Best Tarot Books

[Guest]

10 hours ago, Mister said:

Meditations on the Tarot: A journey into Christian Hermeticism (Monsieur outre Tombe)

One of the most 'brilliant' books on tarot I've come across. It does not deal in meanings or spreads, but there is a ton of things to digest in this tome.

You need not be of christian inclination in order to read it, an open mind suffices.

 

This is my favorite too. It gets quite dense in some places but it's very much worth it. 

[Mister]

17 hours ago, Akhilleus said:

This is my favorite too. It gets quite dense in some places but it's very much worth it. 

 

And here I thought mentioning the book was a surefire way to be excluded from what considers itself tarot community.

Nice surprise!

It is indeed good.

However, contrary to what I did state before, I do feel that perhaps it may need a bit more than an open mind in order to not be repelled.

The author did have high hopes for the evolution of the catholic church - something which I fancy to think of as it beeing a stance of the past.

Still, if you are used to using your own brain, there should not be a problem with the read.

[MichaelH]

I have Benebell Wen's Holistic Tarot and made a start with it but found it too difficult for the level I was at then. I may go back to it and start again at some stage maybe later this year.

 

My favourite books are:

 

Nancy Hendrikson Ancestral Tarot. I'm currently working my way through this book and it has been a revelation for me. It involves using Tarot to look back into our past, including our genetic family and wider ancestors. Not for beginners but definitely recommended by me for anyone interested in uncovering their heritage.

 

Alison Cross Tarot Kaizen. A week by week working through a Tarot deck that you might not have totally clicked with. I'm working my way through it with the Ancestral Path Tarot. It has some lovely exercises and techniques to start to love the deck that you choose. It's not at all heavy but a light and elegant set of tools to broaden your intuition.

 

Sasha Graham 365 Tarot Spreads. A spread for every day of the year. Real fun to read and plan a tarot journey.

 

Joan Bunning The Big Book of Tarot. An indispensable reference tool and one that I wouldn't be without.

 

Mary K. Greer Tarot for Your Self. I mostly read for myself so this is an ideal book for that purpose. I love this book and highly recommend it.

 

Mary K. Greer Archetypal Tarot. A bit of overlap with Tarot for Your Self but more focused on the numerology, names and recurring patterns of years and dates.

 

All these are available on Kindle.

 

 

[Chariot]

On 1/11/2023 at 4:01 PM, Nemia said:

I hope you like it, please let me know what you think! 

I just received my print copy of Josephine McCarthy's Tarot Skills for the 21st Century today, and am very impressed—although I've only reached page 28 thus far.  I'm already taking notes, as she's thrown out several very useful ideas.  For example, I like the notion that The Fool—numbered Zero—is not the start of the tarot journey, but actually the state of limbo before the journey starts. An interesting notion, which makes sense when you think of the numbering system of the Major Arcana.

She also thinks there probably should be the equivalent of The Fool card that comes after The World as well—an old person, much like The Hermit—but who steps off the cliff without a dog yapping at his heels to give warning, and he is no longer carrying any belongings.  This is again a person in a state of limbo, but one who has lived through the journey and has accumulated wisdom and experience to take with them into the void.  He will be changed by the experience, but not burdened by it.

I'd say this book a great addition to anybody's tarot library.  Her research into the origins of the tarot seems very focused.  The history of The Tarot is not a subject I'm normally interested in, because it tends to be so muddled and conjectured, but she nails it for me.

She does not, apparently, use reversals in her readings ...and I do. She uses the placement of the card in the spread to indicate whether the card's 'positive' or 'negative' aspects should be assumed.  I will continue to use reversals, though.  There are too many neutral positions in a spread that I wouldn't want to have to guess at.

Edited January 18, 2023 by Chariot

[TarotSparks]

I was amazed with the '78 Degrees of Wisdom' by Rachel Pollack when I first read it. The symbolism and explanations she used in the book had quite a few aha moments for me, but at that time I was very new to exploring tarot.. Of course, later on, when I researched symbolism, there are amazing websites that cover symbolism much better and most of all extensively compared to hers.  In addition to that, I think her lifepath is amazing, very brave and she seems like a super strong woman.        

[LoriaKai]

• Tarot 101 - Kim Huggens. I still go back to this book years later. Lots of thought-provoking exercises, and I love the way the cards are organised by shared themes. Really useful to think about the links between them.
• The Marseille Tarot Revealed - Yoav Ben-Dov. I like the in-depth look at the symbolism, though I'm not sure I agree with every one of his interpretations.
• Holistic Tarot - Benebell Wen. I find I get something new out of this every time I come back to it. It's great for dipping in and out of. As someone already mentioned, the free resources on her website are useful additions for readers of different levels of experience. 
• Understanding Aleister Crowley's Thoth Tarot - Lon Milo DuQuette. This is a newer one for me, but particularly enjoying the breakdown of the symbolism in each card.

