Here are 100 books that Tarot for Change fans have personally recommended if you like
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I started studying the tarot ten years ago with no thought that I would ever write about it. I took an introductory class in the back of a local metaphysical shop and went down a rabbit hole of books and teachings. I also enjoy readings myself - from quick fifteen minute reads at sidewalk fairs, to hour long readings in person with renowned readers, from an hour on Zoom with a famous reader, to a reading in a shop in Salem, Massachusetts during the chaos that is October in that town - I’ve benefited from them all. It has been a delight to include this interest in my latest novel.
Rachel Pollack’s classic guide to the tarot is a well-loved reference for me and for many.
While it’s a great next step to add depth of insight into the cards for the less experienced, it also continually serves up new insights to someone with more familiarity with the cards as well. She wrote it in the early eighties while living in Amsterdam and teaching tarot at the Kosmos Meditation Center.
The bestselling tarot classic in a new edition with a new preface by the author.
“Whenever I have a question about tarot, I reach for 78 Degrees of Wisdom. It is the most in-depth exploration of tarot and my most trusted resource. If you want to learn tarot, you’ll want 78 Degrees on your bookshelf too. It’s the gold standard in tarot.” —Theresa Reed, author of Tarot No Questions Asked
"What is your favorite tarot book? The answer is always 78 Degrees of Wisdom."—Melissa Cynova, author of Kitchen Table Tarot
“Essential reading for the beginner and a classic that tarot…
I’ve been studying and reading tarot for more than 50 years—starting when I was a teenager. I feel called to do this work—I think of it as holy work, because every reading is an inner journey for my client, I merely serve as a guide for them to discover the insights and wisdom that already exists hidden within them. Over the years I’ve studied with some of today’s top tarot teachers, I’ve studied Kabbalah with respected rabbis. I’ve studied psychological principles with leading therapists. And I’ve studied storytelling with world-famous performers. Tarot brings all these disciplines together in a way that makes every reading an encounter with the Divine that lives within each of us.
This was the first book that ever taught people not only how to read for themselves, but also how to use the cards to attain personal insight. It will teach you how to develop a deep relationship with the cards, and it shows you how to use the cards for greater self-knowledge. Every book on this subject since has Mary K. Greer to thank. When I first came across it, it changed the way I read forever. And it gave me new tools to use the cards for my own.
The tarot classic that first promoted the practice of reading the cards not just for others but for one's own personal insight and self-transformation
“Tarot for Your Self was ground-breaking when this book was first published and is still radically significant today.” —Benebell Wen, author of Holistic Tarot
“Deciding to work with the Tarot is like embarking on a long, inward journey.”—Mary K. Greer
This tarot classic by Mary K. Greer was the first book to promote reading the cards for your own insight, revolutionizing tarot through a combined emphasis on self-teaching techniques and personal growth. Tarot for Your Self…
I started studying the tarot ten years ago with no thought that I would ever write about it. I took an introductory class in the back of a local metaphysical shop and went down a rabbit hole of books and teachings. I also enjoy readings myself - from quick fifteen minute reads at sidewalk fairs, to hour long readings in person with renowned readers, from an hour on Zoom with a famous reader, to a reading in a shop in Salem, Massachusetts during the chaos that is October in that town - I’ve benefited from them all. It has been a delight to include this interest in my latest novel.
Written in 1967 and not published until the early eighties after the anonymous author’s death, this tome of a book (it’s thick) takes a Christian, esoteric view of the tarot.
It’s a deep dive into the principles of hermeticism with the use of the Bible, the Buddha, Plato, and many others to illustrate the points. It covers only the major arcana and each card is presented as a letter to an imaginary friend.
Now in a fully corrected edition, one of the true spiritual classics of the twentieth century.
Published for the first time with an index and Cardinal Hans Urs von Balthasar’s afterword, this new English publication of Meditations on the Tarot is the landmark edition of one of the most important works of esoteric Christianity.
Written anonymously and published posthumously, as was the author’s wish, the intention of this work is for the reader to find a relationship with the author in the spiritual dimensions of existence. The author wanted not to be thought of as a personality who lived from…
I’ve been studying and reading tarot for more than 50 years—starting when I was a teenager. I feel called to do this work—I think of it as holy work, because every reading is an inner journey for my client, I merely serve as a guide for them to discover the insights and wisdom that already exists hidden within them. Over the years I’ve studied with some of today’s top tarot teachers, I’ve studied Kabbalah with respected rabbis. I’ve studied psychological principles with leading therapists. And I’ve studied storytelling with world-famous performers. Tarot brings all these disciplines together in a way that makes every reading an encounter with the Divine that lives within each of us.
