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Red Feather (an imprint with Schiffer Publishing) sent over the brand new book, Mastering the Tarot Tableau: Revisiting Predictive Accuracy with Tarot by Toni Savory for me to review and share with you. I’ve been taking several online divination classes with Toni this year, so it’s perfect that her book just dropped!

I just completed her 10 week 19^th Century Spreads class, and I’ve completed most of her Lenormand classes from Level 1 through Level 5. She’s one of the best Lenormand readers I’ve ever come across. If you want to learn Lenormand, she is my go to referral for tackling that divination system. As a diviner, I find it fascinating to study all the different systems out there even though tarot is and will always be my true love!

Ever since I learned the grand tableau method used in reading Lenormand where you lay the full deck of 36 cards out in a large spread, I’ve wanted to translate that into a method for reading tarot, and this book helps to learn that exact approach. So, I jumped at the chance to review this book the moment Toni announced its release. This tableau-style of reading opens up our ability to read narratively and will add layers to your readings quickly. Learning to read how the cards interact with each other gives us more precise messages as the story begins to flow from one card to the next.

Toni says, “The tableau method turns every reading into a rich storytelling experience, shedding light on relationships, fortunes, and everyday occurrences. Discover how directionality and position add new layers of meaning to familiar cards, making your readings more dynamic and precise.”

Mastering the Tarot Tableau helps you master Tarot fundamentals, understand card meanings within the tableau context, learn both beginner and advanced tableau techniques, build compelling narratives in your interpretations, explore card interactions and positional significance using directional interpretations, and decode the impact of major arcana, minor arcana, and tarot court cards.

With this book, Toni offers practical advice on how to increase the precision of your interpretations and improve the predictive accuracy of your spreads. I can attest to this as it has enhanced my readings in every way already. People wonder how I can be so precise and accurate with my tarot readings, and it is because I consistently learn from the best teachers and work tirelessly to integrate all of that wisdom into techniques that work for me. I have my own style of reading for healing clients and for my current events/political readings on my Substack, and I’ve honed that style over years of study under teachers like Toni! And Toni is one of the most effective and hardest working teachers we have in the divination community right now. She’s always creating a new class that’s both fun and informative. I simply don’t know where she finds the time to fit it all in.

She always has a way of bridging classic cartomancy techniques with modern applications. She speaks plainly and directly so that you quickly grasp the concept and can easily see how it can apply to your own reading style. Toni’s proficiency with the cards in so many systems is astonishing to me. She’s an expert in so many modalities and has a way of making it look easy. I love to watch her read. She’s always finding new ways of distilling a reading system to make it approachable for all reading skill levels. That is not such an easy feat, trust me. Reading cards expertly is one thing, teaching those methods is a whole other ball game and she does both flawlessly. Her effective teaching technique extends to the written word, too, as this book was easy to follow and understand, easily digestible, and immensely insightful and informative.

Tony says, “Unlock the secrets of the Tarot with Mastering the Tarot Tableau, a revolutionary approach to Tarot reading that transforms card spreads into vivid narratives of the querent’s life. Unlike traditional Tarot spread methods, the tableau style involves laying cards out in a sequenced grid called a tableau. This instructive manual delves deep into this captivating technique, revealing how card sequence, influence, and movement can be interpreted for a narrative-driven reading with remarkable insights and accuracy.”

One of the things Toni excels at is pulling information out of a spread using directionality – examining which figures are facing each other or away from each other, which cards sit on top of or beneath other cards, how the energy flows within the rows of the spread, etc. This allows you to unveil the interpersonal dynamics of the figures present in the spread, offering you a deeper level to your reads. You will be amazed at how much more information this technique adds to your interpretation. 

The way the cards interact will reveal the connections between the figures in your tableau and will show if their relationship is strong or if there is trouble brewing. The placement of the figures in the tableau will even tell you who is in control in the relationship, and it will reveal which situations or issues the person has control over and which issues are weighing heavily on them. After adding this technique to my spreads a few years ago after taking her Lenormand classes, I noticed how much more information I was able to glean from each spread. And this book helped me elevate that skill to a whole new level. I was so excited to dive in and throw several tableaus as soon as I read those chapters.

Toni offers plenty of examples using real tableau spreads so that we can see this method in action. I always learn better through visual examples. The full color example readings and indepth descriptions and interpretations in this book allow you to walk through the technique to help you master the steps before practicing on your own topics. Her sample walkthroughs explain the technique thoroughly in easy-to-understand language. 

