“When used in the correct manner, your tarot deck can help you find answers to all problems in your life and others. It can advise you of what is about to happen, what choices you will have to make and help you understand the underlying cause of reoccurring problems or the lessons you are here to learn in life.” – From the companion book to the Faulkner Tarot
Rhiannon Faulkner set out to create modern, accessible Tarot deck that portrayed familiar, everyday settings so that anyone can pick up the cards and begin reading them comfortably. She succeeded with the Faulkner Tarot, a contemporary deck featuring black-and-white photographs.
Aiming to teach that Tarot can serve as a form of self-help and practical counseling, the 120-page companion book to the Faulkner Tarot introduces the cards with an explanation of basic Tarot structure. She then launches right into the meat of each Tarot image, with one page devoted to each card.
Not only does Faulkner offer keywords and card interpretations, but also probing questions and journaling prompts. For example, under The Emperor, she asks, “Is it the man that you first notice in the picture? This would say that you are talking about an actual person. Is it the road—perhaps saying that he is on the right road to success. Is it the building, indicating contracts and material success.” She then challenges the reader to “Write down who your emperor is in life, your father, your husband, your boss. Try and say why you look up to them and what you admire.”
In the Faulkner Tarot companion book, the author also provides brief essays on reading as a professional, reading the cards together in a group (and how order affects the interpretation), and the “people cards” (Courts) in a reading. She also provides three spreads, including the Celtic Cross, a 10-card Looking for Love Spread and a 15-card Relationship Spread. When I read for clients, I rarely use formal spreads, but the last two from Faulkner are so succinct yet comprehensive that I plan to add them to my romance reading toolbox!
Minor grammatical errors aside, Faulkner’s companion book to her deck gives voice to the “everyman” in both imagery choice and card commentary. Thus, you won’t find a Tarot expert writing bloated, didactic annotations nor flowery, labyrinthine prose.
No, what you will find in this book is a woman in the trenches, a Tarot reader and clairvoyant channel who happens also happens to be a mother, widow, writer and businesswoman. The scope of her experience finds expression in both card imagery and her observations on each Tarot archetype, making both the deck and book supremely accessible.
Faulkner pulls no punches, and sometimes, her card interpretations may be a bit narrow in scope. However, this basic yet elegant approach makes the Faulkner Tarot companion book a fantastic primer for those new to the cards. Yet, even seasoned Tarot readers will find gems prodding us to look deeper and ask the tough questions for both personal growth and client counseling.
If you’re looking for a Tarot book that translates archetypes into updated expressions and abstract ideology into “where the rubber meets the road”, than the Faulkner Tarot companion book is a modern manual you’ll want for understanding and reading the cards “where you live”.
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