This is a very recent book that I love for its deceptive simplicity. The explanations are easy, the language is conversational, and each card is described in contemporary terms so that you’ll recognize yourself or people you know on every page. And for each card, there are a series of questions and journal prompts that on the surface seem simple, but that takes you on a deep inner journey. The subtitle of this book is “Know the cards to know yourself” and it’s a promise this book will help you keep.
The Numinous Tarot Guide is an interactive, self-study guide that unlocks the meaning of the cards in an instant - and in a way that is deeply personal to every reader of every level. Designed to be used with any deck, a reading for each of the 78 cards offers a modern, evolved interpretation of the card's meaning, along with prompts and journal exercises, to help guide the reader into a space of deep reflection.
The traditional way to interact with the Tarot is to ask a question and then pull a card to divine the 'answer'-this guide instead offers…
I’ve been studying and reading tarot for more than 50 years—starting when I was a teenager. I feel called to do this work—I think of it as holy work, because every reading is an inner journey for my client, I merely serve as a guide for them to discover the insights and wisdom that already exists hidden within them. Over the years I’ve studied with some of today’s top tarot teachers, I’ve studied Kabbalah with respected rabbis. I’ve studied psychological principles with leading therapists. And I’ve studied storytelling with world-famous performers. Tarot brings all these disciplines together in a way that makes every reading an encounter with the Divine that lives within each of us.
There is no personal growth or spiritual development without encountering and coming to terms with one’s shadow. It can be a frightening prospect, and it’s not a very comfortable process, but there is no getting around it. That’s why this book is important. When you confront your shadow, it helps to have a guide who has been there and done it. Steel has done the work and knows how to help you do it too. I am very grateful for this book—it helped me face inner conflicts and accept things about myself I always thought were unacceptable. It’s not an easy practice, but the results are profound.
Through Tarot work, journalling meditation, creative visualization, and dream work, you can free yourself from the shackles of the unbridled, unconscious power of your shadow self. This book is ideal for those who are in recovery from a serious addiction or illness, as well as any person seeking a deeper understanding of his or her true self.
I’ve been studying and reading tarot for more than 50 years—starting when I was a teenager. I feel called to do this work—I think of it as holy work, because every reading is an inner journey for my client, I merely serve as a guide for them to discover the insights and wisdom that already exists hidden within them. Over the years I’ve studied with some of today’s top tarot teachers, I’ve studied Kabbalah with respected rabbis. I’ve studied psychological principles with leading therapists. And I’ve studied storytelling with world-famous performers. Tarot brings all these disciplines together in a way that makes every reading an encounter with the Divine that lives within each of us.
One of my gripes about so much “new age” teaching is that it can be very Pollyanna-ish. Everything is light. Except that’s what the authors call “woo woo psychobabble”. And they’re right. This book is the cure for spiritual bypassing. It recognizes that we all have neuroses—old behavior patterns and beliefs that limit our growth and development. And it can be very difficult to look at these patterns, much less work through them. This book gives you powerful exercises that will build your personal insight into your shadow, to heal your relationship with it.
Each of us has a shadow that darkens our inner and outer lives. In Tarot for Troubled Times, Shaheen Miro and Theresa Reed show us how working with the shadow—facing it directly, leaning into it rather than away—releases power that can free ourselves from negative mental habits and destructive emotions to find healing ourselves and others. Tarot, as the authors show, offers a rich and subtle path for this profound transformation.
Through this book, you will discover a different approach to tarot, life, and self-empowerment.
I started studying the tarot ten years ago with no thought that I would ever write about it. I took an introductory class in the back of a local metaphysical shop and went down a rabbit hole of books and teachings. I also enjoy readings myself - from quick fifteen minute reads at sidewalk fairs, to hour long readings in person with renowned readers, from an hour on Zoom with a famous reader, to a reading in a shop in Salem, Massachusetts during the chaos that is October in that town - I’ve benefited from them all. It has been a delight to include this interest in my latest novel.
Carrington’s surrealist masterpiece is a bit lighter than her other well-known novel, Down Below.
She tells the tale of someone not often seen, much less celebrated, in literature - the crone. At age 92, Marion Leatherby is given the gift of a hearing trumpet by her dear friend Carmella. It is only then she can hear that her family is planning on sending her to an institution.
