I've bought this book with expectations of getting loads of information in it, and was somewhat disappointed by it.
The book suffers from several problems :
- The book is a hard reading - Waite's style is obfuscated, which makes the non-trivial material harder to understand.
- Waite doesnt tell the whole truth, and not even half of it, not to mention the inclusion of misinformation. Examples include unexplained symbols (symbols on charioteer's belt, the fool's clothings, and many others), desciption of the emptress being 'virgo intacta', etc.
- Some of the cards' descriptions contradict, or at least appear to contradict, the pictures on the cards.
- Waite borrows a lot from earlier writers, but then goes on to pass criticism on his sources and belittles them.
So the book has to be read very carefuly, criticaly, and with a lot of patience. And those who do so *will* gain - the book is better than many of the instant tarot reading guides, giving truer and deeper information from the horse's mouth.
I suggest people to read this book, but *not* as the first book on the deck, and preferably along with other material (e.g. books about the golden dawn, tarot history, or symbolism).