Kabbalah And Tarot For Beginners (Kabbalah,Tarot,Wicca,Mindfulness,Astrology,Numerology,Palmistry) Paperback – September 16, 2015

A disappointment by any standard. Your time will be better spent watching a few youtube videos or google searching a few articles. The title is misleading. Any monkey could have put this information together in about 15 minutes from a few articles online. Nothing new or insightful.

I'm sorry to say I was taken in by astroturfed reviews. There is more information available on Wikipedia on both subjects. The author tells you what she's going to tell you, tells you again what she's going to tell you, then says "without further ado" she's going to tell you, but instead tells you again what she's going to tell you, before she actually tells you. If this was a theme written by an eighth grader, it would get a C- at best. Then she ends with a bunch of legal rigamarole and thank yous. This review is for the audiobook, which was read by someone trying to set a record for speed and who did not bother to find out how the esoteric words are properly pronounced.If you want a good laugh, look at the other five star reviews made by her five star reviewers.Caveat emptor!

The writing style is relaxed and the topics is presented in an approachable way. But, this is very much a beginner’s package at a level just beyond Google search.The first book, and note that this package is two separate, though ultimately related, books – is short. It comes in at about 30% of the total release. There is an introduction, a brief history of Kabbalah and an exploration of some of the main aspects. There is a paragraph on each of the ten sephirot then a 2-page conclusion. A 3rd page is given over to a plea for feedback.Then about 15% is for what amounts to advertising; other books by the author and some pages on the author herself.At the 55% point begins the second short e-book, Tarot Cards for Beginners. And it is definitely that – more of a popular exploration of the tarot rather than a scholarly review – fine enough. Even so, the given history is a pencil sketch at best, claiming roots to of the Tarot can be found in Nordic runes. That’s a bit like saying the roots of Facebook can be found in the invention of punched cards – you’re not wrong, but… it’s a missed opportunity.The Major Arcana cards each get about a paragraph (The Fool gets over a page, however). This is barely enough to cover the popular interpretations; nothing on reversals or surrounding cards or combinations and, I will address this more, nothing on the relationship between the Tarot and the Kabbalah. I understand that if these other topics were covered at length then this would be a non-beginner’s book, but a roadmap for the reader would be useful if one were to explore further.After those 22 paragraphs come 6 pages for the other 56 cards – except they are only summarized as groups of suits. We are told that a deeper investigation might double the size – and therefore the price – of the book. Like buying a car and when it doesn’t start being told an engine would have doubled the price, so we are better off without that added weight.Next up is a section on Spreads, none are given, but a discussion about them covers another 6 pages. A couple more pages as summary – and you’re done. Well, almost done – there’s the last 15% of the book given over to more advertising. That's makes about a 3rd of the download that isn't on-topic.I didn’t love this offering even if it was a pleasant read. I feel like there wasn’t much value add; anyone who’s made a few web searches on either Tarot or Kabbalah will glean as much, if not more.Lastly, the title is a bit misleading. One might think the relationship of the two topics would be covered, rather than each separately. A package like this not discussing Tarot in the context of the Kabbalah is like selling a box of chocolates, and a jar of peanut butter and never bringing up the topic of Reese’s Pieces. No chocolate - no Reese's; no Kabbalah - no Tarot.As much as I like the e-book idea, I’m sorry to say this one is better off being skipped, even if many still will download it. I think, ultimately, it will serve the author’s catalog better than the readers'. Kudos on that, anyway.