BOOK NERD : Kickass Quotes From Tarot As A Way Of Life, A Jungian Approach To The Tarot by Karen Hamaker-Zondag

 
Tarot As A Way Of Life is not a whimsical book. It is straight forward and instructional.

That does not mean it is boring. Far from it!  

It's an exciting presentation for those who love to explore symbolism and how it plays out in the mysterious world of the unconscious. 

It's also the best book I've read on tarot in terms of deriving a deep, comprehensive understanding of what this popular form of divination can do.

For me, a Jungian approach to the tarot or any kind of symbolism has always made the most sense, but this book does not stop there.  It also incorporates the Kabbalah, folklore, numerology, and astrology, while encouraging you to use your own intuition when interpreting the cards.

It is organized in a way that makes reaching for Zondag's take on a particular card quick & easy, and her take, even if it differs from your own, always supplies excellent food for thought.

This may not be a beginner book, but it is quite accessible and a total pleasure. 

I highly recommend it to anyone who is interested in the way we can use symbols to explore our own deeper selves and, in effect, make the most of our lives.



★ "In essence, the tarot is anchored in our unconscious and represents self-knowledge." -Karen Hamaker-Zondag  

★ "Pictures and symbols help to express the language of the unconscious. The unconscious is extremely creative and playful, having a logic of it's own, which is nothing like logic as we know it. It is the very playfulness and creativity of the tarot that turns it into a mirror we can use infinitely in many situations." -Karen Hamaker-Zondag

★ "The language of the unconscious is pictorial, creative, and definitely not logical. Handling images and symbols has an inspiring effect and, if you venture to employ them creatively, you will keep on seeing new dimensions in them..." -Karen Hamaker-Zondag

★ "...each card is a picture, a picture with a symbolic value built around a whole range of symbols, each with it's own meaning, and together giving the necessary depth to the card." -Karen Hamaker-Zondag  

★ "Each design inevitably evokes certain associations in us. It resonates, in fact, with the contents of our unconscious, which are activated by the sight of pictures." -Karen Hamaker-Zondag   

★ "Just as a fairy tale provides a child with unconscious guidance and helps the child cope with problems in ordinary daily life, so the pictures in various decks work in us." -Karen Hamaker-Zondag

★ "The greater the agreement between the pictures and the symbolism with which we have become familiar through depth psychology, the greater will be the impact made by the pictures on our unconscious. So your choice of deck will certainly have an effect on your way of working, on what you can do with the tarot, on what it releases within you, and on what you feel." -Karen Hamaker-Zondag  

★ "...it makes little difference what method you use, The main thing is that it should be a method that appeals to you, and one with which you are conversant or can become conversant." -Karen Hamaker-Zondag  

★ "The tarot is divided into the Major and Minor Arcana... All of the cards of the Major Arcana are dynamic and mirror both life processes and some of the associated phases of life. The Minor Arcana reveal how these processes are working out (or have worked out) from day to day." -Karen Hamaker-Zondag

★ "Many attempts have been made to link the suits to the four elements. Although there is an unmistakable correspondence between these groups and the elements, there are differences, too. This suggests that we should not confine our attention to the elements but should dig deeper." -Karen Hamaker-Zondag

★ "The cup, and related hollow forms, are an age-old symbol of the receptive principle of the cosmos, interpreted today as a facet of yin or the female-factor. The swords has always and universally been recognized as the cosmic principle that has to do with separation and differentiation; a facet of the yang, or male factor. Circular forms, like the pentacles, are female, too, and vertical forms, like the wands (scepters), are male." -Karen Hamaker-Zondag 

★ "In Jungian dream analysis, we always look for the personal significance, adding if need be the collective symbolic meaning. If we treat the pictures of the tarot as collective symbols, it is certainly possible to make a splendid general description of them; but each one who works with the tarot possesses a unique emotional make-up and has highly personal reactions. The tarot can latch onto our individual use of symbolism in such a way that the meanings of certain cards can include something extra for us..." -Karen Hamaker-Zondag  

★ "In essence, the Kabbalah discusses the nature of God and the divine emanations in our world, and is a mystical and symbolic account of Creation. The Kabbalah states that God permeates the whole universe, that He is the universe." -Karen Hamaker-Zondag

★ "The twelve signs of the zodiac represent twelve successive stages of development, and their nature is entirely different from that of the planets, which express powerful energies and desires." -Karen Hamaker-Zondag

★ "Because you are able to see your inner life in a wider context, you know that life has both day and night sides, in which joy and sorrow each have a natural place." -Karen Hamaker-Zondag

★ "Cycles bring us back to points where we have been before, but where we can make a fresh start with new trends and new cycles. In the meantime something old, the previous round, is completed." -Karen Hamaker-Zondag  


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