Tarot Library

Thread originally posted on the Aeclectic Tarot Forum on 05 Feb 2005, and now archived in the Forum Library.

bladeraven	05 Feb 2005
What books would you suggest a tarot reader should have in their library? I have Learning the tarot by Joan Bunting since I'm taking the B&N online class and I was recommend to get 7 degrees of wisdom by Racheal Pollack (anxiously waiting for that to come in the mail) and was curious what other books one would suggest..OH! I also have Tarot Plain and Simple to my collection too...plus the Haindl book that came with the deck that was given as a gift (HUGGLES to Gigi, love them just so afraid to touch them yet..lol), the OSHO Zen book as well..

mnemosyne7	06 Feb 2005
Hi Blade, Anything by Mary Greer, Amber Jayanti and Angeles Arrien would probably be good. Eileen Connolly has a series of Tarot books out that are chock full of information and ideas that you won't likely find anywhere else. However (there's always a however) - she is quite dogmatic. If you are able to read through everything and take what you need, without letting the rest bother you, then you might enjoy having her series in your library, as well. There are so many wonderful books out there ... old and new ... I pick stuff up all the time. I usually hit the used section at the metaphysical bookstores now, so that I don't have to pay full price. Mnemosyne

bladeraven	06 Feb 2005
There's a half price books where I'm moving to and Amazon so far has been great with used books for low rates...have to check the ones out that you mention..I remember a sci-fi book series that was based on the Tarot...wish I kept it..I had the whole series..it was oddly enough about a priest who was given a deck of tarot cards for his journey. Mary Greer sounds so familiar!!

Gwynne	06 Feb 2005
bladeraven wrote: There's a half price books where I'm moving to and Amazon so far has been great with used books for low rates...have to check the ones out that you mention..I remember a sci-fi book series that was based on the Tarot...wish I kept it..I had the whole series..it was oddly enough about a priest who was given a deck of tarot cards for his journey. Mary Greer sounds so familiar!! That would be Piers Anthony's Planet Tarot series. I've got it and I loved it. Each chapter is based on a Tarot card, although there are some additions to his deck. Mary K. Greer is one of the more well-known authors, she wrote Tarot for Yourself among other titles.

Logiatrix	06 Feb 2005
Books? It's dangerous to bring up books around me! :D These are the three books I found most helpful when I first began studying tarot: >Pictorial Keys to the Tarot, by A. E. Waite (Though a tad dry, I think it should at least be a starting point; I still keep it for reference.) >The Tarot Handbook, by Angeles Arrien (Although it’s keyed to the Crowley deck, it is a worthy read for any tarotist, because of the abundant symbolic and psychological applications; it makes up for the dryness of Waite’s book. ;) ) >Tarot For Yourself, by Mary K. Greer (This is the one I always gift to friends with their first deck.) Also, for specific applications: >Tarot and the Journey of the Hero, by Hajo Banshaf (Even if I had no interest in tarot cards, I would enjoy this study of archetypes and the Major Arcana; awesome illustrations.) >Choice Centered Tarot, by Gail Fairfield (The only resource you need to grasp numerology as it relates to tarot.) >A Renaissance Tarot, by Brian Williams (It usually comes in a set, but the book alone is an essential resource; Williams writes an amazing presentation of the historical tarot .) >Power Tarot, by Trisha MacGregor and Phyllis Vega (A great resource for spreads .) >The Heart of the Tarot, by S. Thomson, R. Mueller and S. Echols (Very helpful for understanding card combinations , even if you choose not to do the two-card spread.) Newer favorites: >Tarot Mysteries, by Jonathan Dee (Fresh information, and a good general card-meanings text, but not the boringly typical, standard faire.) >Tarot: The Ultimate Full-Color Guide, by Hali Morag (This book awakened my interest in the Waite-Smith deck; also good for symbolism in general.) >Pictures from the Heart, by Sandra A. Thomson (This one took the place of all my other tarot dictionaries.) :) Okay, that's all...sorry I wrote such a long post... :rolleyes:

Logiatrix	06 Feb 2005
bladeraven wrote: ...and I was recommend to get 7 degrees of wisdom by Racheal Pollack (anxiously waiting for that to come in the mail)... :eek: Oh-my-goodness! I forgot Rachel Pollack's "78 Degrees of Wisdom"! Yes, good idea, definitely at the top of the list... :)

bladeraven	06 Feb 2005
wow..what awesome recommendations...going to have to write them down ..lol..never mind..print it out and head to the nearest used bookstore...lol..I'm going to be up many a night reading

ocho8s	06 Feb 2005
let's not forget "It's All In The Cards" from tarotbear a wonderful member of this forum The ISBN is 1-4027-0986-2 I am waiting for mine to arrive Bendiciones Anaoly

bladeraven	06 Feb 2005
Ooo...checking to see if amazon has it..anything to support a fellow tarot mate with.

