Most helpful books for beginners in your opinion?

I got the book - Tarot Bible by sarah Bartlett too. Not bad but for some of my reading, I can't figure out. I am still relying heavily on the book, well, I am 4-mths old in Tarots.
I just ordered a book from Amazon - Tarot Made Easy by Nancy Ganea. Good comments on it so I bought it. Now waiting for it to arrive in a month's time. Hope it's as good as stated! Will share once I got it!

I have to add one---The Secret Language of Tarot by Ruth and Wald Amberstone. Excellent book! I'm a little over halfway through it on the first read and it's extremely interesting, educational, fascinating and helpful.

missy_ said:

As a beginner myself, I have just purchased "Tarot Plain and Simple" by Anthony Louis. This contains basic card meanings. I believe there is a "look inside this book" option on Amazon with this one that will give you a good idea what some of his meanings look like. I really like the book so far: it is a quick and easy reference and not overwhelming like so many "beginner" books.

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This is the book I recommend most highly to any beginning students. Second is "Pictures from the Heart" by Sandra A. Thompson. What I like about these 2 books is that they are not technical, they are not Hermetic, pr attached to any mystical etc., system, and they give a wide range of ways to look at the cards. Pictures gives meanings of the symbols on the cards, which deepens understanding and promotes fluidity in a reader. They give the new reader a very good set of tools, and do not infringe on his right to see things his way. They're not cast in cement, with that "This is THE WAY to read this card" attitude, unlike many beginning & intermediate books.

Get 'em both, is what I say, and later on move into Mary Greer's "21 Ways to Read a Tarot Card"..!

There’s this great one…I forget the title (it’s been in print for years)…

It’s a short book, only containing 78 pages.

Its not bound, so you can put the pages in any order you want and it changes the whole book! Its really cool!

And when you read it, it will create questions in your mind – and you research those questions and learn all kinds of new stuff!

I hope you can find a copy…it really is the only one you'll ever need.

I would recommend "The complete tarot reader" by Teresa Michelsen. This book will teach you to become a reader, not someone who repeats information memorized.

The best advise would be to use your cards as much as possible and read for people around you. Nothing beats practice in my mind.

A Magical Course in Tarot by Michele Morgan

I really love this book.

Although this book does not particularly talk about Tarot, I think it helps with interpretation skills. The Norton Anthology of Short Fiction. Most of the stories are open to interpretation. Don't worry about being "wrong" or what the experts say. The truth is, no one really knows what the author really meant. Could be that the author didn't even really know what they were talking about "this character really reflected the way his father treated him, etc." Reflect on stories that you strongly react to, and you may notice some things about yourself. Then reflect on stories that you don't strongly react to, and you may notice some things about yourself.

I think that the best stories are ones that can be re-read over and over, and they change. Your interpretations will change, and there's always more questions left unanswered. It's like Tarot.

I'm currently working on the "The Complete Tarot Reader: Everything You Need to Know from Start to Finish" by Teresa Michelsen, and as arcana mentioned, from the beginning exercises, it has you working on getting to know your cards intimately even before opening up the book that came with the deck. It starts you right off with starting a journal, and really examining the cards and seeing what you think they mean.....I'm enjoying it, but I sometimes wonder if I'm on the right track with my meanings

Does anyone else find it tough to look at the cards and get your "own" meaning from them, just from the pictures? I've been bang on with some, while some of the other cards, I was off-base when I looked in the deck's book.

With light and love,
Lady Lasairfhiona

If you find that you're way off from what the deck creator meant with the card, go with your own definition first. It's what you see in each card that matters because that's what the card will say to you when you see it in a spread. Your goal is to be able to "hear" what the cards are saying to you so you can weave a story/reading out of it when you see it in a spread. You don't want to have to be searching around in your head trying to find what the book said. And don't let yourself get stuck thinking that a card is going to say the same thing every time you see it, either. Context will change it every time.

Grizabella said:

If you find that you're way off from what the deck creator meant with the card, go with your own definition first. It's what you see in each card that matters because that's what the card will say to you when you see it in a spread. Your goal is to be able to "hear" what the cards are saying to you so you can weave a story/reading out of it when you see it in a spread. You don't want to have to be searching around in your head trying to find what the book said. And don't let yourself get stuck thinking that a card is going to say the same thing every time you see it, either. Context will change it every time.

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Ahhhh ok thanks Grizabella - I will keep that in mind when reading....

I love this board!!!!

Lady Lasairfhiona