what tarot cards mean, history and meaning of tarotcards

This is a book that not only tells you what the Tarot cards mean--in plain English--but also gives a concise, credible explanation for why each card means what she says it means. She draws heavily on Jungian psychology in her interpretation of the Major Arcana, and on numerology (filtered through folklore and mythology) for the Minor Arcana, but in both cases she refers directly to what's actually on the cards--helping the reader see them as a coherent symbolic system, not just mysterious pictures. (She mostly uses the Rider-Waite deck, but gives an extended justification for her choice, comparing it symbolically with other popular decks.) I don't know that I necessarily agree with every one of her interpretations--but that's actually one of the book's great strengths. After reading it, I felt that I understood enough of what was going on in the Tarot to begin to have my own opinions. Hamaker-Zondag, who's a noted astrologer, includes a chapter on attempts to combine Tarot and astrology--and concludes that it may not be possible. She also includes straightforward, common-sense advice on how to conduct a reading and lay out the cards--instructions that are far more helpful than those in other Tarot books I've read.

Tarot As a Way of Life