100 Books Like Tarot Deciphered

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. 

This is a sentimental pick. Learning the Tarot by Joan Bunning was one of the first tarot books I owned and was foundational in my early years as a reader. It is definitely my favorite choice for new readers to pick up. The card meanings are detailed yet simple. For example, The High Priestess can mean “waiting patiently” – Joan offers short meaning such as these and card descriptions with long length explanations. Joan helps newbies also learn which card ‘oppose’ or ‘reinforce’ any given card. For example, The Two of Wands (acting bodly) opposes The High Priestess (being passive). The Hermit (looking inward) reinforces the High Priestess (trusting your inner voice).

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. 

While designing and illustrating my own Sun and Moon Tarot, I followed the normal order of letters of the Hebrew alphabet and therefore also their values. And I respected the original Western Hermetic order of the cards on the paths of the Tree of Life and their corresponding Hebrew letters. This system is explained in detail in this book.

Rufus C. Camphausen describes in detail how the numbering of the tarot cards has been changed by different groups of people (Kabbalists, Astrologers, the Hermetic order of the Golden Dawn & Aleister Crowley, A. E. Waite of the Rider Waite Tarot). The same is true with the assignment of the planets and zodiac signs and the assignment of the numbers and the Hebrew letters on the paths of the Sefiroth (Tree of Life in Kabbalah).

Together with Van Leeuwen he also created ‘The Kabbalistic Tarot/Tree-of-life Tarot’. This tarot deck… show more.

I love this book; it is my all-time favorite nonfiction resource book for female tarot creators during the Victorian Age. I was totally absorbed reading about the art and artists that Mary Greer selected: Maud Gonne, Moina Bergson Mathers, Annie Horniman and Florence Farr.

These are four women who transformed the face of women in power in the occult and magical societies. I especially dote on a book with photographs and illustrations when talking about a historical topic, and there are fantastic images, many one-of-a-kinds, that are well-researched and noted. If you have any interest in tarot, female Magicians, and the struggles of these amazing Suffragettes and artists, this book is for you. 

The most popular tarot deck in the world is illustrated by the artist Pamela Coleman Smith, yet very little is known about her. She was a fascinating woman, born in 1878 in Middlesex, England, and raised in London, New York, and Kingston, Jamaica.

In London in 1903, she joined the Order of the Golden Dawn, and in 1909, under the guidance of Arthur Edward Waite, she created a series of 78 allegorical paintings that became the Rider-Waite tarot deck. Pamela Coleman Smith died penniless and unknown in 1951, unaware of the success of her tarot deck illustrations.

This 100 page book offers a wonderful view of Pamela's creativity in many fields, and is illustrated with her beautiful and whimsical illustrations that inspire millions to this day.

This was the first tarot book that I read at age 17 from the Occult Bookstore in Chicago. I remember reading it cover to cover that first night. I understood it because of my childhood interest in fairy tales, mythology, Egyptian archeology, and my hobby (bordering an obsession) with foreign languages.

I attended Hebrew school as a child and studied Latin in high school. I was reading Ezra Pound's translations of the Confucian Analects at the time, but Crowley resonated more than Pound, for he used symbols in a practical manner. Aleister Crowley (1875- 1947) was a British occultist who was far ahead of his Victorian times. By any standards, this book is unique and perhaps a bit crazy. Still, I recommend it.

This is one of the most useful books in my collection, as evidenced by the lines that I’ve color-coded with highlighters and the comments I’ve scribbled in the margins.

The author belongs to a magical order that ascribes different occult associations (i.e. “mysteries”) to all 78 tarot cards, so even the sections for the minor cards can feature extensive magical discussions. For example, Willis explains how the Three of Disks (aka Pentacles) relate to the trade secrets of smithcraft and masonry and then gets into how this relates to using different-shaped altar stones in Earth Magic for crop growth, animal fertility, finding a mate, and monetary gain.

The broad array of both folk magic and ceremonial magic techniques makes this book a magical education in itself.

Court de Gebelin and the comte de Mellet writing in Monde Primitif, in 1781, were the first modern authors to delve into the origins of the Tarot. Their belief that the Tarot originated in ancient Egypt became the spark that led to numerous unfounded occult ascensions. I feel that because of this, these two authors have been maligned and misunderstood.

They were actually conducting a serious investigation at a time when there was no one who could read Egyptian texts and very little known history to go on. The fact that until now their work was badly translated did not help. Vine, an expert on 18th-century French, came to the rescue and provided the first accurate translation of their essays.