Resources for Tarot School
Fun Tarot things to spend your money on
When publishing Tarot School No. 1, I made the mistaken presumption that everyone would be a bit familiar with Tarot. That was my error, and I’m sorry to have thrown you into the deep end without a float!
Ultimately, the Tarot School posts are made assuming that everyone has read at least one good modern book on the Tarot. It’s not an attempt to replace any of those books, or to replicate the information published in them. Rather it is an attempt to help you go beyond those books, to help you become so comfortable with the Tarot that you can actually use and benefit from it.
But, if that is my aim, then clearly I need to direct you to some resources!
So here we go…
All of these things can be purchased online from a store called Tarot Arts. I’ve done business with this store for years now, and have always had a truly top notch experience.
Some, perhaps all, of these things can be purchased in your local brick and mortar metaphysical shop as well. If you are lucky enough to have a place like that, I think it is great to support them when you can.
Lastly, I presume that all of these things can be purchased from large online retailers like Amazon. Me, I stick with my local stores and Tarot Arts. I think it’s important when we keep our dollars in our community as much as possible. Our local community, and our Tarot community.
The first thing you are going to want to have is a Tarot Deck.
I’m going to recommend a Rider-Waite-Smith. It’s the most popular deck in the world, most Tarot books are illustrated with it, and it is what we will be using here for Tarot School. There are a number of variations, all having to do with color tones more than anything else. You would be happy with and well served by any of the following:
Smith-Waite Centennial Tarot Deck
Smith-Waite Centennial Tarot Deck In A Tin Note: Standard Tarot cards are larger than typical playing cards. This particular deck is composed of smaller cards than the typical Tarot deck, more like playing cards. This makes them easier for some folks to shuffle.
The Weiser Tarot Note: Arthur Edward Waite and Pamela Colman Smith designed the Rider-Waite-Smith Tarot deck over one hundred years ago. As a result, it reflects the gender and racial thought prevalent in England at the time. Some do find this to be problematic and look for a symbolism that more closely reflects our society today. This deck retains the old imagery and symbolism, but is updated to reflect modern diversity.
Any of the above decks will serve you well.
But be careful, you might someday turn into a deck collector! There are so many truly beautiful decks out there, with more produced every year, they can be hard to resist once the urge strikes.
The second thing you are going to want is a good modern book on the Tarot.
My top two recommendations are:
Holistic Tarot by Benebell Wen This book will teach you everything from how to shuffle the cards to how to read them professionally.
Or
Complete Book of the Rider-Waite-Smith Tarot by Sasha Graham This book goes deeply into the Tarot, but in such a fun and easy reading style that it doesn’t feel like heavy reading at all.
Either of the above books will serve you very well.
But both of the above books are big. They are very long reads. If you want something shorter, more of an introductory text, I think that you would be well served by:
Tarot Original 1909 Book by Sasha Graham
This book will not give you the depth or breadth of either of the other two, but will give you a solid introduction to the Tarot.
Two other, more specialized recommendations before I go…
A.E. Waite, long ago wrote a guidebook to go along with his Tarot deck. It is The Pictorial Key to the Tarot. I would not recommend it over the books linked above, but it is valuable, and one can learn to read Tarot from it. It was, I believe, the first Tarot book I read thirty some years ago, and it is the book that I learned to read from. You might enjoy it.
If you are into esoteric Masonry and the Western Esoteric Tradition, you will really enjoy The Tarot, Magic, Alchemy, Hermeticism, and Neoplatonism by Robert M. Place. I don’t think that this book is going to teach you how to read the Tarot, at least I don’t think it would work that way for me, but it is going to show you exactly how Tarot fits within Western Esotericism. It is excellent.
Buy a deck from the first set of links, a book from the second, and you’ll be all set for Tarot School! You might want to pick up a copy of either Mr. Waite’s or Mr. Place’s book as well, just for the fun of it.
Tarot School No. 2 is coming soon!