This is a tarot resource for readers at most levels and especially for intermediate and advanced readers who want to deepen the information they pull out of their spreads. Beginners can also use this book, tackling these helpful methods early on in their training. However, you might want to get a few months of reading under your belt first. For me, it helped that I had a mastery of tarot before taking several Lenormand classes that helped me learn the grand tableau method first, before tackling this application with the tarot cards. This also helped me to understand the techniques used in interpreting tableaus such as knighting, mirroring, and reading diagonals. But Toni does cover each of these methods in this book. So, if you are an eager and ambitious beginner, dive in!

I’m certain this method will elevate your readings as much as it has mine, helping us to pull out richer interpretations for the topics we want to explore further. My readings are always more insightful after mastering new techniques to deepen my understanding of the cards. It’s one of the reasons I continue to push myself by taking classes every year. And this book is like taking a masterclass on tarot reading that bumps your reading skills up to the next level in one sitting!

As you begin to practice with this method, Toni provides a basic tableau spread consisting of 9 cards (called a box spread) to get you used to examining the cards in relation to each other. This allows you to start small and practice first while you are learning the ins and outs of this tableau technique. Once you gain confidence with this method, you can move up to the next level and work your way up to the grand tableau as you feel comfortable. By the end of this book, you will have mastered several new techniques for a multi-layered reading approach. 

She also offers meanings for each card for inauspicious and auspicious positions to help you decipher the messages of the spreads you will pull as you read along. Reversals aren’t used in tableau readings because it will be clear if the card carries a negative connotation versus a positive one based on their placement. Thus, Toni uses the terms “auspicious” for positive meanings and “inauspicious” for negative meanings. It all depends on the direction the figure in the card is facing. If you know tarot, you know that some of the figures face left, some face right, and some face straight-forward. Toni puts a huge emphasis on this aspect of the cards, and this approach directs where our narration of the story starts. And of course, this differs from deck to deck, so you work from the images and artwork of the deck you are using, not just what the Rider Waite Smith Tarot depicts.

Auspicious cards are those placed ahead of the card (if that figure is facing that way), and this highlights situations in their life that will be easily managed within the set time frame for the tableau. Inauspicious cards are those positioned behind the figure (meaning the figure is NOT facing that direction), highlighting difficulties within the querent’s life. They will find these issues more difficult to manage. Using this directional technique alone helps to give you so much more clarity on how to read the meaning of the cards and which cards reveal the challenges you or the querent will face.

By the end of this reference book, after covering each technique thoroughly, Toni walks you through a full tableau interpretation and offers you a step-by-step reading approach to extract as much information as you can from one tableau. If you’ve ever wondered how a pro dissects a spread, this book offers you a look behind the curtain as she works. 

If you are ready to elevate your tarot readings and want to add to your toolset, this masterful book is for you. It’s a must read if you want to become a pro and read the cards for others. It’s going on my list of the best tarot references that I will recommend to new readers. Add depth to your readings using Toni’s tried and true methods of divining. She’ll have you unearthing the answers to your burning questions within just a few chapters. That’s money well spent. 

As Ethony Dawn said in her review of this book, “If you’re ready to explore tarot’s richness with Lenormand’s clarity, this is the must-have book for your collection.” 

Thanks to Red Feather for sending this book over. It’s going to help sharpen my tarot readings for sure. Buy the book here using my affiliate link. It’s an amazing price at just $19.99! You can’t beat that price for something that will instantly improve your ability to read the cards! 

And if you love this book, you must check out her selection of divination courses on worlddivination.com – there’s a ton of classes for any divination system you can think of. Challenge yourself every year by continuing to improve your reading skills, and you will see a significant difference in the quality of your spreads. 

