79 Books Like Learning the Tarot

What I love about this book is that it proves the old saying that there is nothing new under the sun to be wrong. Mark Horn’s Tarot and the Gates of Light blends together two traditions already closely linked; Tarot and Kabbalah. While it is Hermetic Qabalah that is mostly applied to Tarot, Mark Horn introduces a unique way to use the Tarot to practice Counting the Omer. This will be the most unique tarot book to have on the shelf as it offers you a rare transformative practice. 

The Tarot is littered with symbols and occult references. You do not have to go deep into esoteric corresponds if you do not want to, but if you do I recommend Tarot Deciphered. This book gets down and dirty into all the symbology of the Rider-Waite Smith Tarot, the Thoth Tarot, and other decks which share its symbols. This book is probably not for beginners unless of course, you want to dive deep into Tarot and occult symbology fast. 

This pick is for the history nerds like me. This book provides, in a single volume over ten selections from foundational tarot books from the last two hundred years. This book is definitely for the enthusiast who wants to go back to the study texts that are out of print or to go back to the beginning of occult Tarot. This book includes ‘old school’ fortunetelling techniques not seen in a long time. I love some old fashion fortunetelling techniques. This is also a recently published book, so you can show off a fresh hot big book on Instagram to make the followers go “ooooo.” 

Every Tarot library needs a few good books on spreads. Spreads are the backbone of a reading. Liz Dean’s The Ultimate Guide to Tarot Spreads is approachable as it is not overwhelming with an excessive number of spreads, Liz provides numerous quality spreads that do not disappoint. Whether it is love, romance, health, wealth, self-development, rare, or occult – Liz has you covered with all the spread you will need. 

Guided Tarot is a how-to book for Tarot readings: how to lay out the cards and get some sense out of them. There’s more to Tarot than just memorizing the card meanings, and this book walks you through the process of developing your own card reading style. If you can’t figure out which spreads to use, or if you’re having trouble trusting your intuition and letting the reading flow, this book will take you through exercises to figure out the answers to those questions so you become a more powerful Tarot reader and can take the training wheels off, so to speak.

I read this book this month while traveling to the UK Tarot Conference and loved the resonance of tarot cards and people appearing in your life at the right time. Claire McMillian opens up the world of surrealist painter Remedios Varo by way of Pamela’s Smith Tarot cards as markers and guideposts.

I fell down the rabbit hole researching Varo’s artwork after I read it, especially Remedios’ painting of the magician or juggler. Her friend, Leonora Carrington, is also in the book—bringing art, tarot, and love to their immense ambition and their drive to live their life in their art and tarot readings. I loved learning about this post-WWII community of magical women and the art they created across Europe and Mexico.

If you journal or want to write, I highly recommend this book.

For journal keepers and writers, this is your next step in learning tarot after reading my Introduction to Tarot. Especially powerful is writing down your first impression of the cards, what Mary calls "Entering A Card" on pages 23 - 25. Fun and revealing about your inner values is "The Court Card Party" on pages 77 - 80. Most powerful for me was the "Turning Points" worksheet on page 128 to see the big picture of your life.

Plus, it contains many different types of tarot spread that can inspire you to create your own tarot magic. Bring your tarot understanding and awareness to the next level with Tarot for Yourself.

Today’s Tarot decks tend to be clones of one of the three main “models”: The Rider-Waite-Smith, the Marseille, and the Thoth Deck.

Most books on reading Tarot reference the former, the Rider-Waite-Smith. But if you’re going to get serious about reading, it’s useful to have an understanding of the Marseille deck.

When I first picked up a Marseille deck, however, I put it down pretty quickly. No symbols on the Minor Arcana? How was I supposed to read the cards without rote memorization (which I hate)?

But the Marseille style is based on the original Tarot decks from Renaissance Italy, and they’re more typically used in Europe. This deck is important. So when I found this book, despite my misgivings about ever understanding the deck, I decided to give it a read. 

What a revelation. There actually are symbols on the Minor Arcana—they’re just subtle. Using numerology and an explanation… show more.

As a designer of systems, I find this book intriguing because the author has created his own rather idiosyncratic system of sorcery. (The emphasis being on “sorcery,” written from a practicing sorcerer’s point of view.)  In addition to outlining his theories on rules of magic and providing new perspectives on magical tools, Emerson provides a section of tarot spells with rhyming incantations, unusual layouts, and diverse aims, including concealing a secret, conjuring an omen, seeing from afar, sequestering beyond time, drawing wayward souls, brewing a tempest, and more.

The spell layouts also have fanciful titles like “The Knight’s Vigil,” “The Queen’s Mirror,” “The Prison of Shadows,” and “The Shroud of Unseeing.” One warning, though: this book is not for people who are easily offended by any hint of manipulative magic.

Another series, and this is because the series covers a single story. The 1980s didn’t like huge books very much, so a story was often split into the much more economical (space-wise and financially) trilogy. This story shows a future that regressed into old, sustainable technology because we learned how to get to the stars and had to conserve our resources. It also follows one man who is sent to a planet to find out which religions god has appeared on that world. It’s an incredible blend of science, society, and character that has become a book I’ve recommended my entire life.