[Mikhalia]

A Complete Guide to the Tarot - Eden Gray

This is an older book but you can find used copies pretty easily and it also comes in Kindle format. I did a quick search on Amazon and it looks like it is still in print. I have seen Mary K and Rachel P both mentioned here as valued authors and I fully agree but did you know that both studied under Eden Gray decades ago? I am not 100% but I think Barbara Moore also attended some of her classes. I see her as the grandmother of modern tarot LOL It is a nice little peek into the recent history of tarot which can be just as valuable as the distant past.

 

I second the recommendation of Tarot Deciphered: Decoding Esoteric Symbolism in Modern Tarot by T. Susan Chang and M.M. Meleen.

It was born from their podcast "Fortune's Wheelhouse" which is still available and they interchange quite well for those who need to "hear" things to make full sense of them. It is a very dense book, you could probably use it as a self-defense weapon or as the authors joked "a doorstop". It comes in physical and ebook formats and is still in print. It is one of the rare books out there that look at RWS and Thoth simultaneously and does a decent job of it. 

 

Understanding the Tarot Court by Mary K Greer and Tom Little.

I found this an invaluable read, most companion books or guidebooks speak of the court cards as people or personalities in your life/situation. This book tackles the age-old question of "How do you read Court Cards?" that many readers struggle with. It goes in-depth into the standard people/personalities but also expands into traits, events, and situations, it truly does an amazing job of showing how you can practically use them as non-people.

 

My last recommendation is not a book because I have yet to find one that explains this subject clearly and concisely. This is a website about the Elemental Dignities that is quite in-depth and offers valuable insights. It is written by published author Catherine Chapman.

 

Elemental Dignities Dictionary

[Guest]

On 3/31/2023 at 6:42 AM, LoriaKai said:

• Tarot 101 - Kim Huggens. I still go back to this book years later. Lots of thought-provoking exercises, and I love the way the cards are organised by shared themes. Really useful to think about the links between them.
• The Marseille Tarot Revealed - Yoav Ben-Dov. I like the in-depth look at the symbolism, though I'm not sure I agree with every one of his interpretations.
• Holistic Tarot - Benebell Wen. I find I get something new out of this every time I come back to it. It's great for dipping in and out of. As someone already mentioned, the free resources on her website are useful additions for readers of different levels of experience. 
• Understanding Aleister Crowley's Thoth Tarot - Lon Milo DuQuette. This is a newer one for me, but particularly enjoying the breakdown of the symbolism in each card.

 

I like how you have at least one book for each of the RWS-Thoth-Marseille trifecta. 

[LoriaKai]

6 hours ago, Akhilleus said:

 

I like how you have at least one book for each of the RWS-Thoth-Marseille trifecta. 

Thanks, I was trying to give a fair selection between them 😄

[Natural Mystic Guide]

On 8/20/2022 at 5:06 PM, Chariot said:

It's a large book, but I would recommend a person get hold of a printed copy.  I can't imagine trying to use this book via a Kindle-type version. This is a detailed reference book, and you will want to jump between sections quite often, including the various Appendices and Index, to look up a specific topic.

 

 

I'm loving this book, too,  I am moving through it fairly systematically and following Benebell's accompanying course guidelines.  I'm starting from the Beginner's level although with 20+ years of professional Tarot reading I fall into the 'expert' category.  I don't want to miss anything and I'm getting so much out of it.  I'm just thrilled, in general, to have finally found a teacher who engages me.  Rachel Pollack, of blessed memory, was that for me, too.

 

Living in Indonesia, it just is not practical to wait the 6 - 12 months that it might take for a printed, physical book to reach me.  Plus I live in a very small place with limited shelf space.  So I am delighted to be able to work with the Kindle version.  Aside from the pages from the class recommendations not matching the pages on the Kindle edition I am finding it quite easy to move around and find what I want.  So I am very grateful that it is available on Kindle.

 

I encourage all serious learners of Tarot -- at whatever level of experience -- to do a deep dive into Holistic Tarot and anything else that Benebell Wen produces.  Just fabulous.  Meaty.  Thought provoking.  Innovative.  I'm loving this stuff!

[Lovebird]

I really loved reading Mary K Greer reversals tarot book, and Understanding the tarot Court by her as well. I read it so many years ago... 

 

The book Tarot Interactions by Deborah Lipp was very enjoyable for me as well. 

 

 

Edited April 2 by Lovebird

[hjasmine]

I like the Ultimate book by Biddy tarot. It is interesting and I enjoy it very much.