Mary K. Greer's 21 Ways to Read a Tarot Card

by Mary K. Greer

Book Overview

Drawing on nearly forty years of tarot experience, Mary K. Greer has developed a new energizing approach-made up of twenty-one stimulating techniques to interpret or deepen your understanding of each card. Just as the twenty-six letters of the alphabet can be combined to form billions of words, Greer's twenty-one methods can be used in any combination for gaining amazing new insights and perspectives.

Emphasizing both traditional and personal...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0738707848
• ISBN13: 9780738707846
• Release Date: May 2006
• Publisher: Llewellyn Publications
• Length: 336 Pages
• Weight: 1.50 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 7.4" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

21 ways to love this book!

Excellent book for all interested in tarot! I have studied tarot for quite some time and recently purchased this book. It is great for revisiting information on the cards and symbolizm. It is wonderful for the "seasond" reader to streatch the mind's eye and recenter ones self, as well as broaden ones thinking with new ideas and questions. Why I recommed this book: It is basically an indepth home study course on card meaning, balanced with ways to use your intuition to have or give successful and meaningful readings and it does this quite well. The book is totally inspiring at any leval. It is written with workbook sections, that enable the reader to engage in deep thought on tarot card meanings and also one's self. The book gives a wealth of knowledge about card-symbols-emotions-and thier place in the scheme of things. I liked the fact that the book has the student pick one main card to be used through all the 21 steps, which is brilliant. I intend to do this with all cards at some leval to inhance my knowledge for myself and others. I have several decks for different purposes, and I like the fact the book encourages comparison, instead of claiming the book to one specific deck. Lastly, there are two sections of the book (aprentice and adept) for each of the 21 steps. This is a great feature because it allows the reader choose one or the other according to ther leval and time frame. I am considered adept but I did both lessons and learned alot! I Highly recommend this book and It's author to all!

MKG has done it again!

Once again, MKG has given me a book that will take a lifetime to "experience". Thru the years I continually refer back to all her works as I grow with my cards. A must for anyone who wants to take tarot reading deeper or wants to professionally read for others.

a must have for tarot readers

If you're familiar with Greer's other books on Tarot, this books continues her excellent tradition of continuing to provide innovative ways to do divination. If you're not familiar with her work, pick this book up as it will be all you'll need. Greer builds off her previous work quite well and elements of that previous work can easily be found in this book. What I liked the most about this book was all the exercises she offered. This wasn't a theory book, but a book that demands work from the person. And at the same time the exercises build on each other. It's easy to incorporate them into each other as you go through the book. This not only encourages acquisition of the concepts but also allows for experimentation. My only quibble is that she didn't include internal citations for her sources, as she did with her previous work, but this is likely a case of the publisher dictating policy on that. If you want to improve your skills as a diviner then pick this book up, because you won't go wrong.

An essential tarot text!

Mary K. Greer's "21 Ways to Read a Tarot Card" is a MUST for all serious practitioners of tarot. The information and activities will change your tarot skills from "good" to "WOW!" If you do the processes laid out in "21 Ways...", your readings will take on rich, empowering nuances that can transform your life and the lives of your clients. Get it! Use it!

Excellent Experiential Book--Belongs on the Shelf of Every Tarot Reader

"It's often assumed that the answers are in the cards and that we, as readers, should point them out. But whose answers? And what if there are no answers in the cards, only questions? My philosophy is that there are usually multiple responses to any question and that all answers lie within the person seeking them." - From the book Mary K. Greer, author of popular books such as Tarot for Yourself and Understanding the Tarot Court, has developed a new "bag of tricks" for Tarot readers, with the intent to foster interactive, transformational, and empowering readings. In 21 Ways to Read a Tarot Card, Greer offers twenty-one stimulating, interactive techniques designed to engage powers of observation, interpretation, and intuition. While many of the techniques are geared towards in-person readings and receiving real-time feedback from the querent, Tarot readers who read via email or phone--as well as for themselves--will also discover exciting approaches to the cards. With lucid explanations and examples, Greer invites readers to stretch, embody, synthesize, and play with Tarot images, themes, and symbols. Rather than consulting the Tarot as a cosmic 8-ball with definitive answers, the author's approach coaxes additional questions from the cards, probing the psyche and revealing innate wisdom. Among the techniques offered in 21 Ways to Read a Tarot Card are: * Emotion * Range * Symbols * Numbers * Dignity and Theme * Dialogs * Myth and Archetypes Each approach has two levels of use, called the apprentice and the adept. The apprentice exercises provide a quick overview of card messages. The adept level takes you more deeply into concepts with variations and intriguing activities. At Step 1, we're encouraged to shuffle a Tarot deck, asking, "What do I most need to look at in my life right now?" After drawing three cards, pick one. This will be the "chosen card" that you'll explore using all twenty-one techniques. After doing 99% of the activities in the book, I can guarantee that if you do most of the exercises, your understanding of a card will expand exponentially. It would certainly take a good deal of time to put each of the 78 cards through its paces using the twenty-one techniques, but the process will yield immeasurable insights. When I began reading 21 Ways to Read a Tarot Card, I selected the 7 of Cups as my "chosen" card. It seemed appropriate for me, especially since my Enneagram personality is Type 7, my numerological Life Path number is 7, and my Soul Number is 7--which means all of the Minor Arcana 7's are relevant to me. In addition, astrologically speaking, I happen to have Venus in Scorpio, which is the attribution for this particular card. 7 of cups is also among my Soul Lessons and Opportunities Cards (consult Tarot for Yourself for more information). I received great insights on the 7 of Cups (as well as myself), and especially enjoyed the exercises on Emotion (pg.15), Story (pg. 22), Number (pg. 33), Metaphor (pg. 67), and t