Love God Of Tarot? Readers share 100 books like God Of Tarot...

This science fiction novel, written by Daniel Abraham and Ty Franck under the pen name James S. A. Corey, was the beginning of the Expanse series (now totaling 9 novels and additional stories). It is one of the best space science fiction novels of the 21st century and became the basis for one of my favorite TV/streaming series, The Expanse.

The books dive deep into the political, social, and cultural complexities of sending humans to live on the Moon, Mars, and the asteroid belt, and it’s a nuanced reflection of our current ideas and ambitions when it comes to spaceflight. I am particularly drawn to the depiction of humans who, after multiple generations off Earth, consider their primary identity to be Martian.

This book by Robert Heinlein is an action-packed space adventure featuring creepy insect foes in an interstellar battle with Earth. It follows Trooper Johnny Rico in an epic war story set on distant worlds.

The book features a number of combat engagements with gigantic insect-like “Arachnids” and other bug-like creatures. Meanwhile, several love affairs arise and crumble in the face of Rico’s commitment to the warrior life. While the book has been criticized as preachy and moralizing, these are foibles that I tolerated well, knowing that another action sequence would not be long in coming.

This is a short, easy read. Some might even say it’s not sci-fi, but I think it fits. This was something I picked up in my teens and it helped create the framework for how I approach writing, creating, and my life. What if perception dictated reality, instead of the other way around? What would your life be like if you could change how you interacted with the world by just changing your mindset? 

The thing I like most about this book is that it is one of the most outstanding works of imaginative fiction I have ever read. Written as a sequel to The Time Machine, it celebrates the centenary of that book’s first publication. 

This journey is more varied than the original. The hero journeys to different times and places and even gets marooned in one. I love the way the author uses the basic concept to explore various aspects of humanity’s future, such as the entire race living on the inner surface of a Dyson sphere around Sol.

I enjoyed journeying to different times and worlds, each vividly and realistically portrayed. I strongly recommend this work for lovers of time travel stories.

For this ambitious 1992 anthology, anthropologist Angeles Arrien and political scientist James Wanless collected twenty-two pathbreaking articles from an assortment of contributors that included two physicists, half a dozen practicing psychologists, a social worker, an ordained minister, and an assortment of writers and artists who had integrated Tarot into their professional and/or creative practices. I’m still fascinated by the different perspectives displayed in this collection and its surprisingly wide range of topics:  parapsychology, dance, relationship therapy, self-transformation, nature symbolism, the poetry of T.S. Eliot, and much more.

Looking back at this book, it seems important in (at least) two ways. For one thing, it’s a snapshot of certain cultural/intellectual trends that were converging in the later 20th century: consciousness research, “new age” philosophies, and cross-cultural and alternative approaches to psychotherapy. For another, it represents the first serious attempt to treat Tarot as a subject matter, bringing together various disciplines and… show more.

As a poet, I love the Poet Tarot, for which Two Sylvias Press matched Major Arcana and Court Cards with deceased British and American poets. The Guidebook offers a mini history lesson about each poet’s strengths and weaknesses, including psychological wellbeing, journey to publication, and sources of inspiration. Each chapter ends with suggested actions: “Remember and honor the inspirational women in your life,” (Gwendolyn Brooks as the Queen of Muses / Cups) and prompts: “Is there a project I’ve been afraid to undertake—why?” (ee cummings as The Fool). Taken collectively, the prompts provide a roadmap for a rich self-reflective inventory and the chance to write new poems based on the themes of each poet’s work. I love to use the exercises in the poetry workshops I teach.

Writer, photographer, and journalist William Cook Haigwood selected his own photos to create Journeying the Sixties: A Counterculture Tarot. The book helped me understand the context for my early childhood when my parents had an apartment in the Haight. Haigwood practically offers a graduate-level course in the Sixties by examining the major players, the opposing forces, and the gifts and wages of the unbridled idealism and enthusiasm characteristic for the times (love, religion, art, music, politics, law enforcement, war, drugs, feminism, poetry, revolution, and more). The Eight of Cups chapter looks at People’s Park in Berkeley; Mick Jagger represents the King of Pentacles; the Death card discussion explores Martin Luther King, Jr., Kennedy, and Vietnam. Haigwood’s interpretations make tarot’s archetypal energies relevant to the lessons of an entire generation. 

Every Tarot library needs a few good books on spreads. Spreads are the backbone of a reading. Liz Dean’s The Ultimate Guide to Tarot Spreads is approachable as it is not overwhelming with an excessive number of spreads, Liz provides numerous quality spreads that do not disappoint. Whether it is love, romance, health, wealth, self-development, rare, or occult – Liz has you covered with all the spread you will need. 

If you want to create a sacred space with specific scents and love aromatherapy with organic essential oils, this book is for you! Mary correlated each of the 78 tarot cards with a scent. Some you will understand immediately, such as rose, vanilla, and ylang-ylang for The Empress card.

But what of the Hanged Man and The Tower? They, too, have a fragrance. A fun and fascinating read that is highly recommended for a different perspective on tarot.

If you’ve ever thought about using the Tarot for personal development instead of just divination, but didn’t know where to start, Holistic Tarot is the resource for you. Tarot cards are no substitute for a good therapist, but in this book, Benebell Wen shows you how to use the cards to better understand your emotions and desires and to help you remove blockages to your creativity and satisfaction with life. This is a structured and methodical approach that will give you practical results.