tarotlova
Can anyone suggest a good book on this subject at all? I'm just trying to delve a bit deeper in my Tarot readings
I just knew I owned a book on tarot card symbols, so after thoroughly sifting through my book collection I found it.
It's The Ultimate Guide To The Rider Waite Tarot
It goes through each and every card in the RWS deck explaining most symbols, with all cards in color; translated from German, it's a good size but not overly hefty.
I suggest you give it a try.
I see that you joined the forum back in '04. If you have been reading Tarot since then (instead of other ways of divination), then I am really surprised that the urge to dive deeper into the symbolism, took so long to strike. You must have a really good intuitive mind.
To me, the symbolism is the heart of the cards, above all else. I have been studying Tarot only about 2 1/2 years now and I bought every well-known book and the thing that helped me the most was an exercise:
I took the time (about a couple of weeks) to go through each card and list every and any object/symbol that I could see and then I wrote what those symbols meant to me. You could also use a free mapping tool. Then, I began to research online what these symbols traditionally meant and voila...a whole new world opened up to me. I couldn't believe it. How much religious, mythological, ancient world symbols were drawn in the cards. I learned so much plus it made it easier to read the cards 'intuitively'.
The symbols the artist decides to draw in the scene are there for a reason (obviously) and I was surprised at the things I discovered that I had not seen before.
I also bought several symbolism books to further my study.
Here's a list of all that I think are the best:
Best website: Avia Venefica's
Her tarot website: http://www.tarotteachings.com/
Her symbol website: http://www.whats-your-sign.com/
Tarot books:
The Secret Language of Tarot (best)
The Ultimate Guide to Tarot - the list the top ten symbols in each card and give meanings.
The Illustrated Key to Tarot can be found here: http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/43548
The Symbolism of Tarot: http://sacred-texts.com/tarot/sot/index.htm
Symbolism Books:
The Dictionary of Symbols: J. E. Cirlot
Book of Psychic Symbols
I cannot emphasize how much this helped me and I believe in the long, exercise I did that I would love to write a book...but...I have a way to go before I could do that. I still have so much to learn; like the Court Cards which are still stumping me.
Have fun!
Freyja
Two classic encyclopedic works on the subject of symbols (including the Tarot) are:
"The Penguin Dictionary of Symbols" by Jean Chevalier and Alain Gheerbrant'
and
"A Dictionary of Symbols" by J.E. Cirlot.
Both are still in print, and both are well worth getting for further, in-depth study.
I second this, and highly recommend it; this is my go-to book on symbolism across the board!Two classic encyclopedic works on the subject of symbols (including the Tarot) are:
"The Penguin Dictionary of Symbols" by Jean Chevalier and Alain Gheerbrant'