By: Manuela Soares
Publish Date: July 5, 2022
I came across this book the other night while perusing Netgalley’s extensive collection, and as someone interested in this subject but doesn’t actually know a whole lot about it, requesting it was a no-brainer for me. So, a big thanks to Netgalley and Quarto Publishing Group- Fair Winds/Fair Winds Press for this advanced review copy.
This was a relatively quick read, only took two, maybe three hours to read. This is a fantastic book for beginners if they’re just getting into Tarot or maybe just testing the waters a bit. I think that those who are more advanced or knowledgeable would also enjoy it too, it might give them a new way of looking at and understanding their cards.
Unlike most tarot books that just lay out what each card typically means, this one goes further by focusing on the numerology of each card and what it means, and how the cards go together (Appendix II: Directory of Card Meanings does give this information in an easy to read list). It also walks readers through numerous layouts, what each section of the layout represents, and how to interpret the cards in those sections.
The book itself is split into an introduction and the five main parts with an additional three appendixes that host spectacular information to go along with what the book talks about. The five main parts are 1 – The Major Arcana: Cards by Numbers, 2 – The Minor Arcana: Cards by Numbers, 3 – Timing Techniques and Intuition, 4 – Number Techniques in Tarot Spreads, and 5 – Your Birth Cards and Tarotscope. These sections are jam-packed with great information and it’s easy to follow along with. Some books can be on the dry side, but I didn’t find this one to be like that at all, I enjoyed each section, especially section five, and I’ll definitely be re-reading this and trying out some of the layouts.
The deck that is featured in this book is the Rider Waite Smith tarot, or RWS as the book refers to it, which I believe is the most common and ‘traditional’ tarot deck. I don’t have this deck, I have the Sharman-Burke deck, but it was easy to compare what’s in the book to the cards in my deck. I had a lot of fun comparing my cards to those in the book and matching the meanings to images on my cards.
I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book and I would gladly buy a physical copy when it’s published.
This review will also be posted on Netgalley, Fathoms Amidst the Lines, and Goodreads.
Functionally Fictional 