Kitchen Table Tarot, by Melissa Cynova, is a lighthearted and informal personal narrative about her experiences beginning learning and becoming an experienced tarotist.
Not held down by superstition or rigid ways of thinking, she sets out to teach tarot from a perspective of a kitchen table conversation.
Melissa’s quirky personality and practical advice is absolutely delightful.
She breathes life into learning and reading the tarot.
Kitchen Table Tarot is a huge breath of fresh air especially considering how dry 90 pages of card definitions and keywords can be.
Kitchen Table tarot Pros
- Not held down by superstitions surrounding the tarot
- Narrated from her own experiences – the good and the bad
- Melissa’s personality shines through each page in every word.
- Practical advice on how to find your voice as a tarot reader as well as tips for reading professionally
- Adores Pamela Coleman Smith (Extra brownie points with me for sure!)
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Includes explanation and tips for the Celtic Cross as well as a few other ‘basic’ spreads
- Assures beginning tarotists that it’s okay to use a book
- Card definitions are fun and easy to read with real world examples on
how the cards’ meanings would be used in a reading or to reflect everyday life
Kitchen Table Tarot Cons
A lot of these are not true cons, but may be a turn off for some readers.
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Doesn’t follow most “traditional” methods of working with the tarot (Sacred space, rituals, new age practices)
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Only touches base with spreads – highlighting only 3 more commonly used
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She has a natural gift that not every tarot reader has the ability to tap into
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Uses a personal narrative style to convey information – you’ll either love or hate it
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Written from her own experiences and her own unique perspective – again you’ll either love or hate it
Conclusion
Love this book, love how its written.
Melissa is super sassy and matter-of-fact.
While this is one of the factors that made me fall in love with Kitchen Table Tarot, her personal narrative style of writing may not vibe with everyone.
Whether you love or hate the book, Kitchen Table Tarot does what it sets out to do: present tarot in a way that has the feel of a kitchen table conversation.
This is a really refreshing take on learning to read tarot and Melissa’s experiences were a joy to read.
I believe each tarot reader has their own strengths, weaknesses and voice.
While Melissa does offer great advice, she speaks from a perspective of her unique gift that most of us may not have the ability to tap into, or have yet to learn.
Those brand new to tarot who haven’t found their own unique talents may have difficulty relating to and taking away all the gems this book has to offer.
I’m a huge spread junkie so this might just bug me. Melissa only briefly mentions using spreads. I would have liked to see some personalized spreads that she enjoys using and would recommend.
Over all Kitchen Table Tarot is very fun read. The 211 pages just flew by.
Melissa’s quirky attitude and zany life experiences really sets the tone for making Kitchen Table Tarot a new must read for beginner tarotists and a breath of fresh air for more experienced readers.
What’s Next?
Be sure to take account of your progress in your Tarot journal!
Not only will it provide you with your own personalized card meanings, but you will also see how much you grow as a Tarot Reader over time.
Learn more about Keeping A Tarot Journal. You’ll be glad you did!
Why not try one of the dozens of FREE tarot spreads available in the SelfTarot Tarot Spread Archive?
Not as confident as you would like to be reading tarot? Read Tarot Like Boss in 5 Easy Steps! Plus, exclusive pro tips you won’t find anywhere else!
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