Review: The Star Tarot

The Star Tarot
Author: Cathy McClelland
Schiffer Publishing, 2017

Description: 78 cards and a 215 page guidebook in a sturdy cardboard box, with magnetic closure.

Card Size: 3 1/2" X 5 1/4"

Your Path to Self Discovery through Cosmic Symbolism

Cathy McClelland self-published The Star Major Arcana Deck in 2008. The Star Tarot takes her vision to the next step to include the Minors.

“The Star Tarot is clearly rooted in the Golden Dawn correspondences. It does homage to Waite and Smith and to the creators of the Thoth deck, Crowly and Harris.” ~ Foreword by Mary K. Greer

"Use this deck and book together to renew your spirit and help you realign with your soul purpose and the guiding light of all creation.” ~ Foreword by Mary K. Greer

I found the artwork in this deck breathtaking, unusual, and unique. The deck pulls pieces from the different tarot systems and brings them together to create a new type of Tarot.

The Guidebook is completely dedicated to the cards. The Major Arcana is discussed as a whole and then each card is covered. Information includes keywords, an in-depth look at the card and the image's symbolisms. The Minor Arcana is also discussed as a whole, followed by a section on the Lunar Cycle and Aspects. Information is given on the suits, numbers, individual cards, and the court cards. Each card has a black and white photo supplied. The book includes a lot of information, including Astrological, Seasons, Lunar Cycle, and even associated Archangel when relevant to the card.

"In the Star Tarot each of the Minors has a lunar cycle representing it. The moon's cycles are reminders of the cycles in our lives."

9 - The Hermit – Your Guiding Light

“The Hermit is the one who steps out of the darkness shining his lantern, showing you the way.”

“The Hermit brings a time for review and introspection and the opportunity to develop your inner wisdom by seeking guidance from another or through introspection and spiritual work.”

“The lightning at the bottom of this image represents the restlessness and life’s unsettling situations that stimulate one to seek a deeper meaning in life.”

“The owl symbolizes the carrier of dreams."

"The Hermit’s staff brings intellect and higher knowledge.”

The Nine of Swords
Lunar cycle: Balsamic Moon
Keyword Phrase: Dark Night of the Soul

“The Nine of Swords enters late at night when you are feeling the most vulnerable.”

“The gift of the Nine of Swords is the realization that you are not alone, but connected to the greater whole.”

“The spider’s tapestry web hangs behind her symbolizing the macrocosm of the universe and the microcosm of our lives.”

I recommend this deck to Everyone. Whether you are new to the world of tarot or a long time resident, this deck is amazing with its enriching images and deep rooted symbolism.

Grab your copy from Schiffer Publishing.



(Review Product supplied by Schiffer Publishing)

Review: Tarot Tracker: A Year-Long Journey

Tarot Tracker: A Year-Long Journey
Author: Angelo Nasios
Schiffer Publishing, 2017
Description: Hardback Book

“While the Tarot Tracker is designed with Tarot in mind, you can also use this journal with non-Tarot decks if you desire.”

The Tarot Tracker is a journal, but it is so much more. Angelo Nasios has created a guide for daily journaling, a system to help build your tarot knowledge, and pages to fill with a year’s worth of discovery.

“Tarot Tracker is designed to be your annual journal that tracks your entire year with Tarot.”

You begin your Year-Long Journey by calculating your Card of the Year. An example is given, along with the process for calculating your card. Once discovered, you write about the card and what you think the influence might be for you. The author provides a Year Card Reference Section to help you along.

“The Year Card represents an overall theme or energy that represents the year in your life.”

This is followed by a Meaning Tracker, where you can express your thoughts on each card as you begin the year. These may be traditions meanings, thoughts of your likes/dislikes, or even your emotional reactions. These meanings are yours, as you see the cards, at this time.

At the back of the book, there is a Meaning Tracker Revisited. Here you will once again go through your meanings of each card, inspired by your year-long journey. To assist with understanding the cards, the author supplies an Appendix of Card Keywords. The Seasonal Tracker gives you a place to explore The New Year Reading and a Birthday Reading.

The bulk of the book is devoted to daily cards, offering areas for both Day Reading and Night Reading, along with possible questions to explore.

This would make a great gift for someone just starting out in Tarot. The structure within the Tarot Tracker is perfect for keeping up with daily cards and working your way through the Tarot.

It would also work great for someone lacking the discipline to make it through the whole year of daily pulls. Once you start writing in the book, you are going to want to complete it. Think of it as a new year’s resolution with structure.

If you want to learn the tarot, if you love journaling, and/or if you’ve always wanted to see how the cards could play out over the whole year, one day at a time, you’ll find the needed structure within the cover of the Tarot Tracker: A Year-Long Journey.

Grab your copy from Schiffer Publishing. 

You may also be interested in my review of Angelo Nasios’ Tarot: Unlocking the Arcana.



(Review Product supplied by Schiffer Publishing)

Review: Fortune Teller's Handbook

Fortune Teller’s Handbook
Author: Sasha Fenton
Hampton Roads Publishing, 2017
Description: 192-page Paperback Book

Red Wheel/Weiser has brought back another of Sasha Fenton’s successful titles with the Fortune Teller’s Handbook.

The Fortune Teller’s Handbook is an introduction to 20 divination methods. As the author acknowledges, “These twenty chapters are just the tip of the iceberg.” And, in the areas the author is less familiar; she calls upon other professionals for their knowledge.

The Fortune Teller’s Handbook is definitely a fun and interesting read. You may find yourself discovering a tool you never knew existed, like flower reading. The author goes from the most logical systems to the kind of ‘weird’ systems. Within the covers of this book, you can easily discover something you didn’t know.

Did you know that Playing cards are a spin-off from the Minor Arcana of the Tarot deck? Okay, but did you know they are also a spin-off of chess, which itself is a spin-off from the Tarot?

Did you know you could use three American quarters to perform an I Ching reading?

The Fortune Teller’s Handbook covers such systems as crystal ball gazing, numerology readings, using a pendulum, throwing bones, and many more techniques. The book is an introductory into these many systems, but once you get hooked, there are many books out there to further your studies in whichever direction(s) you may choose.

I recommend the Fortune Teller’s Handbook to anyone interested in divination, beginners and those already in the game. I’d also recommend the book to anyone curious about the process of fortune telling, whether you intend to follow the path or not.

Grab your copy from Red Wheel/Weiser Publishing.

You may also enjoy my review of Fortune Telling by Tarot Cards by Sasha Fenton.


(Review Product supplied by Red Wheel/Weiser)