Scion	06 Feb 2005
Book recommendations are a passion of mine... So my post may be as long as Logiatrix. :D I see from your profile that you're mainly a RWS-gal. UNless I'm wrong, you should definitely take a look at: - It's All in the Cards by John Mangiapane (aka Tarotbear) A FANTASTIC intro to the cards that's meaty enough to keep dipping into. - Many beginners also really dig Janina Renee's Tarot: Your Everyday Guide for it's accessible prose and psychological, advice-focussed card interpretations. - Tarot Tells the Tale by James Ricklef, which is a fabulous view of how readings work and how cards come together to form a meaningful picture. - Complete Book of Tarot Reversals by Mary Greer... LOVE this book, and it's not just about reversals. - 78 Degrees of Wisdom by Rachel Pollack for a more meditative take on the cards. Not as much for card meaning as for card mulling. Know what I mean? Should you branch into the Crowley Thoth, the book to get is Duquette's Understanding Aleister Crowley's Thoth Tarot. His Chicken Qabalah is the best intro to Qabala you'll come across. And if you ever get curious about Marseilles or other nonscenic decks start out with Gail Fairfield's Choice Centered Tarot and then move into Meditations on the Tarot by "Anonymous" for a mental workout. Actually Meditations is applicable to the RWS as well, when you get deeper into the cards. For a good overview of Tarot history check out Cynthia Giles' The Tarot: History, Mystery and Lore which is supereadable and will lead you to other titles and theories. The Golden Dawn's influence on the RWS and on Tarot in general is so huge, I figure a good sense of the history can't hurt. If you have a specific area in which you want to read more deeply, just say and I can tailor these recs acoordingly... Hope this is a help, Scion

bladeraven	06 Feb 2005
I'm on the ground twitching at the thought of wanting all those books right now...LOL I'm curious..I also have Haindl and Osho Zen and actually planning to get the Chinese Tarot too...what books do you think I should add to my "future" collection that may end up me needing a three bedroom apartment to hold all these books! Lol I have books on Buddahism and I also have the Power of Myth by Joseph Campbell and they have played a lot of inspirational..I use the Radiant RWS for readings though I'm branching more into Haindl when I can really handle them more..and my love of my life are the Osho Zen cards I have.

Pook	06 Feb 2005
<------- *Jumps in to the book recommendation thread* :D I just have to add that one of my favorite new tarot books that I never thought would be very useful, but turns out to be a great book, is "The Everything Tarot Book" by M J Abadie. There is a lot of really great info for each and every card, plus expanded sections for all of the majors about mythological and astrological significances, and oodles of other information you never knew you wanted or needed to know. Also, I second the recommend on "Power Tarot".....it was one of my very first books, partly because there are tons of spreads in it, but also because there are sections for each card on how to interpret for all kinds of situations specific inquiries, like health, finance, relationship, spirituality, etc. So you should definitely check these out!!

Scion	06 Feb 2005
bladeraven wrote: I'm curious..I also have Haindl and Osho Zen and actually planning to get the Chinese Tarot too...what books do you think I should add to my "future" collection that may end up me needing a three bedroom apartment to hold all these books! Hmm... Well the Haindl is Thoth-influenced so Duquette's book on the Crowley Thoth is something you'll definitely want to pick up down the road. But right off the bat, I should ask if you have Rachel Pollack's two fantastic books ON the Haindl specifically: Haindl Tarot - A Readers Handbook (superb practical guide to this deck) and The Haindl Tarot: The Major Arcana. Pollack's books are described and fervently recommended in the Aeclectic review of the deck here: http://www.aeclectic.net/tarot/cards/haindl/review.shtml And it's worth mentioning that the Quest Tarot (by Joseph Martin) is pretty much a Haindl clone, although the artwork is VERY different. You might want to check it out as well for comparison purposes. Our very own Lee Bursten discusses and describes the connections in his review of the Quest at Tarotpassages: http://www.tarotpassages.com/quest-lb.htm Joseph Campbell: Genius! Although his slim writings on the Tarot were marred by inexact scholarship, they're still worth reading cause his thoughts are so thrilling in action. Hero with a Thousand Faces is pretty much canonical in comparative religion/folklore at this point. I can recommend LOTS of reference material on mythology and religion. LOL My degree was in philosophy/religion. :) Bob Thurman was one of my favorite professors at Columbia and his work on Buddhism just got him named on Time magazine's list of 25 most Influential People in America: http://literati.net/Thurman/ThurmanBooks.htm Maybe this post is getting long enough. More later... Scion

lark	06 Feb 2005
One book I really like is Tarot and the Tree of Life Finding Everyday Wisdom in the Minor Arcana. By Isabel Radow Kliegman Very fresh look at the minors. If you happen to see this one at the half price book store grab it. Good one to have in your library of tarot books.

