THE BIG BOOK OF TAROT SYMBOLS: The Beginner’s Guide to Decoding the Cards

THE BIG BOOK OF TAROT SYMBOLS: The Beginner’s Guide to Decoding the Cards
LIZ DEAN
Fair Winds Press (non-affiliate Bookshop.org link)
$26.99 all editions, available now

Rating: 4.5* of five

The Publisher Says: The Big Book of Tarot Symbols is a beginner’s guide to the most fun and mysterious aspect of tarot written by bestselling tarot author, Liz Dean. Discover the magic of tarot symbols with bestselling author Liz Dean.

Ever noticed a symbol on your tarot card—like the cat with the Queen of Wands, the moon with the High Priestess, or even the number X on the Wheel of Fortune? You’re not alone! These symbols speak directly to our intuition, making them key to unlocking deeper meanings in your readings. Symbols are the “language” of tarot, and each one—whether it’s a pattern, a plant, an animal, or a color—holds its own unique significance.

In The Big Book of Tarot Symbols, bestselling author Liz Dean guides you through over 200 tarot symbols, showing you how to interpret them for powerful insights and personal guidance. By understanding these symbols, you’ll not only strengthen your connection to the cards but also enhance your ability to give more intuitive, meaningful readings.

Here’s what you’ll find inside:

A beginner-friendly introduction to tarot symbols, plus easy-to-follow instructions on how to use the book.

A comprehensive explanation of the symbols and their meanings for all 78 cards in both the Major and Minor Arcana.

Practical tools to help you master tarot’s symbolic “operating system” and provide more accurate, insightful readings.

Dive into the world of tarot symbols and elevate your readings with this essential guide!

I RECEIVED A DRC FROM THE PUBLISHER VIA EDELWEISS+. THANK YOU.

My Review: I've used tarot cards for over fifty years.

What the hell, you old materialist, hiding a spiritual side all this time?, some who know me well will think, or say if they feel bold.

Nope. It's all randomness. The iconography is totally invented, not that long ago (the eighteenth century saw the rise of purpose-made cartomantic decks of cards); the symbology draws on ancient sources, but what does not? We take old things and repurpose them all the time. No difference in this case.

Doesn't lessen relevance and usefulness of the symbology...we're pattern-finding creatures, us humans, and patterns are random chance put through our perceptual filters. Constellations, for a wonderful example; those beautiful designs of bright twinkly stars are tortally inventions of humans looking up at the sky without knowing the stars are all unimaginably far away from us and from each other. Doesn't mean you can't steer your way across the world by using the made-up patterns.

So does tarot tell, predict, or eventuate events in our lives? Nope. Does it afford you the chance to externalize the issue most perplexing, upsetting, angering, frightening you? Yep. Easily manipulable symbols make organizing complex or charged thoughts less fraught.

Liz Dean has written a lot about her system of divination by tarot. Always take your own ideas and insights more seriously than those of people selling things to you until you've determined for yourself how well the system they're recommending to you fits into your needs. That does require asking yourself the hard question, "what is it I'm looking for by asking for this answer I seek?"

That is the value that tarot can offer to you.

take a gander at where we're going

I think you're smart enough to figure out how to use this symbological system responsibly.

the Major Arcana

some Minor Arcana cards