The Ultimate Guide to the Rider Waite Tarot encourages you to consider what each symbol in a tarot card represents, and as the name makes clear, in this instance they are applying this approach to the Rider Waite tarot deck. The Ultimate Guide follows a very basic layout. It begins with “10 reasons for writing this book” and continues with the 10 this or that throughout. To be honest I was a bit childish in my initial rebellion to reading the section titled, “The 10 most important rules for interpretation” because I baulk at the idea of rules in reading the cards. However, I was pleasantly surprised and found I…

Understanding the Tarot Court, seeks to take readers from seeing the court cards as two-dimensional figures with simple characteristics through to knowing them as richly complex personalities. As the authors claim, “The purpose of this book is to make the court cards come alive, and to give you a deep familiarity with the cards and their possibilities.” To do this Understanding the Tarot Court begins by providing an overview of both the different ways the court cards cards can be interpreted in a reading and a breakdown of the suit and rank associations, before encouraging readers to take a guided meditation to meet the court in a non-threatening way (at…

Where do I begin with Holistic Tarot. It’s encyclopaedic in scope and volume. Check out the contents list below and you’ll see what I mean. And, those chapters aren’t brief. This book is nearly 900 pages long but Benebell Wen’s clear and accessible writing style make this comprehensive exploration of the tarot thorough without being overwhelming. In this multifaceted book, Wen incorporates Eastern and Western teachings as well as psychology to provide something for all. I have to say I’m a fan of Holistic Tarot. I like Wen’s approach because it aligns with my own notions of tarot. She writes, “My approach to tarot is not predictive. It is analytic”…

Search for a list of recommended tarot books and Seventy-Eight Degrees of Wisdom is likely to be on the list. Author of many tarot books herself (including 21 Ways to Read a Tarot Card and Understanding the Tarot Court), Mary K Greer says it “is on [her] ‘Top Ten’ list of all time Tarot Greats!” It provides a comprehensive explanation of each tarot card including reversals but it is more than just a this-card-means-this-book. It takes you on a journey through the tarot rather than considering each card in isolation. The book focuses on the Rider Waite deck however, other decks are shown occasionally for comparison and to illuminate certain…

Tarot 101 provides a “complete course in Tarot” that aims to demystify “the art of card reading in an exciting new way”. Just like Mary K Greer’s approach in 21 Ways to Read a Tarot Card, Kim Huggens has also broken her book into 22 lessons. But that is where the similarity ends. Huggens has taken a theme-based approach to learning the cards. For example, in chapter 4 she groups The High Priestess, The Empress and The Star as the Major Arcanas Feminine Archetypes. Huggens shares her wealth of knowledge and encourages her readers to develop their own. Each chapter includes valuable information that both links to the topic and…

As the introduction states, “21 Ways to Read a Tarot Card is full of techniques for gaining insights into tarot readings”, and it doesn’t disappoint. Working with a single card in 21 different ways definitely expands both your ways of working with your cards and your personal insights. The idea isn’t to utilise every method every time however. Rather, one of the goals of the book is to help you “evolve an individualized reading style or technique.” I love that it’s a how-to book that keeps you very much in charge of how you ultimately work with your cards. Each of the twenty-one sections offers two different levels of exploration.…