Ms. Renee sets the tone for this book from the very first page, where she states, "If you're seeking a practical, down-to-earth method of reading the tarot, this book is for you!" The primary focus here is on Self as client, offering suggestions on how to tackle the problems of daily life. Traditional meanings merge with somewhat more literal ideas, often based directly on the imagery of the cards themselves, to seek the advice each card has to offer.
Tarot: Your Everyday Guide is organized in the reference style common to many tarot books, yet is interesting enough to hold my attention cover to cover. It reads like a series of short stories, I can hardly wait to find out how the next character tackles his problems! Rather than use a single deck for illustration, Ms. Renee provides three black and white examples of each card, one from the Rider-Waite deck (published by US Games) and two from among a half-dozen different Llewellyn decks. There are two or three pages of information on each Major Arcana card, and one or two on each Minor. The last paragraph or two of each section focuses on how the reversed card affects the upright advice.
Throughout the book, Ms. Renee urges an interpretive technique often used in tarot meditations. She urges the reader to model their behavior after the card's central figure. What would that charater do in your situation? One of my favorite examples comes in the section on Key 13. "Applied as a card of advice," Ms. Renee writes, "the Death card suggests that you act the part of the Grim Reaper by ruthlessly eliminating something from your life, probably something related to the matter for which you seek advice."
The opening sections of this book urge a rather unusual three-card reading style. Rather than treating the cards as a standard spread, where each position has its own meaning, the three are read together as a single idea advising how to solve the problem at hand. The central card becomes the focus or main direction for the advice, and is enhanced by the other two cards. Along with the often literal card interpretations, Ms. Renee suggests you pay attention to what the central character is "looking at" in multi-card spreads. If the figure on the middle card faces toward one side or the other, the card the central one is looking at may indicate the best direction to take.
The book's introductory sections "Reading and Interpreting Tarot Cards for Advice", "Concerns About Accuracy", and "A Word on Ethics" echo many of my own concepts and beliefs as a tarot reader and mentor. Ms. Renee thoughtfully addresses a core issue I try to stress while mentoring my own students on the Free Tarot Network - offer insight rather than predict the future. Remind your client (even if it's yourself) not to rely on the cards' message alone. "You can then use the cards' advice to supplement, not supplant, your own impressions and judgements." These sections also give some of the best tips I've seen on mastering one of the most basic - and often the most difficult - steps in the reading process: knowing what specific question to ask.
Tarot: Your Everyday Guide includes a great quick-start lesson for new readers, and offers a fresh interpretational approach for novice and old hand alike. It entertains and teaches at the same time, and is well worth reading again and again.