tarot is misunderstood as a frivolous science, when in reality learning tarot is a lifelong personal journey through the wisdom of the ages, also known as history, religion, mythology, symbolism and much more, which makes reading basically essential for learning. tarot (after all, this is a tarot reading). As a tarot reader, I am continually looking for new ways to educate myself on the basics of tarot, divination, and reading. To do this, I have searched many books on tarot to deepen my practice and understanding of tarot and my own spirituality and worldview.
My list of the 15 best tarot books ranges from beginner to advanced level of tarot reading and are hand-picked from my personal experience. These aren’t just the only 15 books I have on tarot, I have many more in my tarot library, so these top 15 tarot books have really been tried and tested, with cracked spines and well-thumbed pages. Some of these books are eclectic, but all of them have helped enrich my tarot reading. These 15 best tarot books, with 5 books for every level of readers, will help you start reading and progress to a deeper relationship with tarot cards and the tarot system. (Plus: If you like this post, you’ll definitely want to check out my list of the 15 best advanced tarot books for experienced readers.)
You are reading: Tarot books for beginners
and if you want to learn about numerology, read my list of the 10 best numerology books:
Plus my best books for palm reading:
And now to the list of the best tarot books!
the easiest way to learn tarot, ever!! by dusty white
I wish I had this book when I was a beginning tarot reader. Author Dusty White subverts conventional tarot books by taking beginning readers on a deeply personal journey with the cards. In his trademark witty, cheeky, and confessional style, Dusty White offers a no-nonsense approach to learning the tarot, dispelling myths and old advice that gets recycled over and over again. despite its clickbait title (two exclamation points!!), in the easiest way to learn tarot, ever!!, white includes exercises that help you deepen your relationship with the cards immediately, through worksheets and activities. is a fun way to learn tarot and a method that helps you develop skills in creating a system of meanings that suits your unique instincts and intuition. this is simply an outstanding book.
- adds the easiest way to learn tarot—ever! on goodreads, buy it on amazon, or borrow it from your local library via worldcat.
the definitive guide to tarot card meanings by brigit esselmont
I was lucky enough to discover brigit esselmont’s definitive guide to tarot card meanings almost immediately after I started reading tarot. This massive book is probably the most comprehensive tarot meaning book I have ever come across. Brigit breaks down each of the 78 cards, with reverse explanations that aren’t an afterthought, and even includes information about each card as it relates to specific categories like “career, work, and finances” and “relationships and love.” I have personally worked with Brigit before when I took some of her courses and read for her free tarot reading network for almost two years. she knows what she’s doing and really cares about creating a thorough, comprehensive, yet accessible look. you will come back to this book again and again and find something new. It’s my tarot which means bible.
- add the ultimate guide to tarot card meanings on goodreads, buy it on amazon, or borrow it from your local library via worldcat. Brigit also has a tarot card meanings workbook to accompany the ultimate guide. buy it on amazon here.
tarot for yourself by mary k. green
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I have included four books by Mary K. Greer on this list because she is a legend who has earned her place as a tarot master teacher. Tarot for Yourself is an excellent introduction to tarot reading with a focus on developing a personal experience with the cards. I believe tarot for yourself is your best first workbook to understand tarot through a spiritual (non-religious) and individualized way. Through exercises designed so you can read immediately without fear, Tarot for Your Self dispels the common myth that you shouldn’t read Tarot for yourself and argues why your relationship with Tarot is the most important one you’ll ever cultivate.
- add the tarot on goodreads, buy it on amazon or borrow it from your local library via worldcat.
365 tarot spreads: revealing the magic of each day by sasha graham
everyone needs a good tarot card book. Personally, I find that playing around with different spreads is one of the most fun parts of tarot reading. tarot spreads are infinitely adaptable to any situation. To help you get into the swing of reading with spreads, try Sasha Graham’s 365 Tarot Spreads: Revealing the Magic in Every Day, which is exactly what it sounds like: a tarot spread for every day of the year. Now, some of these spreads won’t apply to you on any day of the year, but you’ll always find something to fit your question, or a new spread to amuse yourself if you’re bored. Graham is a master spread writer, so he too will learn how different positions can be combined to tell a story, which, after all, reading tarot is about telling a story. his thoughtful spreads are based on thoughtful flows and sequences for spreads that will produce a unified story and a holistic reading.
- add 365 tarot spreads: reveal the magic in each day on goodreads, buy it on amazon, or borrow from your local library via worldcat.
