Choice centered tarot

by Gail Fairfield

Book by Fairfield, Gail

Genres: Tarot, Divination

151 pages, Paperback

First published September 28, 1984

Reviews

[Amy Christensen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Tarot is often the first divination system occult and magical practitioners are exposed to and that certainly was the case for me. However, I found so much Christian mythology associated with this particular form of divination that I lost interest and moved on to Runes and Geomancy. I’ve had this book for nearly 25 years and I enjoyed it then, but on my second exploration of this work I found connections between the tarot and numerology and astrology that I had missed all of those years ago. This book sparked my imagination and rekindled my curiosity about the tarot. I’m interested in exploring this divination system again.

I must add that I found this book even more relevant 25 years after my purchase of it! And I would highly recommend it to anyone beginning a divination process. Not only did it rekindle my interest in tarot, I believe it has enhanced my Rune and Geomancy work.

[Theresa · Rating 5 out of 5]

I liked that she gave not only positive/negative but *neutral* attributes to every card. There were several things she presented that made me think about them in different ways.

I don't use 'pip' cards, so sometimes I think I can get lost in the image that comes up in a draw (eg 3 of Swords, 5 of Pentacles.) Specifically, the descriptions for the Minor Arcana were interesting and thoughtful; although she doesn't mention a particular deck or deck type, there's not a reliance on using or describing the art that would be on something like a RWS deck.

I also enjoyed her ideas for layouts, questions to ask yourself or others (although I don't read for anyone but myself) and her inclusive language- especially for something written in 1981.

[Susan · Rating 2 out of 5]

I once thought that Ms Fairfield was truly onto something here. Over the years having used her system, I've discovered she is not. Get Sandor Konraad's book instead.

[Scott Robinson · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is well-written and level-headed; I especially resonate with Fairfield’s position that the Tarot is a tool for empowering people to make good choices, not an instrument of prognostication. I also felt validated by her urging readers to solicit plenty of feedback from querents, because that is what I do, and some readers make one feel like that’s “cheating.” She also gives advice on how to concoct custom spreads, which is good for me, slightly hidebound traditionalist that I am. I found her critique of the cis/hetero/White-normative drawbacks of traditional decks uncomfortable in a good way. The only thing I take issue with is her characterizations of the individual cards, and of each of the numerical positions within the Minor Arcana; they seemed so out-of-left-field to me as to defy usefulness. But all in all, a solid book.

[Erica · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you want to learn to read Tarot, this is the book to do it. Rather than give you a list of correspondences to memorize, it guides you through the cycles and natural journey of the cards, allowing you to use your intuition to guide your readings and opens up dozens of doors. Recommended to me by Rev. Stitch at Augustine's in Chicago, it's been invaluable to me ever since!

[James Wells · Rating 5 out of 5]

Choice Centered Tarot is my tarot "bible". Gail's user-friendly system of number plus suit plus topic plus question makes it applicable to ANY tarot pack. Her humanistic focus redeems the tarot from the hocus-pocus of fortune-telling and reminds us that it can be an effective tool for personal and collective insight. Highly recommended!