What Tarot / Divination book are you currently reading?

[DanielJUK]

What Tarot / Divination book are you currently reading through or studying?

 

This is a sister thread to the what non-tarot book are you currently reading? thread here

(this is a subscribers area of the forum)

 

I thought it would be good to have an ongoing thread for people to update their current tarot related reading.

Books / Ebooks / Audio books have to be on tarot / divination themes 🙂 

[DanielJUK]

I've just started reading Queering the Tarot by Cassandra Snow

[RunningWild]

I’ve just started reading The Book of Thoth.

[RickInBakersfield]

I am currently reading The Tarot Court Cards by Kate Warwick - Smith

An eBook from B&N. I have trouble remembering the meanings of the 16 court cards.

[tarotnottaken]

12 hours ago, DanielJUK said:

I've just started reading Queering the Tarot by Cassandra Snow

You might also find Radical Tarot worth your time if you dig that book.

[tarotnottaken]

I am currently reading Roger J. Horne's Cartomancy in Folk Witchcraft: Playing Cards and Marseille Tarot in Divination, Magic, and Lore. I'm about a third of the way through it. I should be halfway through it by tonight.

 

I am new to cartomancy in general, both tarot and with playing cards. I am coming in with no preconceptions about what playing card divination is, on its own or relative to adjacent divinatory systems like tarot and Lenormand. I have read no other books on cartomancy other than Yoav Ben-Dov's Marseille Tarot Revealed, which I'm still working my way through (but that'll be the subject of a later post). I did some cursory reading up on playing card cartomancy in online spaces before I purchased this book and came away with the following impressions:

• Playing card cartomancy is more folkish, down to earth, grounded, fortune-tell-y, and surface-level than tarot;
• Playing card cartomancy is less available for in-depth, philosophical introspection than tarot; 
• Playing card cartomancy carries none tarot's esoteric or hermetic baggage that for some weighs tarot down, for others gives tarot life; 
• Playing card cartomancy doesn't have as much of an online presence as tarot in part because it cannot be readily commodified; 
• Playing card cartomancy is difficult because there are no illustrations;
• Playing card cartomancy is limited by its lack of major arcana, leaving it comparatively simple and boring;
• Where tarot is a scholar surrounded by dense books on various -ologies in a sunlit room high in a castle, playing card cartomancy is the dirt-covered babushka people talk about in excited whispers, reading cards in the tradition passed down orally for generations with a gleam in her eye.

Now, some of these takeaways can be construed as positive or negative, depending on your proclivities or background. I initially came to tarot because I was looking for a tool to aid my introspection, meditation, self-reflection, and journaling, I like history, I like playing cards, and it seemed fun. I was and still am drawn to the ludicrous amount of depth that it seems to present through the countless books, videos, and online discussions over card interpretations. The whole enterprise seems filled with wonder. I would never have thought that mundane, plain old playing cards would ever contain that kind of magic.

 

So far, I think that Horne's book is one that can give playing cards their due in this day and age. If there's a book to open up the world of playing card cartomancy, it's this one.

 

He presents this book as unveiling an old tradition that long preceded tarot as it is practiced in the Anglosphere under the influence of Golden Dawn. This book draws from several old books on cartomancy from the past couple centuries, thereby presenting a system that is clearly rooted in an archived folk tradition, not made up on some blog. However, he also puts those old sources into conversation with newer ones, such as Hedgewytchery and Camila Elias. He invites us into an old, long-forgotten world and makes a case that playing card cartomancy is worth studying. He writes:

 

Quote

Today, one can find any number of oracle decks in a variety of themes and art styles, so why should the modern witch bother to retrain in the discipline of old folk cartomancy? Put simply, folk cartomancy offers us a connection to our past and to arts that are skill-based rather than product-based, cunning rather than consumerist. By learning these methods and approaches, the witch can read with cards in a variety of styles, including the elusive tarot minors in unillustrated decks like the Marseille tarot. The history of folk cartomancy is old and rich indeed. (8)

 

Horne's book covers playing card cartomancy, which I'll hereafter refer to as "folk cartomancy" because it sounds more accurate to me (tarot cards were originally playing cards, after all).