Carrington’s fondness for the tarot (she even painted her own deck) can be found in the archetypal characters Leatherby encounters at the institution including the Abbess, the Snow Queen, and the Queen Bee among others.
An old woman enters into a fantastical world of dreams and nightmares in this surrealist classic admired by Björk and Luis Buñuel.
Leonora Carrington, painter, playwright, and novelist, was a surrealist trickster par excellence, and The Hearing Trumpet is the witty, celebratory key to her anarchic and allusive body of work. The novel begins in the bourgeois comfort of a residential corner of a Mexican city and ends with a man-made apocalypse that promises to usher in the earth’s rebirth. In between we are swept off to a most curious old-age home run by a self-improvement cult and drawn several…
I started studying the tarot ten years ago with no thought that I would ever write about it. I took an introductory class in the back of a local metaphysical shop and went down a rabbit hole of books and teachings. I also enjoy readings myself - from quick fifteen minute reads at sidewalk fairs, to hour long readings in person with renowned readers, from an hour on Zoom with a famous reader, to a reading in a shop in Salem, Massachusetts during the chaos that is October in that town - I’ve benefited from them all. It has been a delight to include this interest in my latest novel.
My copy of this foremost biography of Remedios Varo is in tatters.
It covers Varo’s life from her childhood in Spain, her time in Paris with the surrealists, her flight from Paris and life in a safe house in Marseilles, and her escape from Vichy France to the haven of Mexico, her home for the remainder of her life.
Kaplan includes insights into Varo’s spiritual beliefs and practices, including the tarot. Filled with gorgeous reproductions of her paintings.
Since I was a teenager, I have been attracted to astrology, Jungian psychology, synchronicity, symbolism, alchemy, and Jewish esotery. Someone gave me my first Tarot deck as a present. Since then I collect old and new decks from the entire world and created my own Sun and Moon Tarot. I continue to deepen my knowledge of tarot and all the systems associated with it.At times I focus more on the Sefiroth and Kabbalah. Sometimes I’m more interested in different ways of interpreting tarot. I've been illustrating Astrological Learning Cards for a while now, trying to better understand the different astrological archetypes and to make art.
I like many of Rachel Pollack's books, but this was one of the first
tarot books I read. This kind of book is perfect for me to learn something. It reads very
easily, more like a course than a book with pages full of text. The layout is
light and each page is richly illustrated with colour photos including tarot
cards from all over the world, so you can compare and get a good idea of the
character of each card.
All facets of tarot, which you can delve into later, are discussed:
origin, history & the different traditions, symbols & colours,
the Tree of Life & the
Hebrew letters, numbers & the paths of the Sefiroth, Kabbalah &
astrology, the journey of the fool through the Major Arcana, different readings
& card spreads, different ways to use the tarot cards: to meditate, to
work with dreams, games, storytelling and…
The tarot is an ancient system of wisdom, using a deck of 78 illustrated cards, which is designed to enhance both daily life and spiritual development. This reference includes information on the origins, history and structure of the tarot, the symbolism of the cards, and how to do a reading.
Since I was a teenager, I have been attracted to astrology, Jungian psychology, synchronicity, symbolism, alchemy, and Jewish esotery. Someone gave me my first Tarot deck as a present. Since then I collect old and new decks from the entire world and created my own Sun and Moon Tarot. I continue to deepen my knowledge of tarot and all the systems associated with it.At times I focus more on the Sefiroth and Kabbalah. Sometimes I’m more interested in different ways of interpreting tarot. I've been illustrating Astrological Learning Cards for a while now, trying to better understand the different astrological archetypes and to make art.
While designing and illustrating my own Sun and Moon Tarot, I followed
the normal order of letters of the Hebrew alphabet and therefore also their
values. And I respected the original Western Hermetic order of the cards on the
paths of the Tree of Life and their corresponding Hebrew letters. This system
is explained in detail in this book.
Rufus C. Camphausen describes in detail how the numbering of the tarot cards has been changed by
different groups of people (Kabbalists, Astrologers, the Hermetic order of the
Golden Dawn & Aleister Crowley, A. E. Waite of the Rider Waite Tarot). The
same is true with the assignment of the planets and zodiac signs and the
assignment of the numbers and the Hebrew letters on the paths of the
Sefiroth (Tree of Life in Kabbalah).
Together with Van Leeuwen he also created ‘The
Kabbalistic Tarot/Tree-of-life Tarot’. This tarot deck…
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