The Magical World of the Tarot: Fourfold Mirror of the Universe
by Gareth Knight

Paperback: 224 pages ; Dimensions (in inches): 0.55 x 8.21 x 5.43
Publisher: Red Wheel/Weiser; (October 1996)
ISBN: 0877288739

$14.95

The fourfold mirror of which the author speaks is the Jungian fourfold image of healing:  Intellect, Intuition, Feeling and Sensation, which Mr Knight brings together in what he refers to as a "mandala." The book is written from a "mouse in my pocket" royal "we" perspective ("We" suggest, "we hasten to say") and frequently comes across as slightly haughty.  Although his ideas have considerable merit (and I am deeply interesting in psychological explorations of the Tarot), it has been buried so deeply in a mire of inconsistent format (the periodic Q&A sections are not this book's friend) and male objectifying of a wonderfully intuitive and complex system that whatever he was (or "they were") meaning to present is basically lost.  As a 20-year reader of the Tarot, it's difficult for me to read a book on the subject and not come away with something of value, but this particular effort was putting me to sleep after the first chapter or so.  Books like this could definitely put me on the path to believe that men should back away from intuitive matters.  They just seem to muck them up with left brained crap.

2 pent out of 5
because he had a really,
really good idea before he
ran it into a ditch of boredom

Reviews by Katrina Rasbold