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The Language of Tarot

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Member Reviews

A wonderfully curated guide to the art of tarot. Whether the card reader is new to tarot, or an experienced reader, Reed provides easy to follow directions and tips for every reading. The cards are filled with wisdom but can be overwhelming at times. Jeannie makes it more approachable and understandable.

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Oooh! ✨🧡🔮 This was good! I’ve been reading tarot for several years and pull cards most days even if I don’t have time for a full spread. Having that experience was helpful — but I’m by no means an expert. Tarot fascinates me and as said by author Jeannie Read …

Read writes of her experiences which has in turn led ,e to more thoughtful assume the of the cards and how they reflect my life — both in what I am willing to see and what I’m not ready or wanting to look at. I love the guidance that Reed provides while allowing space for your own interpretations! This includes both Major Arcana and the suits. I don’t own many tarot books because I’ve been disappointed in the past, but this is one of my favorites that I know I’ll keep coming back to.

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The Language of Tarot by Jeannie Reed is a guide on how to read the tarot cards. I felt that this is not necessarily a beginner’s guide. So, based on that, I just want to say it was very well written.

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ARC from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
I would recommend The Language of Tarot for anyone who has some knowledge on how to read tarot. This isn't a beginner friendly book.

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I can never think of a catchy way to start my reviews, so I'll just jump in with what The Language of Tarot made me feel—endless frustration. It has taken me almost a year of casually reading this to finally finish it—and it's not because the subject matter wasn't interesting enough, it's because I found the author's tone so abrasive it was difficult for me to spend long periods of time reading it. For the first time in my life I've encountered a book I wish had been ghost-written.

While the writing is conversational, it's a conversation I mostly regret being a part of. To be fair, the overall concept presented by Reed is very innovative, and one that will greatly help me in learning tarot. Reed proposes that reading tarot is more along the lines of translating than psychically intuiting, in that one card's meaning can be layered with another's so that the cards read like a sentence, not an abstract idea.

Reed also talks a bit about how tarot and psychology are linked. I realize some people may prefer a more mystical view of tarot, but I actually enjoyed this section of the book as it makes tarot more accessible. I also thought Reed handled the card meanings well, by explaining the overall meaning of each card and how it can relate to people in a reading, instead of throwing out a few buzzwords and not really making sense of how those words manifest in the client, as so many tarot guides do.

That said, the explanation of this concept felt like such a small part of the book, it could have easily been made into a blog post and retained the same depth. This book is less about Reed's technique to learn tarot, and more about her personal experiences and, oftentimes, shitty and out of touch opinions on topics wholly unrelated to tarot (ex. sex-work, being fat, etc.), which are expressed in bizarre, irrelevant comments peppered throughout. I feel this would have been a completely different experience if Reed had focused more on educating the reader on her tarot learning technique and less on chattering about herself.

There are a few specific comments I want to address before wrapping up. I never know if I'm reading too much into something when I come across things like this and wasn't sure if I wanted to include them, but fuck it, it's my review—you can judge for yourself. The first set pertain to sexuality and gender, which is where some of Reed's particularly outdated comments come in.

"I myself find that gay clients seek me out often, but not spectacularly so. I believe it's because these people are artists at heart and find my method (and my vibe?) compatible with their own instincts."

I don't know what exactly about the above comment rubs me the wrong way, but it feels like an odd way to generalize a whole group of people, and I'm not here for it.

Another,

"I started to notice that a particular queen kept showing up when the client was a gay male. And a particular king kept showing up when the client was a gay female."

For a book published in 2019, I would expect more accurate terminology. Also, this bothers me because the author previously explains queen cards as generally pertaining to women, and king cards as generally pertaining to men. And so, then saying you see gay men being represented by the cards associated with women, and lesbians being represented by the cards associated with men reinforces weird, outdated stereotypes about the perceived correlation between sexuality and gender expression. Gay men are not like women, and lesbians are not like men. Period.

This next comment is transphobic at most, and poorly worded at the least.

"Further, while I realize there are many transgender people and issues out there, so far not one individual with this issue has sought me out. I believe this is because the issue is far from my own concerns and history."

However the author intended for this to be perceived, it could use a re-edit. It seems as though Reed is saying being transgender is the issue. Being transgender is a fact of some people's lives, it is not an issue in it. I'm hoping this is not how Reed meant to sound, but it is how it sounds. Some of the language used I find troubling, to say the least.

This comment may be the one I have the most to say about.

"If somebody's so needy they seek daily or even weekly tarot readings, I have psychotherapists to recommend. Because it's either addictive behavior or obsessive behavior or bordering on it. And I don't respect any psychic who doesn't work this way."

Couple things here. First, this is factually incorrect. Most people who read tarot, do daily/weekly readings. It's not uncommon, and there's no harm in it. Reed is the only person I've ever seen discourage daily/weekly readings, or pass such blatant judgement on those who want or do them. Now, as these readings are generally to get a loose vibe for the specified time period, I can understand how it would be annoying if you're a tarot reader with a client coming in everyday to ask the same question. But that's all it would be, annoying. Unless you are a mental health professional, which Reed says she is not, then you are not qualified to make the judgement that someone is exhibiting "addictive behavior or obsessive behavior or bordering on it."

