Here are 100 books that Unexpected Journeys fans have personally recommended if you like
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I started studying the tarot ten years ago with no thought that I would ever write about it. I took an introductory class in the back of a local metaphysical shop and went down a rabbit hole of books and teachings. I also enjoy readings myself - from quick fifteen minute reads at sidewalk fairs, to hour long readings in person with renowned readers, from an hour on Zoom with a famous reader, to a reading in a shop in Salem, Massachusetts during the chaos that is October in that town - Iâve benefited from them all. It has been a delight to include this interest in my latest novel.
Rachel Pollackâs classic guide to the tarot is a well-loved reference for me and for many.
While itâs a great next step to add depth of insight into the cards for the less experienced, it also continually serves up new insights to someone with more familiarity with the cards as well. She wrote it in the early eighties while living in Amsterdam and teaching tarot at the Kosmos Meditation Center.
The bestselling tarot classic in a new edition with a new preface by the author.
âWhenever I have a question about tarot, I reach for 78 Degrees of Wisdom. It is the most in-depth exploration of tarot and my most trusted resource. If you want to learn tarot, youâll want 78 Degrees on your bookshelf too. Itâs the gold standard in tarot.â âTheresa Reed, author of Tarot No Questions Asked
"What is your favorite tarot book? The answer is always 78 Degrees of Wisdom."âMelissa Cynova, author of Kitchen Table Tarot
âEssential reading for the beginner and a classic that tarotâŚ
The Victorian mansion, Evenmere, is the mechanism that runs the universe.
The lamps must be lit, or the stars die. The clocks must be wound, or Time ceases. The Balance between Order and Chaos must be preserved, or Existence crumbles.
Appointed the Steward of Evenmere, Carter Anderson must learn theâŚ
I started studying the tarot ten years ago with no thought that I would ever write about it. I took an introductory class in the back of a local metaphysical shop and went down a rabbit hole of books and teachings. I also enjoy readings myself - from quick fifteen minute reads at sidewalk fairs, to hour long readings in person with renowned readers, from an hour on Zoom with a famous reader, to a reading in a shop in Salem, Massachusetts during the chaos that is October in that town - Iâve benefited from them all. It has been a delight to include this interest in my latest novel.
Written in 1967 and not published until the early eighties after the anonymous authorâs death, this tome of a book (itâs thick) takes a Christian, esoteric view of the tarot.Â
Itâs a deep dive into the principles of hermeticism with the use of the Bible, the Buddha, Plato, and many others to illustrate the points. It covers only the major arcana and each card is presented as a letter to an imaginary friend.Â
Now in a fully corrected edition, one of the true spiritual classics of the twentieth century.
Published for the first time with an index and Cardinal Hans Urs von Balthasarâs afterword, this new English publication of Meditations on the Tarot is the landmark edition of one of the most important works of esoteric Christianity.
Written anonymously and published posthumously, as was the authorâs wish, the intention of this work is for the reader to find a relationship with the author in the spiritual dimensions of existence. The author wanted not to be thought of as a personality who lived fromâŚ
I started studying the tarot ten years ago with no thought that I would ever write about it. I took an introductory class in the back of a local metaphysical shop and went down a rabbit hole of books and teachings. I also enjoy readings myself - from quick fifteen minute reads at sidewalk fairs, to hour long readings in person with renowned readers, from an hour on Zoom with a famous reader, to a reading in a shop in Salem, Massachusetts during the chaos that is October in that town - Iâve benefited from them all. It has been a delight to include this interest in my latest novel.
Coming from a psychological view of the cards, Dore incorporates ideas from different psychological schools of thought such as Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Dialectical Behavior Therapy, and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy as well as Greek myth, Arthurian legend, folklore, fairy tales, and more.
Dore offers a unique, modern, and very personal approach to the cards and their meanings. A fascinating example for anyone building their own tarot practice and figuring out what tarot means to them on a personal and individual level.
Unlock the transformative power of tarot with this unique investigation into the psychology of its secrets, symbols and stories.
Symbols have been used in modern psychology for generations, from the interpretation of fairy tales to inkblot tests. Although tarot is often thought of as a spiritual tool for divination and fortune-telling, it too contains a set of symbols that can help us better understand our selves and align with our values. In this book, Jessica Dore reveals years of secrets and insights about how to work with tarot to activate your potential.
You'll discover: * the importance of choosing theâŚ
The Guardian of the Palace is the first novel in a modern fantasy series set in a New York City where magic is realâbut hidden, suppressed, and dangerous when exposed.
When an ancient magic begins to leak into the world, a small group of unlikely allies is forced to actâŚ
I started studying the tarot ten years ago with no thought that I would ever write about it. I took an introductory class in the back of a local metaphysical shop and went down a rabbit hole of books and teachings. I also enjoy readings myself - from quick fifteen minute reads at sidewalk fairs, to hour long readings in person with renowned readers, from an hour on Zoom with a famous reader, to a reading in a shop in Salem, Massachusetts during the chaos that is October in that town - Iâve benefited from them all. It has been a delight to include this interest in my latest novel.
