Tarot by Numbers: Learn the Codes to Unlock the Meaning of the Cards

Professional tarot reader Dean (Nature’s Hidden Charms) offers a refreshing if complicated guide that uses the numbers on tarot cards to shape interpretation. With illustrations from the Rider Waite Smith tarot deck marked with Roman numerals, Dean explains the meanings of each number and how to apply them to answer such questions as “How do I stay focused?” and “How do I move on?” For example, the Lovers card, which depicts a nude man and woman, is number VI and symbolizes “love, harmony, and peace” because six comprises three pairs. Its flip side, the Devil card, numbered XV (1+5=6), denotes temptation and lust. “Three means an outcome (the synergy of Two),” Dean writes of cards numbered three, describing how to use the Three of Pentacles to gain insight into one’s feelings about work, how others see one’s work, and how to advance one’s career. The author also walks through the process of calculating one’s tarot birth cards, which she compares to zodiac signs because they “reveal the influences around you from birth.” Experienced tarot users will find Dean’s idiosyncratic methods eye-opening, though novices might struggle to follow the sometimes convoluted calculations. This adds up to a distinctive if demanding approach to tarot. (July)