Tarot Reference Resources I Found on the Web

While looking at a resource that someone else posted on another thread:


I found another gem, evidently by the same person who posted the dignities dictionary:


From the first page of this PDF file:

Here, in one easy-to-use guide, you’ll find standard definitions for hundreds of tarot symbols and images . This is the most comprehensive collection of its kind, written specifically for tarot students and readers.

The Symbolist is designed for use with most tarot decks, especially the Rider-Waite and its derivatives. You’ll find:

• Hundreds of tarot card symbols, defined, explained , and cross-referenced.
• Brief descriptions and key words for every card in the 78-card tarot deck.
• And special sections on court cards, tarot and astrology, and mythology.

Whether you’re a beginning tarot reader or an advanced practitioner of the ancient art, The Symbolist is sure to add insight and clarity to your work with the tarot.

A Two of Cups Tarot Publication...

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I don't know about "the most comprehensive", but it's a neat, 45-page reference in a terse, dictionary-style presentation.

When I find stuff like this, I typically save it in a Dropbox folder that's synced to the Goodreader app on my iPad. For some things that seem particularly useful as reference material, I also make a printed copy. As I use Day-Timer™ notebooks with 8.5"x5x5" paper, I like to print this stuff in "booklet" form, that is, with two pages per sheet of paper, double sided, so I can cut the paper down the middle, punch holes, and file it in a 7-ring notebook.

I have figured out how to print things in this format -- double-sided, mind you! -- on a Macintosh using Adobe Reader. If anyone's interested, I'd be glad to post a "how to".

Some things are too tiny for my old eyes to read at this reduced size, however, some things (like this "Symbolist" file) seem useful enough to warrant squinting.

P.S. I have no connection with any of the materials or products listed above. Just sharing the wealth...

Excelllent resources, a_gnostic. Thanks!

Collections/Databases of Tarot Card Meanings on the Web

Here are some sites that provide meanings for individual Tarot cards. Some of them also characterize suits and mention other visual and conceptual themes that run through the cards.

I think of these as "divination keyword lists on steroids". Most of them list card summaries but then let you click through to a page devoted to each card. Some (if not all) of these you may have encountered before. I'm simply gathering the links into one place. (Feel free to post others, and I'll edit this post to include them.)

• AEclectic: Learn Tarot Meanings
• American Tarot Association (ATA) "personal" interpretations of each of the 79 RWS Tarot cards (by James Rioux, "The Black Shadow")
• Biddy Tarot: Tarot Card Meanings
• Pendragon323.com: Pendragon's Key to the Tarot
• TarotPassages.com: Sources of the Waite/Smith Tarot Symbols: grids of details and in which [traditional] deck versions they appear
• TarotTeachings.com[/url]: extensive information about cards, suits, attributions, and symbols.
• Squidoo: Kim_Ferrell's Lenses – links to individual cards, upright and reversed meanings
• Wikipedia pages for individual Tarot cards.
  • Be sure to check out the grid of related topics at the bottoms of these pages to get to pages on particular decks, Hermetic Qabalah, and biographies of people like AE Waite, Aleister Crowley, and Paul Foster Case.
  • Note that you can click the "Printable Version" link in the left column to get a "clean" copy of the material for easy reading. You can also assemble multiple Wikipedia articles into a PDF book: see the "Create a book" link, also under "print/export".
  • Index of pages for the Major Arcana
  • Index pf pages for the Minor Arcana
• MysticGames.com: Cosmic Tribe Tarot meanings – click through to get a page showing a synopsis and general description for each card of this deck.
• A Compendium of Tarot Card Meanings by Paul Hughes-Barlow – Here are links to sections of his supertarot.co.ok site where you'll find interactive/navigable tables of characteristics and attributions, including color, gods, elements, Kabbalah, and Oriental.
  • For many decks: each card has a separate entry for many decks, including Rider-Waite, Thoth, Golden Dawn, Mathers, Ettella, Thierens, and Paul Foster Case-style decks.
  • For Thoth decks:
    • Majors
    • Minors by Rank, with links to per-suit pages
    • Courts
    • Tables from Liber 777
• "On the Breeze"/Windhorse Tarot Blog The majority of posts in this blog, going back to its beginning in March of 2012 are interesting monographs on Tarot-related topics, many of which delve deeply into interpretations of individual cards. There are at least 50 of these in this blog!!! I have not yet read most of this – but need to do so!

Tarot of Color – attributions

I found an interesting deck, the Tarot of Color, an "attribution deck" that shows a ton of correspondences for each card of a standard 78-card deck: sound, color, states of consciousness, astrology, the 4 elements, time, sequence, angelic forces, the Hebrew alphabet, and other Qabalistic information. (You can check out the deck itself here.)

On the web site for the deck, tarotofcolor.com, you can look up the complete information for any card right there: http://tarotofcolor.com/cards/

I've attached a screen capture of The Fool's info so you can see what's there. As you can see, they've included an image from the deck as well as the corresponding Rider Waite card and listed the Esoteric Title, Astrological Attribution, Elemental Attribution, Dates & Timing, Hebrew Letter, Color, Intelligence, Esoteric Function, Qabalistic Path (on the Tree of Life), Translation of Path (ToL again), Keywords, and Ill-Dignified Keywords.

Hello A Gnostic.
I just had a chance for a quick glimse at some of your research. Looks like really great stuff. Making a deck myself and to put it crudely; cramming in as much good stuff as I can- particulary in the majors. I'll be interested to see if I have the correct correspondences as my sources have been varied and I am still very much an aspirant, student of symbolism and Tarot.
Thanks for drawing this to my attention, Wooden-eye

Great thread, bookmarking this thread in my Tarot reference bookmarks section.

I appreciate the encouragement!

Which website has the most accurate Tarot card meanings?

videojob8 said:

Which website has the most accurate Tarot card meanings?

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Videojob8, how are you defining 'accurate'..
Tarot is like a language; the cards have a basic root meaning that's derived from the number, element and image but the context is the most important thing. A card can mean one thing in one reading then 5 minutes later mean something different in another reading. A website with meanings is just one person's meanings and is no more accurate than someone elses meanings.

It really is best to find your own meanings by using the cards, studying and journalling. Learning tarot is like learning a language - you can grasp the basics very quickly but to go deeper and become fluent in the language the cards speak takes years and years and is an ongoing thing. The more you use the cards, the more you understand them.

Ok, that clarifies it.
I apologize for asking this question.