However, it also covers Tarot de Marseille, which I think serves the book well. It effectively elevates folk cartomancy in the process. He goes on to write:

 

Quote

Whether working with playing cards or the tarot of Marseille, each number in a suit's sequence represents a convergence of forces. The number of the card represents one thing, and the suit itself represents another; together, they form an alignment of associations that renders a fuller picture. (16–7)

 

This is not a book where you'll find simple keywords for quick reference. Horne eloquently lays out the general thrust of each color, suit and "numerical influences" (22) in a careful and methodical manner, each section building on what came before it and nicely setting up what follows. He leaves you with plenty of concrete information to work with without constraining us to a handful of words that we should memorize. He gives us room to breathe, imagine, and wonder. His writing is clear (save for one sentence that could have been worded better, also pointed out in an Amazon review), the editing seems solid, and he has a great voice. Horne gives us questions to ponder and room to actually think, which I love. It brings folk cartomancy and Tarot de Marseille together beautifully. I'm smitten.

 

I'll be back with further thoughts at a later date. Until then!

 

 

[Natural Mystic Guide]

I am reading Tarot of the Four Elements Tribal Folklore, Earth Mythology, and Human Magic by Isha Lerner and Amy Ericksen.  This is the guidebook for the deck.  It's nearly 200 pages, so it is a book book not just an LWB.

[FindYourSovereignty]

I've recently begun reading The Neuroscience of Tarot by Siddharth Ramakrishnan, PhD. I met him at Omega in 2023. 

[DanielJUK]

11 hours ago, tarotnottaken said:

You might also find Radical Tarot worth your time if you dig that book.

 

thank you for the further reading recommendation, will add it to my reading list 🙂 🙏

[tarotnottaken]

Just following up here to say that I finished Horne's book and it's magnificent from start to finish. THE book on playing card cartomancy, as far as I'm concerned.

[xStardustx]

I am currently reading Holistic Tarot by Benebell Wen. I love it.

[alethian]

I am reading Tarosophy by Katz, and am finding it interesting read.

Some parts of Tarosophy is a bit difficult to see the points, and some sounds unnecessary basic stuff, but having said that, there are some parts which are interesting and actually quite useful for the Tarot reading practice and studies.  So I must say it is a mixed bag in my opinion, but still I am just keep reading the parts which resonate with me.

 

 

Edited December 24, 2024 by alethian

[DanielJUK]

I've moved your post into here @alethian where it fits better 😀

[Christina]

On 12/15/2024 at 10:19 PM, xStardustx said:

I am currently reading Holistic Tarot by Benebell Wen. I love it.

I am just starting this book, how did you like it?

[alethian]

On 1/16/2025 at 4:33 AM, Christina said:

I am just starting this book, how did you like it?

 

I find the book excellent.  It is a huge and heavy book, and it is worth the money for its price.

It covers wide range of the topics such as Kabbala and Astrology at the back too.

Only thing it doesn't cover is the correspondence with the Hebrew letters and Gematria, I think.

I haven't read the book to the end.   I read some parts of the book, then started using it for reference, and comparing with the other books.

Definitely a useful book to keep for any Tarot students.

Edited January 17 by alethian

[Deian]

I will start reading this nice book soon, if everything is ok

https://www.amazon.de/-/en/Principles-Liu-Ren-Divination-Gong/dp/0578947560/

Now I'm kinda preparing some other stuff, so there is more space to start this interesting system from, as I know very little about it, currently. Hopefully it will be fun! : )

Edited January 17 by Deian

[Christina]

4 hours ago, alethian said:

 

I find the book excellent.  It is a huge and heavy book, and it is worth the money for its price.

It covers wide range of the topics such as Kabbala and Astrology at the back too.

Only thing it doesn't cover is the correspondence with the Hebrew letters and Gematria, I think.

I haven't read the book to the end.   I read some parts of the book, then started using it for reference, and comparing with the other books.

Definitely a useful book to keep for any Tarot students.

Thank you so much for the review!

[alethian]

32 minutes ago, Christina said:

Thank you so much for the review!

 

My pleasure, friend.  Good luck with your Tarot studies.

[xTheHermitx]

I am almost all of the way through "Llewlyn's Complete Book of the Rider-Waite Smith Tarot by Sasha Graham. Got it as a Yule gift. 

[Teemu]

On 12/11/2024 at 1:27 AM, tarotnottaken said:

You might also find Radical Tarot worth your time if you dig that book.

Hi,

 

there are at least two books by that name, one by Charlie Claire Burgess, the other by Vincent Pitisci - which one did you mean?

 

"A walk through the forest of souls" by Rachel Pollack is my current tarot book.

Edited March 18 by Teemu

[Scandinavianhermit]

I'm reading Kerry A. Nitz' translation of Etteilla's Theory and Instruction on the Book of Thoth (2022) and Marius Høgnesen's anthology The Grand Etteilla (revised ed. 2022).