Tarot Beyond the Basics: Gain a Deeper Understanding of the Meanings Behind the Cards

Tarot Beyond the Basics is a graduate seminar in Tarot. Each chapter is a complete topic in and of itself, but there is an overarching theme, which is laid out in the introduction: "My goal in this book is to investigate the symbolism shared by tarot and astrology prior to the nonsense introduced by de Gebelin and de Mellet in 1781." Louis documents his work thoroughly (over 240 footnotes that appear at the end of each chapter) and provides an extensive bibliography. What would a seminar be without resources for further study?Louis is one of the few writers who acknowledges "the Christian context in which the Tarot developed..." (Location 5422-29, Kindle edition), and he frequently includes biblical references and when talking about the cards. His chapter on the Celtic Cross layout is the first time I've seen such an in-depth look at the Christian traditions and symbolism as they relate to this spread. The other chapters explore reversals, intuition, number symbolism, the four elements, the Court Cards, the Major Arcana, and the suits. Each could be read individually and in any order, but do take the time to read the book in the order it is presented and then return to those parts that you want to spend more time with.

I have the first book Tarot Made Simple and I really enjoy the teaching style of Anthony Louis with this book so when I saw this next book, Tarot Beyond The Basics I couldn’t wait to expound on the foundation of lessons learned from the first book with this one.The author gets into some astrology n numerology. So much in this book.Buy it!!

I'm still making my way through this , but I cannot recommend this book enough. the clerks at a wiccan shop near me recommended this book in store , but it was cheaper on amazon. he really goes into depth with his examples , and while prior knowledge isn't required for this read, it does make it a lot easier.

When I heard that Anthony Louis was writing a follow-up to Tarot: Plain and Simple, I was ecstatic. Although Plain and Simple’s title is quite descriptive and accurate, I generally read it in conjunction with Robert Wang’s exquisite The Qabalistic Tarot and have found the combination more than complementary. Louis’s language is descriptive, thorough, and forthright and really speaks to me (especially in contrast to Wang and the Golden Dawn's hesitation to nail a card down).Although I find his new work a quality entry into modern tarot literature, it is not a beginner’s book, and for those who are not already familiar with not only tarot but also its history, this book could cause much more confusion than enlightenment to be sure. There is a balance between historicity, research, and personal opinion that is appealing and readable, and I know in time, I will go back and reread the chapters on astrological influence and correspondence. If for nothing else, this work is worth the money for the author’s arrangement of Appendix A.I will say that I repeatedly thought of Paul Huson’s book Mystical Origins of the Tarot, not because Louis mentions it (and he does), but because the books do remind me of each other in the sources they have in common. The difference, and it is a great one, is that Huson’s work is a very straightforward (almost dry) look at how the cards came to be from a definite historical perspective while Louis’s book, keeping history in mind, proceeds from a user-focused perspective. Another difference that sprang immediately to mind is that while Huson does tell his reader what astrological decan is associated with the card, Louis gives the reader Agrippa’s description of what images are associated with said decan. I quickly pulled out the Liber T: Tarot of the Stars Eternal deck and began to examine the images in comparison to the Agrippa text. Though it doesn’t explain everything going on in Andrea Serio’s mind during the conception of that deck (Harris’s Thoth images notwithstanding), it certainly makes the deck more usable to me.His chapter on the elemental personalities of the court cards will also need to be reread. The associations that are made between combinations and ratios of wet/dry and hot/cold are dizzying and arcane. In contrast, his chapter on the Major Arcana was a breath of fresh air on a subject that has been written about extensively over the years. He makes mythological and social connections to the trumps that were not only enjoyable but also enlightening. Granted, these associations seem personal at times, but they also felt very natural especially in relation to his extensive astrological background (the example of “Virgo holding Libra, which in turn becomes Scorpio” is the one that occurs to me). All of this, together with examples of readings that he has performed over time, combines to form something of real and lasting value. Personally, I love to read about readings themselves (perhaps not always to the extent of Richard Roberts’s The Original Tarot and You), and Louis’s descriptions, mental or intuitive leaps, deductions, and inferences sound so genuine…so familiar.If there are some drawbacks to the book, I can only say that the organization of the book seems a bit haphazard. Though the author’s effort is obvious, the chapters each feel like small books that do not necessarily follow one another in a coherent or logical way. It sometimes feels that he is writing to answer questions that he has been asked (or that he has asked himself) rather than writing to create one book. And of those chapters, I think I expected more astrological explanations of the tarot itself. Certainly, the reader can look in the appendix or one of the charts in the book to see what Louis is talking about when he references those associations as he describes a reading, but aside from a few examples, the more extensive explanation that I was expecting wasn't there. Perhaps, not having a great astrological bent, I simply didn't get it.Although definitely a sequel to a beginner’s book, this is a warm, informative, personal book that I would recommend to anyone.

I loved Anthony Louis' first book, Tarot Plain and Simple. His presentation just speaks to me. This book covers in depth the astrology and numerology aspects of the cards that I have usually overlooked due to ignorance. He also references the major influences, such as the Golden Dawn, and the divergent opinions. Every read opens my eyes to new information. Great resource!

Tarot, beyond the Basics presents key words to use with each card as such. Yes, it's a more concise presentationas opposed to the prior book, Basics. I'm not interested in card readings as such-I just want to have clear and concisemeanings, especially of the Major Arcana and the Aces.I use these in conjunction with numerology and spiritual meaningsin other avenues for interpretations and understanding. I would recommend this book for deeper meanings and enlightenment.

I have found the book to be a valuable and concise learning tool. It covers so many different angles at which you can look at each card but it also gives you the tools to help develope your own interpretive reading.

This book contains significant information from many branches of occult science such as numerology and astrology to allow greater in depth study of any spread. It also has numerous practical examples of how the author interprets spreads. I highly recommend it for intermediate to advanced tarot readers.

This book has everything you need for reading your cards. It goes indepth about each card. It's alot of reading but full of all the information you want/need. It gives plenty of example reading for comprehension. This isn't really a quick flip book unless you mark the pages yourself. Very happy with this purchase.

Dieses Buch erzählt Geschichten über das Tarot. Wie der Autor sich als Reader sieht und welche Ergebnisse das Tarot bringt. Es geht auch um die Nummerierung der Karten und allerhand mehr. Wer tiefer im Umgang mit Tarotkarten sein möchte kommt hier auf seine Kosten.

Free of woo and full of insightful information. Could be confusing for total beginners I suppose, but if you have some experience with Tarot and also reading for others you'd enjoy it. It thinks of Tarot as a way to connect the reader and the querent with their inner intuition instead of fortune-telling. The vibe of this book is comfortable and intelligent, but neither too fluffy nor too sharp.

I bought this because of all the good reviews as I wanted something more advanced in Tarot. It's totally disappointing and goes into details about philosophical concepts that I absolutely don't care about when I'm going to read tarot as a professional reader!!If you want something practical and useful, this is not for you and is a waste of time and money because if you buy the kindle, you can't be refunded!!!

A different book. Not for novice as topics covered varies from astrology , Kabbalah, numerology etc. It's amalgam of different backgrounds and how to use them in tarot cards . An interesting read ? arms explained with examples - well explained.