Gosh, you're all making me feel so much better. 

Right away when I first saw this book I knew I wasn't interested because of the certification thing and the tone of "you have to do this and you can't do that" because it just smacked of someone who really thought more of themselves and their purchased "credentials" than they should.  And besides, it was $18 and that was way out of my budget's reach anyway. But then in 2024 my first husband(who had run off with one of his girlfriends in 1976 and didn't help me raise our 4 kids) passed away last year and voila!  I was entitled to his social security income.  Not only that, but they had forgotten to automatically award the new amount to me last year and suddenly awarded me all the money they hadn't sent me Suddenly $18 was kind of a bargain and I've always loved big fat books so I went for it.  

I really do appreciate the things I'm finding as I get acquainted with the book.  I like to keep an open mind about things if I can and surely there will be lots of things I can learn. And I really do understand and appreciate all the research and work she put into the book' And then, too, she's very young so she's got years to learn more.

Aw man - I'm sorry to hear you had to do your kids on your own.  

I have no kids, but I have a few friends who are single mum's for a variety of reasons - some of them quite horrific.

There are a few teachers that I have learned really useful things from - whom if I had known who they were beforehand - I might not have

decided to study with.  The conduit for what you may need - or would really like to know, can be anyone (including the devil himself, if you see what I mean).

I heard Benebell speak one year at The London Tarot Conference. Her presentation was erudite, informative & enjoyable,

(don't ask me what now - mostly, I never remember what I learned at Tarot conferences - there's always such a huge overload of information.

But - I do remember the people I've met) and I have gotten some good things out of her book.

14 hours ago, Mister said:

Talking diversity and living it are two very different things - the former seems way easier than the latter.

 

It does depend an the law of the country you are living in...It also depends on the friggin' language and wording...

 

If I censor myself in fear of back(s)lash, my chest feels numb inside.

If I censor myself in care of my clientele or what is precious to me, my chest feels warm inside.

@Mister  👍 You hit the nails on their heads.

6 hours ago, Tanga said:

There are a few teachers that I have learned really useful things from - whom if I had known who they were beforehand - I might not have

decided to study with.

And, as it so happened, you did not know beforehand for those people - me neither.

Did you, @Tanga, even have an impulse to look what you can find about them before, well, taking their lessons?

Once upon a time, I sure had not.

One of those people said the following:

"Anyone who did not make their own pack has no right to claim they know anything about tarot."

That sentence eradicated my previous study and threw me for a most freeing loop, leading to me reading like I do, and I love it.

Turns out they did never make a pack of their own.

To be fair: Despite them speaking with confidence on various aspects of reading as if their words were the law, they not once explicitly claimed to know about tarot.

7 hours ago, Grizabella said:

I really do appreciate the things I'm finding as I get acquainted with the book.  I like to keep an open mind about things if I can and surely there will be lots of things I can learn. And I really do understand and appreciate all the research and work she put into the book'

And then, too, she's very young so she's got years to learn more.

You know what?

It is really rare to read that last sentence without feeling an ounce of paternalism from it.

Cheers!

2 hours ago, Mister said:

1) And, as it so happened, you did not know beforehand for those people - me neither.

Did you, @Tanga, even have an impulse to look what you can find about them before, well, taking their lessons?

Once upon a time, I sure had not.

One of those people said the following:

 

"Anyone who did not make their own pack has no right to claim they know anything about tarot."

 

That sentence eradicated my previous study and threw me for a most freeing loop, leading to me reading like I do, and I love it.

Turns out they did never make a pack of their own.

To be fair: Despite them speaking with confidence on various aspects of reading as if their words were the law, they not once explicitly claimed to know about tarot.

 

2) You know what?

It is really rare to read that last sentence without feeling an ounce of paternalism from it.

Cheers!

1) No.  Though in this case I was thinking of some different types of teachers I have had, other than Tarot. There aren't any Tarot ones I can complain about...   not yet anyway 😄.

