How to Read Tarot: A Modern Guide

by Jessica Wiggan

A complete, beginner-friendly guide to learning tarot cards and giving readings

The tarot holds the key to unlocking and discovering your destiny and fate, your truest desires, and your fullest potential. This modern tarot book is filled with essential information, easy-to-read card interpretations, and explanatory spreads to help you become a more confident and intuitive tarot reader.

Start with a step-by-step guide on how to read the tarot cards and give readings to yourself and others, including how to remember the themes of each card and intuit in real time during a reading. Then, get to know each card in depth as you learn about the major and minor arcana, as well as the court cards. Finally, dive into some instructive card spreads, meanings of positions, and tips for interpreting the spread.

Explore the tarot deck with:

• Beginner-friendly info―Get suggestions about how to ground yourself before a reading, tips for interpreting tarot cards on the fly, and more.
• Tarot card meanings―Learn the meanings and reversed meanings of every card with detailed descriptions and a quick-reference chart.
• Spreads made simple―Start with the One-Card Draw, then move on to more complex spreads like the Celtic Cross and Wheel of Fortune as you advance your skills.

Learn how to read tarot cards and become a more intuitive reader with this complete, modern guide.

Genres: Tarot, Nonfiction, Spirituality, Witchcraft, Reference, Divination, Magic

210 pages, Paperback

Published August 27, 2019

Reviews

[Maria (Ri)]

I have several books on how to read tarot. However, this might be my favorite of them because it truly is the best. It is beautiful. Easy to navigate between how to read the Tarot, and then also the meanings of the cards. I have six sets of Tarot cards including the Ryder Waite deck that is used in this book and that made this even more enjoyable. One of my frustrations with trying to learn tarot is having to bounce around with so many other books to get the meaning. I didn't have to do that with this book.

Beautiful book and one that I will definitely get in paperback.

[amanda]

I've always wanted to learn how to read Tarot and the longing for it has been especially pressing recently. The only problem is that I have no idea where to start, how to start, no clue what any of these cards mean.

Sigh. My life.

This book is great however! It teaches you all of the basics of Tarot and reading the cards and also provides you pictures on which card is which.

I like how bright and witty the book is as well because it made for a nice read and a guide for when and if ever you want to dabble in some of these tarot arts.

Thank you very much Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC of this title! Now please, settle down and get ready to have your life laid out like Yu-gi-oh cards.

[Aline]

A Tarot book for beginners.

That's only my second tarot book. Previously I read one of the most known, but only now with Jess's descriptions I'm starting to get more of a feel for tarot. Her descriptions feel more lively and on the point. I'm using it daily <3

[Elita]

At this pt I’ve probably read all the cards’ interpretations at least once in all the tarot readings I’ve done. Well-explained guide in my tarot journey

[Sudeeran Nair]

Good book for tarot readers...

[Dana]

Really great reference guide covering the different applications for each card as well as information on giving readings to yourself or others, if interested.

[woodswit]

a really nice, really basic introduction to tarot. very straightforward! would have loved to learn more about certain spreads/card combinations but i don’t think that was quite the purpose of the book.

[Abby]

*•*ARC copy was provided by netgalley.*•*
•I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.•

Great book!!

This is a tool everyone should have!!!
I’m a want to be tarot reader lol I’ve just recently decided I should take it up because it feels as if I keep getting signs. Everywhere I look lately I’ve seen something to do with tarot!! It’s always been in my mind but now I feel is the right time to do it :)
This is a book everyone should buy.
The best kind of book... you with reread this so many times it is a guild to help and when you need to remember anything it will be there!
This is great for beginners and it very easy to understand.
This has everything you need... it shows you pictures of each card and goes in depth. It shows you the spreads and what the positions mean!

A MUST!!!

[Erin Cataldi]

The only thing that could have made this book more perfect is if it came with its own set of tarot cards. But realistically I get why it didn't, everyone has their preferred set at home; this book is meant to serve as a guide for all tarot decks. First off, this book is beautiful. The layout is wonderful, it's easy to navigate, flip through and read. The book is broken into two parts; tarot reading 101 which breaks down how tarot works, how to give readings (to yourself and others) and more; the second part breaks down card meanings. It's a wonderful guide that will really appeal to those new to tarot and those who are wanting to brush up their skills and maybe delve a little deeper. A wonderful guide!

