Tarot Resources
Want to learn more about tarot? Here are some of our favorite books, people, websites, and more!
Best Tarot Books
“Best” is obviously subjective, but here are some of our picks for tarot books that cover the basics, expand upon standard interpretations, or offer insight into using tarot for creativity.
Tarot Wisdom by Rachel Pollack
While Pollack’s 78 Degrees of Wisdom is often suggested as a go-to foundational text, I think her 2008 follow-up is a better option for a beginner. While there are other books I like better in general, I do think this is a good starting point if you want to get at the basics and learn a bit about the history and meanings of the cards.
Tarot for Your Self: A Workbook for the Inward Journey by Mary K. Greer
Another good book for beginners, Tarot for Your Self is a workbook that gives you hands-on experience working with the cards and discovering meanings. Like Pollack, Greer is a long-standing, respected teacher, and this book offers many roads into your tarot journey.
The Creative Tarot: A Modern Guide to an Inspired Life by Jessa Crispin
Covering each of the 78 cards in meaning and for inspiration, The Creative Tarot is great for beginners and seasoned readers alike. Each card includes interpretations related to creativity and creative practices, as well as related media such as books, songs, visual art, and more.
Tarot for Change: Using the Cards for Self-Care, Acceptance, and Growth by Jessica Dore
Social worker Jessica Dore takes a radical approach to the cards in Tarot for Change. Using a therapeutic lens and incorporating symbolism, mythology, and more, Dore provides a unique framework that is particularly helpful for those in behavioral sciences or anyone on a healing journey.
Finding the Fool: A Tarot Journey to Radical Transformation by Meg Jones Wall
A recent release from Meg Jones Wall of 3am.tarot, this book offers an approach grounded in numerology and astrology. However, Finding the Fool also encourages you to make your own definitions and interpretations. Like many of the contemporary offerings in the genre, Wall also eschews binary, gendered, white cishet interpretations of the cards.
Radical Tarot: Queer the Cards, Liberate Your Practice, and Create the Future by Charlie Claire Burgess
Another newer book that offers a more modern approach to the cards, Radical Tarot, takes readers through the Fool’s Journey and beyond while giving a fresh perspective. Charlie Claire Burgess (aka The Word Witch) has a unique, radically inclusive approach that is useful for both new and experienced tarot readers.
Tarot Readers and Teachers
Here are some of our favorite organizations and people teaching and reading tarot.
Lindsay Mack / Tarot for the Wild Soul
Lindsay of Tarot for the Wild Soul has a podcast, school, and wonderful newsletter. Her intuitive and radical approach—not to mention her breadth of experience—makes her my go-to when it comes to anything tarot-related. I have taken many of her courses and workshops, and I am a devotee of her podcast and newsletter. Whether you want to learn the basics, find ways to incorporate tarot into your creative practice, or use tarot as an anchor for tough times, Tarot for the Wild Soul is the place to go. Lindsay has a huge array of free offerings (in addition to the podcast) available on the website, like guides, quizzes, and more.
Sarah Faith Gottesdiener / Moon Studio
Sarah is one of my favorite magical beings—I turn to her podcast, Moonbeaming, her courses and workshops, and her website for anything related to lunar magic, tarot, and much, much more. It’s hard to define exactly what Sarah and Moon Studio is all about, but I can tell you I have read her book, bought her yearly planner (and the quarterly zines that preceded the planner), taken multiple courses (including Clear Channels, which I HIGHLY recommend if you ever want to create a newsletter), listened to her podcast, and eagerly read every single email newsletter she sends. So, I include her here as a tarot resource (because there’s plenty of tarot goodness coming from Moon Studio), but I also recommend checking her out for all things magic.
I found Typewriter Tarot at AWP last year, and I’m so glad to have this resource! With a focus on creativity, Typewriter Tarot feels like a cozy writer-centered space. There is a membership option, but with the newsletter, workshops and courses, and free events/resources, it’s a great option for creative folks even without joining the paid community.
Selah Saterstrom’s book Ideal Suggestions: Essays in Divinatory Poetics is a book I have purchased for myself and then given away multiple times. At last year’s AWP, I attended a talk on tarot given by a panel that included Saterstrom (fun fact: the session got shut down by the fire marshal because the room was way past capacity, and I thought there was going to be a riot!) and discovered she was one half of a cool collaborative called Four Queens. They do regular writing gatherings on various topics that cost just $10 and are always generative and fun. Four Queens is a must-follow for creative folks.
Tarot and Oracle Deck Recommendations
Since a lot of folks ask which decks I use, here’s a full list of every tarot and oracle deck I own! I’ve added an asterisk* to the ones I use most, but I do love all my decks. Also, note that all of the decks I use are in the Rider Waite Smith style.
Tarot Decks
She Wolfe & Serpentfire (both by Serpentfire / Devany Amber Wolfe)*
Ethereal Visions (widely available, including: Bookshop | Amazon)*
Mike Willcox Tarot + Oracle (only includes the Major Arcana)
Tarot of the Divine (widely available, including: Bookshop | Amazon)
Oracle Decks
Your Wise Animal Body & Celestial Bodies* (again by Serpentfire / Devany Amber Wolfe)
The Literary Witches Oracle (widely available, including: Bookshop | Amazon)
Even More Decks
Here are a few other easy-to-find decks I see frequently. I don’t have these, but know/see lots of creative folks who do:
Original Rider Smith Waite (Bookshop | Amazon)
Modern Witch (Bookshop | Amazon)
Wild Unknown (Bookshop | Amazon)
Light Seer’s Tarot (Bookshop)
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