Book Review - Tarot Dynamics Unleashed

Anna Burroughs Cook, author of Tarot Dynamics, has taken her innovative concept forward and super charged it in her latest offering, Tarot Dynamics Unleashed, published by Kima Global Publishing, 2011.

Anna offers a system of learning that can firmly root your readings in the cards, giving your intuition room to work within the system, for readings and timings that are eerily accurate.  While I am aware that some people can do free form tarot readings with great success, my observation of many students and fellow readers has led me to believe most people read and learn most effectively within a system, and the Tarot Dynamics one is great!

It seems to be en vogue today to use tarot as only a psychological tool, for insight, to talk about our feelings, but I firmly believe it is also useful as a tool for divination, which simply put, means to tell the future.  Anna makes no apologies for her willingness to predict events, and her system allows for both psychologically based readings as well as fortune telling ones (and it is my belief that a good reading addresses both things, is the Seeker desires).

In the Tarot Dynamics system, you will learn a specific number, from 1-78, for each card, and using numerology you will be able to break each card down into a core meaning.  Each card is illustrated with a large black and white image from the Waite Smith deck, and Anna encourages you to place your own card over the image as you study, so that any deck you prefer to use is relate-able to her system.  Anna does something not enough teachers do, in my opinion, which is offer a range of meaning to each card, so there are no "good" nor "bad" cards.  There are simply cards, and how you string them together depends on their relationship to the other cards in the spread (don't worry; you learn how to do this in the book, too!).

There are several spreads in the book, and the best chapter, in my opinion, is Tarot Dynamics & The Moon in Astrology.  There are plenty of books that link tarot and astrology, but few that deal with The Moon, which is the seat of our emotional life, astrologically speaking.  Her view on the Court Cards will help you get a handle on these most slippery of cards, as well, and that is invaluable.

If you are like me, with many, many books about tarot, or have been reading for a while, you will want to know why this is a good book for you.  Simply put, one can never have too many tools in the box for reading and interpreting cards, and this book gives a thoughtful, well rounded tool that you can reach for at any time.  A friend and teacher once likened reading tarot to playing a game of 3D chess, and the more techniques you know for interpreting cards the more levels you can play on.

If you are new to tarot, this book will give you a firm foundation as to meanings of the cards, and it will help you expand your intuition.  You will be able to relate what you learn in this book to the cards for as long as you are a reader, and it is a good investment in your education.  You don't have to do anything in tarot by anyone elses'  rules but knowledge always equals power, so it is good to learn as much as possible, regardless of your reading level.

I recommend this book for tarotistas of any level, and using its' techniques will help you spot patterns and themes in your readings to take them to a new level.  Anna writes in a clear, concise manner that is easy to read, and once you put her words into practice you will understand her concepts.

Anna has a great website you can visit, Tarot Dynamics, and runs a group for it on Facebook, if you are so inclined to visit.