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The Only Tarot Book You'll Ever Need: A Modern Guide to the Cards, Spreads, and Secrets of Tarot
This lovely, full-color guide to tarot provides everything you need to know to read tarot—whether it’s a traditional reading, or a reading for self-reflection or self-discovery.Not long ago, getting your cards read would have conjured images of a mystic shrouded in scarves with a crystal ball, waving her hands over a spread of cards. Today, a tarot reading is as common as going to yoga or texting a friend. It’s the new way to seek guidance—whether that’s relationship advice or what outfit to wear today. With the help of this beautifully illustrated guide, you’ll be able to harness this skill to read your own future in tarot cards. Filled with custom card images and easy-to-understand descriptions of each card and many different reading layouts, The Only Tarot Book You’ll Ever Need will help you to master the tarot, whether your aim is to perform traditional readings, consult the cards as part of a daily self-care ritual, use them for interactive self-reflection, or rely on them as a tool for thinking through particular challenges or questions.
273 pages, Kindle Edition
Published August 13, 2019
558 people are currently reading
371 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews
August 25, 2019
Today I'm reviewing The Only Tarot Book You'll Ever Need by Skye Alexander and Mary Shannon.
Generally I like to start out with a disclaimer. I am an contemporary witch. I look for the connection between magic and science without the need to search for a creator. I receive no compensation for these reviews and all my links are standard Amazon links and not affiliate links. I am a practicing photo reader and have spent the last 16 years honing my craft. I offer personal readings by request and have a strong online history that boasts over 412,000 views.
As always I'll start with a review of the physical book. This book came to me as a soft cover a little larger than standard size. This makes it a little clunky for reading on the go. The cover is textured and brilliantly illustrated with the Tarot suits on the front cover. The pages inside are very smooth without any texture and it supports a decent size index for the subject matter.
My one complaint about soft cover books is the way they always tend to bend open after only a couple of uses. I much prefer hard cover books due to this. On the reverse however, (pun intended) the book lays beautifully on a table or other flat surface. This makes it a breeze when laying out your own tarot cards or using the book as a reference while practicing your reading skills.
This is one of many books I have reviewed for this author. You can find more on my blog.
This author takes us through learning the Tarot in seven chapters. She gives us the basic history of the Tarot and what is contained within. Each section is illustrated and in chapter three we are giving instructions on connecting to the unknown and how to develop and trust your intuition. Something so many of us could really use a refresher on, be tarot or life in general.
As with most, she jumps into interpreting the major and minor arcana, then breaks down the suits for us in an easy to understand format. Because this book isn't for a specific deck, the author references the names and imagery on the cards to help the reader follow along. Some authors will tend to over complicate this section by making them too wordy or use a $100 word when a .50 word will do. This author lays out the information in an easy to read format which I believe will benefit the novice and versed reader alike. She then dives into tarot spreads and how to use the read those spreads in chapter six.
Finally she wraps up with using Tarot in your everyday life. Using it for your own spiritual guidance or creating your own deck and spreads. Over all from start to finish a fantastic look at the Tarot from all levels. Giving you everything you need to get starting in working with one of the most popular divination tools on the market today.
Generally I like to start out with a disclaimer. I am an contemporary witch. I look for the connection between magic and science without the need to search for a creator. I receive no compensation for these reviews and all my links are standard Amazon links and not affiliate links. I am a practicing photo reader and have spent the last 16 years honing my craft. I offer personal readings by request and have a strong online history that boasts over 412,000 views.
As always I'll start with a review of the physical book. This book came to me as a soft cover a little larger than standard size. This makes it a little clunky for reading on the go. The cover is textured and brilliantly illustrated with the Tarot suits on the front cover. The pages inside are very smooth without any texture and it supports a decent size index for the subject matter.
My one complaint about soft cover books is the way they always tend to bend open after only a couple of uses. I much prefer hard cover books due to this. On the reverse however, (pun intended) the book lays beautifully on a table or other flat surface. This makes it a breeze when laying out your own tarot cards or using the book as a reference while practicing your reading skills.