(Oh my goshhhhh!  😱 - better get off my back side and get my deck printed, or else no one will ever believe I know a smidgin about Tarot 🦄).

2) You'd have to excuse it - she is pretty old and has loads of experience to make conclusions from.  🙃🙃🙃.

Thank you for answering.

15 minutes ago, Tanga said:

(Oh my goshhhhh!  😱 - better get off my back side and get my deck printed, or else no one will ever believe I know a smidgin about Tarot 🦄).

You know what the ultimate downside is to the sentence they spoke?

It is no legit statement in a universal sense. Having made your own pack does not equate to knowing a smidgen about handling it.

However, reading with your own pack sure does keep those "Well, I do read that card differently, so to me it must mean blah" away -

It does not.

Packs sync with their readers, even more so if you made them yourself.

It is a good experience.

Please mind that the above is not applicable in a universal sense, for there are styles to read by using the clients associations with a card, which is not my area of expertise.

23 minutes ago, Tanga said:

2) You'd have to excuse it - she is pretty old and has loads of experience to make conclusions from.

Nay.

I do not give (or expect, on that note) credit to old age alone, nor do I value experience by a timely factor.

It is the quality that counts for me, and the quality pointed out is a rare one - sadly.

It is so much needed to foster growth in coming generations!

2 hours ago, Mister said:

Thank you for answering.

You know what the ultimate downside is to the sentence they spoke?

It is no legit statement in a universal sense. Having made your own pack does not equate to knowing a smidgen about handling it.

 

However, reading with your own pack sure does keep those "Well, I do read that card differently, so to me it must mean blah" away -

It does not.

 

Packs sync with their readers, even more so if you made them yourself.

It is a good experience.

 

Please mind that the above is not applicable in a universal sense, for there are styles to read by using the clients associations with a card, which is not my area of expertise.

Nay.

I do not give (or expect, on that note) credit to old age alone, nor do I value experience by a timely factor.

It is the quality that counts for me, and the quality pointed out is a rare one - sadly.

It is so much needed to foster growth in coming generations!

🙃  I hope you do realise that I made these comments with a very big "tongue in cheek".

I have an ironic/satirical sense of humour.

As for my deck - it may or may never get done. My aim was 50, however I am slightly past that now (only slightly 😉)... Lol.

I did make my own. It taught me a great deal - but I don't think it was ESSENTIAL to my tarot development, I really don't. We all develop in our own ways. I was once told that as I didn't read at the time, I should give all my decks away to more deserving people who would use them properly....

8 minutes ago, gregory said:

I was once told that as I didn't read at the time, I should give all my decks away to more deserving people who would use them properly....

🤣😂😆🫠  (insert emoji of me falling off my chair laughing).

This is even more amusing when I consider the size of your collection @gregory.

5 minutes ago, gregory said:

I was once told that as I didn't read at the time, I should give all my decks away to more deserving people who would use them properly....

Made my moment!

Thanks.

And: You got it.

That is the kind of advice those people give.

Alas, such things need way more than just bold words and grand ideas to lead beyond - most of the time, it is hubbub and wishwash.

I also refuse to lay my cards out under the full moon, sleep with them under my pillow (wrerer they will get damaged one way or another !) absolutely respect the wishes of those who WANT to - but - well, if that were necessary - so very many of us here would be so very WRONG !

14 hours ago, Tanga said:

This is even more amusing when I consider the size of your collection @gregory.

That too. A torrent of rage from other members hit the guy - I sat back and watched. He left AT soon afterwards.... I still remember his name as it was a stupid one....

5 hours ago, gregory said:

absolutely respect the wishes of those who WANT to - but - well, if that were necessary

When it comes to what's necessary, there's only few things remaining - and absurdity going against ones affinity is not one of them.

Although embracing the absurd can be an enriching experience, there is little doubt that it is rare for that feat to be part of a readers "body of necessities".

