Confessions of a Tarot Reader
Practical advice from this realm and beyond.
ISBN 978-1-59921-993-6
I have read this book because I love Tarot and because I like to get a glimpse in the life of fellow Tarot readers. I like to find out if they embraced their path quickly or if they were reluctant. I like to see if we share interpretations and reading style.
I enjoyed the book. Stern has a good sense of humor and she is good at explaining difficult concepts in simple words.
The book works with the Major Arcana only. Stern does not deal with the Minor (the other 56 cards in the deck) at all.
She goes through the 22 Major one by one, following what is commonly known as the Fool’s path. Essentially the Fool is the soul at the beginning of his journey in life and each Major card represents a major lesson or experience.
Stern explains the experience represented by each card and gives practical examples by relating moments from the lives of people she has read for. I do not agree with each interpretation, but I found them all interesting. The stories are sometimes funny and sometimes sad and they usually fit well with the energy of the card explained .
Normally Tarot readers are very respectful of the privacy of their clients, so I truly hope Ms. Stern asked for their permission before sharing their experiences with the readers.
Before starting to write my humble opinion of the book I did a small search to see what was already out there. I was surprised by some of the very nasty reviews.
One of the big complaints out there was that Stern explanation of the origin of the Tarot was not accurate. It did not bother me.
On page xiv Stern writes:
Confession of a Tarot Reader is not a how-to book for would -be tarot card readers, but rather a summary of knowledge I have gleaned over my long career reading cards.
My insights and observations will show you the pitfalls of your actions-and, more important, the uncanny simplicity of finding the right answer-as well as how to recover from the cycle of hurtful habits.
Keeping that in mind I find the book clever, informative and entertaining.