This is one of many books I have reviewed for this author. You can find more on my blog.
This author takes us through learning the Tarot in seven chapters. She gives us the basic history of the Tarot and what is contained within. Each section is illustrated and in chapter three we are giving instructions on connecting to the unknown and how to develop and trust your intuition. Something so many of us could really use a refresher on, be tarot or life in general.
As with most, she jumps into interpreting the major and minor arcana, then breaks down the suits for us in an easy to understand format. Because this book isn't for a specific deck, the author references the names and imagery on the cards to help the reader follow along. Some authors will tend to over complicate this section by making them too wordy or use a $100 word when a .50 word will do. This author lays out the information in an easy to read format which I believe will benefit the novice and versed reader alike. She then dives into tarot spreads and how to use the read those spreads in chapter six.
Finally she wraps up with using Tarot in your everyday life. Using it for your own spiritual guidance or creating your own deck and spreads. Over all from start to finish a fantastic look at the Tarot from all levels. Giving you everything you need to get starting in working with one of the most popular divination tools on the market today.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 10, 2024
Very straight forwards and helpful. If you’re already very advanced in Tarot you might not find a lot of new things, but that’s not really the purpose of this book either. I have it next to my tarot decks at all times and grab it with every reading, it’s just an incredibly efficient handbook!
March 2, 2021
Had this for a few years and finally got around to reading it due to it being a chunky book for just one subject, overall I learnt alot but I feel like there would be better books out there.
I found some of the cards meaning were the same even though their ameant to be different so could of used more explaining to differentiate between them and it prattled along about stuff that wasn't relevant.
Will be good for a reference guide though.
I found some of the cards meaning were the same even though their ameant to be different so could of used more explaining to differentiate between them and it prattled along about stuff that wasn't relevant.
Will be good for a reference guide though.
November 3, 2019
LOVED this book! It helped me understand tarot better than the book that came with my first deck!
August 24, 2024
I have a long history of finding tarot cards intriguing--the aesthetics, the occult aspects--but not taking time to use tarot cards. I bought my first two tarot decks back in the 1990s, including an Alice in Wonderland deck. But I was busy and preoccupied with other things, and I was lucky if I read the little booklets that come with the cards.
I recently read the novel The Cloisters by Katy Hayes, which involves early tarot cards. I looked a type of cards up on Wikipedia, which lead to my clicking on the Tarot of Marseille... which led to my looking up the latter on Etsy and purchasing a deck of reproduction Tarot of Marseille. They're 15th century-style tarot cards and are quite a bit different from modern tarot.
The same day that I purchased The Only Tarot Book You'll Ever Need, I purchased a book about early tarot cards called Untold Tarot: The Lost Art of Ancient Tarot by Caitlin Matthews and The Transformational Truth of Tarot: The Fool's Journey by Tiffany Crosara. Next thing I knew, I'm giving myself sort of a crash course in Tarot.
I'm glad I'm finally paying attention to tarot, never mind that I wish I'd done so back in my twenties and thirties, a time when I could have used the guidance.
The Only Tarot Book You'll Ever Need is a great place to begin and, as the title suggests, a good book to revisit many times when working with tarot cards. It covers history, basics, major and minor arcana, intuition, and a variety of spreads.
I recently read the novel The Cloisters by Katy Hayes, which involves early tarot cards. I looked a type of cards up on Wikipedia, which lead to my clicking on the Tarot of Marseille... which led to my looking up the latter on Etsy and purchasing a deck of reproduction Tarot of Marseille. They're 15th century-style tarot cards and are quite a bit different from modern tarot.
The same day that I purchased The Only Tarot Book You'll Ever Need, I purchased a book about early tarot cards called Untold Tarot: The Lost Art of Ancient Tarot by Caitlin Matthews and The Transformational Truth of Tarot: The Fool's Journey by Tiffany Crosara. Next thing I knew, I'm giving myself sort of a crash course in Tarot.