Carringtonâs surrealist masterpiece is a bit lighter than her other well-known novel, Down Below.
She tells the tale of someone not often seen, much less celebrated, in literature - the crone. At age 92, Marion Leatherby is given the gift of a hearing trumpet by her dear friend Carmella. It is only then she can hear that her family is planning on sending her to an institution.
Carringtonâs fondness for the tarot (she even painted her own deck) can be found in the archetypal characters Leatherby encounters at the institution including the Abbess, the Snow Queen, and the Queen Bee among others.
An old woman enters into a fantastical world of dreams and nightmares in this surrealist classic admired by BjĂśrk and Luis BuĂąuel.
Leonora Carrington, painter, playwright, and novelist, was a surrealist trickster par excellence, and The Hearing Trumpet is the witty, celebratory key to her anarchic and allusive body of work. The novel begins in the bourgeois comfort of a residential corner of a Mexican city and ends with a man-made apocalypse that promises to usher in the earthâs rebirth. In between we are swept off to a most curious old-age home run by a self-improvement cult and drawn severalâŚ
With a name like Susan Wands, it was inevitable that I would be drawn to the occult and to the world of tarot cards. In high school, I was drawn to a set of tarot cards, not knowing that this deck, the Ryde Waite deck, was illustrated by Pamela Colman Smith. Pamela was the co-creator of the worldâs best-selling tarot deck, and I became obsessed with her and her life story. I have written a historical fantasy series, the Arcana Oracle Series, based on Pamelaâs life and lectured worldwide on the Golden Dawn, Tarot, and Magical Women.
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 Pamelaâs Smith Tarot cards as markers and guideposts.
I fell down the rabbit hole researching Varoâs artwork after I read it, especially Remediosâ painting of the magician or juggler. Her friend, Leonora Carrington, is also in the bookâbringing 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.
For fans of The Age of Light and Z comes a "beguiling novel of artistic ambition, perseverance, and friendship" (Katy Hays, New York Times bestselling author) based on the true story of the 20th-century painters and tarot devotees Remedios Varo and Leonora Carrington.
In this "unforgettable adventure, and one you don't want to miss" (Patti Callahan Henry, New York Times bestselling author), painter Remedios Varo and her lover, poet Benjamin Peret escape the Nazis by fleeing Paris and arriving at a safe house for artists on the Rivieria.
Along with Max Ernst, Peggy Guggenheim, and others, the two anxiously waitâŚ
Iâm a historian specialising in the French Revolution at the University of Glasgow. During my doctorate, my now wife and I stayed in MĂŠnilmontant in the 20th arrondissement. There grew a knowledge and love of Paris that have never diminished. As part of my research, I explore the places and spaces where events unfolded, trying to understand how these sites have since changed and been overwritten with new meanings and historical memories: I have the worn-out boots to show for it. Iâm currently writing a book on Paris in the Belle Ăpoque, from the completion of the Eiffel Tower in 1889 to the outbreak of the First World War.
At first sight, the title evokes a certain Gallic hauteur, but it does not take long to see that this is simply a foretaste of the rich exploration of the myths of Paris â how the great city has been depicted, imagined, and perceived over time. This is the story of Paris as the capital of modernity, art, fashion, revolution, sex, pleasure, science, and crime. With writers, artists, poets, and visitors as witnesses, and lavishly illustrated, this is a colourful meander through the myths and illusions that have shaped the many images of Paris.Â
Whatever the actual realities beneath these multiple faces, asks Higonnet at one point, âwho could, in our culturally unanchored world, imagine life without this city?â Â Â
In an original and evocative journey through modern Paris from the mid-eighteenth century to World War II, Patrice Higonnet offers a delightful cultural portrait of a multifaceted, continually changing city. He explores Paris as the capital of revolution, science, empire, literature, and art, describing such incarnations as Belle Epoque Paris, the Commune, the surrealists' city, and Paris as viewed through American eyes. He also evokes the more visceral Paris of alienation, crime, material excess, and sensual pleasure.
Aury and Scott travel to the Finger Lakes in New Yorkâs wine country to get to the bottom of the mysterious happenings at the Songscape Winery. Disturbed furniture and curious noises are one thing, but when a customer winds up dead, itâs time to dig into the details and seeâŚ
Making your own magic (and living âas if magic mattersâ) can be a part of âliving the beautiful life.â Because engaging the visual and tactile qualities of tarot cards uniquely enhances the art of living, I am always looking for new things that I can do with my cards. At the same time, life is a struggleâand that is something that has been a long-term issue for me as an autistic person with serious sensory processing disorders. For this reason, I am also driven to bring a problem-solving approach to tarot and magic, and I genuinely hope this will help all the people who are dealing with their own struggles.
