What (New, Different) Tarot Book Do You Want?

MarkMcElroy

In asking this, I'm not wondering what previously-published Tarot book you'd like to order. Instead, I'm asking, "What are you looking for in a Tarot book that you haven't found yet?" or "What would a Tarot book need to have in it for you to consider it something really different or exciting?"

My own answer: there's a lot of "milk" out there. I'd like more meat.

That is, there are a lot of beginner's books out there: card dictionaries, step-by-step reading guides, coverage of the basics. (And I've written three or four of 'em!) There are several collections of essays about individual cards, from "78 Degrees" to "Thursday Night Tarot" to "Meditations on the Tarot."

I'd be delighted to find something genuinely ... deeper (for lack of a better term). By that, I don't mean "more esoteric" or "harder to understand," but richer, somehow, or more revealing, or offering more insights, or a book that helps the reader see Tarot from a fresh, new perspective.

What kind of Tarot book would you be delighted to discover and share?
 

donnalee

1) I like when a book has exercises that are helpful and actually beneficial to me, since I love it when I devise those for myself or find them in books. I personally have no interest in the lengthy huge vast tedious reading spreads or many-page instructions, since I tend to be a pithy type lately and will probably lose interest in a bunch of long step-by-step instructions--like, ceremonial magick with lots of kkkks on the end never did anything for me, although some love it.

2)I also get bored with repackages of things that feel like people took the info off the internet and are presenting it as pretty much their own so they can claim to be authors, in any subject, so things that feel like retreads do not interest me.

3)It can be interesting to see a little bit of other people's sample readings in books, although I have seen too many of those that pretty much look like someone's degree project and the book itself may be largely someone's readings, many of which seem contrived and intended to make a point (many purport to be depth psychology or Jungian-related, which I've studied, and these books often are not seeming to add much to the body of knowledge on the subjects)--they seem the opposite of a spontaneous and inventive learning exercise.

I dunno--that's just my personal right-now feelings on it. In this very fast-moving time period, people seem to want more value packed into less time and effort on their parts, which can make it difficult all around. Good luck figuring out how this can work. I hope it helps!

In asking this, I'm not wondering what previously-published Tarot book you'd like to order. Instead, I'm asking, "What are you looking for in a Tarot book that you haven't found yet?" or "What would a Tarot book need to have in it for you to consider it something really different or exciting?"

My own answer: there's a lot of "milk" out there. I'd like more meat.

That is, there are a lot of beginner's books out there: card dictionaries, step-by-step reading guides, coverage of the basics. (And I've written three or four of 'em!) There are several collections of essays about individual cards, from "78 Degrees" to "Thursday Night Tarot" to "Meditations on the Tarot."

I'd be delighted to find something genuinely ... deeper (for lack of a better term). By that, I don't mean "more esoteric" or "harder to understand," but richer, somehow, or more revealing, or offering more insights, or a book that helps the reader see Tarot from a fresh, new perspective.

What kind of Tarot book would you be delighted to discover and share?
 

3ill.yazi

Some of these may actually already exist, and I either don't know about them, or find the ones that exist deficient in some way.

1. Something along the lines of the old "play the masters" chess books. Just a big old book of spreads which give examples of spreads of hypothetical querents. That is, here's a little context of the person and their question, here's how the cards fell, now what do you think. This could or could not include "answers" or suggestions. Might be easier to do without. Many books give a few: I would love to see something with a bunch.

2. I feel there could be more books out there that lay out a program to learn the tarot, with lessons, questions, exercises, that don't need to choke up three quarters of the book with card meanings. Someone could easily write a book that lays out some exercises, and simply reference already-extant card meaning books like Louis or Greer's. I think there are way too many books out that simply repackage Waite's or other meanings and call it teaching.

3. I think there could be more books on the market that explore the history in a real way. There are already a small number of books like Paul Huson's book or A Wicked Pack of Cards, but there's still a high woo-woo to let's-get-real ratio in the literature. I would love to read something that looks into more detail at the variations between Tarot as how its done in America vs Europe or elsewhere.

4. A biography of Pamela Coleman Smith. Somebody's been working on one allegedly, but they seem to have traveled to another dimension.

5. A how-to-design-your-own deck guide might be fun. Could get into looking at basic symbolism, design standards, etc. Maybe some Web content related, template files, etc. I'm a bit of a design geek, and I find the design of most modern tarot decks ghastly.