Logiatrix	07 Feb 2005
All of these posts are making me see holes in my own bookshelf...and I thought I was all set! ...making mental note-to-self to hunt down Tarotbear's book... bladeraven, you may already have it or perhaps have seen it, but if not, check out this nice addition to your Osho Zen deck, Tarot in the Spirit of Zen: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ISBN=0312317670/ref=nosim/aeclectic/ It's applicable for the RWS and Crowley decks, as well as the Osho Zen; there's a table of correspondences between the three decks, which I thought was a nice touch. :) EDITED to add...a quote from Scion: Maybe this post is getting long enough. More later... Scion Nooooo!!! No more books!!! :eek: You are a bad, bad man...and I am a poor, poor girl! ;)

Sechat	07 Feb 2005
For those of us who tend to use the analytic approach to tarot, I would like to recommend "The Mystery of Numbers" by Annemarie Schimmel (1994) which is an exhaustive look at the origins of the esoteric meanings attached to numbers and numbering systems. It covers both Western and Eastern tropes. peace, sechat

Scion	07 Feb 2005
Schimmel! GREAT recommendation, sechat. Scion

April	07 Feb 2005
These are the only two non deck-specific books I've been able to get through: Mystical Origins of the Tarot : From Ancient Roots to Modern Usage by Paul Huson (which I think used to be the Devil's Picturebook, correct me if I'm wrong) and Tarot for Self-Discovery by Nina Lee Braden (from Llewellyn's Special Topics in Tarot series) - Okay, so I didn't read it all the way through but it's not that kind of book. This is really just an all-around awesome idea for a Tarot book and if she wrote a sequal I would be the first to buy it. Then there's a couple of companion books I really like: Art and Arcana: Commentary on The Medieval Scapini Tarot by Ronald Decker and Tarot of the Spirit by Pamela Eakins (it's what I learned with) Peace, April P.S. I will recommend Tarotbear's book without having read it yet just because I always seem to be saying, "right on!", after reading his posts.

SunChariot	07 Feb 2005
[quote=April] Tarot for Self-Discovery by Nina Lee Braden (from Llewellyn's Special Topics in Tarot series) - Okay, so I didn't read it all the way through but it's not that kind of book. This is really just an all-around awesome idea for a Tarot book and if she wrote a sequal I would be the first to buy it. QUOTE] Me too!!! That's one of my favourite Tarot books. I love it, and have learnt so much from it. As soon as I do an exercise it spurs 3-4 more ideas for readings I need to do..LOL I would run off and buy the sequel too. The Love Breaks one is totally amazing! Bar

Scion	07 Feb 2005
April wrote: Mystical Origins of the Tarot : From Ancient Roots to Modern Usage by Paul Huson (which I think used to be the Devil's Picturebook, correct me if I'm wrong) I agree April! Great recs... Actually, I'm almost positive that Huson's Mystical Origins is a new book that corrects many of the errors he identified in Devil's Picturebook. I'm a big fan of this one as well, although I don't know if it's one I would recommend right off the bat to a RWS user. Can't remember where I read the Huson interview, but he sort of apologized for misconceptions he promulgated in the earlier book and said that the second book was more rigorous researchwise and grounded by the discoveries of the decade prior. April wrote: Then there's a couple of companion books I really like: Art and Arcana: Commentary on The Medieval Scapini Tarot by Ronald Decker Fantastic resource, this companion book by Decker. In fact I bought it before I had the Scapini deck just because Umbrae and JMD had spoken so highly of it. I use it in research and when referring to several other historical decks.

Niomi	08 Feb 2005
I really enjoyed Robin Wood's book on her tarot deck, it's very approachable, if not a little baised at times. It reads very easily, and doesn't make you feel like you're reading a text book.

bladeraven	08 Feb 2005
wow...my list of books to get is growing..lol...I'm afraid to tally the cost if I had the money to buy them all at once...lol

rainwolf	09 Feb 2005
Here are all of my books :) I think every book i buy has something special, but i put an asterisk next to the ones taht are especially helpful... Tarot made easy- Nancy Garen** Tarot for a new generation- Janina Renee** Idiots guide to tarot- Arlene Tognetti The secrets of the tarot- Barbara Walker Tarot Decoded- Elizabeth Hazel** 1-2-3 tarot- Donald Tyson Understanding the tarot court- mary greer Designing your own tarot spreads-Theresa Michelson Tarot and Magic- Donald Kraig Tarot Tips- Amberstone Tarot for Dummies- Amber Jayanti Tarot Secrets- Jonathan Dee Tarot for tomorrow- Emily Peach** Pictures from the heart-Sandra Thomson** Tarot for Beginners- Scott Hollander Tarot Companion- Tracy Porter The Mystical Tarot- Rosemary Guiley How to read the tarot-Sylvia Abraham** Secrets of Tarot-Annie Lionnet Tarot in ten minutes- RT Kaser Navigators tarot of the mystic SEA- Julia Turk 78 Degrees of wisdom- Rachael Pollack Understanding the Tarot- Eden Gray** Its all in the cards- Some guy (i cant find it) Tarot for all seasons- Christina Jette Jesus i have a lot of books! ;) BUT THEY ALL HAVE SOMETHING GOOD IN THEM, I SWEAR!

The Tarot Library thread was originally posted on 05 Feb 2005 in the Talking Tarot board, and is now archived in the Forum Library. Read the active threads in Talking Tarot, or read more archived threads.