i'd give this 2.5 stars max; tea's card interpretations just didn't ring true for me and the thing that got on my nerves the most was how she'd refer to certain cards as "bad" or "terrible" which imo is not a great way to look at the tarot.

Would have given it five stars if it wasn't for Michelle using the term spirit animal. We hold our faves to the highest standards cos we want them to do the best work they can <3

Though, in truth, I am currently reading this book I can already say that it is most phenomenal. The boomer's had 78 degrees of wisdom, we, Gen-X and the Millenials have Modern Tarot. Yes, it is *that* important, yes it is *that* intrepid, yes, it is that insightful, useful, and deserves a home on the shelves of every witch and reader of the tarot born 1970 and on. Michelle Tea is a genius, binding together the arcane with the every-day, the sacred and profane, the spark which leads so much of u...

"The High Priestess is a powerful, radical card that disrupts gender dichotomies and oppressions and makes space for banished knowledge.""I don't know about you, dear reader, but for me, being told I'm being too emotional or sensitive smacks of patriarchy...""As you go about correcting the proportions of whatever energy is giving you grief, never ever blame yourself, beat yourself up, or demonize your demons. These aspects of yourself are gifts--they make you both universally human and individua...

Michelle Tea presents a great guide to the Tarot with 'Modern Tarot.' Her introduction discusses the background she has with the cards and her personal use. The balance of the book is devoted to the variety of readings and meanings that, to her, are evoked from the imagery - and often, a personal anecdote or experience pertinent to the card's message. In addition, with each card, a short description of a ritual is included - on some scale of hokey to interesting/insightful. She works within the

a few months after acquiring my first tarot deck, i decided i needed a reliable resource to help me learn the cards. and who better to guide me than michelle tea?it's a great resource, and a joy to read. tea begins with an informative introduction, then discusses each card individually. visual analysis of the art is woven together with cards' meanings, and with personal stories and anecdotes about their roles in tea's life. so many nuggets of wisdom!!there is also a spell section for each card,

This book did a good job of positioning certain cards in a way that is less problematic for feminists, which I greatly appreciate. I would like the opportunity to purchase these cards as illustrated in this book. They are so dang well-drawn! I enjoyed the author's incorporating of her own life events to illustrate particular cards. I would have liked for the author to discuss her favorite tarot spreads and how she approaches her readings.

The interpretations are medieval. Every tarot card has a light and shadow side, these interpretations are clearly very personal and subjective to the author, and therefor should not be utilized in ones own doing or situation. Very disappointing in that aspect, however the 'work with' section after each card interpretation are modern and interesting. If you really want to get to know the tarot in an in depth and profound way, beyond quick dogmatic approach, I suggest "The Way of Tarot" by Mariann...

As a 90s 3rd waver, I've been reading Michelle Tea forever, and I'm delighted to see that she has hopped knowledgeably on the witch trend b/c it gives me all the cozy Bust magazine feels. Be aware, Tumblr witchlings -- she's got spells for every card in here, and she thinks of the whole thing very approachably as spiritual crafting!

One of the few times I was ranting throughout the book, almost only finished it out of spite. I initially got annoyed at the absence of explaining how to actually make a spread and a really bad and weird interpretation of trans people. I later got very tired at her excessive materialism. Every spell included the need to buy crystals/pouches /candles/herbs they don't sell at tesco. It also felt like every other card wanted you to "treat yourself and buy this thing you want or take a trip far away...

Do you already love Michelle Tea? If so, get this book. Do you not know yet if you love Michelle Tea? If so, read all her books until you realize you do and then get this book.

I've spent several months referring to this book as my primary tarot guide, and I've really come to like it. The reservations I had early on still stand: I dislike the art on the cards used as examples in this book, and occasionally I find Tea's authorial voice to be a bit chatty for my taste. But overall, I appreciate her casual, humorous, cut-the-crap style and the focus on anecdotal information, which is really helpful for learning the cards. I haven't done much with the spells/rituals she of...

This really helped flesh out my understanding of Tarot. I can’t give all the credit to this book of course but it’s very useful. The author definitely has her biases here and there (the Swords, probably my favorite suit, gets a lot of shade in the court cards, lol) but she gave a thorough, nuanced review of each card/theme. She includes spells with each card also, for bringing in or flushing out that energy, which I mostly scanned through, but others may find helpful. I do respect how she incorp...

This book is pretty good!

I have always held Tarot in a place of great mystery. So many cards, so many interpretations, so many differing opinions on use and the magic they hold - it can be overwhelming. Michelle does an incredible job of unlocking this magic and making very clear that the true power of the Tarot is directly influenced by the power you put into the cards, and the story you are looking to tell.I absolutely loved the personal anecdotes when discussing the cards and the stories behind them as well as the or...

This is great and has the most information about the individual cards, but I’m not so much into the spells that were offered to put the cards into real life

Did not finish after reading through the Major Arcana. I was very frustrated that the author describes the Rider-Waite-Smith deck version of each card, but the reference illustrations included in the book look nothing like the RWS ones. If they were minor differences, that would be fine, but these illustrations cut out a lot of the symbolism that she writes about, which made it difficult to follow along at times. There were other issues as well, but those are more on a personal level.

Library Read... (1.5)There are some things that don't need a modern twist to it but if you decide to put that twist on it - make sure it's done the right way. Modern Tarot missed the mark on many levels. No matter how many people write books about Tarot - the meaning of the cards remains the same. I was disappointed in the author's interpretation of the cards. There is a part of me that understands what she was trying to convey to new readers of Tarot, but she should have left this one alone.

A straightforward, contemporary guide to each of the 78 classic tarot cards, broken up into Major Arcana, Suits (Ace through Ten), and Court sections. I am definitely a tarot beginner so I can't compare to other resources or interpretations, but I found this book accessible and relatable. Each card is accompanied by a spell or spells to either bring the energy of the card into your life or help banish it--I mostly skimmed those, but they seemed similarly no-nonsense. I checked this book out from...

I love this modern and practical take on tarot. Each card is described in a way that could relate to life in the contemporary West, and includes spells/advice on how to work with the message or energy of the particular card. Whether you're witchy or just want to meditate on the archetypes of the tarot, it's a very interesting read that will supplement traditional views on tarot.