A collection of packs can also be part of a readers "b.o.n.", and that feat is way more common.

2 minutes ago, Mister said:

 

When it comes to what's necessary, there's only few things remaining - and absurdity going against ones affinity is not one of them.

 

Although embracing the absurd can be an enriching experience, there is little doubt that it is rare for that feat to be part of a readers "body of necessities".

A collection of packs can also be part of a readers "b.o.n.", and that feat is way more common.

What is a "b.o.n."?    (Broadcasting Organisation of Nigeria??  🤣  - it's what came up when I googled).

AWWW @gregory - I am so sorry that you are missing the joys of washing/consecrating your cards by the Holey Light Of Diana 🌕👑

And... I think we've hijacked this thread and should maybe start anew elsewhere...  as it is @Grizabella 's blog.

Yeah, @Tanga I second the hijacking-thing.

There certainly was an opening, however, we just might be close to overstaying our welcome, no, @Grizabella?

 The "b.o.n." is the "body of necessities" - every reader has it, and, while there are similarities, much like with affinity, its constitution is unique to each reader.

12 minutes ago, Tanga said:

the Holey Light Of Diana 

That sounds like a dark matter to me...

So, what do we do?

Make a round table thread in the less public space of the forum and have at it?

12 minutes ago, Mister said:

So, what do we do?

Make a round table thread in the less public space of the forum and have at it?

Start a thread in "Tarot Talk & Techniques " under "The Business of Tarot".

I will join you there.

I am not posting on here again now, unless it's continuing on this thread topic.

Questions - PM me 🙂 👋

On 8/26/2025 at 10:13 AM, gregory said:

I did make my own. It taught me a great deal - but I don't think it was ESSENTIAL to my tarot development, I really don't. We all develop in our own ways. I was once told that as I didn't read at the time, I should give all my decks away to more deserving people who would use them properly....

I was surprised when I learned that you had all the decks you had in your collection but that you didn't read Tarot but that was very rude of whoever told you that you should give them all away to people who were more deserving and would enjoy them more. I just thought it would be wonderful to see your collection.

I didn't think anyone was hijacking my thread, so it's just fine no matter what was being discussed here.  I've been back many times but have been distracted by the fact that I've been moving and I get interrupted so my train of thought was derailed before I could contribute anything myself.

I got my copy of The Holistic Tarot many years ago.  Up to then, I'd only read a few tarot-related books.  Hers was the first one I read that dealt very clearly with the 'ethics' of tarot reading ...a topic I hadn't really considered before. She also went into a lot of detail about setting up a tarot business, which was also new to me. This is a topic I find interesting, although I have no plans to ever do this myself.

I thought her book was incredibly comprehensive and helpful.  It was more like a reference book than a chatty here's-how-to-do-it-kind of book, and WELL worth the money.  It was easy to find a chapter or section in the book that offered me the kind of information I was looking for at any given time.

There are large portions of the book I don't use ...I'm not into tarot reading using mathematical calculations, etc ...but I still take it down and read portions of it fairly often.  It always gets me thinking.  I think it's a superb effort from Benebel Wen.  My philosophy about tarot is slightly different from hers, but that's no drawback.  There are many ways to accept and work with tarot, and she acknowledges that.

I always find something very interesting and thought provoking in this book.  And I'm going to try some of the spreads---especially the Grand Tableau. I don't use reversals, but there are things in this book about that that I want to explore too.  

I keep commenting on the research she must have done to write this book because I've always written, sometimes for money, and I know that to write a book this big and with all this information was no small feat. Just the research to get all this information together would take quite a long time. It's a massive amount of information just to collect, much less organize and make a huge manuscript from.  

On 8/25/2025 at 11:11 PM, Grizabella said:

 

I don't know why I didn't go ahead and finish posting on this and then  didn't.  Now, 2/3 of the way through September, I have no clue what I was going to say.