Quinn64 Posted June 30, 2022 Posted June 30, 2022 Hello all! I have spent a lot of time looking for easy, beginner's tarot books. My head is spinning and I still do not have a book. Can you guys recommend a good one? Since I am a beginner, I do not need, as a first book, anything more than the basics and what each card means. I have experience with divination decks so I understand how a spread works but the tarot is completely new to me. Thank you for any help you can provide. Quinn
RunningWild Posted June 30, 2022 Posted June 30, 2022 1 hour ago, Quinn64 said: Hello all! I have spent a lot of time looking for easy, beginner's tarot books. My head is spinning and I still do not have a book. Can you guys recommend a good one? Since I am a beginner, I do not need, as a first book, anything more than the basics and what each card means. I have experience with divination decks so I understand how a spread works but the tarot is completely new to me. Thank you for any help you can provide. Quinn Hi Quinn. Welcome to the forum. I can understand being overwhelmed by the number of books available. Have you looked at online resources? This forum has a lot of good information on it. Below is a link to one that's easy to follow. Biddy Tarot As far as beginner's type of books, I can't find it right now. I'm no good and finding things in the search engine, but there is a list of books people recommend for every Tarot reader's library.
fire cat pickles Posted June 30, 2022 Posted June 30, 2022 (edited) Welcome to the forum! Eileen Connolly's A New Handbook for the Apprentice is the book I "grew up on." It's a bit outdated, but it has excellent meanings for each card. You can go as in depth as you want to in your practice, or you can skip straight to the meanings. She has a poem you can memorize for each card (and reversals, if you want to use reversals). It's easily found in a Google search and the prices range from $5 to $16 or so. Here's a sample page of the 4 of Cups: Edited July 1, 2022 by fire cat pickles
DanielJUK Posted July 1, 2022 Posted July 1, 2022 Hi @Quinn64 I've moved your topic to the main tarot discussion area and out of the individual card meanings section as it will fit better here 🙂 @fire cat pickles I've had that book on a shelf next to my bed for like 20 years! It's a really good reference book and well laid out to refer to
Rosa Posted July 1, 2022 Posted July 1, 2022 I don't want to discourage you but Biddy and a lot of other websites may teach the meanings of the cards, but they will set you up with bad habits as well. The Pictorial Key is a must for any beginner and browse the site here for some good books.
gregory Posted July 1, 2022 Posted July 1, 2022 I agree with Rosa (again !) If you want to run with meanings and no added habits, Thirteen's are the way to go https://www.aeclectic.net/tarot/learn/meanings/ If PKT is too heavy for you (some find it so), there are good books that won't lead you into their author's way of doing things on the side. I like Barbara Moore for that. And Tarot Tells the Tale by James Ricklef is quite brilliant. It's been expanded since: https://smile.amazon.co.uk/Tarot-Reading-Explained-James-Ricklef-ebook/dp/B00FRRT796/ref=sr_1_5?qi
Ix Chel Posted July 1, 2022 Posted July 1, 2022 (edited) I would go for Barbara Moore. She has books for beginners (Tarot for beginners & Your Tarot Your way). Edited July 1, 2022 by Ix Chel
fire cat pickles Posted July 1, 2022 Posted July 1, 2022 1 hour ago, gregory said: I agree with Rosa (again !) If you want to run with meanings and no added habits, Thirteen's are the way to go https://www.aeclectic.net/tarot/learn/meanings/ If PKT is too heavy for you (some find it so), there are good books that won't lead you into their author's way of doing things on the side. I like Barbara Moore for that. And Tarot Tells the Tale by James Ricklef is quite brilliant. It's been expanded since: https://smile.amazon.co.uk/Tarot-Reading-Explained-James-Ricklef-ebook/dp/B00FRRT796/ref=sr_1_5?qi I third this. Biddy Tarot is awful. There are great free sites that have been around for years if you prefer the virtual route: http://learntarot.com/ Though, yes, Thirteen is amazing...
