Back in Time Tarot by Janet Boyer
The trouble with lots of tarot books is that they are rehashes of the ‘same old same old’. You learn some new spreads, you add a bit more to our interpretation of each card, you admire a pretty new deck and then, like gorging on a tempting-looking cream cake, the thrill of the first bite fades and you are left with just the crumbs and a feeling of vague unease and disappointment.
Not so Janet Boyer’s Back in Time Tarot. At last we have an original book and one that manages to both deepen your connection with the cards in an entertaining way and be a great read to boot.
Apart from being a professional tarot reader and teacher, Janet is that mythical creature – an Amazon.com Top Ten reviewer (specialising in tarot) – and so she is putting her head on the block by writing a book on the subject. You can almost see the critics gathering up their brickbats in anticipation! But they would have to swap them for bouquets, because this is a great book.
The premise is astonishingly simple and no less powerful because of it. Janet asks you to remember a past event or situation in your life, break it down into its component parts, and then choose tarot cards to match each ‘snapshot’. Yes – you choose the cards by looking at them and selecting those that best fit the situation. This BIT technique can be applied to movies, book plots, historical events – the possibilities are endless.
As Janet knows the key players in the tarot world, she has asked several of them to use the BIT method and write about it for the book and the resulting stories are diverse and fascinating, from the sudden ending of a promising relationship on a beach in Italy to a family day out, all life is there. These guest contributors, who must have seen everything in the tarot world many times over, are clearly fascinated and enchanted with the idea of choosing cards and applying them to a past event and this enthusiasm spills from every anecdote.
Janet has crammed this book with sample BIT readings, including songs, fairy tales and current events. Her writing style is effortless, friendly and persuasive. She is not an Amazon Queen for nothing!
Having tried a few BIT readings for myself I can thoroughly recommend the book for novices and professional readers alike. It is something I will refer to and go back to many times, not something I can say for some other tarot books in my collection. Brava Janet!
Janet's website is www.janetboyer.com
