Gift Ideas (Good Year ‘Round!)
Even with all of the various economic uncertainties and disasters of the year, we’re all inspired at this time of year to do *something* for those we love (or like, or just work with). Tarot Pathways presents our 2008 Holiday Gift Guide (Good The Year ‘Round, Not Just in December!).
A Gift of Self
The best possible gift of all (if your recipient is open): a Tarot reading, with you or someone you trust and respect. This is a gift of your time, skills, wisdom, and love – especially if you are doing the reading. I understand that there are probably people in your life to whom you could not offer such a gift (your boss, perhaps, or someone whose personal beliefs do not accommodate Tarot), but for the people who can accept such a gift, it’s quite meaningful.
Where to Shop
If your recipient would love a new deck, the one and only place to shop is, of course, The Tarot Garden. This is especially helpful if you are trying to track down a deck that is long out of print, or if you’re in a position to give something unusual and special.
Contemplating giving a book? I understand the lure of Amazon.com – fast, easy, and having infinite inventory. However, we at Tarot Pathways strongly encourage you to support your local independent bookseller. Amazon is great for doing research – and it’s very kind of them to offer server space for your family and friends to store their wish lists – but a good local bookseller is a treasure. Not sure who your local is? Not sure what kind of books they carry? You can check www.BookSense.com and find out! Don’t have a local favorite, or you’re not comfortable ordering Tarot from them? We highly recommend Fields Books in San Francisco. Providing insight and information to seekers since 1932, Fields offers an astonishing range of books, plus calendars and fun items, and all available for mail order. If they don’t have it, they can special order it! David, Ellen, Esther, and Heidi are knowledgeable, friendly, and have suggestions if you’re not sure where to start.
Specific Gift Ideas:
We admit to a bit of bias here, but we’re wild about the 21st Century Tarot DVD with James Wanless, Ph.D., “Tarot Into The Light”. We think it’s a great introduction to Tarot in general, and James and the Voyager deck in particular. And how often do you have an uninterrupted hour with a Tarot teacher?
If you’re looking for additional Tarot DVDs, we also recommend Joseph Ernest Martin‘s DVD on Learning the Celtic Cross, featuring his wonderful Quest Tarot. (See our review for more information.)
We also really enjoy Dan Pelletier’s audiobook of The Process. We recently recorded a podcast with Dan, which will be up soon, as well as a full review of the audiobook.
And, for this year’s Ultimate Cool Tarot Deck, we cannot say enough about Emily Carding‘s Transparent Tarot. This fantastic deck is available through Schffer Books and your local independent bookseller. (Yes, you can buy it on Amazon.com, but please consider before doing so – Amazon offers discounts because they pay the publisher less for the goods – which means the author receives less for their work.) Podcast with Emily coming soon. You can read our deck review for a sneak preview. In the meantime, check out Schffer Books and see for yourself!