Book Review: The Power of Tarot by Liz Worth

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Author Liz Worth. Photo by L!N Duperron.

I’m always on the hunt for clear, accessible, and insightful resources for people learning tarot

I teach tarot to all levels of students regularly. It’s a pleasure being able to offer face-to-face support in a field that’s overflowing with resources, both written and digital. Because of this, people often come to me confused and eager for clarity; In my role as a teacher I hear so many questions about tarot that often go unanswered in traditional books full of card meanings and spread configurations:

How does intuition work?

Do I have to know astrology to learn tarot?

What does tarot have to do with fate or free will?

What kind of questions can I ask the cards?

All of these are important questions that deserve full attention, especially considering that their answers are often complex. Liz Worth’s new tarot book, The Power of Tarot, deftly addresses these questions and so much more. In its pages, Worth seeks to thoroughly explore what tarot is, where it comes from, and how readers can use it themselves.

An experienced tarot reader, journalist, astrologer, and writer, Worth brings refreshing clarity and rigor to the often spiritually poetic topic of tarot. If you’re looking for a concise and well-thought-out look into how and why we read the cards, this book is for you. I personally didn’t realize how much I had been missing this type of perspective until I started reading. There were many times when I found myself exclaiming “Amen!” aloud in my local coffee shop, much to the surprise of the person next to me. Take this gem of a sentence, for example:

I don’t “pick up” messages from anyone’s energy. I don’t read their thoughts. I don’t see spirits standing at their shoulders. Tarot reading is card reading—I literally read the cards.

Liz Worth, The Power of Tarot, 32.

You might say Liz Worth is a pragmatist, but in the deliciously open sense where there’s plenty of room for magic and mystery. And I find it immensely satisfying to find a book that just sticks to tarot without bringing in a whole bevy of other modalities and confusing an already complex and intricate topic.

Worth does an excellent job demystifying tarot, clearing up the fog around issues like its history, intuition, and timing, among many others. If you’ve been looking for a comprehensive and refreshing guide to what the cards can do and how you can use them, I highly recommend this book.

It’s not just for beginners, either. Worth touches on important topics like ethics, romance, work, and boundaries that readers of all levels can benefit from. Regardless of your level, you’ll find yourself with many new insights and ideas to expand and challenge your practice.

What I love most about this book is that Worth uses her experience and expertise to give readers’ information. From there, she empowers them to make choices that resonate with their path and worldview. This is a book that respects and prioritizes the sanctity of each person’s journey and autonomy. In a world full of prescriptive spiritual rules, it’s both powerful and refreshing.

The anecdotes Worth offers from her life and professional practice give a nice intimacy to the book. I’ve found that personal stories are the most impactful: We get to see how a reader shapes their own relationship to the cards. From there, we can better envision and decide what we’d like ours to look like.

A huge strength of this book is its organization. You can tell that it was meticulously planned out, if only because its sections flow so organically into each other. These are touches that I especially appreciate - a great deal of hard work and consideration went into this book, giving it a wonderful flow, logic, and voice. In other words, you can sit down and read this book with the impression that you’re getting a one-on-one masterclass in the beliefs, mechanics, and philosophy of tarot from Worth herself.

This book isn’t for you if…

You’re looking for card meanings or tarot spreads

You want to explore astrological and other correspondences

This Book is for you If…

You’re curious about what tarot is, how it works, and what you can do with it.

You want in-depth answers that go beyond the basics in tricky topics like intuition, fate, ethics, and boundaries

You want to see how a tarot professional has used these questions to shape their practice

You want to develop your own relationship to tarot

Full Disclosure:

Liz Worth reached to me with a proof copy of this book for review.

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Book Review: The Creative Tarot by Jessa Crispin

There’s no shortage of tarot book on the market, as we all know. But how often does one come along with a refreshing new focus that can add to anyone’s practice? In The Creative Tarot, editor, author and tarot expert Jessa Crispin provides us with an insightful exploration into tarot’s relationship to creativity that’s full of new connections to the cards.

