(North Atlantic Books available via Llewellyn)

When this 874 page book arrived it took my breath away, the sheer volume of content was overwhelming.  Apparently it took Benebell 3 years to write, to be honest it will probably take me 3 years to read.    However, on further inspection and glancing through the many chapters in the book, I realise this is a book every tarot lover must own.  It covers pretty much everything and anything you want to know about Tarot and beyond.

The book has detailed spreads with excellent diagrams, case studies and a whole plethora of subjects which Benebell has associated and connected to tarot which you may, or may not find interesting.    It has loads of information, advice, history, symbolism, numerology and so on, really too much to mention, and for me life is too short and busy too get stuck in to this book. That said, it is a book I will pick up from time to time if I need information over and above my own knowledge, or looking for something different (a BA Gua spread maybe).    The negative for me is there is too much packed within one book, the positive aspect, if you love reading and love tarot, then everything you will ever need to know is here.

I found the book challenging mainly because of brain overload, but as I said above, use it as you need.  I am not sure why it is called Holistic Tarot as it seems quite left brain, but to be fair I have only skimmed the pages.  However, if you love tarot, this is a must for the book shelf and you will not be disappointed with the content.  This book is aimed at intermediate to advanced readers.