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Tarot study room · Reading guide

Reading guide

27 reference books, sorted by what you want to learn. Pick one to leaf through first; no need to buy the whole list. Catalogue links and free full texts are marked separately.

A stack of old leather-bound books and a pair of glasses

Five reading paths

You don't need to read them all. Pick one path and read two or three books in order.

  1. Complete beginnerLearning the Tarot → Seventy-Eight Degrees of Wisdom → Tarot for Your Self

    Get familiar with the basic meanings, then compare the reasoning behind readings, alongside your own practice notes.

  2. Love looking at picturesLlewellyn's Complete Book of the Rider-Waite-Smith Tarot → The Pictorial Key to the Tarot → Unlocking the Secret Language of Tarot

    From card by card, back to the designer, then on to the symbol system.

  3. Want more spreads365 Tarot Spreads → The Ultimate Guide to Tarot Spreads → Power Tarot

    One a day, looked up by topic, designed around a question.

  4. Want to learn MarseilleRead Like the Devil → Reading the Marseille Tarot → The Way of Tarot

    Compare reading three cards in a row, image details, and an author's numerical system.

  5. Only have playing cardsPlaying Card Divination for Beginners → Fortune Telling Using Playing Cards

    Compare the two and find the common core.

Beginnings and meanings

To get to know all 78 cards first

Beginner

Learning the Tarot

Joan Bunning · 1998 · English

What it covers
A beginner's book laid out as a course, one topic per lesson, with an exercise in each. The author has put the whole book on her website to read for free.
Who it suits
Anyone who has never touched tarot and wants to be guided step by step.
How to read it
Read it in course order; when something isn't clear, note it down and come back to it. For the meanings, start with her lists of "actions", which are more useful than adjectives.

Author's website (free full text)Open Library record

Beginner to advanced

Seventy-Eight Degrees of Wisdom

Chinese translation: 78度的智慧

Rachel Pollack · 1980 · English

What it covers
Treats the 78 cards as a psychological and mythological journey. The first half covers the Major Arcana; the second, the Minor Arcana and readings. Best read alongside the basic meanings you already know.
Who it suits
Anyone who has learned the basic meanings and wants to know why each card means what it does.
How to read it
Read the Major Arcana section first, alongside the exercise of laying the Major Arcana out in three rows. Use the Minor Arcana chapters as a reference.

Open Library record

Beginner to advanced

Llewellyn's Complete Book of the Rider-Waite-Smith Tarot

Sasha Graham · 2018 · English

What it covers
A whole book on the Rider-Waite deck alone. Each card is discussed from the details of its picture, along with the artist Pamela Colman Smith and the history of the deck.
Who it suits
Anyone using the Rider-Waite deck who wants to look at the pictures more closely.
How to read it
Use it as a reference. Draw a card each day, describe it yourself first, then turn to that page and see what she noticed that you didn't.

Open Library record

Beginner

The Tarot Revealed

Eden Gray · 1960 · English

What it covers
By one of the early figures who made the Rider-Waite deck popular in the United States. Fairly short, covering meanings, spreads and basic reading.
Who it suits
Anyone curious what the prototype of the "modern tarot beginner's book" looks like.
How to read it
Start with the contents and read the cards you're currently learning. As you read, notice which ideas are still used today and which few people say any more.

Open Library record

Beginner to advanced

塔羅解牌研究所 (three-volume series)

LUA · Chinese translation

What it covers
A series by a Japanese divination writer, available in Chinese translation. The first volume covers the basics; the second uses a "where you get stuck and how to get unstuck" Q&A format to work through common sticking points in learning tarot; the third is a keyword workbook you fill in yourself.
Who it suits
Anyone who likes illustrated explanations and learning by writing. If you've been learning for a while and feel stuck, the second volume is the most useful.
How to read it
You don't need to read the second volume from the start; pick the question you're stuck on. Use the third volume with the daily card, filling in one card a day.

No online reading link for now; search for the title at a bookshop or library.

Imagery and symbolism

To know what each thing in the picture is saying

Advanced

The Pictorial Key to the Tarot

Often translated into Chinese as 塔羅圖像之鑰

A. E. Waite · 1910 · English

What it covers
The guide written by the designer of the Rider-Waite deck himself. Three parts: tarot's history, the symbolism of the Major Arcana, and the Minor Arcana with methods of divination. An early version of the Celtic Cross appears here.
Who it suits
Anyone who wants to go back to the source and see what the designer himself said.
How to read it
The language is old-fashioned and roundabout, so don't force your way through from the start. Read the Minor Arcana meanings in part three first, then go back to the Major Arcana. It's in the public domain, and the full text is online.

