If you had to choose only one book on learning the tarot, what would it be?

jsgrrchg

Uff!! That is a difficult desicion!! I choose the 78 degrees of wisdom, is simple and complex qt the same time, and makes you meditate about the meaning of the each single card in the deck to by yourself expand the meaning.
I hope i help tyoo
 

seakla

Gosh, I'd have to limit it to 3.

I love The Only Tarot Book You Will Ever Need; How to Use Tarot Spreads; and 21 Steps to Higher Learning. If I had to choose it would be the 3rd one mentioned. Also, I have written one titled 365 Tarot Activities so I am sort of biased on that as well because it has hundreds of prompts for learning and interacting with Tarot however I don't go into details as to what the cards mean, so as far as books explaining the meanings of cards it would be one of those 3 I first mentioned.
 

ana luisa

Tarot Plain and Simple was my first book and I always go back to it. :)
 

Gulliver

Honestly, I can't think of a better book to start with than Yoav Ben-Dov's "Tarot-The open Reading".
It's mainly aimed at learning to interpret the Marseille tarot (illustrated with Yoav's very own CBD Tarot, a gorgeous recreation of the Conver deck from 1760), but the way it teaches you to open your eyes and connect them to both your intuition and common sense can be applied to any deck, really. Most of the wonderful books mentioned here will hold both of your hands and lead you through a journey of esoteric symbolism, occult history and meanings that need to be memorized; instead, Ben-Dov will point you to a path and give you a small push, suggesting various alternatives and helping the reader understand how to unlock the images.

Others give you pasteurized juice; this book gives you fruit, a juicer, and pure organic honey.

Everything is a sign.

I second this! :heart:

This is the one and only. I'm assured you'll find no better book on the whole market!
 

KatherineMarie

78 degrees of wisdom

Uff!! That is a difficult desicion!! I choose the 78 degrees of wisdom, is simple and complex qt the same time, and makes you meditate about the meaning of the each single card in the deck to by yourself expand the meaning.
I hope i help tyoo

I really agree that Seventy-Eight Degrees of Wisdom is both simple and complex. It may seem like information overload at times, but as you work with the cards more, you can appreciate that she doesn't try to just simplify the meanings.

What I find most important about this book is how she breaks down the Major Arcana into 3 separate lines of 7.. taking the Fool card out of the mix. It revolutionized the way I thought about the Major Arcana, and I have never been the same since.

1) The Wordly Sequence-- developing a personality, a "mask", the ego, the outer self
2) Turning Inward-- discovering the inner self, death of the ego, reconciliation of inner and outer
3) The Great Journey-- releasing of archetypal major energies... still working on understanding this last and advanced line of cards

Check it out! It is a Must Read!

Katie
 

Annabelle

Honestly, I can't think of a better book to start with than Yoav Ben-Dov's "Tarot-The open Reading".
It's mainly aimed at learning to interpret the Marseille tarot (illustrated with Yoav's very own CBD Tarot, a gorgeous recreation of the Conver deck from 1760), but the way it teaches you to open your eyes and connect them to both your intuition and common sense can be applied to any deck, really. Most of the wonderful books mentioned here will hold both of your hands and lead you through a journey of esoteric symbolism, occult history and meanings that need to be memorized; instead, Ben-Dov will point you to a path and give you a small push, suggesting various alternatives and helping the reader understand how to unlock the images.

Others give you pasteurized juice; this book gives you fruit, a juicer, and pure organic honey.

Everything is a sign.

Yes, yes, yes. I was about to post about this book, then saw that BSwett has already said what I was wanting to say :).

I love this book, and wish that it had been around years ago when I first started with tarot.
 

celticnoodle

I am looking for the number 1 book for tarot learning. It should be thick, well rounded and cover ALL the basics and a little more than basics. Something that the beginner as well as an intermediate or even an experience reader could use. Or a book, that would "last" and would not be easily exhaustible.

In short: I have limited amount of money and I can buy one book in 6 months. Which one?

Unfortunately, I can't advise a book that meets all of the above demands. But, I will tell you that my favorite book to help you learn the tarot and read well--is called "Psychic Tarot-using your natural psychic abilities to read the cards" by Nancy Antennucci and Melanie Howard.

This book will not give their meanings to each card, but it is a book designed for the beginner, the intermediate user, and the experienced reader as well. It is not easily exhaustible, and it contains A LOT more then just the basics--in a whole new way to learn the tarot (or oracle). This is definitely one book that EVERY reader should have in their library! It is a book that I absolutely love and recommend very highly!

One thing that I like about this book is that Nancy and Melanie encourage the reader to use their own personal instincts to read the cards rather then memorizing someone else's meanings. They have some wonderful exercises in this small little book too, that will help you to see what each card means to you. I cannot comment enough on this little, easy to use and inexpensive book. Its small, and a mere 221 pages (had to check to be sure). But it surely gives a new meaning to the phrase, "Great things come in small packages!"
 

Thoughtful

Just been looking at this thread as l am ready to have a read with a new book. The Psychic Tarot..... mentioned by celticnoodle sounded a good one so have ordered it. Also Yoav Ben-Dovs book looks to be a winner as well, but where can l order that? Would appreciate your replies. Thanks.
 

Thoughtful

Thanks gregory!
Thought l would have to buy from him personally, knowing its on amazon is brill and now its been ordered :thumbsup:

Edited to add you are a mine of information:)