About the Author 

Toni Savory, founder of the World Divination Association and author of The Card Geek’s Guide to Kipper and the Rainbow Kipper, has studied cartomancy and divination in England, France, and Germany. She lives with her two boys and her partner, Jane, in the UK. She has a YouTube channel under the name The Card Geek where she shares tutorials for all kinds of divination systems such as Tarot, Lenormand, Kipper, etc. She also teaches classes in all of those systems through the World Divination Association. Check those out here

Learn more about the tarot court cards with a brand new podcast episode of Healing Thru Tarot that dropped 5/5/25

Ep. 62: Psychological Profiles for the Cups Court Cards w/ Archetype Examples + Emotion Regulation Spread

In this episode, I’ve constructed psychological profiles for each of the court cards in the cups suit including positive and negative personality traits and a list of psychological conditions I think would be most prominent with this suit. These profiles will help us understand these court cards at a deeper level. And at the end of the episode, I’ll share the Emotion Regulation Spread I created that was inspired by the traits and characteristics of the Cups suit.I’ve already covered the swords court cards in Ep. 56, the pentacles court cards in Ep. 58, and the wands court cards in Ep. 60. 

Catch up on all those episodes to master the tarot court and become a better tarot reader. I always provide a custom spread for each podcast episode to get you slinging cards on your own too for practice! There’s also a Healing Thru Tarot companion blog that I post on my website healingthrutarot.com where I also post tarot and oracle deck reviews.

Healing Thru Tarot is available on apple podcasts, spotify, pandora, amazon music, audible, pocket casts, goodpods, and more. Check it out here 🎙️

My Novels

Check out The Divining Sisters Series here.

If you're looking for a good witchy book check out my fictional divination book series, The Divining Sisters. Start with book 1 in the series, The Call of the Cards, and then catch up on the rest of the series: book 2, We Divine Three book 3, The Threads of Fate, and book 4, The Unbinding

They're available as eBooks and paperbacks on Amazon. And the eBooks are also on Barnes and Noble, Apple Books, Google Play, Kobo, Scribd, Smash words, and more. The eBooks are just $4.99. Find out more details on my novels on my author website author.heatherhardison.com - where I post updates on book releases, video book trailers, book blurbs and quotes, as well as fun things like my Spotify playlists for each book. I carefully curate those to express the energy of each book.

This series follows a group of women (witches, healers, diviners) who reincarnate lifetime after lifetime and reunite with their coven so they can fulfill a mission of keeping their craft of divination, healing, and magic alive for future generations. 

Book Blurb for Book 1: The Call of the Cards 

Alexandra Steele, a clinical psychologist, stumbles upon a mystical store in downtown, Memphis, TN, where she encounters tarot cards for the first time. She doesn't realize it at the time, but this simple encounter will leave her life forever changed as she uncovers a world of past life connections to the cards and the craft of divination. This sparks an awakening that opens door after door of a long line of mystic and witch incarnations that run throughout her history. As she reconnects to these deep mystical ties, she begins to learn about her destiny, which is revealed as she starts to encounter coven sisters and foes from previous incarnations. Will her tendency to hide in the shadows and play small continue to hold her back or will the call of the cards lure her onto her destined path of a life full of magic and sisterhood?

Readers are raving about the series like these 5 star amazon and google play reviews 

"Absolutely Unique! Resonated so much!" 

"Life-changing. I felt seen. I don't think I've had this experience with any other book."

“The metaphysical series I've been waiting for! I was hooked from the beginning and even found myself slowing down because I want it to last. The characters are so relatable and genuine, and the explanations of tarot readings and past life stories is spot on! I'm eagerly awaiting the next ones. Please please, Heather, keep writing.” 

Readers call it "Harry Potter for adults."

If you get a copy, please leave a book review on whatever platform you buy it on if you enjoy it. That really helps me out and can help get my book in front of more readers. And if you love it please also review it on goodreads.

If you follow me on Instagram, you’ll see updates on the book releases there. I have 2 instagram accounts My tarot and podcast account - healingthrutarot My author account heatherhardisonauthor

Watch the book trailer for The Divining Sisters Series

Healing Thru Tarot's Spread Ebook Line

A Spread for All Seasons - 17 custom spreads

Healing and Mental Health Spreads Vol. 1 - 15 custom spreads

Healing and Mental Health Spreads Vol. 2- 15 9-card spreads

Shadow Work Spreads and Workbook - 20 spreads

Healing Thru Tarot’s Life Path and Life Purpose spread ebook includes 15 custom spreads I’ve created to help you identify and align with your life path and sail to success. Spreads like the life path alignment spread, lightwork path guidance spread, conquering obstacles on my path spread, advice from my future self-spread and karmic healing path spread will help you position yourself to step into your full power and achieve the purpose you incarnated to fulfill. Plus many more spreads offering guidance and advice to get on path and stay on track.

Click here to purchase any of these spread ebooks