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elizabethtm's review against another edition
4.75
I want to own this book I think. The readings were great and helpful.
sarahlopod's review against another edition
4.0
This review can also be found on my blog.
disclaimer: I received an advanced copy of this book from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for review consideration. All of the opinions presented below are my own.
I’ve been meaning to read Kitchen Table Tarot by Melissa Cynova for ages now, so when Destiny let me know that Tarot Elements was available for request on NetGalley, I was stoked. The spreads all seemed immensely helpful and Melissa described their purposes very well in addition to providing some exercises to help you stay in the proper headspace for each element. My only complaint is the specific examples given for each spread. While these were helpful to a certain extent in understanding how the spreads worked, they felt quite repetitive and I ended up skimming through most of them. Regardless, I did enjoy reading through this and will definitely use these techniques in the future!
disclaimer: I received an advanced copy of this book from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for review consideration. All of the opinions presented below are my own.
I’ve been meaning to read Kitchen Table Tarot by Melissa Cynova for ages now, so when Destiny let me know that Tarot Elements was available for request on NetGalley, I was stoked. The spreads all seemed immensely helpful and Melissa described their purposes very well in addition to providing some exercises to help you stay in the proper headspace for each element. My only complaint is the specific examples given for each spread. While these were helpful to a certain extent in understanding how the spreads worked, they felt quite repetitive and I ended up skimming through most of them. Regardless, I did enjoy reading through this and will definitely use these techniques in the future!
vanessa_issa's review against another edition
3.0
Thanks to Llewellyn Worldwide for the ARC!
I read another book by this author, "Kitchen Table Tarot", and I really liked it.
I was looking forward to reading "Tarot Elements", since I'm still trying to learn more on the subject.
I think the author does a great job capturing the meanings behind each card while simultaneously encouraging the reader to give his own interpretation. We can see she knows a lot! She's not just trying to sell a book, she really knows what shes talking about.
I also think it's very important how she shows that Tarot can't fix people, they have to fix themselves. It's not a replacement for therapy or medicines, but I'm sure it can help lots of people to find inspiration and rekindle with themselves.
The reason I'm only giving it 3 stars is because I got a little bored reading all those examples. I know they're necessary to show the process, but after a while it got a little too repetitive for me.
I appreciate the list of books recommended by the author at the end. I'll definitely add them to my TBR list.
I read another book by this author, "Kitchen Table Tarot", and I really liked it.
I was looking forward to reading "Tarot Elements", since I'm still trying to learn more on the subject.
I think the author does a great job capturing the meanings behind each card while simultaneously encouraging the reader to give his own interpretation. We can see she knows a lot! She's not just trying to sell a book, she really knows what shes talking about.
I also think it's very important how she shows that Tarot can't fix people, they have to fix themselves. It's not a replacement for therapy or medicines, but I'm sure it can help lots of people to find inspiration and rekindle with themselves.
The reason I'm only giving it 3 stars is because I got a little bored reading all those examples. I know they're necessary to show the process, but after a while it got a little too repetitive for me.
I appreciate the list of books recommended by the author at the end. I'll definitely add them to my TBR list.
sadiecass's review against another edition
5.0
I fell in love with Cynova's easy voice and style with Kitchen Table Tarot and so when I saw her posting about this book, I got really excited for it. Even more so when I found it on netgalley and got approved! This jumped ahead of all other books in my cue and I DEVOURED it. Now, I have not actually done any of the pulls yet, because I wanted to give it a read through before I started doing those. It reads easy, the instructions are clear, and as always, Cynova makes you feel like you're chatting at a table rather than being lectured. Each section contains some wonderful, helpful tips on how to work on each area...it really is a tarot/pagan "self-help" book!!
**I received a copy free via netgalley. All opinions are my own.**
**I received a copy free via netgalley. All opinions are my own.**
melissaclair18's review against another edition
3.0
I liked everything about this book except the spreads were all the same, and it gave little detail on how to use them differently.
bloodravenlib's review against another edition
2.0
If you are expecting something similar to her book Kitchen Table Tarot, this is not it. This is not so much a book to learn Tarot. It is more a self help book that uses specific Tarot card readings to provide the self help. If you like self help books and books that claim they can help you fix your life somehow, this may be for you. If you are looking for a book to learn Tarot or a Tarot reference book, this is not it.
(Full review on my blog).
(Full review on my blog).
redhairedashreads's review against another edition
4.0
After reading Melissa Cynova’s first book, Kitchen Table Tarot, I was excited to pick up this one and see what new readings she would present for tarot readers. This book focuses on the five elements (earth, air, fire, water, spirit) and paring them with areas in your life that need attention. She teaches us to use the elements and tarot spreads to focus on different parts of our bodies and life and slowly fix ourselves.
I think this book was a nice addition to Kitchen Table Tarot. It allows you to take what you initially learned about tarot and apply it to parts of your life with these five specific spreads. I did some of them as I was reading through the book but not all of them. If done correctly, it forces you to face your life and your problems with it so expect for these spreads to be emotional and hard to face.
Cynova also provides exercises to do along with the spreads that can also help you work through your problems and anxieties. My only real issue with this book was that the specific examples provided for each spread did get a little repetitive as the book went on so I started skimming them.
Overall, I look forward to her next book and will continue to reference this book (and her other one) in the future.
This review was originally posted at Red-Haired Ash Reads.
I think this book was a nice addition to Kitchen Table Tarot. It allows you to take what you initially learned about tarot and apply it to parts of your life with these five specific spreads. I did some of them as I was reading through the book but not all of them. If done correctly, it forces you to face your life and your problems with it so expect for these spreads to be emotional and hard to face.
Cynova also provides exercises to do along with the spreads that can also help you work through your problems and anxieties. My only real issue with this book was that the specific examples provided for each spread did get a little repetitive as the book went on so I started skimming them.
Overall, I look forward to her next book and will continue to reference this book (and her other one) in the future.
This review was originally posted at Red-Haired Ash Reads.
silvernfire's review against another edition
3.0
I really like the concept of using this set of spreads to focus on problem areas of your life. I don't always agree on what kinds of problems go with which element, but that's easy enough to customize. And I'd read Cynova's earlier book [b:Kitchen Table Tarot: Pull Up a Chair, Shuffle the Cards, and Let's Talk Tarot|30268362|Kitchen Table Tarot Pull Up a Chair, Shuffle the Cards, and Let's Talk Tarot|Melissa Cynova|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1488158580s/30268362.jpg|50744317], so I knew I enjoyed her writing style. But I got a bit frustrated that the five spreads consist of the same three questions (the Spirit spread gets two more). The questions vary in their order and in how many cards each gets, but that's it. Also, the explanations of the example readings is longer and more detailed than I need, and I got a little bored. But overall, these readings are a great idea, and the book is a clear and practical guide to using them.