21 ways to read a tarot card by mary k. green
Now, as much as I advocate the definitive guide to tarot card meanings and other books that claim to have the last word on tarot meanings, the truth is that if you want to get from tarot reading with a book in hand, consulting the entry of each card and flipping back and forth to find the key words for the four of swords and the wheel of fortune, reading the tarot intuitively is more than memorizing the definition of meaning of the cards of another person. reading the tarot on your own, turning away from the books, is a terrifying experience. you feel like you are a pilot flying your first plane. What if you can’t remember what a backwards card means? what if you draw the seven of cups and you just go blank? To get you to safety, read Mary K. Greer’s 21 Ways to Read a Tarot Card, an excellent book that helps you develop your confidence to read on your own without the help of a manual or guide. via Mary K. Greer’s 21 Ways to Read a Tarot Card, you’ll be reading on your own in no time after internalizing his 21 different methods of reading a card. this is a great way to learn to read in the moment and get to the point where you can give someone (or yourself) a reading without being tied to the book, but reading in the moment as the cards speak to you. it’s about being present and open to the messages that flow through the cards you draw. this should be your ultimate goal in moving from a beginner to a more intermediate tarot card reading.
- add 21 ways to read a tarot card on goodreads, buy it on amazon, or borrow it from your local library via worldcat.
modern tarot: connecting with your higher self through the wisdom of the cards by michelle tea
This book is fairly new to me, but it has already had an impact on the way I understand the tarot system. As you will find on your tarot journey, there is often a line between people who are very strict with tradition and people who look at tarot in an almost reforming way. Don’t get me wrong, I think it’s important to internalize the traditional meanings most closely associated with the rider-waite deck, but we also need to recognize that the world is evolving and the tarot system must be fluid and adaptable to those changes. Okay, now that I’ve talked a lot about this, I want to bring to your attention a great book for intermediate tarot readers: Modern Tarot: Connecting With Your Higher Self Through The Wisdom Of The Cards By Michelle Tea . This book updates his keyword-based “little white book” that came with his Rider-Waite deck and reinterprets them for modern times. Michelle Tea is a writer of a wide range of writing, including poetry, fiction, and memoir, and brings an eclectic set of references to her book. Michelle Tea’s frank and honest tone makes you feel like you’re sitting with an old friend playing cards late into the night, and I totally appreciate how she’s able to create that intimate, confessional feeling throughout the pages of the book. her book. I bought modern tarot when I was recently getting back into tarot and wanted to start my journey by seeing the meanings I had learned when I started in a new light. he has been a great companion ever since.
- add modern tarot – connect with your higher self through the wisdom of the cards on goodreads, buy it on amazon, or order it at your local library via worldcat.
tarot interactions: become more intuitive, psychic & letter reading expert by deborah lipp
As you progress through your tarot journey, you’ll move from reading card after card in one spread to reading an entire spread as one continuous story. the way to get there is by following the connections between cards. Unless you’re making a spread of a card, no card exists in isolation, but instead interacts with other cards in the spread, such as to the immediate left or right, and then later, from the first card to the last card. Tarot Interactions by Deborah Lipp is an excellent, comprehensive, and accessible guide to reading the interactions between tarot cards. If you’ve ever wondered what could possibly connect two cards, say the Death card and an opposite, like the Universe, Deborah Lipp will help you do so with confidence and comfort. Adding some tarot interaction interpretation skills to your tarot practice is definitely a way to level up your tarot game and provide great readings that really tell captivating and immediate stories.
- add tarot interactions on goodreads, buy it on amazon, or borrow from your local library via worldcat.
understanding the tarot court and the complete book of tarot inversions by mary k. green
You know I wouldn’t curate a list of books and have most of them by the same author unless the author was exceptional, and that’s exactly why I’ve included two more books by Ms. Mary K. Greener Without a doubt, two of the most challenging parts of tarot reading are court cards and tarot reversals. With these two books, Mary K. greer has you covered.
Understanding the court of tarot will help you go from a beginning tarot reader to an intermediate level by immersing yourself in the court cards for each of the four suits of the minor arcana. I admit that the court cards have always challenged me: it’s a knight riding a horse… and that’s it? so interchangeable. once you can tone down the meaning of the wands on demand page, you’ll know you’re really getting into a closer relationship with the cards.
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Greer’s Complete Book of Tarot Reversals will calm your nerves if you’re as intimidated by reading tarot reversals as most people are. With systematic precision, Greer delves into the theory behind reversals and provides interpretations for each card in the deck when it appears in reverse modes. Of course, you can decide not to read with inversions at all, or do it on a case-by-case basis, and that’s totally fine. Whatever his personal philosophy on reading reversals, Mary K. Greer’s definitive book on tarot reversals will ground your choices in theory, method, and practice.
- add understanding of the tarot court on goodreads, buy it on amazon, or borrow from your local library via worldcat.
