This book was an easy and fun read, that can be read in one sitting. Good for beginners. Writing was a little over the top but informative

🔮Arc Review🔮

I received an ARC from Llewellyn and NetGalley in exchange for a review.

Title: The Magic of Tarot: Your Guide to Intuitive Readings, Rituals, and Spells
Author: Sasha Graham
Rating: 5/5 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Release Date: October 8, 2021

I absolutely loved this book. I also love the author as her Tarot deck was the first one I ever got and is my favorite one. This was absolutely everything I could have asked for when looking for a book to learn more about tarot. I have read a few things on tarot and I really want to learn more, this book was the perfect thing. It is just absolutely chocked full of information that I am sure it would be amazing as a reference book to keep on hand even after an initial reading. I really can’t even begin to tell you just how much amazing information is stuffed into this book, just know that it is everything you could need to get a firm introduction to the who, what, where, when, why, and how of tarot.

I felt that this book was just so magical. Maybe that was because for the majority of my time reading I had my tarot cards out or it could have been the dream-like writing style, I don’t know. Just be aware that this book reads in a very interesting way. That could also be due in part to the massive amount of journaling prompts sprinkled throughout the book. I personally don’t journal as I just can’t but for people who do, I imagine you could fill up a whole journal with the prompts and exercises in this book. They looked really solid to me.

Another thing I loved was the comprehensive explanation of the cards and their meanings in the latter third of the book. That section has so much potential as a study aid and reference spot. For the major arcana cards, it explains each card’s: archetypal understanding, occult meaning, fortunetelling meaning, shadow side (reversal), magic, and astrological influence.

If this is not enough to convince you of this book nothing can. Go check it out.

Thank you so much to Netgalley & the author for providing an eCopy to review. I'll be honest I really didn't know alot about this one going in. I've only recently started to look into tarot and this books cover drew me in. It turns out it's so much more than just a tarot guide but a beautifully told story by the author. I really enjoyed going through and pulling out bits and pieces that were relevant to the readings I was pulling. I'll definitely be referring back to this one in the future for more enlightenment. Beautiful ❤️

I started to read the cards like two years ago so I am kind of new in the Tarot world and it really fascinates me.
This is one of the best Tarot books I’ve ever studied, it is really a big help to understand the cards.
The first half is information about the Tarot, and the second half goes into details about each card. I find this book very useful, it have exercises, it also teaches you to use Tarot intuitively and don’t just go by the books. It talks about magick, and so many other useful things, it is jam packed with information! I just wish it would have colored pages!

I loved how this book said "Don't be afraid to get it wrong" Like the author said Tarot is storytelling and the best way to understand this craft is to practice and find your own meaning in the cards. This is a great beginners guide to practice as well as to hone your skills. The author does a wonderful job of not discouraging you throughout the book.

This seems very complete book on tarot. Readings, spreads, magic, meanings... all you need is in this one book. It is always very good that the book offers new insights and here you can find plenty of them. Ideas to work with tarot cards are always interesting.

I’ve worked with Tarot for over 20 years and still don’t consider myself an expert, but this book is truly meant for bare bones beginners. The first portion of the book was hard to get through, but it picked up after that. Though the content is nothing new for me, everyone responds to different writing styles differently and to some this will be a great book for a beginner or someone already on their journey. But if you have read several introductory books and have a grasp on the basics, then perhaps you will be better off reading something designed for a more experienced reader.

While the later part of this book contains some solid advice and tips, I think the first third needs to be completely rewritten. It jumps from topic to topic and then back again without any comprehensive structure. It's truly a section of the book that will give you whiplash. I worry many readers won't make it to the good part because of this first section that reads more like a collection of late-night scribbles than a book heading towards publication.

I feel this book is very informative and quite advanced (but I am a beginner so who knows!). My favorite part was the last part where it goes more deep about the tarot information, the journey through the tarot, the meaning of each card, etc. For me, I would go from that point and then start working with the information and spells at the beginning of the book. I will look forward to using this book to learn more about tarot and about working with it. Overall, I think it is a great tarot book.

A fine intro to Tarot. I found it to be a bit tiresome and repetitive due to the writing style. Not the best for beginners as the author places too much into the idea of an intuitive reading and placing your own interpretations on the cards, which isn't really suitable for a beginner considering the cards have well-established meanings.

Thank you Netgally for this ARC for an exchange of an honest review.

Very informative helpful book, I recommend it.

An informative read that will calm the nerves of any beginning tarot readers. Sasha Graham gives insight about tarot, it's uses, and interpretations, but most of all encourages readers to sit with and contemplate the cards.

This book is perfect for people new to the Tarot. It thinks of everything you may need. As someone who has been practising Tarot for a while, it was a little repetitive and there was a lot of information that was rather irrelevant, but for a complete newbie, it could be useful.

The introduction is so hard to read because most words used were annoyingly flowery and not direct to the point. I feel like there's no direction in this one and everything feels like brain dumps and I feel like I'm reading a stream of consciousness from the author & I don't like it. As an intermediate tarot reader, this book does not offer anything new and it's so hard to read because of the way it is written. Ideally, I would recommend this one for beginners, but the writing style gets worse and worse and I don't want to subject even my worse enemy to that painful experience. This definitely cemented my decision to not buy tarot with guidebooks written by the author.