My Top Ten List

For what it's worth, these are ten books that I think every Tarot reader should study assiduously. In order of study:

1. Tarot with 'Tude-Dean Montalbano

` This is a great introductory text written by a very experienced reader. Though some of his correspondences are different from those I learned, I can't recommend it highly enough if you know nothing about Tarot and want to learn how to give readings.

2. Tarot Tells the Tale-James Ricklef

This book is a rare glimpse into actual (well, sort of) readings done by a professional. You learn to read by giving readings, and the opportunity to look over Ricklef's shoulder during the learning process is of tremendous value.

3. 78 Degrees of Wisdom- Rachel Pollack

As a post-graduate text on the fine points of Tarot symbolism and their divinatory use, there's nothing better.

4. The Only Tarot Book You'll Ever Need-Skye Alexander

It isn't by the way...There are a bunch of little books on Tarot written for the general public that you will find in any bookstore. They all say, more or less, the same things. This one is no different. I recommend it because I think it's good to carry a book around with you that you can glance through during the random bits of down time we find our selves in every day. This book is compact, printed on fairly good paper, and provides an adequate rundown of the basics of Tarot.

While I think there are better books to learn with, and better books for advanced study, to be a good reader, you have to know the basics of Tarot completely. You have to know them cold. Reading and re-reading a book like this in your spare minutes is a very good way to gain that "back of your hand" familiarity.

5. The Pictorial Key to the Tarot-A. E. Waite

In many ways, the text to which modern readers owe the most. While I don't think it's a great place to learn the Tarot, it is a classic and deserved to be studied on that basis alone. It is also easier than Paul Foster Case's writings as an introduction to the more esoteric side of Tarot, with which you should at least be familiar.

6. The Mystical Origins of the Tarot-Paul Huson

I'm always bothered by readers who seem to be dunces. Tarot is an intellectually substantive pursuit. You need a smattering of history, philosophy, iconography, psychology, and half a dozen other disciplines to really master it. Part of that mastery of your craft is knowing its history, and there is not a better, readily available text on the subject.

7. The Tarot: Key to the Wisdom of the Ages-Paul Foster Case

Since I am making this list in a suggested order of study, I am trying to stagger the difficulty of the material. Case's work is seminal in the field of the Esoteric Tarot, and, while you may not buy his theories, the symbolism you will learn will give texture to your readings.

Case wrote much on the Tarot, and a lot of it is in the public domain and available on the net, but real books are far easier to study, and this is material you will have to study, and study carefully, to absorb. Your diligence will be rewarded.

8. Pick a Title-Mary K. Greer

I don't want you to get so bogged down in esoteric theory that you become an occultist rather than a reader. Anything by Mary Greer is excellent. You might begin with "21 Ways to Read a Tarot Card."

9. Thursday Night Tarot-Jason Lotterhand

So important is Case's contribution to Tarot study and so important is your ability to transmit his ideas to your clients (in my opinion), that I have listed this charming book in addition to the one above. Essentially a lay-commentary on Case's system, it brings these ideas to bear on real life. I think you get more out of it by knowing the text he is talking about, the one listed at no. 7, otherwise I'd list this lighter text first. Lotterhand is a delightful guide, and this is an excellent read.

10. The Masks of Tarot-Scott Grossberg

This is simply the best book on Tarot I've read in a decade, and I've read many. Scott has taken sound psychological principles and applied them to the reading process to create a system that is nothing short of amazing. His approach is radically different from most other readers, but it is a powerhouse when understood and implemented. If you are an inexperienced reader, then you're not ready for this book; if you are an experienced reader, prepare to be astonished.

There you have it. A number of wonderful names are missing from this list, but my goal is to present a broad, yet focused curriculum for mastery of the cards.