- add the complete book of tarot reversals on goodreads, buy it on amazon, or borrow from your local library through worldcat.
seventy-eight degrees of wisdom by rachel pollack
oh, seventy-eight degrees of wisdom. It won’t be long before you’re researching the best tarot books and come across the work of Rachel Pollack, and for good reason. Seventy Eight Degrees of Wisdom is a great place to start with Pollock’s teachings and to go further with your tarot practice. Essentially, this classic is a workbook to help you develop a relationship with your cards and your own spiritual side through a detailed look at the symbolism, history, mythology, philosophy, legend, and lore surrounding each card. . If you want to go back far, far back in the long tradition of tarot, esoteric arts, and ancient spirituality, Rachel Pollock’s Seventy-Eight Degrees of Wisdom will guide you along that journey. Seventy Eight Degrees of Wisdom is the book I would recommend for intermediate level readers who want to deepen their tarot study and get into advanced tarot practice.
- add seventy-eight degrees of wisdom on goodreads, buy it on amazon, or borrow it from your local library via worldcat.
advanced tarot secrets by dusty white
and back to dusty white! Advanced Secrets of Tarot, Your Follow-up to The Easiest Way to Learn Tarot Ever!, linked above, is an absolutely remarkable book on tarot. I was really impressed, which was silly because the easiest way to learn tarot, ever! was really cool. well advanced tarot secrets definitely take your tarot game to a higher level. Fair warning: this book is hard work. Some of the activities and exercises (or “games” as he calls them) that Dusty asks you to do will take a lot out of you spiritually, mentally, intuitively… but you’ll be better off because you’ve really gained his full understanding of the tarot. Dusty covers topics such as the advanced theory behind the reading and creation, the use of tarot for manifestation, and reading the distant past and future with tarot. I remember reading advanced tarot secrets and thinking this is the best tarot book I’ve ever read, and if that’s not my biggest endorsement, I don’t know what is.
- add tarot advanced secrets on goodreads or buy on amazon (contact your local librarian for tarot advanced secrets…not worldcat).
holistic tarot: an integrative approach to using tarot for personal growth by benebell wen
I remember when I first discovered this book at Barnes and Noble, I sat down and flipped through it for twenty minutes. wow, I thought. Benebell Wen’s Holistic Tarot: An Integrative Approach to Using Tarot for Personal Growth is as dense as tarot itself, covering beginning topics such as choosing your deck, as well as intermediate and advanced topics such as spread and design, handling special considerations in reading for others, musings, tarot and meditation, and the use of tarot to build resilience. For anyone who feels like they have hit a wall with their tarot reading practice, holistic tarot will absolutely teach tarot readers who have been at this for decades. this is definitely a book you will return to again and again.
- add Holistic Tarot: An Integrative Approach to Using Tarot for Personal Growth on goodreads, buy it on amazon or borrow it from your local library via worldcat.
tarot beyond the basics: get a deeper understanding of the meanings behind the cards by anthony louis
get some wisdom from anthony louis on the tarot beyond the basics. Appropriate for intermediate and advanced tarot readers, this book will deepen your relationship with tarot. one thing that makes this book unique is that louis does not try to cover all the advanced tarot topics, but instead pays close attention to his areas of expertise, specifically numerology and number symbolism, tarot and the elements, tarot card personalities the court, anatomy (!), intuition, astrology and advanced considerations for the spread of the Celtic cross. Tarot Beyond the Basics will bring new insights to cards that you might think you know all there is to know. If you feel like you’re just going through the motions of your readings, go deeper with tarot beyond the basics.
- add tarot beyond the basics on goodreads, buy it on amazon or borrow it from your local library via worldcat.
tarot and the archetypal journey by sallie nichols
I was lucky enough to get my hands on a copy of Sallie Nichols’ Tarot and the Archetypal Journey: The Jungian Path from Darkness to Light at a used bookstore a few years ago. In case you didn’t know, the influential 20th-century psychologist Carl Jung was extremely interested in the tarot and its connection to the archetypes. Jung was obsessed with the connection between dreams and the subconscious with archetypes, symbolism, and older mythologies, stories, iconic figures, and conflicts. Sallie Nichols discusses this topic in detail in what could be considered an advanced postgraduate seminar on psychology, symbolism, and tarot.
- add the tarot and the archetypal journey on goodreads, buy it on amazon or borrow it at your local library via worldcat.
tarot and astrology: enhance your readings with the wisdom of the zodiac by corrine kenner
tarot and astrology are inextricably linked, and it’s actually great to study how these two divination tools are connected. Although I am more of a tarot reader than an astrologer, I understand the importance of finding the ways in which these two fields overlap. Corrine Kenner’s Tarot and Astrology: Enhance Your Readings with the Wisdom of the Zodiac is an excellent place to begin your studies of tarot and astrology. In clear prose with ample examples, Kenner will take the fear out of applying astrological principles to your tarot reading. This is truly one of those subjects where you could spend a lifetime specializing in just advanced tarot study and astrology, but Kenner helps you start that journey by discussing basic, intermediate, and advanced topics such as the planets, the signs of the horoscope and reading. a horoscope or card with the fundamentals of the tarot.
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- add tarot and astrology: enhance your readings with zodiac wisdom on goodreads, buy it on amazon, or borrow from your local library via worldcat.