Full text on WikisourceFull text on Sacred TextsOpen Library record

Advanced

Unlocking the Secret Language of Tarot

Wald Amberstone, Ruth Ann Amberstone · English

What it covers
The subtitle says it plainly: 22 keys to understanding the symbolic imagery of tarot. It sorts the image elements that recur in the Rider-Waite deck into themes, one theme per chapter.
Who it suits
Anyone who can already read the cards and wants to sharpen how they look at the pictures.
How to read it
Read one chapter at a time, then lay out all 78 cards and find which ones that theme appears in.

Open Library record

Advanced

Jung and Tarot: An Archetypal Journey

Chinese translation: 榮格與塔羅

Sallie Nichols · 1980 · English

What it covers
Reads the 22 Major Arcana through Jung's concept of archetypes. The book uses Marseille-style card images.
Who it suits
Anyone interested in psychology who wants to read the Major Arcana as an inner process.
How to read it
One chapter per Major Arcana card, so you can skip around. As you read, notice how she connects details in the images to states of mind.

Open Library record

Spreads

More ways to ask

Beginner to advanced

365 Tarot Spreads

Sasha Graham · 2014 · English

What it covers
A spread for every day of the year, most tied to that day's holiday, anniversary or season.
Who it suits
Anyone who can already read three cards and wants to practise a different way of asking each day.
How to read it
No need to follow the dates. Open any page, understand what that spread is "asking", then rewrite the positions in your own words.

Open Library record

Beginner to advanced

The Ultimate Guide to Tarot Spreads

Liz Dean · English

What it covers
Spreads organised by topic: love, work, home, money. Each spread has position descriptions and an example reading.
Who it suits
Anyone with a specific question who wants a ready-made spread to use.
How to read it
Use it as a reference. Read the example readings first and learn how she strings several cards into one passage.

Open Library record

Advanced

Power Tarot

Trish MacGregor, Phyllis Vega · 1998 · English

What it covers
More than a hundred spreads, each matched to a very specific kind of question.
Who it suits
Anyone who finds general spreads too vague and wants questions designed "for this one".
How to read it
Try three spreads related to your recent questions, then take them apart to see how the positions were designed.

Open Library record

Marseille tarot

How to read minor cards without scenes

Advanced

Read Like the Devil

Camelia Elias · 2021 · English

What it covers
A course book for reading the Marseille deck. The focus is looking directly at the cards and reading several cards together as a sentence. Practical and straight to the point.
Who it suits
Anyone who has learned Rider-Waite and wants to try reading minor cards without scenes.
How to read it
Follow the book's exercises step by step. The three-card reading exercise is the one most worth repeating.
On this site
Making a sentence

Open Library record

Advanced to scholarly

Reading the Marseille Tarot

Jean-Michel David · English

What it covers
A book that looks very closely at the details of Marseille imagery, covering the Major Arcana, pip cards, court cards and methods of reading.
Who it suits
Anyone who wants to go deep into the Marseille tradition and is willing to spend time on the details.
How to read it
Read it with a physical Marseille deck, and take out the card whenever he describes a detail.

No online reading link for now; search for the title at a bookshop or library.

Scholarly

The Way of Tarot

Alejandro Jodorowsky, Marianne Costa · 2009 · English

What it covers
Based on the Marseille deck the author helped restore, with a complete numerical system, plus discussion of colour and of reading cards in pairs. A very long book.
Who it suits
Anyone already familiar with the Marseille deck who wants to see a complete system.
How to read it
Read the chapter on the numerical system first, then pick Major Arcana cards to read. Reading the whole book takes a long time; treat it as a long-term reference.

Open Library record

Playing card readings

A deck of playing cards is enough to start

Beginner

Playing Card Divination for Beginners

Richard Webster · 2002 · English

What it covers
An introduction to playing card divination: a short history, meanings for all 52 cards, common layouts, and combinations of cards.
Who it suits
Anyone who only has playing cards and wants to try it out.
How to read it
Read the overview of the four suits first, then practise with three cards in a row. If you can't remember the meanings, check this site's 52-card quick reference.

Open Library record

Beginner

Fortune Telling Using Playing Cards

Jonathan Dee · English

What it covers
Another introduction to playing card divination, with meanings, layouts and combinations. Compare it with the previous book and you'll find the traditions differ a lot.
Who it suits
Anyone who has read one playing card book and wants to compare different views.
How to read it
Pick ten cards and write the two books' meanings side by side. Circle what's the same and what's different, and see how each explains itself. Even where the two books agree, that doesn't mean every tradition does.