Book Overview

The book itself is designed for anyone engaged with creative pursuits - artists, in particular. You don’t, however, have to identify as one to gain something from this book. In my many years studying tarot, I’ve found that reading multiple sources with only generalized tarot meanings can be confusing and overwhelming. What’s more, it’s difficult to flesh out the cards into all their possibilities. Sure, we may know that the Five of Cups deals with grief and loss, but how does that tie into career, love, or creativity specifically?

Approaching tarot from the creative perspective gives the book an engaging and helpful sense of structure. Limiting herself to this vantage point, Crispin intersperses her card descriptions with ties to artists and artwork that reflect their themes and issues. So, for example, the Queen of Swords becomes tied to the photographer Sally Mann, whose piercing photos of her children required her to insert a sense of detachment from her role as a mother in order to capture her uniquely magical and feral images.

Giving the reader these stories and associations is a priceless addition to our tarot meaning database. Each card description has several pages of text followed by suggestions for works of art to explore. These include paintings, films, songs, and dances. I love the added dimension Crispin gives with these options for further exploration. Indeed, the indelible experience of taking in art marries perfectly with tarot’s wordless and often inexpressible deeper meaning.

Writing Style

The overall tone of the book is wonderfully colloquial and eloquent. We can see Crispin’s voracious intellect in her writing without feeling alienated. It’s an engaging and accessible read that also challenges us to seek out the artists embodied in the cards and make our own associations. Now that’s my kind of approach to tarot!

The book concludes with a massively helpful section on spreads. Crispin’s own tarot practice has evolved around creative issues and clients so she has a lot to offer in this arena. Her spreads are concise, useful, and include helpful example readings to give us a sense of how they play out in real life. I’m looking forward to using these as I navigate my many creative projects and plans.

And now into the details of the book itself.

This Book is Wonderful for…

Anyone who identifies as creative (though, in my humble opinion, I think we all should embrace this title!) and those looking for new and refreshing tarot meanings and associations. She specifically addresses themes of creative block, doubt, success, monetization, and integrity, among many others.

Crispin’s card meanings are treasure troves of art and information. I have a massive reading list from this book alone and found myself googling multiple artists and artworks while reading!

Creative Tarot is also a great tarot book for those who are more on the intellectual end of the “woo spectrum.” Crispin is wonderfully intelligent and has a pragmatic approach to tarot that’s accessible for many, especially those who don’t feel comfortable identifying as spiritual or interested in divination or the occult. For example, her section on tarot history is refreshingly up-front and dispels many alluring myths around the cards with dry humor.

Skip this Book if…

You’re looking for a more esoteric approach or a strictly introductory text. While Crispin covers a lot of ground in a very accessible way, this book isn’t designed for a complete tarot beginner looking for a traditional approach. This book is also focused on the Rider-Waite-Smith tradition, so for those looking to study another system look elsewhere.

Strengths

• Clear and concise writing

• A helpful “tarot FAQ” in the introduction perfect for those on the fence and concerned about some of the myths and misconceptions around tarot.

• Helpful structure - Crispin limits each card description to a few pages and divides her book into sections on the major arcana while dividing the minor arcana by number instead of suit (an approach I find massively helpful when learning!)

• Evocative and intriguing connections to art - this my favorite part of the book. It truly opens worlds to the reader and provides priceless associations with anectdotes, stories, and artworks.

• Engaging tone - this book is far from dry and moves at a lovely pace. You can imagine Crispin sharing her stories with you personally and get drawn into her unique perspective and personality.

Weaknesses

• The artists Crispin references are predominately drawn from Western art history

• Some assumptions about the reader having a specific body of knowledge. This book doesn’t hold your hand and jumps straight into sometimes academic reflections on art and history (this can also be seen as a pro!) that may be intimidating to some readers.