I'm glad I'm finally paying attention to tarot, never mind that I wish I'd done so back in my twenties and thirties, a time when I could have used the guidance.
The Only Tarot Book You'll Ever Need is a great place to begin and, as the title suggests, a good book to revisit many times when working with tarot cards. It covers history, basics, major and minor arcana, intuition, and a variety of spreads.
June 4, 2023
This is an excellent reference book for anyone interested in tarot! The explanation of various types of symbolism you can find in tarot cards is a great help to newcomers, and teaches you to more intuitively read tarot rather than trying to memorize the book meanings of each card (although it does also go into the traditional meanings of each card in the book as well).
Bonus: When you learn to read tarot more intuitively, it makes it less intimidating to branch out from the Rider-Waite-Smith deck to more modern, creatively styled decks!
Bonus: When you learn to read tarot more intuitively, it makes it less intimidating to branch out from the Rider-Waite-Smith deck to more modern, creatively styled decks!
June 6, 2024
Definitely not the only tarot book you'll ever need - Maybe the only introductory tarot book?
Provides a simple history & a high level overview of the cards before providing two interruptations for each card along with a verbal description of what the card typically shows. Doesn't have any sample readings, any mention of if cards mean "yes" or "no" and while it mentions elemental correspondences, it doesn't mention any astrological correspondences.
Provides a simple history & a high level overview of the cards before providing two interruptations for each card along with a verbal description of what the card typically shows. Doesn't have any sample readings, any mention of if cards mean "yes" or "no" and while it mentions elemental correspondences, it doesn't mention any astrological correspondences.
November 19, 2025
For someone new to Tarot, I appreciated this book, I would have preferred the spreads section be before the explanation of the cards so that the second half was moreso like a reference - but that’s an opinion!
The book is helpful for sure.
The book is helpful for sure.
October 22, 2019
This book is a really incredible guide and perfect for beginners like myself. The only thing I wish it had were examples of readings.
October 16, 2020
ok for beginners. But it's not the only tarot book you'll ever need.
November 23, 2020
Really solid beginner book! A great way to get started and feel comfortable. It goes into the symbolism, history, and mythology more than others in reading.
December 17, 2020
This tarot guide is fantastic! Answers to all the cards meanings, for me as a beginner, it's 10/10
January 16, 2021
Really great read! Loved how simple it was. I would have liked all the "sit and read" info before the "check back encyclopedia-style" section as I jumped around a bit my first read.
January 22, 2021
It's quite good but lacks depth for me. Would be great for people starting out x
August 24, 2021
sigh
i had hopes for this one but the author said hypatia was a librarian at the library of alexandria and i was like “did this person even wiki hypatia” and gave up.
i had hopes for this one but the author said hypatia was a librarian at the library of alexandria and i was like “did this person even wiki hypatia” and gave up.
December 30, 2021
Completely disagree with the title. As I’ve seen often, this book is beautifully produced but doesn’t have the content to make it worth buying. Maybe just not for me
April 11, 2022
My new favorite tarot book!!!
July 5, 2022
This contained a lot of information, but I think I was looking for something more academic in nature.
November 30, 2022
definitely not the *only* tarot book you'd ever need, but a good starting place.
January 5, 2023
Very simple, clear, easy to use. I enjoy using this book as a reference.
January 28, 2023
Spoiler alert: you'll need more than only this book.
September 21, 2023
Fantastic book. Comprehensive, informative, absolutely perfect reference book for a beginner like me!
December 26, 2022
This is a very good starting point for a new reader. The author does a nice job of introducing the cards, gives a few basic spreads, and offers guidance any beginning reader would benefit from. It's not an exhaustive reference, but it has a little bit of everything. I would categorize this as supplementary reference material, only because there are better books out there. Honestly, I don't think this is the only book one would need, but it is still a solid choice for any one starting on their Tarot journey.
Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews