EvelynnMorragan Posted January 16, 2020 Posted January 16, 2020 So here is a list of the most frequently recommended tarot books I compiled after searching through about 10 pages of a Google search: Number indicates how many times it was recommended. 11. Seventy-Eight Degrees of Wisdom by R. Pollack 10. Holistic Tarot by B. Wen 8. 21 Ways to Read a Tarot Card by M.K. Greer 7. Tarot for Yourself by M.K. Greer Learning the Tarot by J. Bunning 6. Tarot 101 by K. Huggens 5. Kitchen Table Tarot by M. Cynova The Easiest Way to Learn the Tarot Ever! by D. White The Pictorial Key to the Tarot by A.E. Waite The Complete Book of Tarot Reversals by M.K. Greer Understanding the Tarot Court by M.K. Greer 4. The Tarot: History, Symbolism & Divination by R. Place Tarot for Beginners by B. Moore Tarot Spreads: Layouts & Techniques by B. Moore The New Tarot Handbook by R. Pollack Tarot Plain & Simple by A. Louis 3. Tarot for Life by P. Quinn Tarot Wisdom by R. Pollack Tarot of the Bohemians by Papus The Complete Guide to the Tarot by E. Gray The Ultimate Guide to the Rider-Waite Tarot by J. & E. Burger Who Are You in the Tarot? by M.K. Greer Tarosophy by M. Katz A History of the Occult Tarot by M. Dummett & R. Decker A Wicked Pack of Cards by M. Dummett & R. Decker Modern Tarot by M. Tea WTF is Tarot & How Do I Do It? by B. Wintner Tarot Beyond the Basics by A. Louis Jung & Tarot by S. Nichols Tarot & Astrology by C. Kenner And there you have it! I should probably note I left out recommendations that tallied up to less than three. How many of these books have you read? How many do you own? What would you personally recommend? Are there any that you WOULDN'T recommend?
katrinka Posted January 16, 2020 Posted January 16, 2020 Some of those are actually quite good. Others, well... https://moz.com/beginners-guide-to-seo
xTheHermitx Posted January 17, 2020 Posted January 17, 2020 I love lists like this, but also hate them...so much to read, so little time...
Raggydoll Posted January 17, 2020 Posted January 17, 2020 5 hours ago, katrinka said: Some of those are actually quite good. Others, well... https://moz.com/beginners-guide-to-seo I was thinking the same. I’ve read many of the classics on that list but some of the more contemporary ones I’m not as sure about. Or maybe I should say that they might not be for me 😊
katrinka Posted January 17, 2020 Posted January 17, 2020 There's some clinkers on the list, by any standard. A marketing team can put over anything. Ack.
alyce Posted January 17, 2020 Posted January 17, 2020 Surprised to see Tarot Tells the Tale by James Ricklef left off the list. I bought it after repeated recommendations from the old folks at AT. It's quite alright.
gregory Posted January 17, 2020 Posted January 17, 2020 Yes - I love that (not to mention Knighthawk's Readings, its predecessor !) I used to plug it on AT - I wonder why I didn't plug it here... Maybe when we talked books before it was all abut how to learn the "meanings" and so on. But there are indeed a couple of shockers on that list - as well as some Good Stuff.
devin Posted January 17, 2020 Posted January 17, 2020 If can could chime in and say that while I'm not a RWS aficionado, I am nothing but impressed with Waite's Pictorial Key to the Tarot. As far as divinatory meanings go, I'm not sure why anyone would need anything else. And it's available online for free: https://sacred-texts.com/tarot/pkt/index.htm
Eric13 Posted January 17, 2020 Posted January 17, 2020 (edited) The online free version of Waites book is not a perfect copy and are missing some important key sentences like for the High Priestess for example. I need to get a copy of Eden Grays book. Edited January 17, 2020 by Eric13
Rose Lalonde Posted January 17, 2020 Posted January 17, 2020 12 hours ago, alyce said: Surprised to see Tarot Tells the Tale by James Ricklef left off the list. I bought it after repeated recommendations from the old folks at AT. It's quite alright. Seconded.
Phytomorphic Posted January 18, 2020 Posted January 18, 2020 I really loved the creative tarot by jessa crispin
EvelynnMorragan Posted January 18, 2020 Author Posted January 18, 2020 On 1/16/2020 at 6:21 PM, katrinka said: Some of those are actually quite good. Others, well... https://moz.com/beginners-guide-to-seo I actually just learned how to better your searches through a Computer Fundamentals class I'm taking this winter break for an easy A. Lol. But I'm interested in what books you specifically don't care for if you'd be willing to share.
EvelynnMorragan Posted January 18, 2020 Author Posted January 18, 2020 On 1/17/2020 at 2:05 AM, alyce said: Surprised to see Tarot Tells the Tale by James Ricklef left off the list. I bought it after repeated recommendations from the old folks at AT. It's quite alright. Is this out of print now?
gregory Posted January 18, 2020 Posted January 18, 2020 Tarot Reading Explained is apparently an expanded rewrite. https://smile.amazon.co.uk/Tarot-Reading-Explained-James-Ricklef-ebook/dp/B00FRRT796/ref=sr_1_5?
