The Tarot Reference Table

Barleywine

I just got a new console table to keep my most-used tarot references handy (with drawers for decks), so I took the opportuniy to put all my books either with "Tarot" in the title or that I use regularly in one place. Not all of these books are great (or even very good) but they represent my history with the tarot. There aren't many modern ones here (except the Lenormand books) and I'm missing some important stuff (Jung and Tarot, mkg's books on reversals and courts, more TdM references, etc.). It also doesn't include my fairly complete Crowley collection or any of my other qabalah, pathworking and ceremonial magic books. Rather than a list, here's a picture (pardon the rock collection, that's a different path :)). I would be interested in hearing what you find most useful on a day-to-day basis (in general, not deck-specific); for me it's most of those lying down on the table, other than 78 Degrees of Wisdom, which is a good read but not really a "reference."

ETA: I just realized "The Open Reading" by Yoav Ben-Dov is missing; it's on my nighstand since I'm in the middle of re-reading it.
 

Attachments

  • DSCN1192.jpg
    DSCN1192.jpg
    118.2 KB · Views: 185

gregory

I wish my tarot book collection were as manageable. It's all together and I feel guilty about the ones I haven't' read yet whenever I pass the shelves...
 

tarotbear

My Tarot books occupy the top shelf of one bookcase and my Tarot decks occupy the top shelf of another ... although in different rooms! :joke:


**** ETA ****
When you read 'The Tarot Reference Table' you immediately think of some sort of large wall chart like the Periodic Table of Elements .... :)
 

rwcarter

I wish my tarot book collection were as manageable. It's all together and I feel guilty about the ones I haven't' read yet whenever I pass the shelves...
Ditto, except I don't feel guilty about the ones I haven't read. (Which is probably at least 75% of them. But I have almost 700 tarot books.... :D)

Oh, and on a day-to-day basis, I still find Anthony Louis' Tarot Plain & Simple to be my go-to book when I get stuck on a card or am looking for a new perspective on it.

Rodney
 

gregory

Ditto, except I don't feel guilty about the ones I haven't read. (Which is probably at least 75% of them. But I have almost 700 tarot books.... :D)
:bugeyed:

I feel better. I only have (one moment...) 166. And I have only failed to read about half of them !

Oh, and on a day-to-day basis, I still find Anthony Louis' Tarot Plain & Simple to be my go-to book when I get stuck on a card or am looking for a new perspective on it.

Rodney
Oh. I divide myself between Mary Greer and Alfred Douglas. :)
 

rwcarter

TP&S is on my desktop's computer desk, while the laptop's computer desk is in the same room as all the decks and books. And I spend more time at my desktop than my laptop.
 

Barleywine

Oh, and on a day-to-day basis, I still find Anthony Louis' Tarot Plain & Simple to be my go-to book when I get stuck on a card or am looking for a new perspective on it.

Rodney

Thanks, Rodney. I've been debating whether to get his basic book or the more advanced one. I probably have half-a-dozen newer (meaning newer than 2000) books that I still want. I don't need any "Tarot 101" stuff; I've been putting all my "newbie" energy into Lenormand.
 

Barleywine

My Tarot books occupy the top shelf of one bookcase and my Tarot decks occupy the top shelf of another ... although in different rooms! :joke:


**** ETA ****
When you read 'The Tarot Reference Table' you immediately think of some sort of large wall chart like the Periodic Table of Elements .... :)

I was thinking "reference table" in the same way libraries use the term, although it's quite a bit shorter.
 

Astraea

I've been debating whether to get his basic book or the more advanced one.
Hi Barleywine. From what I've gathered about your approach to tarot, I think you'd really appreciate Louis' most recent book. In the introduction, he states that his understanding of card meanings has expanded considerably since the publication of Tarot Plain and Simple, and Tarot Beyond the Basics reflects that. Though Tarot Beyond the Basics is illustrated with RWS-style cards, it will be of interest to anyone who appreciates Crowley, Thoth and the methods of the Golden Dawn, and for those who wish to learn more about elemental dignities and other ways in which astrology can be blended with tarot.

People who don't wish to pursue an astrology-tarot connection might not care for that aspect of Louis' approach, but even so his individual card descriptions are insightful and worth the cost of the book (IMO). I find Louis' explanation of the elements, and how they arise philosophically, clear and enormously helpful. Tarot Beyond the Basics is a large, meaty book, grounded in a great deal of experience. Alongside Mary K. Greer's body of work, this book by Louis earns a big thumbs-up from me.
 

rwcarter

Thanks, Rodney. I've been debating whether to get his basic book or the more advanced one. I probably have half-a-dozen newer (meaning newer than 2000) books that I still want. I don't need any "Tarot 101" stuff; I've been putting all my "newbie" energy into Lenormand.
You probably know most if not all of the advanced stuff in his book, which I'm almost finished reading. If I was forced to give up one of them, it would be the Advanced book.