not useful for the beginner
Rich with symbolism, tarot cards are perhaps the most popular self-discovery/divinition tools available. There are literally hundreds of different decks available today, from the sublime to the rediculous. However, they are a difficult tool to use and require many hours of dedication, practice and study to use them effectively.

"Alphabet of the Tarot" is billed as being for the beginner. In the video, Rosemary Taylor, a tarot reader of many years, takes the beginner through an actual spread (the popular Celtic Cross), readings for some of her students, walks the viewer through the symbolism of the major arcana, and answers common questions.

However, I found the whole video to be 53 poorly organized minutes of the very tip of the tip of the iceburg, where tarot is concerned. In the first instance, she begins the video with an actual reading of a student's cards and concentrates on the meaning of the positions of the cards. It is only after this that she begins to discuss the symbolism of the major arcana. I found this to be terribly confusing because in practically every book I've read on the Tarot, from C.G. Jung's writings to "The Complete Idiot's Guide to the Tarot", the beginner is FIRST introduced to the cards, THEN to the spreads and what the individual cards mean in what position. I think it is more important to intimately know each card-in BOTH the major and minor arcana-before even worrying about the placement of the cards in the spread.

When the major arcana was finally discussed, it was done so in an astrological manner: The Fool aligned with Uranus, The Emperor aligned with Mars, etc. Not only was the symbolism of the cards glossed over very, very quickly, but the cards themselves were taken out of order: 13 followed by 20 followed by 3, etc. For any newcomer to the tarot, this must come across as profoundly confusing, for the major arcana symbolise a persons journey through life, beginning with the carefree Fool and ending as the fully-integrated World. This would be the equivalent of telling your life story by jumping all over in time, back and forth and back again, in your history. The end result, of course, would be a totally confused audience. This aspect of the major arcana-the soul's journey through life-- was totally absent in this video.

I think what happened was that the director/author of the video tried to squeeze FAR too much into one 53 minute tape. 400+ page books have been written about the major arcana alone, so to reduce the symbolism of these cards to a 40-second soundbite is likely to leave a beginner far more confused than enlightened. To begin with the spreads, gloss over the major arcana (totally ignoring the bulk of the deck which represents everyday life, the minor arcana), and end with questions & answers is a recipe for total confusion. I actually had to reexplain almost everything the video covered to a friend of mine after we turned the tape off. A suggestion would be to have the video in a series: a part on the major arcana, a part on the minor, and a part on the spreads; not all of it at once jumbled together in less than an hour.

Lest I sound like an old crank, let me finish by saying that the video is probably going to make the most sense to intermediate-to-advanced readers. People who know the symbolism of the cards and who have had some experience with them will get the most out of this video. Newbies and beginners will most likely find this tape confusing. If you're just starting out in tarot, don't start here. Pick up something more organized and clear, like "The Complete Idiot's Guide to the Tarot and Fortune Telling." Leave this video for much later when you have a greater understanding of the cards.