FindYourSovereignty Posted January 18, 2020 Posted January 18, 2020 59 minutes ago, gregory said: Tarot Reading Explained is apparently an expanded rewrite. https://smile.amazon.co.uk/Tarot-Reading-Explained-James-Ricklef-ebook/dp/B00FRRT796/ref=sr_1_5? Yes, exactly. I was going to share that detail, too. 😊 https://jamesricklef.wordpress.com/?s=Tarot+tells+the+tale&submit=Search
Rose Lalonde Posted January 18, 2020 Posted January 18, 2020 (edited) Deleted. Hadn't had my morning tea and missed that the Ricklef link was already well covered. ☕☕☕ Edited January 18, 2020 by Rose Lalonde
katrinka Posted January 18, 2020 Posted January 18, 2020 3 hours ago, EvelynnMorragan said: I actually just learned how to better your searches through a Computer Fundamentals class I'm taking this winter break for an easy A. Lol. Yes. And I'm sure that marketers are well aware of how to optimize links so they feature more prominently in searches. So I'm not sure "most recommended" is applicable here. I do see some on the list that get recommended a lot. The PKT is required reading, even though it has some issues. Others are more of a "flash in the pan." 3 hours ago, EvelynnMorragan said: But I'm interested in what books you specifically don't care for if you'd be willing to share. It's not really a matter of what I don't care for. If it was just personal taste, you could scratch a lot of the books with a modern psychological approach. But a lot of people just love that stuff, and they recommend the books. And some of those writers are very good at what they do. It's just not my thing. So what I'm going by is practical value: Books that a good number of people seem to refer to again and again, and recommend to others. And what I'm seeing on this list doesn't necessarily reflect that. It only shows books in english, for instance. So some of the important writers - Tchalai Unger immediately comes to mind - have been left out, because of the way google works. Papus? Yes, everyone should be familiar with that book since it's historically important, but it's not one that I see anyone suggesting to others. https://www.sacred-texts.com/tarot/tob/index.htm Kitchen Table Tarot - It's not a bad book. It's just that beginner basics have been written a bazillion times before. You can get the information in the first few chapters of a more comprehensive book, or on virtually any internet forum. The gimmick with this book is that the author is engaging, like a somewhat entertaining neighbor you're friendly with. The Silver Ravenwolf style of writing. She seems like a nice lady, but that book is totally dispensable. But I get the feeling you want me to dish a little dirt, so here it is, lol:Tarosophy - It has good reviews on Amazon. That's because Katz is famous for recruiting people at his facebook groups to go write glowing five star reviews. Any one of his books will have some solid information - well, a little, about enough for a blog post - and a LOT of filler and nonsense. I haven't reviewed Tarosophy but I did review his Lenormand book some time ago, and all his writing suffers from similar issues: https://fennario.wordpress.com/2013/05/12/books-learning-lenormand/ And I really wanted to like that book, since there was hardly anything in english at the time. His Colman Smith book was the same way - a handful of interesting factoids and tons of padding. All of his stuff seems to be like that. He's not exactly highly recommended.
_R_ Posted February 5, 2020 Posted February 5, 2020 Three books that deserve a mention are: “The Tarot: History, Mystery and Lore” by Cynthia Giles (one of the only books to seriously consider the science that has often been cited in connection with the Tarot - but which has seldom been dealt with.) “The Tarot: The Origins, Meaning and Uses of the Cards” by Alfred Douglas, and Gerald Suster’s “The Truth About the Tarot: A Manual of Practice and Theory.” All three are well-written, informative and engaging.
tarot_cat Posted March 5, 2020 Posted March 5, 2020 On 1/18/2020 at 5:01 PM, katrinka said: Kitchen Table Tarot - It's not a bad book. It's just that beginner basics have been written a bazillion times before. You can get the information in the first few chapters of a more comprehensive book, or on virtually any internet forum. The gimmick with this book is that the author is engaging, like a somewhat entertaining neighbor you're friendly with. The Silver Ravenwolf style of writing. She seems like a nice lady, but that book is totally dispensable. Thank you for this assessment! I saw the book in a local store recently (along with another of the author's) and flipped through it. I admit the cover caught my attention. But it really seemed like a typical recitation of card meanings, expanded with filler, with nothing really new added. If it's presented in an engaging way, well, that has value, but if it isn't going to offer more than the books I already have, then I'd rather spend that money on another deck. 🙂
gregory Posted March 5, 2020 Posted March 5, 2020 (edited) On 2/5/2020 at 1:01 PM, _R_ said: Three books that deserve a mention are: “The Tarot: History, Mystery and Lore” by Cynthia Giles (one of the only books to seriously consider the science that has often been cited in connection with the Tarot - but which has seldom been dealt with.) All three are well-written, informative and engaging. OOH ooh you approve (I have been plugging her all over the place !) I feel Important now ! NB it does sometimes show up as Tarot: The complete Guide. Same book. I once ended up wit three copies because of the title change and also my rubbish memory. She's done a second - The TAROT: Methods, Mastery and More - also well worth a read. Edited March 5, 2020 by gregory
_R_ Posted March 5, 2020 Posted March 5, 2020 27 minutes ago, gregory said: OOH ooh you approve (I have been plugging her all over the place !) I feel Important now ! NB it does sometimes show up as Tarot: The complete Guide. Same book. I once ended up wit three copies because of the title change and also my rubbish memory. She's done a second - The TAROT: Methods, Mastery and More - also well worth a read. Yes, of course, it's a well written, well researched book, and one that has gone undeservedly neglected, I think. I did not know that she had a second book out. Thanks for mentioning it, I am sure others will find it helpful.
Kath Posted July 16, 2020 Posted July 16, 2020 What a great thread! I'm definitely taking note of some of these recommendations. My tarot library has been neglected for far too long.
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