. The book itself is, the use and knowledge gained are far more than the innoncence of the title would suggest. Mr. Louis is able to the put the cards in your hands, and to work immediately. There is much on the history of the images, the development of the cards, and other esoteric Tarot lore that Louis omits (wisely, in my opinion). This little book is an introduction, not a thesis. Robin Wood's illustrations and Louis' own charm and humor make this a "user friendly" volume, which is fun to read, re-read, and refer too again and again. Easy, yet challenging, Tarot: Plain and Simple will likely become a classic addition to the field.