Beginner's Guide to Tarot

"The tarot images work on an unconscious level; they are like mirrors reflecting knowledge buried in the deepest realms of the mind. That dark, unconscious part of the mind contains knowledge that the conscious mind is unaware of, and the tarot acts as a bridge between the two, using the archetypal nature of the imagery to feed information from unconscious to conscious mind." - From the bookMy first introduction to the Sharman-Caselli Tarot deck was through the innovative Tarot Workbook by Juliet Sharman-Burke. Using large, uncolored imagery from the Sharman-Caselli deck, readers are invited to color in the images according to their own associations, as well as record relevant symbols that seem to stand out and journal spontaneous associations.I then moved on to My Tarot, which is an actual uncolored version of the Sharman-Caselli deck. Because I have carpal tunnel syndrome, I chose not to keep that deck, but I was hooked enough on the imagery to look for a bona fide version of this particular Tarot deck.I stumbled onto The Tarot Box published by Barnes and Noble, which happily included the Sharman-Caselli deck--but it was only a mini-version, with cards measuring approximately 3 ¼ x 2 inches. Surely, I thought, there must be a full-size version of this deck!So as I searched Amazon.com, I found the Beginner's Guide to Tarot--which contains a full-size version of the Sharman-Caselli deck. YAY! Mission accomplished!While I was thrilled to (finally) get my hands on these 4 ¾ x 2 ¾ inch cards, I was surprised to find a first-rate 192-page companion book accompanying the Sharman-Caselli deck!I often get emails requesting recommendations for book and deck sets geared towards absolute beginners. Unfortunately, there's not many out there. Now, I can confidently recommend the Beginner's Guide to Tarot deck and book set.For those unfamiliar with this particular deck, the Sharman-Caselli Tarot is a full-color deck based on the Rider-Waite tradition. Besides the lovely coloring, what I like most about this deck is the incredible amount of movement and expression among the figures.For example, The Chariot careens right towards the viewer (look out!), and the guy in the Lovers card scratches his chin in what appears to be indecision (or maybe he's afraid to say the wrong thing and tick off one of the ladies beside him!).If you like no-frills card backings, these are absent of any symbols or artwork--but plain it is not with a vibrant magenta hue with a thin silver inner border!One unusual aspect of the glossy soft cover Beginner's Guide to Tarot is the "packaging": the companion book covers are stiff, and the end part extends beyond the book itself, loosely wrapping itself around toward the front. What I ended up doing was cut the back cover right along the crease, making it a (now) perfect book for reading and storing on the shelf (it would have been difficult to do either with the unusual packaging.)The companion book features an abundance of useful information, including a solid introduction to Tarot and bi-color reproduction of each card with diagrams pointing out relevant symbols and their meanings. Also provided are each card's theme, elemental association, explanation of the imagery and a thorough treatment of the divinatory meaning.In my estimation, the Beginner's Guide to Tarot is not only a fantastic set for those new to Tarot, but also contains a great reading deck based on RWS imagery. The Sharman-Caselli deck imagery teems with life and an array of possibilities, while the companion book is both engaging and instructive. Highly recommended!(To see 12 images from the Sharman-Caselli deck, visit the Reviews--Decks section at [...])Janet Boyer, author of The Back in Time Tarot Book: Picture the Past, Experience the Cards, Understand the Present (coming Fall 2008 from Hampton Roads Publishing)

The treasure of this deck is the guidebook. The cards also hold their weight well. They are sturdy and are beautifully illustrated and easy to understand and look at. It is worth it as the card quality is good and the book is really well done and full of information. You may not need anything else to start learning tarot. I would get this and the Everyday tarot as starting decks.

This review is primarily for the deck of cards. The book is fine, but if you're buying this, you should be buying it for the cards. I LOVE this deck. It is, as so many are, modeled after the standard Rider-Waite deck. This deck provides a nice change of pace without going to far astray and is both more positive and less occult-y without coming off as a gimmick deck. The imagery is often a little bit more direct than in the RW. For example, you can see the ambition and power in the King of Pentacles. In the RW, frankly, he looks like a bit of a fop.This is a great deck for doing fun, simple readings for friends who might not be deeply involved in tarot.This is a great deck for beginners.This is a great deck for those seeking something different without changing up their interpretive frame too much.This is a great deck.

I am fairly new to Tarot, have lots of decks and RWS decks. I do like this, its different, very lovely artwork. Cardstock is good, and the backs are purplish, different from the separate deck I think. I like these backs. The book is terrific for me, I am getting lots of good info from it. Its worth having in your collection, don't underestimate it.

I must say that when I first received this deck I was disappointed. I had ordered it online after having seen images of the cards, and loved the art. However, when I held them in my hands, they looked, and felt, really cheap. The cards' quality is not good, and although the images are indeed very attractive, they lose a lot of their beauty because the cards' material itself is cheap.The packaging is not practical at all, either. The cards are packed in two stacks at the back of the book, which is a long, foldout flap. Once you remove the cards the first time, you have to improvise as to how you are going to store them (I had to use 2 rubber bands), and you have to cut out this huge flap with scissors to be able to use the book.Anyway, after this first impression, I decided to give it a chance, and use the deck with the book's instructions. The deck is a very attractive variation of the Rider-Waite-Smith deck, very artistic and full of symbolism. The back of the cards doesn't have any pattern or drawing but is a striking magenta color, in my view rather incongruous with the soft colors and lines of the cards.I was surprised to see that the content of the book is actually great! In many cases, the standard book that comes with tarot decks is not worth to even leaf through. That's not the case with this one. I think that if you are a complete beginner, this is an absolutely wonderful book and deck to introduce you to the tarot and its symbolism in a simple, and still not superficial way. The author illustrates each card, describing it and explaining the symbolism and then gives simple and insightful divinatory interpretations. The cards themselves are full of deep symbolism, and the book explains every single detail. The images were designed very carefully and nothing on them is random. With this book and deck one can build a good, solid foundation on tarot, before moving on to more advanced decks and books.So, if you can get past the cheaper quality of the cards, and if you are a beginner, I would definitely recommend this as one of the best starter decks and books I have seen.

Gostei.

Llegó antes de tiempo y me ha hecho muy feliz. Su tamaño es perfecto y al de las cartas es Igual a cualquier otro tarot tradicional, cartón delgado y con mucho brillo. De haber Sido cartas opacas, se hubiera apreciado más su arte hecho a lápuz, que es mi favorito en cualquier deck. Algunos rostros de los personajes no son nada agradables, y es curioso que los reyes tengan rostros molestos o afeminados. Me di cuenta de que en los bastos son 2 mismos personajes los que aparecen en todas las cartas del palo, y que esto sucede en algunas cartas del resto de los palos, principalmente en los varones.El estuche no vino envuelto en celofán o plástico, cómo casi todos los mazos, sino en una bolsa a la cual no se cómo llamar. Por dentro la esquina inferior derecha de la caja donde se guardan las cartas y el libro vino descarapelada, por lo que creí que me había llegado un producto usado, sin embargo lo demás está en perfectas condiciones, aunque las cartas vienen exageradamente encorvadas, por lo que al ponerlas sobre una superficie lisa, se mueven.En general es un mazo que me gusta mucho, que es bueno para principiantes y profesionales y que me ha hecho muy feliz.

I liked the book that came with the cards. It's clear and well written. The cards are lovely and the symbolism is really clear for a beginner.

SHER SCHON WIEDER KAUFEN

La baraja es perfecta, muy visual e intuitiva El libro que viene incluido también es muy útil.