Book Review: Making Tarot Magic by Briana Saussy

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I have never been particularly interested in tarot, preferring other means of divination such as runes or pendulums, but Briana Saussy may have changed my mind with her book Making Tarot Magic: Rituals & Remedies to Transform Readings into Actions.

Making Tarot Magic opens with a basic introduction explaining the contents of the book, its formatting, as well as basic principles of magic such as magical tools, timing, colors, etc. She also, surprisingly, includes an entire section dedicated to disposal methods of spell remains, something often left out of introductory texts. If you are new to witchcraft and magic, this section is definitely for you, but even if you are a seasoned practitioner, like myself, I still found new and interesting information as Saussy includes her personal praxis throughout the introduction. I am sure you too will be surprised by what you find.

The heart of Making Tarot Magic, however, is Saussy's discussion of the 8 'conditions' or categories people commonly ask questions about: love, personal success, business success, healing, legal issues, fertility/pregnancy, baneful work, and protection. Each chapter delves into each of these conditions through the lens of tarot, exploring how the cards can help you not only better understand your situation, but also inform the magical actions you take to ensure your desired outcome. Saussy does this by describing how each card within the deck, from the major to the minor arcana, can be interpreted based on the condition being read for, as the meaning slightly changes with each. I love this approach and wish more tarot books understood this. Often we are only given blanket statements and vague interpretations, which can be confusing to new readers, especially as they relate to specific needs and questions. Saussy offers a much more in-depth guide, especially for the major arcana, which also include magical techniques you can employ along with intentions to set to ensure your success or desired outcome. Absolutely love this! 10 out of 10.

These chapters contain more than just card interpretations, though. Throughout, you will also find |further development tasks" to encourage you to work through the text and develop your own meanings and understandings. These tasks do assume some foundational knowledge of spell work, so if you are brand new, you are going to need some additional texts or resources to help you. Each chapter ends with some spells you can employ related to the readings and work you are doing. Spells include such things as using a lodestone to attract love, creating a vessel for peace at work, and even working with a cow tongue to stop gossip. Like myself, Saussy believes in combining magical and mundane means to ensure your desired outcome, something I think new witches often forget. You can't work magic for a new job then do nothing to find a new one. However, some of the spells require harder-to-come-by ingredients which may be inaccessible to many practitioners. Fret not, however, because many of these ingredients she calls to be worked with can be substituted.

Some other important aspects to note about Making Tarot Magic are how inclusive the text is. For example, in Chapter 2 on love, Saussy includes both LGBTQIA2+ and polyamory in love magic, which is wonderful because queer relationships are often left out of most love magics. She also discusses fertility, pregnancy, and birth not just literally but also metaphorically. An artist creating is a form of fertility/pregnancy/birth, which is inclusive of those who have chosen or are incapable of bearing children. Finally, Saussy encourages the reader to determine what security looks like for you as it is related to prosperity. Usually, what abundance comes down to differs for each person because it is based on feeling secure. This is a powerful message that can help inform your magical practice in a deeply profound way, one I think is generally overlooked by other resources, including my own.

Despite the inclusivity, however, there is at least one mention of smudging with sage, which is a closed practice. I was very disappointed to see this, especially considering there were no alternatives mentioned. For those of you not part of the traditions, I suggest finding other cleansing means.

Even with this singular flaw, I highly recommend Making Tarot Magic: Rituals & Remedies to Transform Readings into Actions by Briana Saussy, even if you are not particularly interested in tarot. This very well may be the turning point, and no matter what, there is so much valuable information within its pages that you are sure to walk away with something new.

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