Open Library record

Chinese and Japanese

Available in bookshops and libraries

Beginner

塔羅葵花寶典

向日葵 · Chinese

What it covers
A reference book of card meanings by a Taiwanese author, going through all 78 cards one by one, with upright, reversed and topic-by-topic interpretations.
Who it suits
Anyone who wants a meanings book in Chinese to look things up quickly.
How to read it
Don't memorise it from the start. Look up a card when you draw it, then write your own reading beside it. Over time it becomes your own version.
On this site
78-card library

No online reading link for now; search for the title at a bookshop or library.

Beginner

其實你已經很塔羅了

Paul Fenton-Smith, translated by 許慈倩 · Chinese

What it covers
Explains the meanings through everyday examples. Reads like a conversation.
Who it suits
Anyone who finds English books tiring and wants to understand the cards in everyday language first.
How to read it
After each passage, think about whether anything similar has happened in your life, and note it in your journal.

No online reading link for now; search for the title at a bookshop or library.

Beginner

タロットの秘密

Ryuji Kagami · Japanese

What it covers
A slim pocket paperback on tarot's history, how it went from a game to a divination tool, and how people use it today.
Who it suits
Anyone who reads Japanese and wants to understand tarot's background first.
How to read it
You can read it in several sittings. Afterwards, read this site's history of tarot and compare the two.

No online reading link for now; search for the title at a bookshop or library.

Scholarly

タロット大全：歴史から図像まで

Ryuichi Izumi · Japanese

What it covers
A hefty Japanese reference book, carefully documenting everything from history to the sources of the imagery.
Who it suits
Anyone who wants to research where tarot imagery comes from.
How to read it
Use it as a database. When you have a question about a card's imagery, turn to that chapter.

No online reading link for now; search for the title at a bookshop or library.

Practice, history and advanced

After you've been learning for a while

Beginner to advanced

Tarot for Your Self

Mary K. Greer · 1984 · English

What it covers
A workbook. Journalling, birth cards and all kinds of ways to read for yourself, with hands-on work in every chapter.
Who it suits
Anyone who wants to use tarot to get to know themselves, and is willing to write.
How to read it
Get a notebook and do the exercises chapter by chapter. Don't just read.

Open Library record

Advanced

21 Ways to Read a Tarot Card

Mary K. Greer · 2006 · English

What it covers
One card, 21 ways to read it: description, feelings, story, dialogue, body posture… getting the same card to say more.
Who it suits
Anyone who feels their reading is just plugging in keywords.
How to read it
One method a week, all practised with the same card.
On this site
Describe first · Daily card

Open Library record

Advanced

Holistic Tarot

Benebell Wen · 2015 · English

What it covers
A very thick book covering history, correspondence systems, all 78 cards, methods of reading and professional ethics.
Who it suits
Anyone who wants a reference book that covers everything.
How to read it
Don't read it from the start. Turn to the contents when a question comes up; the chapters on ethics are worth reading in full once.

Open Library record

Scholarly

The Encyclopedia of Tarot

Stuart R. Kaplan · 1978 · English

What it covers
A multi-volume tarot encyclopedia, collecting images and sources for a large number of historical decks.
Who it suits
Anyone interested in tarot history and how decks have changed over time.
How to read it
If your library has it, leaf through it. Treat it as a catalogue; there's no need to read it all.

Open Library record

Scholarly

The Book of Thoth

Aleister Crowley · 1944 · English

What it covers
The original guide to the Thoth tarot. Dense with astrological, Kabbalistic and alchemical correspondences.
Who it suits
Anyone planning to learn the Thoth deck.
How to read it
Get familiar with the Thoth images first, then read it. Without an occult background, pair it with another Thoth introduction.
On this site
Three common decks

Open Library record

Scholarly

The Tarot: Its Occult Signification

S. L. MacGregor Mathers · 1888 · English

What it covers
A nineteenth-century tarot pamphlet, very short, with meanings and one layout. It shows how cards were read before the Rider-Waite deck.
Who it suits
Anyone who wants to compare early and modern meanings.
How to read it
Read it in one sitting, then compare a few cards with today's meanings.

Full text on Sacred Texts

Scholarly

The Tarot of the Bohemians

Papus · 1889 · English translation

What it covers
The tarot system of the French occult school, on the correspondences between numbers, Hebrew letters and tarot.
Who it suits
Anyone who wants to understand how nineteenth-century French occultism saw tarot.
How to read it
Hard going. Look at the contents first and read the chapters on numbers and the Major Arcana.

Full text on Sacred Texts

Original texts and courses you can read for free

"Open Library record" links go to a catalogue page with edition details, and may not be readable online. The guides and practice suggestions here were written for this site. They aren't passage-by-passage summaries of the books, and don't represent the views of the authors or publishers.