And this is a common sentiment expressed by Reed, that anyone exhibiting behavior she deems undesirable is in need of "psychotherapy" (a word which appears 26 times in the text). I find this stigmatizing, frankly. Reed expresses what she believes to be wrong with someone and claims that person needs "pyschotherapy"—an evaluation she is in no way qualified to make—which perpetuates the notion that therapy is for people who have something wrong with them, and therefore, that people who seek out therapy must have something wrong with them. Also, it's kind of shitty to devalue other people in your profession for not working the way you like.

This final comment infuriated me the most. When talking about the reverse meaning for Queen of Cups, Reed's "shorthand" (as in how she personally defines the card) is,

"A woman who sells herself short. A woman who doesn't love herself and is in need of psychotherapy. A woman who settles for men who don't love her. A woman who doesn't get what she needs emotionally. Tip: To the extreme, this can be a prostitute."

Um, what? I agree entirely with the meaning of the reversed card. I in no way agree with the author's choice to tie such a card meaning to a prostitute. The "tip" was unnecessary to begin with, it once again generalizes a whole group of people, and is again, outdated and factually incorrect. For a book about tarot, this comment was the last thing I expected to read, but is very telling of how the author must view sex-workers. As someone who is pro sex-work and finds it completely valid, this is something I feel the need to address and clearly state my opinion on. Tip: You can be a sex-worker and love yourself at the same time as the two are not mutually exclusive.

TLDR; Cool technique with handy and applicable exercises. However, it's overshadowed by the author's self-aggrandizement and preachy tone, and contains more than a few problematic comments.

To say the least, this is an author I did not (vibe?) with.

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A well written and knowledgeable account of the science of tarot. While Reed obviously is well versed in tarot...her writing did not hold my attention. I would say it was because I am in no need for a 101 book after years of study but I think its the style of writing more than anything. Just not my cup of tea.

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I enjoyed the concept of a new way to read the cats. I've struggled with trilingual understanding. While this book didn't make things click in the way Kitchen Table Tarot did, it is another useful tool for my journey learning the cats better.

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Well how interesting and unexpectedly delightful this was!

The author is incredibly literate and knowledgeable about the subject matter but managed to be both informative and entertaining - it felt like a combination TEDtalk and kitchen table dinner conversation, in the best way possible.

The way the author talks about family relationships was pretty rigidly traditional and I think we disagree on several other social issues, but all in all, a fantastic book.

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This book was a very good reading. Informative, interesting, well written and, to me, it was the perfect one. It is born as a sort of text-book for the author's students, and so it is a bit... I don't know if the word is right in this context, but a little bit "self-centered", and I am not really complaining, what I mean is that this is perfect as a text-book for her students, but for the main public it could have been a little bit less. I don't know if I am making sense here, but this is just a minor thing. I enjoyed the reading, a lot.
It is quite peculiar in its understanding of the use of tarots, and it is thought more for the "right-brain" people and those are the aspect that made this reading so enjoyable, useful, inspirational and interesting. After reading this book I did a bit of research, and I discovered that it is not, in fact, as unusual or as peculiar a line of thought as I was thinking. In the recent year the idea of the tarots as a language (the very thing that draws me to this book) and the tarot as a something less mystique and more linked to the subconscious and as a way to express more "scientific" things, if this could make sense (but it would if you read this book, for example) is slowing growing and expanding. But nonetheless, I have to thanks this book that, to me, was highly original. And more on my chords than a ton of others.
So yes, it's a book I would recommend if only because it is informative and interesting.

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The Language of Tarot takes a thorough look at the meanings of individual tarot cards and suits. The book moves beyond the traditional ideas that come to mind when giving (or receiving) tarot readings and explains the tarot system in a way that allows it to truly "speak" to us. In this respect, the book certainly lives up to its name.

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I have had a great love for tarot for some time. It was my first introduction into the world of divination, closely followed by runes. I favor tarot because it tends to be a bit easier to work with, so it has a special place in my heart. That being said, the approach that Reed takes to tarot was unique to any instruction that I have received, which was a breath of fresh air

Reed presents an interesting new approach, at least to me, that was simpler to follow than I expected. She does provide you with the textbook meanings of the cards, but she goes beyond that. I am so ready to add aspects of her approach into my practice.

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This book represented a new approach to reading the cards.
It is more directed towards those who are already familiar with the cards and their meanings.
I loved the tone of it all, I have enjoyed reading it a lot, thank you for the experience!

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Very useful book for people learning tarot, The Language of Tarot goes into detail about the different suits and numbers and how to find meaning in your reading as well as the major arcana. Spreads to use are given, and the basics are all covered for a very introductory lesson into tarot use.
The introduction to the book could have been cut down a lot in my opinion, as it did not have much relevant information for the general reader wanting to learn to use tarot.

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The Language of Tarot:
A Proven System for Reading the Cards
by Jeannie Reed

Paperback, 240 pages
Published September 8th 2019 by Llewellyn Publications




Goodreads synopsis:
Reading the cards can be as easy as reading this sentence.