And this is not related to content, but I wish more current Tarot books were Mass market paperback sized. I find these giant workbook-computer textbook-sized tomes a little hard to manage. And it might cut down on the reproving looks I get on public transportation :)

and there's my market research for you.
 

ana luisa

1 - A how-to book on reading Tarot from the artistic point of view. Same spread, different renditions and different possible interpretations. Mixing senses while reading and using this to deepen your understanding of the message. Studying the colors and how they "play" in your spread. A book on how to indentify the focal cards in a spread through touch (the densest). In short, a book that involves artistic sensitivity + psychic abilities.

2 - A book combining Tarot + Oracle and/or Tarot + Divination.

One can dream... ;)
 

Nemia

Maybe there is such a book already? I'd like to know more about tarot traditions of countries like Spain, Italy, Germany, Hungary, Switzerland... Everything seems to be soaked in "standard RWS" system and meanings, some Thoth for snobs and TdM for purists - but that's not the whole story. I'd really love to read more about tarot traditions that are unknown in the Anglo-Saxon world.

And I wouldn't only like to learn their history and development, but also how to integrate insights from these traditions to enrich my tarot work here and today.
 

VioletEye

i would use an encyclopedia-like reference book. not necessarily for the card's meanings, but more about why those meanings have come to be, and why certain details and symbols are included. i'm thinking it could refer to several different decks, but that might lose a little focus.

but, you know, an entry would include a little history of the card; what it meant back in the 15th century and how it has evolved. perhaps some golden dawn info, any associations with hermetics, astrology, alchemy, qaballah, catholocism, numerology, etc. and it would explain why the empress has twelve stars on her crown, what white lilies and red roses signify, what the hebrew letters mean, what the pillars represent on the high priestess (using RWS as an example), how the elements come into play, color symbolism, and the like.

now that i'm really thinking about it, it's possible that there are too many differing opinions on this to work... anyway, i often wish that i had something like that to refer to - if there's already something like that out there, i haven't found it!
 

Theta Choir

Okay, I'm not exactly sure what I'm asking for here, but:

I'd like to see a book about how to incorporate Tarot into your life. I mean, we learn the card meanings...we learn a few spreads...we do daily draws, and maybe even write it down in a journal...

...and *then* what?

I'd like to see some practical applications to our daily lives other than "Will my ex come back to me?". (which, fortunately, I've never been tempted to ask, lol!)

I guess I'm looking for ideas on incorporating Tarot into our honest-to-goodness real lives, by various meditation practices, or finding ways to assist us with spiritual growth, or even non-spiritual emotional growth.

I know I'm probably not doing a great job at describing this imaginary book, but I hope you'll get the essence of what I'm talking about. I used my cards a lot more when I was still learning the meanings of them, but now that I have the basic meanings down, I find I'm in a kind of "holding pattern" of feeling like I'm just waiting for something bad or unpleasant to happen in my life so that I can consult the tarot to navigate my way through it.

And I *know* there are better ways to utilize my cards than *that*.

But what *are* they? *That* is the kind of book I would snatch off the shelf.
 

Lee

Hi Mark!

I'd like to see a tarot book with sample readings to show how to handle readings for other people that don't go so well. I'm tired of reading books with sample readings which amaze the querent with their accuracy and which, according to the author, come true a few months later and everyone lives happily ever after.
 

Le Fanu

And (following on from Lee) I wonder about these sample spreads - the cards in key positions are always so obvious. The readings never have those weird or complicated cards in key positions. Sample readings in books never convince me as being authentic.

I'm sure if I were writing a tarot book, I'd hand nice pick easy cards from the deck to do sample readings with. :D

I'm a bit of an oddball and what I'd really like is a book - not so technical, overly esoteric or dry - about the Etteila decks and how to read with them. But I'm not holding my breath.
 

kalliope

I'm a bit of an oddball and what I'd really like is a book - not so technical, overly esoteric or dry - about the Etteila decks and how to read with them. But I'm not holding my breath.

I'd second this one about Etteilla, actually. I'm really enjoying Caitlín's course on the Petit Etteilla deck, so now I want to learn how to read his tarots decks, too.

My interest was first whetted with the hints of Etteilla meanings in the Dame Fortune's Wheel, so I bought myself the Book of Thoth deck. I love the look of it, but have never read with it. I know there's supposed to be a whole system devised by Etteilla for how to read it, but haven't known where to find a good source for this information. A practical, thorough, but fun guide to the decks (from someone who loves them and has read his original books, preferably) would be great!