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 âsorcery,â written from a practicing sorcererâs point of view.)Â 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 âThe Knightâs Vigil,â âThe Queenâs Mirror,â âThe Prison of Shadows,â and âThe Shroud of Unseeing.â One warning, though: this book is not for people who are easily offended by any hint of manipulative magic.
In this handbook on the practice of sorcery using tarot cards, S. Rune Emerson utilizes the Rider Waite-Smith tradition of tarot art to teach the myriad practices of the Art Magical. Included in this book are: A modern look at sorcery through the eyes of the Rider Waite-Smith tarot cards and their derivatives, including laws and fundamentals of magic, and how magic actually works. An explanation of the twelve categories of commonly cast spells, the six kinds of magical initiation and quickening, and the four great tenets of a sorcerer's philosophy, all encoded within the Major Arcana. Methods and ritualâŚ
Making your own magic (and living âas if magic mattersâ) can be a part of âliving the beautiful life.â Because engaging the visual and tactile qualities of tarot cards uniquely enhances the art of living, I am always looking for new things that I can do with my cards. At the same time, life is a struggleâand that is something that has been a long-term issue for me as an autistic person with serious sensory processing disorders. For this reason, I am also driven to bring a problem-solving approach to tarot and magic, and I genuinely hope this will help all the people who are dealing with their own struggles.
This book has a high-spirited, sprightly energy to it, and it is interesting how the author treats tarot cards and characters as entities that you can identify with and engage with. This is an especially good book for beginners because itâs an easy read and often seems to have been written in a spirit of fun. The first part of the book provides some basics, plus a section relating tarot to magical numerology as part of âthe self-discovery process,â while the second half is devoted to tarot spells.
These spells are quite simple, though some call for accessories like candles, herbs, and gemstones. The main part of the spells are rhyming incantations, which Morrison often infuses with a bit of whimsy,--though that does not detract from their psychological efficacy!
Turn your tarot deck into your own personal helpline and get the answers youâve been looking for in Dorothy Morrisonâs classic title, Everyday Tarot Magic. Follow Dorothyâs expertise as she guides you through each exercise and ritual, with over 140 spells, charms, and activities to choose from. Use numerology to help determine special cards, like your spirit card, your lesson card, or your personal year card. Connect with the spirit world and learn the fundamentals of tarot in this fantastic book for both the beginner and the advanced reader.  Everything you need to successfully make magic with your tarot deckâŚ
Iâve been studying and reading tarot for more than 50 yearsâstarting when I was a teenager. I feel called to do this workâI think of it as holy work, because every reading is an inner journey for my client, I merely serve as a guide for them to discover the insights and wisdom that already exists hidden within them. Over the years Iâve studied with some of todayâs top tarot teachers, Iâve studied Kabbalah with respected rabbis. Iâve studied psychological principles with leading therapists. And Iâve studied storytelling with world-famous performers. Tarot brings all these disciplines together in a way that makes every reading an encounter with the Divine that lives within each of us.
One of my gripes about so much ânew ageâ teaching is that it can be very Pollyanna-ish. Everything is light. Except thatâs what the authors call âwoo woo psychobabbleâ. And theyâre right. This book is the cure for spiritual bypassing. It recognizes that we all have neurosesâold behavior patterns and beliefs that limit our growth and development. And it can be very difficult to look at these patterns, much less work through them. This book gives you powerful exercises that will build your personal insight into your shadow, to heal your relationship with it.Â
Each of us has a shadow that darkens our inner and outer lives. In Tarot for Troubled Times, Shaheen Miro and Theresa Reed show us how working with the shadowâfacing it directly, leaning into it rather than awayâreleases power that can free ourselves from negative mental habits and destructive emotions to find healing ourselves and others. Tarot, as the authors show, offers a rich and subtle path for this profound transformation.
Through this book, you will discover a different approach to tarot, life, and self-empowerment.
Magical realism meets the magic of Christmas in this mix of Jewish, New Testament, and Santa storiesâall reenacted in an urban psychiatric hospital!
On locked ward 5C4, Josh, a patient with many similarities to Jesus, is hospitalized concurrently with Nick, a patient with many similarities to Santa. The two argueâŚ
I've always been interested in fortune telling, and how the mysteries of life are revealed. I was especially interested in ancient Greece and the oracle of Delphi. When I was 17, a neighbor in Chicago read my tarot cards. Everything the cards indicated came true! So I got a tarot deck and started playing around with the cards. When I moved to California 10 years later, people asked me to read their cards. I obliged, it was fun, and my tarot business was born. When asked to teach tarot, I started classes. The class notes became my book Introduction to Tarot.
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.
The occult classic study of the tarot and as a key to all Western mystery traditions.
Used for many years by students of the occult for study of the tarot and as a key to all Western mystery traditions, The Book of Thoth is on the short list of must-have textbooks for modern students of the tarot and esoteric studies.
âThe Tarot is a pictorial representation of the Forces of Nature as conceived by the Ancients according to a conventional symbolism. At first sight one would suppose this arrangement to be arbitrary, but it is not. It is necessitatedâŚ
