#tarot book

When I first started reading tarot I had all these reservations and newbie mistakes that I sometimes made for YEARS. Don’t be like me, learn how to read tarot, be confident and understand that the good comes with the bad. And you’ll be an expert tarot reader in no time. 

Tarot is a tool for YOUR intuition - I don’t know why, but this really didn’t resonate with me right away. I would second guess, re-read, and not use my intuition when interpreting  the cards. In the end that cause some really inaccurate readings then if I would have just used tarot as a tool to grow my own intuition and spiritual feeling. 

Don’t stress read - I know I know we all do it. Madly shuffle the cards then start pulling whenever things start to go array. Let me be the first to tell you that is not an accurate reading. That is just you stressing out pulling cards in a fury that will only lead to more stress. 

Take time to meditate and clear your mind beforehand - Don’t come into a reading with a cloudy head. If you really want to get a good read, spend a few minutes clearing your mind before you shuffle your deck. 

There are no bad readings - I repeat, there are no bad readings. Even horrible tower falling outcomes are just the start to something new and better. If you do get an outcome from a tarot spread that is less than favorable breath and take it one day at a time. 

There are also no bad tarot cards - Just like there are no bad readings, there are no bad cards. Endings are just beginnings in reverse. So even if your BFF is stabbing you in the back with the 5 of Swords, don’t worry it’s just your spirits getting rid of them for you. 

Get to know your decks beforehand - Each deck sometimes has a little personality. Spend some time with them, know them, see how they read for you before you jump in with all the important stuff. 

Meditate with cards you feel drawn towards - Do you really vibe with the High Priestess? Or maybe it’s The Hermit for you. These cards could be your archetype. Pull them out, meditate, feel their answers and seek guidance from them. 

Take breaks from reading - I am a huge advocate from taking a break from tarot. Sometimes you need to change it up, put it down or just step away for a few days or a year. Whatever it is take time away if and whenever you feel the need to. 

Use tarot as a tool for manifesting - Ask questions, lots and lots of questions about different outcomes. If you don’t like the outcome, change your question or change your mind and ask again. Once you get the desired results stick to it. 

Don’t read for free, but practice - I see so many new tarot readers reading for free online. Don’t do it! Your time is precious and if someone wants a free reading, they can lean it themselves. 

Don’t skip knowing your shadow self in a reading - One of the best things you can do is learn exactly who you are, and you can’t do that without knowing all the parts of yourself you’ve rejected. Use the tarot to get to know yourself in the shadows too. 

The cards never lie - Never. Ever. 

Reshuffling won’t bypass a reading you didn’t like - Don’t get yourself trapped into ‘clarity’ cards. That’s shuffling and asking the same question again and again for clarity, or until you get the answer to the question you want. Sure ask for clarity ONCE when you don’t really understand, but don’t ask again and again just to see what you want. 

Don’t wait to start tarot - If you feel called to read tarot, start now! You don’t have to wait for someone to gift you a deck (who started that bad rumor anyway?!) 

Confidence is key - This also took me a long time to ‘get’. Read with confidence. You are a badass witch. You have stepped outside to do so much spiritual growth, why would your card reading reflect any different? 

Your tarot reading is not the end all be all - Tarot is subjective, not prophecy. So change your mind and change your future. Nothing is set in stone. 

You know me so you know how unbelievably hectic September always is. But! This year is even more so! I am surrounded by new projects and new environments and, of course, a couple of them have to do with tarot. I’ve been reading and working with this book you see here, Advanced Tarot by Paul Fenton-Smith, for a few months… and it’s been a huge push with those projects I mentioned.

Its full name is Advanced Tarot: An In-Depth Guide to Practical & Intuitive Tarot Readings. It’s published by Blue Angel, a publishing house you already know as their wonderful oracle decks are featured here pretty often. It is a massive tome, at 556 pages. The pictures you see here feature it pristine and brand-new, but I will soon publish another post to showcase how it looks now after having devoured it (I’m a highlighter kind of student). The first thing I would like to emphasize before getting into details is that, despite its name, I feel this book is not only a compilation of advanced lessons, but that it also leaves space for solid tarot foundations for those who are beginning. It is geared towards reading for others (in a professional manner) but it doesn’t mean it is the only scenario where this book comes in handy.

There’s so much information packed here that even listing the table of contents would be out of my usual post length. After full colour pages of allthe cards from the RWS, “A Telescope Aimed at the Future” already establishes that the author is very predictive-reading-oriented. It includes an “Essential Questions Menu” within the section “Fundamental Questions for the Cards”, which can help with the inherent organization of readings. “Setting Boundaries in Readings” is filled with excellent advice to not go over our limits (no matter how much we want to help). I feel that sometimes it can become very clairvoyancy-oriented, which can be a problem for those readers that do not consider themselves clairvoyants. There are some spreads to try out and practice, but an even better section is “Designing Your Own Layouts”, which speaks for itself. His views on reversals are very interesting, showcasing an easy-to-apply method that will work from the get go, even for beginners. There are more than 30 pages of sample readings with interpretations which are wonderful to practice.

The bulk of the book is obviously devoted to card meanings (pages 184 to 544), arranged numerologically and starting with the minors. These include upright and reversed meanings (covering general, career, relationship and health fields), as well as weaving connections between cards when needed. This is further enhanced at the end of the book, with three charts: one dealing with “The Meanings of Cards in Combination”, a minors chart, and a reversed minors chart.

Advanced Tarot, by Paul Fenton-Smith, is a book I have thoroughly enjoyed and that has offered me new insights. I really appreciate some advice I have received, especially when setting boundaries or reading under pressure. Despite its name, I believe this can be a good beginner’s book, especially if your goal is to become fluent enough to read for others (professionally or not). It is a book I have read cover to cover, but which I have also marked and highlighted to come back to as a reference and as a reminder. For more information, head over to Blue Angel and check their oracles too!