Different Tarot books- all with different advice and meanings...

As I move more into teaching and mentoring Tarot there is a common question many students have…

“Every book seems to say something different”

And it’s true!

• The value of reading reversals, to not mentioning it.

• The need for a significator, to (again) not mentioning it.

• Is 4 of pentacles a miser, or a card of personal power?

• Do you NEED to shuffle with your left hand- or does it not really matter?

• Is the 6 of cups a happy nostalgic card, or a card highlighting childhood trauma?

  
  

I would argue the answer to all of the above possibilities is “yes”. That if reading reversals helps you to read accuracy then that’s great, but if it adds nothing to your reading accuracy let it go.  

That the 4 of pentacles can be a miser, yet also a card of personal power.

So how do you find the right authors in the this big and expansive Tarot world?

I think you need to look to an author’s reason for writing their book, their experience and the perspective for their book.

·        Are they writing an historically accurate book- looking at the sources of a particular deck? (Marcus Katz & Tali Goodwin)  )

·        Are they focusing on one particular wisdom tradition as they look at Tarot? (Isabel Kleigman from a Jewish perspective on the Rider-Waite deck)

·        Is the book a reflection of many, many years in the business (Mary Greer, Theresa Reed)

·        Perhaps the book is taking a niche focus, and deep diving into one topic, or one deck. (Mark Ryan & John Mathews )

·        Or maybe- like my book- it is a deeply personal reflection of the Tarot cards.

Every author is human and sharing their take on Tarot. There is no universal acknowledged meaning on a card- although you can choose to refer to the author of the deck you are using to see how they perceived the card they created.

In the end it boils down to finding books that resonate with you, that help you to build your relationship with your deck.

Reading Tarot is deeply personal.

Learning Tarot is deeply personal.

And writing about Tarot is deeply personal.

If a Tarot book helps you on your journey then it is right for you- in the end you'll have to roll with the fact we can all have widely different takes on Tarot, and yet be right.

A cheeky photo of my book, alongside some that have deeply inspired me.