Conclusion

Overall, this book is a wonderfully engaging journey into the often-neglected connections between tarot and creativity. I can see myself gifting this book to my smart and creative friends who are curious about using tarot as a tool for inspiration and guidance in their projects. And I’ll definitely be purchasing a copy to use as a reference and point myself towards inspiring creators and their art.

Book Review: Modern Tarot by Michelle Tea

I was so excited to get my paws on Michelle Tea's tarot book that it felt like Christmas morning when the library notified me it that my hold was ready. Having followed Tea on Instagram and read her latest (amazing) collection of essays, Against Memoir, I knew that this book would be a much-needed diverse and down-to-earth take on tarot.

One of the most frequent requests I get from students is to hear more about my personal experiences with the cards. There are so many books with straight-up meanings and definitions. What about the context behind them? How can we expect to see the cards unfolding in real life?

The biggest delight of this book is the fact that Tea peppers her explanations of the cards with anecdotes from her real life. And for those unfamiliar with Tea's background, her life is raucous, brave, and driven by spiritual seeking. This makes Modern Tarot entertaining as well as an impactful way to connect with card meanings. Having actual examples of how, say, the Two of Pentacles showed up in a real person's life is so much more memorable than a dry set of keywords. Along the way, we're treated to Tea's unique insights and journey as a tarot reader and human. 

Tea organizes the book with a no-frills structure. She examines each card and its meanings after a brief introduction, starting with the Major Arcana, moving to the pip cards, and finishing with the courts. It's easy to navigate and would be a lovely resource if you're needing an inviting and helpful reference book. Each segment is its own mini-essay and includes several variations of the cards' meaning. For example, her section on the court cards talks through their possible meanings as people, situations, and personality traits.

And the writing style? It's incredibly warm, funny, and supportive. Reading Modern Tarot is like getting to sit in Tea's kitchen and hear stories from her life, hard-won observations, and funny stories about run-ins with shady Knight of Swords characters. Take this gem of a passage: 

“If the Four of Cups has popped up in your world, it is probably time to pull your head out of your arse. In certain cases, the figure beneath the tree is not self-obsessed but contemplative... It’s possible that this is what you’re doing, but more likely you’re being a baby, proclaiming that an imperfect situation, disappointing person, the whole world maybe, just isn’t good enough for you and withdrawing into a cave of sulky isolation.”

I love how Tea doesn't shy away from the "negative" sides of the cards. You can trust her book to tell it like it is with loving toughness and give plenty of practical (and magical!) ways to work through the stickier meanings and messages. In this way, Modern Tarot is an excellent book to learn about working with the cards, directly engaging with their themes to better your life. And yes, that includes some tarot call-outs from time to time. We've all been there. 

The most delightful part of this book, in my opinion, is that she chooses to end each card description with 1-3 spells to harness their unique energy. Tea's spells are accessible, creative, and oh so enticing. I can't wait to call on them after doing some personal readings. Her approach to spellcraft is refreshingly light-hearted and eclectic. She refers to it as "spiritual crafting," which makes my heart sing! Expect to see lots of kitchen cabinet ingredients and accessible instructions. And for those of you wary of or uncomfortable with doing spells, rest easy. These are towards the end of each section and easy to skim over. 

All in all, this book is a refreshing addition to the tarot scene. It's unique perspective feels very modern, indeed, and many people whose experiences (unfortunately) fall outside the "mainstream" culture will find representation here. Tea writes using inclusive language, avoiding the pitfalls of heteronormativity and classism, and her insights are unique and illuminating. 

As for quibbles and criticisms, I hardly have any. If anything, I would say that although it says "can be used with any deck" on the cover, this books is best suited to one in the Rider-Waite-Smith system. 

Buy this Book If You're Looking For... Real life examples of the cards at work, a warm and accessible tone, humorous takes, sex-positivity, a helpful reference for card meanings, and spells to work with each card.

Skip this Book If... Cursing offends you, you're looking for a historical/academic take on tarot