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The Essence of Tarot: Using Essential Oils, Magic, and Rituals to Empower Your Readings
Empower Your Tarot Readings with the Use of Sacred Fragrances. The ancient art of perfumery and fragrance have long been a component of magical and spiritual rituals. In The Essence of Tarot, tarot master Mary K. Greer demonstrates how this primordial art can be used to enhance modern tarot practices, whether for divination, meditation, or affirmations. Learn how to create a more magical life through the union of tarot and aromatherapy. Greer, among the world’s foremost authorities on the topic, demonstrates how essential oils can enrich the tarot experience, as well as empower tarot readers. No previous experience with essential oils is needed, as Greer offers a brief crash course, along with details about the historical role of scent and perfumery in magical and divinatory rituals. Greer provides oils and scents to correspond with each of the seventy-eight cards of the tarot. This book may be used in daily rituals but also as a reference guide for tarot lovers. Instructions for crafting tarot oils are included, as well as detailed instructions for using them to maximize the tarot experience. This new edition of a beloved classic includes botanical illustrations by Ed Buryn, creator of the William Blake Tarot, photographer, and vagabonding pioneer. This book was originally published as The Essence of Magic.
208 pages, Paperback
Published January 8, 2025
10 people are currently reading
2935 people want to read
About the author
Mary K. Greer
54 books144 followersMary K. Greer is a scholar, writer, teacher and professional tarot consultant. With more than forty years experience in tarot as an author and teacher, she advocates a revolutionary approach to learning and using the cards that emphasizes personal insight and creativity. As an expert tarot reader, she works as a ‘midwife of the soul,’ using techniques that are interactive, transformational and empowering.
Mary is the founder of Tools and Rites of Transformation (T.A.R.O.T.) and is a member of many international tarot organizations. She is a featured speaker at tarot conferences and symposia around the world.
The author of nine books on tarot and a biography of four female magicians, Mary’s latest book is Who Are You in the Tarot? (RedWheel/Weiser, 2011). Her previous book, 21 Ways to Read a Tarot Card (Llewellyn, 2008) won the COVR award for best divination book.
Mary is the proud recipient of the 2007 International Tarot Lifetime Achievement Award and the 2006 Mercury Award from the Mary Redman Foundation for “excellence in communication in the metaphysical field.”
With an M.A. in English literature, Mary was a faculty member and administrator of a college in San Francisco for eleven years. She is an Arch-Priestess/Hierophant in the Fellowship of Isis. As a world traveler, she has lived in Japan, Germany, England, Mexico, six states in the U.S., and currently resides in Northern California.
Mary is the founder of Tools and Rites of Transformation (T.A.R.O.T.) and is a member of many international tarot organizations. She is a featured speaker at tarot conferences and symposia around the world.
The author of nine books on tarot and a biography of four female magicians, Mary’s latest book is Who Are You in the Tarot? (RedWheel/Weiser, 2011). Her previous book, 21 Ways to Read a Tarot Card (Llewellyn, 2008) won the COVR award for best divination book.
Mary is the proud recipient of the 2007 International Tarot Lifetime Achievement Award and the 2006 Mercury Award from the Mary Redman Foundation for “excellence in communication in the metaphysical field.”
With an M.A. in English literature, Mary was a faculty member and administrator of a college in San Francisco for eleven years. She is an Arch-Priestess/Hierophant in the Fellowship of Isis. As a world traveler, she has lived in Japan, Germany, England, Mexico, six states in the U.S., and currently resides in Northern California.
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
September 4, 2025
Tarot meets aromatherapy.
Magick meets the body.
Intellect (and discernment) meets intuition.
If you've ever felt like your Tarot practice needed a little more scent and substance, then Greer has just handed you a vial of pure gold.
In Essence of Tarot, Greer masterfully weaves together the ancient symbolic language of the Tarot with the evocative, elemental power of essential oils. This isn’t a gimmick or a superficial pairing—this is correspondence work at its finest, deeply rooted in Esoteric tradition and embodied wisdom.
Think: the fiery rush of cinnamon to stoke the Wands, the grounding pull of vetiver for Pentacles, or the dreamy lift of lavender to open your third eye with the High Priestess.
Every scent becomes a Spell.
Every card, a portal.
Greer doesn’t just tell you what oils or botanicals go with what cards—she guides you through the why, anchoring her associations in Planetary rulerships, Elemental Theory, Alchemical Principles, and the subtle body.
The result? A toolkit for Practitioners who want to bring Tarot off the page and into Ritual, into the senses, into real life.
Whether you're creating an anointing oil for The Lovers, diffusing rosemary to sharpen your mind for a Swords reading, or crafting full Ritual baths for Major Arcana initiations—this book supports it all.
It’s the kind of resource that makes your Tarot deck(s) smell like a Magick shop and feel like a temple.
If you are a:
-Tarot reader looking to deepen your intuitive practice
- Witch and Magick-maker craving a more embodied Ritual experience
- Herbalist and/or Aromatherapist ready to explore Divinatory dimensions
- Anyone who believes that scent is Sacred and symbols are alive
This book is for you.
That said, this isn’t just a book—it’s an invitation to live your Tarot and Magickal practices. Greer continues to be one of the most insightful, accessible, and Magickally-minded voices in the Tarot world.
Essence of Tarot is a love letter to the senses, and a powerful bridge between the archetypal and the actual.
Tarot tip: Pull a card. Smell the oil. Breathe it in. Ask yourself—not just what the card means, but how it feels. That’s where the Magick lives.
Magick meets the body.
Intellect (and discernment) meets intuition.
If you've ever felt like your Tarot practice needed a little more scent and substance, then Greer has just handed you a vial of pure gold.
In Essence of Tarot, Greer masterfully weaves together the ancient symbolic language of the Tarot with the evocative, elemental power of essential oils. This isn’t a gimmick or a superficial pairing—this is correspondence work at its finest, deeply rooted in Esoteric tradition and embodied wisdom.
Think: the fiery rush of cinnamon to stoke the Wands, the grounding pull of vetiver for Pentacles, or the dreamy lift of lavender to open your third eye with the High Priestess.
Every scent becomes a Spell.
Every card, a portal.
Greer doesn’t just tell you what oils or botanicals go with what cards—she guides you through the why, anchoring her associations in Planetary rulerships, Elemental Theory, Alchemical Principles, and the subtle body.
The result? A toolkit for Practitioners who want to bring Tarot off the page and into Ritual, into the senses, into real life.
Whether you're creating an anointing oil for The Lovers, diffusing rosemary to sharpen your mind for a Swords reading, or crafting full Ritual baths for Major Arcana initiations—this book supports it all.
It’s the kind of resource that makes your Tarot deck(s) smell like a Magick shop and feel like a temple.
If you are a:
-Tarot reader looking to deepen your intuitive practice
- Witch and Magick-maker craving a more embodied Ritual experience
- Herbalist and/or Aromatherapist ready to explore Divinatory dimensions
- Anyone who believes that scent is Sacred and symbols are alive
This book is for you.
That said, this isn’t just a book—it’s an invitation to live your Tarot and Magickal practices. Greer continues to be one of the most insightful, accessible, and Magickally-minded voices in the Tarot world.
Essence of Tarot is a love letter to the senses, and a powerful bridge between the archetypal and the actual.
Tarot tip: Pull a card. Smell the oil. Breathe it in. Ask yourself—not just what the card means, but how it feels. That’s where the Magick lives.
Displaying 1 of 1 review