gregory Posted July 1, 2022 Posted July 1, 2022 57 minutes ago, fire cat pickles said: I third this. Biddy Tarot is awful. And there I was politely NOT saying that... 57 minutes ago, fire cat pickles said: There are great free sites that have been around for years if you prefer the virtual route: http://learntarot.com/ Though, yes, Thirteen is amazing... Indeed. You can actually still buy her ebook - it is well worth the whatever it costs now !
fire cat pickles Posted July 1, 2022 Posted July 1, 2022 1 minute ago, gregory said: And there I was politely NOT saying that... I have never been one to mince words. (Where is my evil twin @katrinka anyway?)
Raggydoll Posted July 1, 2022 Posted July 1, 2022 1 hour ago, fire cat pickles said: I third this. Biddy Tarot is awful. There are great free sites that have been around for years if you prefer the virtual route: http://learntarot.com/ Though, yes, Thirteen is amazing... Learntarot is great, I have used that a lot in the past!
Bodhiseed Posted July 1, 2022 Posted July 1, 2022 I also recommend http://learntarot.com/ and https://www.aeclectic.net/tarot/learn/meanings/, just don't forget that this is a framework - meanings aren't black and white. As you get more comfortable with the cards, you can use your intuition to add to your readings. But I always advocate for a good, basic framework first! 🙂
Quinn64 Posted July 1, 2022 Author Posted July 1, 2022 Thanks everyone, I went with the Barbara Moore "Tarot For Beginners" and am going to get her "Tarot Your Way" in the future. I will keep the websites because they look very helpful, but with cards I tend to be a book person.
RunningWild Posted July 1, 2022 Posted July 1, 2022 7 hours ago, fire cat pickles said: I third this. Biddy Tarot is awful. 6 hours ago, fire cat pickles said: I have never been one to mince words. (Where is my evil twin @katrinka anyway?) I've never looked beyond the definitions on any of those pages on that site and that seemed ok to me. I was thinking "Free"... soooo wutevah 🤚
fire cat pickles Posted July 1, 2022 Posted July 1, 2022 8 minutes ago, RunningWild said: I've never looked beyond the definitions on any of those pages on that site and that seemed ok to me. I was thinking "Free"... soooo wutevah 🤚 Yeah but there are plenty of other sites that offer better meanings without all the downloads with easier-to-navigate webpages, etc.
RunningWild Posted July 1, 2022 Posted July 1, 2022 i must have never had to suffer the downloads. Anyway, it's off-topic. Eden Gray, Mary K Greer, Rachel Pollock are good, just to name a few. Thirteen's book is great (I miss her wisdom).
DanielJUK Posted July 1, 2022 Posted July 1, 2022 I do have issues with Biddy and how she made everything such a business but her first ebook she published is quite good, The Ultimate Guide to Tarot Card Meanings. The early editions had RWS cards and good meanings for each card and reversed meanings. She also consulted Aelectic Tarot (our old forum) to discuss some of the meanings back in the day and credits it in the back of the book. In the newer editions, she has replaced the RWS with her own deck images and removed Aelectic forum thanks or linking to it. I would only buy that book, it was quite helpful to me in learning meanings in the start, most of her site just seems to be drawing people to buy expensive other tarot courses and learning and the subscription based forum. I haven't been impressed by any of the materials apart from that book which is quite comprehensive. I also like Rachel Pollock's "The New Tarot Handbook" and "Seventy-Eight Degrees of Wisdom" is a classic to learn from. I like Mary Greer's "Tarot for Your Self", she also has two specialist books which are great for reference. She has a Court Cards book called "Understanding the Tarot Courts and a reversals one called "The Complete Book of Tarot Reversals". They are good to refer to if you get stuck. Totally agree with what @Bodhiseed said, it's useful to have books, especially when starting out but also you have to have a go at working out each card for yourself and working with your intuition. Also you need to practice and use the cards, that really helps you learn. When you have learnt quite a lot, books can be good reference but you have to find your own views and ideas of the cards 🙂
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