The best thing to do when you're learning tarot is to read, read, read—and read some more. Remember that tarot is a personal practice, so you're not reading to understand the information. You're reading to help develop your own opinions. Because tarot is so personalized, it's really important to gather the opinions of many so that you have the tools to figure out what your own interpretations of the cards.
Here are a couple amazing books that will help broaden your perspectives and also cover all the bases.
Tarot: Connect With Yourself, Develop Your Intuition, Live Mindfully
I love the themes around tarot and self-help or self-love. This book is soft-spoken, tender, and welcoming. It approaches tarot from a healing perspective, meaning that each card isn't discussed in black and white ("good and bad" terms). When a card appears reversed or a "bad" card comes up, this book suggests looking at where the opportunities are for healing as opposed to where we're hurting.
365 Tarot Spreads: Revealing the Magic in Each Day
This book pairs up each day of the year with a tarot spread. While it might be overwhelming at first, it's crazy helpful because it really opens your perspective on the various ways you can make or use tarot spreads.
21 Ways to Read a Tarot Card
Similar to the 365 Tarot Spreads book, this book is great for broadening perspectives. It breaks down our one-dimensional view that a tarot card has a singular meaning and instead, analyzes tarot cards from a multitude of outlooks such as numerology, elements, imagery, story, and emotions.
Fearless Tarot: How to Give a Positive Reading in Any Situation
The tagline for this book is: Dare to pull any card. And I love that! This challenges the "good and bad" dichotomy that we place on certain cards such as The Tower or Death. Many people are nervous to try tarot because they don't know how to read these cards in a positive light. This book helps you see the upside!
The Ultimate Guide to Tarot: A Beginner's Guide
Like many new readers, I went straight for this book. It's so amazing! Right to the point and very effective.
The Tarot: The Original Teachings Revealed
This is a brand new tarot book, coming out in 2021. What's so special about it? This book encapsulates old teachings and readings from the late 1800s and early 1900s that have been long forgotten. These texts, all by the OG deck creator, Arthur Edward Waite (A.E. Waite), were once used alongside the original Rider-Waite tarot deck.
This is a single volume with eight full-length books, so only buy if you're prepared to go deep!
How to Read Tarot: A Modern Guide
If you're looking for straightforward, give-me-the-answers kind of reading, this book is great. It's clean, it's easy, and it's simple to understand.
The Ultimate Guide to Tarot Card Meanings
We can't talk tarot without talking about Brigit Esselmont, founder of Biddy Tarot and the leader in modern day tarot. This book pairs each card with upright and reversed meanings, a couple quotes that indicate its energy, and in-depth descriptions surrounding what the card means in each type of situation (love, career, general, etc.).
Explore Tarot Using Radiant Rider-Waite Deck
If you're starting out with the Rider-Waite deck, this book dives into a sub-division deck called the Radiant Rider-Waite. In the book, you'll go over traditional meanings and imagery. It's a great book if you're looking to start from traditional beginnings.
1001 Tarot Spreads: The Complete Book of Tarot Spreads for Every Purpose
Similar to the 365 Tarot Spreads, this book has the same goal: showing variety in tarot spreads.
Have Tarot Will Party: A Comprehensive Guide to Party Reading for the Tarot Professional
If you're thinking about using your tarot skills for entertaining, this book is a must. It goes into the ethics of tarot party reading as well as tips and tricks to make it seamless.