Best Books for Beginners

I would extually start with alot of books about the cards meanings so the person can compare the different views of the writers and form is own.

And after that there is mary greers boek and rachel Pollack!

beginner books

i am not so sure about the reversal book by greer, now i don't have it, but i think when you are brand new at the tarot it could be easier to leave the reversals for at least a while - until you got the upright meanings. but that's just me.
(someone who still after almost 15 years are not using reversals on a regular basis)

right now i am reading a great beginners book!
it is by Rachel Pollack and is called: "Complete ilustrated guide to tarot"
isbn: 0-00-713115-1
and not only for beginners, i find it quite interesting (and beautiful to look at) myself. it goes through a bit of everything really. history, symbols, astrology, tree of life, readings etc.
all illustrated with lots of different decks.
so for a beginner - i would get them this one, the bunning book (of course it is one of the best ever) and the book written for their deck of choice.

i must confess to not having worked through all of Greer "Tarot for yourself" yet, i mean to but it is a bit boring right now.
*guilty look*

I loved Joan Bunning's online book; Tarot for Dummies was very good too, as was Mary Greer's Tarot for Yourself.

Once I felt more confident in my reading abilities, I branched out and added 78 DW, Tarot Reversals, and Power Tarot to my Tarot book collection.

Starfish

I hear Tarot Reversals also has a lot of good info on upright meanings, and even if a beginner, or even an expert, decides not to use reversals its helpful to know the shades of meaning on the reversed side of the scale too. I think without them my readings would be too positive all the time I dont have Tarot Reversals yet either but I think it would be good for beginners, anything by Mary Greer is good.

Re: beginner books

jema said:

i must confess to not having worked through all of Greer "Tarot for yourself" yet, i mean to but it is a bit boring right now.
*guilty look*

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Here's another "guilty" one...
I've done several exercises from the book, but I too find it a bit boring and I really have to force myself to continue...
Glad I'm not the only one!

While it might be best for a beginner to start with, say, Janina Renee, I think Tarot Reversals could also be a good choice. One great thing about it is that it offers so many interpretations for both reversed and upright cards that a new reader might not be as likely to get trapped in an "each card has ONE RIGHT meaning" mindset. On the other hand, that mindset is probably what many beginners want!

Re: Re: beginner books

tarotlady said:

Here's another "guilty" one...
I've done several exercises from the book, but I too find it a bit boring and I really have to force myself to continue...
Glad I'm not the only one!

Click to expand...

I also have not used TFYS, and have no desire to, either.

For anyone with the Joan Bunning book: Does the website represent the full content of the printed copy, or does it leave out or condense things? I've been thinking about getting the book, but if it's basically the same as the website, I'll just use the site.

--Kyrielle

I believe the Joan Bunning site contains the entire text of the book. In fact, there are some sample readings on the site that are not in the book.

I like the Bunning book a lot, and I also like Renee's Tarot for a New Generation. But I sometimes wonder if these books simply contain too much information for a beginner.

I've just read a book which I posted about in another thread, "A Magical Course in Tarot," by Michele Morgan, and I think it would be great for beginners. It's a smallish book, and it emphasizes intuitive reading techniques, although it does contain interpretations for all the cards, but the interpretations are story-book-like and very easy to take, not a bunch of phrases to be memorized. It's also well-written with a very gentle, approachable feel. I think I would recommend that book to a beginner.

-- Lee

Lee said:

I believe the Joan Bunning site contains the entire text of the book. In fact, there are some sample readings on the site that are not in the book.

-- Lee

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Lee:

You're absolutely correct. Joan's site does contain the entire book text.
You can also order a CD from her with the complete site, thus it's usable without being on-line... kind of cool.

I have the book, the CD and have used the site.
I bought the book primarily to show and give her support (I bought it directly from and signed by her).

I think her book and site are great for beginners and it's number 1 on my list.

As with any book worth it's while, it contains large amounts of information.
The reason I like her stuff is that it's well organized with a great index allowing you to move through the information in whatever direction and speed you like. It's one of my favorite reference books.