Tarot Made Easy

In 1989, full time psychic, teacher and counselor, Nancy Garen wrote and published a great book titled Tarot Made Easy. This book has been both heralded as the greatest Tarot book ever published and the biggest atrocity to honest Tarot readings to ever hit the public. It really depends on who you talk to as to the opinion you will get.

[edit] How the book works

Basically, Nancy broke down Tarot reading so that even if you have never picked up a deck of Tarot cards before, you could be giving readings within minutes. At the beginning of the book, she gives a bit of history as well as some basic Tarot spreads. She also gives advice on how to ask a question of the Tarot, and what spreads will best be suited to what type of question.

Once you get this far, you will shuffle the Tarot cards until you feel that it is a good time to stop. After drawing your card or cards, it’s time to figure out what they mean and how they apply to your specific situation. In Tarot Made Easy, you will find meanings for several categories of each card. The Tarot card meaning is applied to your question. Now you have given yourself or a friend a Tarot reading.

[edit] The controversy

Nancy’s book actually came under fire during the days of the Psychic Readers Network. You all might remember this as the phone reading service where customers called in and spoke to one of many thousands of readers. PRN charged exorbitant per-minute fees and trained their “readers” in the art of keeping a customer on the phone as long as possible. Many of those manning the phone lines from the comfort of their homes were, in fact, legitimate readers. The rest of the readers were not even close to genuine.

In the midst of discovering that PRN hired even homeless people who worked from public telephones, it was found that most of the trainers suggested the readers buy a copy of Nancy’s book. It seems that Nancy did, indeed, make Tarot reading a snap. Anyone with the gift of gab could pick up this book and convince the unsuspecting customer on the other end of the phone that he or she was talking to a genuine psychic. It was as simple as looking up the Tarot card meaning of whatever turned up in the spread.

[edit] A teaching tool

For someone who has just begun to study the art of Tarot reading, this book can be a wonderful teaching tool. The gift of intuition may already be present, but there may be a need to learn how to apply it to the Tarot. In this instance, Nancy’s book can be a very quick and thorough teacher. Digging around to find out the usual Tarot card meaning and how it applies to different situations is not necessary with Tarot Made Easy.

While it is perfectly acceptable to use whatever learning methods work for you, it is always advisable to apply your own personal impressions from the cards to your readings. Look at the pictures and watch for symbolism. Focus on the card and what it is trying to tell you. This is the true way of performing an honest Tarot reading.