The Best Tarot Books for Beginners - My Favorites

Are you interested in learning to read tarot cards, and you’re wondering which tarot books are worth reading? In this video, I will be sharing with you the 3 books that I recommend to get started learning tarot.

When you’re first starting to use tarot cards, either for yourself or for others, it’s important to understand the symbolism and methodology before you start using the cards.

Without some background and knowledge of the tarot meanings and symbols, it would be very confusing to start reading tarot. For example, in the deck of 78 cards, there are cards named “death” and “the fool” and unnerving pictures of people stabbed with swords or a heart with 3 swords going through it. And this alone would cause anyone to run for the hills!

So, in order for you to have a grounded start, there are some basic meanings that you should learn.

Even if you don’t have a tarot deck, you can start using regular playing cards, which I have covered in another video. But, even with regular playing cards, you still need to understand the cards meanings.

Having said all that, the first beginner tarot book I recommend is TAROT 101 by Kim Huggens. This book is set up like an actual tarot course, with exercises sprinkled throughout each chapter, along with journaling exercises to awaken your understanding of the cards in the deck.

And journaling is an important part of using tarot. By journaling, you will have a greater awareness of how each card affects you, and going forward, the cards will hold a special meaning for you, and you will in no doubt, open up your intuition to see the greater meaning for you in your life.

The book starts by answering some basic questions like: What is Tarot? What Can it Do? And Why are you here?

And the question, Why are you here? is something that I think is very important for anyone learning tarot to understand.

Tarot is a personal journey, and to me, just having interest in it to the point you are here, looking for references,

tells me that you have had a personal intuitive experience that is now calling you to look deeper. This is a great sign and I hope if you choose this tarot book it’s helpful to start you on this journey.

The second tarot book I recommend, I would say is a staple on any tarot readers bookshelf. It is Seventy Eight Degrees of Wisdom, by Rachel Pollack. This book is like the encyclopedia of Tarot Cards, and it covers an in-depth look at both the Major and Minor Arcana from a higher perspective, along with covering each card within these arcanas.

She also shows a photo of each card and gives you a direct meaning of the card in both it’s upright and reversed position. I remember getting lost in this book, when I first started out, and for me it really opened up a path of exploration of not only tarot, but life itself. It was therapeutic and fascinating to read. In fact, I wrote tons of notes throughout the book as I started having my own intuition and symbolism for each card. Again, this is really a reference book, and it’s super handy to have as you’re exploring the meaning of tarot.

Before I share with you my final tarot book recommendation, I want to cover the other side of tarot, which is the purely intuitive side of reading tarot cards. Some would call this the psychic side, and the side that most people think of when they think of a tarot card reading. Besides the meaning and symbolism of each card, there is something magical that happens when you look at the cards in an open state. And what I mean by “open state” is, when you can be vulnerable with your feelings no matter what they are. We all know that it’s easy to be vulnerable to happiness for example – more please! But when emotions are triggered that are unpleasant, there’s a potential to keep them at bay and not deal with it, or resist them. But with tarot, it’s important to be aware of all your emotions, as each card signifies something in your life that you need to look at.

So, after that preface, my third and final tarot book recommendation if you’re just starting out in tarot is

Psychic Tarot, by Nancy Antenucci. This book helps you learn to read the tarot cards from your own intuitive psychic skill, which by the way, everyone, including you, has the capabilities. Once you start seeing this side of reading tarot, you’ll gain new levels of inspiration, guidance and insight. It will help you see how you can trust your own intuition to guide you on this magnificent journey. This book also has exercises sprinkled throughout it, and it gives you spreads to practice with. It’s an easy read, and encouraging.

These books that I am recommending as well as some of my other favorites are also available on my website through Amazon affiliate links.

Enjoy exploring tarot!