Recommended Books for Tarot Readers

• For beginners:
  • Tarot for a New Generation by Janina Renee - one of my very favorites; I use it as a reference even now; can be used with any deck though it will probably work best with Rider-Waite variants
  • Seventy-eight Degrees of Wisdom by Rachel Pollack - this is the definitive book for the Rider-Waite deck; very insightful discussion of the symbols in each card
  • Learning the Tarot by Joan Bunning - an excellent guide; succinct and extremely useful; meant for use with Rider-Waite style decks
  • Tarot for Yourself by Mary K. Greer - not your typical beginner's book with lists of meanings, contains exercises that help you get to know the tarot on a very personal level
  • A Magical Course in Tarot by Michele Morgan - a wonderful book that emphasizes a more intuitive approach to tarot; she gives only very short meanings for the cards because she wants you to discover your own answers; a very refreshing approach
  • Tarot Tells the Tale by James Ricklef - this book is full of three card readings for fictional and historical figures; really shows off the full range of the three card spread as well as giving beginning readers a view into how a "pro" does readings

• For Crowley's Thoth Tarot:
  • Keywords for the Crowley Tarot by Hajo Banzhaf and Brigitte Theler - has concise explanations of the imagery in the Thoth tarot; makes the Thoth usable fairly quickly with its practical approach
  • The Tarot Handbook by Angeles Arrien - rather than delving into the Golden Dawn background information and symbols, Angeles uses her own personal symbol interpretation, but she does a good job and her explanations are fairly clear and useful
  • Understanding Aleister Crowley's Thoth Tarot by Lon Milo Duquette - this man can actually make Golden Dawn esoterics understandable to "normal" people; if you want to understand the underlying concepts and heavy GD symbolism in each card, this is the book for you

• For more advanced readers:
  • The Complete Book of Tarot Reversals by Mary K. Greer - the definitive book on reversals; this book has everything you ever wanted to know about reversals and maybe even a little bit more; buy it if you ever considered using reversals
  • Designing Your Own Tarot Spreads by Teresa Michelsen - the title says it all: this book will help you to design your own spreads; insightful categorization of the different components of a good spread and lots of useful exercises to help you in the process
  • Understanding the Tarot Court by Mary K. Greer & Tom Little - ever had trouble understand the court cards? Yeah, me too. This book will completely solve your problems; full of exercises and many different methods of viewing the courts; the definitive book on court cards
  • The Forest of Souls by Rachel Pollack - more an extended essay than an actual teaching book but fascinating nonetheless; Rachel takes us along as she decides to read about the larger issues like what God was thinking when S/He was creating the universe; will make you look at the tarot in a new way
  • Tarot and the Tree of Life by Isabel Radow Kliegman - ties the minor arcana in with the Qabalah; great introduction to the Qabalah and how you can use it with the tarot; the only downside is that it doesn't include the major arcana

• For witches:
  • Tarot & Magic by Donald Michael Kraig - highly recommended as an introduction to using the tarot in magic; he does take a little more of a ceremonial magic approach but it's subtle and he does encourage experimentation; lots of techniques presented
  • Tarot Spells by Janina Renee - this is basically a book of spells with tarot cards as the focus; good clear explanations and the spells are well-written
  • Everyday Tarot Magic by Dorothy Morrison - not as good as the previous two, but still useful; lots of spells to try; mostly I just used the concepts to make my own spells

Copyright K. Mayberry. Not to be used without permission.

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