Welcome to a world of tarot you couldn't have imagined until now--a world in which you can give accurate and insightful tarot readings with little or no guesswork while also developing your psychic ability. This revolutionary guide, written by a tarot master with more than thirty years of experience, teaches a simple, proven system that makes reading cards in a spread as straightforward as reading words on a page.

The Language of Tarot presents an innovative system that treats tarot as a science. It can be taught and learned. Jeannie Reed discovered that when the same two or three cards appear together, it usually represents the same issue in any client's life. This remarkable book translates many card combinations and supplies examples to support each lesson. You can be more creative and confident with card meanings as you uncover how they relate to matters of health, money, relationships, and more. With Jeannie's guidance, it's easy to become fluent in the language of tarot.
***

4.5 Stars

I have to admit that even though you don’t hear too many people reading the tarot in the way Jeannie Reed suggests, but this is the way I do it. I like to “tell the story” of the cards. It is exciting to see that others read like this as well.

I mesh meanings in a similar way you do with Lenormand. For instance, when you add 9 of Pentacles with the 10 of Pentacles you can come up with one idea. Then add your intuition based on some feature in the card artwork that stands out and suddenly these two cards can mean that “affirmations do indeed work.” The image of the lady in the 9 card looks like she is daydreaming, lying on a couch. That stood out to me. The ten is all about having your own happily ever after. Together you can see how this lady who is all alone could be wishing/affirming her desire for a family in the future.

If you are a writer or even like to write fiction, this way of reading will really resonate with you. It may take a bit of practice because using your intuition based on card images plus the actual meaning can take awhile to develop. But I find this way the easiest for me. In certain readings a card like the Tower can mean something altogether different if the cards around it are suggesting something else.

Go with your gut, guys. This is a wonderful way to read the cards. If you struggle with the actual meanings you still need to learn them in order to read this way. But don’t let a certain strict meaning keep you from finding the truth the spread reveals.

Be a brave soul and try this out for yourself. You won’t be sorry. I will be picking up this book again and again to refresh myself and keep my intuition raring to go. Thank you so much for putting this out in the world. It is so needed.,

I received this as an ARC (Advanced Reader Copy) in return for an honest review. I thank NetGalley, the publisher and the author for allowing me to read this title.

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If you're looking for an intro to reading Tarot, then this book is probably not for you. Had I been further along in my study of Tarot, I no doubt would have found this book to be very helpful. The author provides a new way of interpreting the cards intuitively, which, in my opinion, is aimed towards more experienced readers. That said, I did find the book to be helpful, but I think it will be more useful to me once I'm further along in my journey. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an advance digital review copy. I would definitely consider purchasing this book at a later date.

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The voice of this book is very confident and encouraging. A savvy blend of 'not everyone can do this' and 'this is a learnable skill.' I appreciated the line she walked between 'this work has value' and 'don't trust your life and future to it out of faith."

The reminders of the value of therapy, and the role of internal mindsets and life-history on the present were also given consistent air-time.

My meh rating centers around the (Freudian, I guess, and ultimately misogynistic) centering of the mother in the problem category. There were, absolutely, cards that specified male deficiency (inability to commit, not ready to be a husband/father), but for women there were not only the female analogues of these. We are offer a card specifically for a woman "settling," not living her best life (reversed queen of cups), and any time the card(s) indicated childhood difficulty, it was always the "Mother didn't love the way the child needed."

The meanings also conformed (as perhaps they meant to) with the older feelings of certain cards being "good" or "bad." My current practice is to work with the cards in context to use them as "medicine" rather than pronouncements, and this sort of dichotomy also made the book a poor fit for my reading style.

All the card meanings are concise, straight-forward and self-confident. If you're looking for a set of meanings and card combinations to memorize - especially related to medical issues, this could be your book. It just wasn't one that sat well with me.

(I was given a digital copy of this book to review. My thanks to Net Galley and the publisher.)

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The author writes in a friendly, chatty style, so there were long explanations. Probably a bit wordy for me, with so much emphasis on telling her own stories of experiences, but I'm sure will appeal to many people. It does make tarot easily approachable, so good for beginners. I feel there are other more useful books available on this topic, however.
Thanks to Netgalley for providing a complimentary kindle copy. All opinions expressed are my own.

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Maybe I was the right public for the book, maybe I didn't like the style or it wasn't what I thought it would be.
I was looking for the scholar way of seeing tarot that she mentionned in her introduction but couldn't find it. The descriptions of the cards lie in 2 short sentences per card and sometimes either don't make sense with what I have seen of these cards in the past or are just too plain basic.
The writting is very oral, it is like reading a conversation. It might make it more accessible for some people, but I did not enjoy reading it.
Overall, I don't believe it is a good book for beginners but it might be very interesting for people with psychic abilities -which I don't have.

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This is a must have. I loved this book and actually have it in my amazon cart right now. This makes it really simple to start understanding tarot. Some might not agree with the explanations but these are all based om the author's perosnal experience, which I value.

If you want a great and simple way to start learning more about your tarot cards...pick up this book today.

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A good book that helped me to learn something new about tarot.
I liked the style of writing and how the book is organized.
Recommended!
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine.

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