[Jen]

This is a clear, friendly tarot introduction that does what it says on the cover without trying to make the cards sound more mysterious than they need to be. Wiggan explains the deck, offers ways to ground before a reading, gives card meanings for love, work, money, personal growth, and spiritual questions, and includes enough spreads and practical tips that a beginner can start working with a deck instead of only reading about one. I liked the attention to interpreting on the fly. That is a skill newer readers need, because no guidebook can predict every question life is going to hand you. The tone is encouraging and uncomplicated, and I can see this being a good first book for someone who wants a dependable overview. My issue is that “modern” here mostly means accessible packaging rather than a particularly fresh tarot perspective. The meanings are familiar, the history is thin, and the book does not give much room to the visual language, different deck traditions, or the reasons meanings have changed over time. Reading the cards for every life area is useful, but it can also make tarot feel like a customer-service desk for whatever problem you walked in carrying. I wanted more help developing curiosity and less emphasis on finding a quick answer. Still, this is a perfectly decent place to begin, especially for a person who needs straightforward instructions and reassurance that they will not ruin their deck by doing it wrong. It just wont be the book that takes them very far past the basics.

[Emma]

3.5 stars. I thought this book was okay but not my favorite beginner reference. The card interpretation sections are the vast majority of the book. The author also segments the Court cards out from the Minor Arcana of the same suit, which asked me to flip around more than I wanted. She does this without really explaining upfront what Court cards symbolize, their rankings, or what they add to a reading. So without that information it felt pointless to separate them out from the rest of their suit.

The sections around card interpretations—getting started, how to give a reading, and spreads—are thin. The formatting for the former two wasn't my favorite. Needed more photos or something else to break up the pages because it's a lot of reading. The latter section could have used more examples of how to interpret readings.

If you're a beginner who just wants card meanings and doesn't want to fuss with other info, this will be nice because in addition to general card meanings, it has subheadings in each card for applications to love, work, and reversals. But otherwise, there are more comprehensive starter guides that have similar page counts.

[Lora]

i bought this book in the beginning of 2021, wanting to read along as i drew different cards, which took me abt a year. i finished by reading abt 8 cards that didn’t come up for me all year in a flow to finish the book. i really like this technique as it helps to learn the meanings a lot better.

it’s really obvious that jess intended this to be a beginner friendly book and i want to put an emphasis on this as it’s not as complex as her secret circle tarot school would probably be.
all in all i really liked the book and her style of writing

[Charisse]

I'm a tarot virgin, I had a lot of preconceived notions going into this book, which I read out of curiosity. I feel like this book shattered each of my preconceived (wrong) assumptions, educated me on both the supernatural and practical uses of tarot, and dove into specifics about potential card meanings.

It seems appropriate for people curious about Tarot (which actually was created by Christians for Christians - who knew), beginners, and tarot enthusiasts.

[Alyse Thompson]

Very detailed and insightful book. I felt as if I were already being read to filth! Lol

My favorite things were the breakdown of each card and the meaning they can carry in each aspect of your life, what the reversal means, as well as a breakdown of different spreads to use and when/how to use them. Very happy I chose this book.

Note: if you are looking for a breakdown of all the symbols on each card, this book did not provide that, but it did not hinder my understanding of any of the cards.

[Lauren Ward]

5/5⭐️

Highly recommend this book for card interpretations!

It’s my go to book for any RWS inspired deck. I usually get rid of the little white book that comes with a deck, and just use this.

It has an explanation of each card, then how to interpret the card in a love, career, and spiritual reading. Also goes over reversals for each card.

It’ll definitely be my learning companion for a long time.

[M.J.]

The book for me!

This is my go to but for tarot. In the last few years, I have begun to get more in touch with my spirituality,astrology, numerology, planets and the like. Started studying the book of Thoth and wanted to understand tarot. I tried other boo, but this one is only one that made me feel when I studied. I felt a connection with this book and this author .Excellent book!

[Kristen]

This guidebook was the first one I started deciphering the tarot with. I've used several others over the past few years and I now do readings professionally, but I still turn to this book every now and again. It's easy to relate much of the interpretations to every day life and the modern take on many themes makes it easy to understand. I really appreciated the layout of this one as well. Highly recommend for anyone interested in a good book to start with.

[Ann]

This is a great book for the beginner looking for a guide to Tarot Cards. The illustrations are well done and the explanations are easy to understand. Ms Wiggan uses the Ryder Waite deck in her pictures and interpretations. The book is divided into two parts; tarot reading and how to give readings and part two gives card meanings and how to explain them in readings. I received a copy of this ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review.

[Alice]

Great book!

This is a fantastic book if you're a beginner with tarot! Jess is fantastic. I've been a subscriber to her youtube (behatilife) for years now, I would definitely recommend you check her out. I have a hard copy of this book which I use all the time when I'm reading my cards. I'm still a beginner and this book has really helped me with the card definitions.

[Eleonor adela Vargas]

Easy to read , organized, great book for beginners


Great information in many topics from meaning for Love, Spiritual, career, etc., Tarot spreads meaning, pictures of spread, best use of spread with great simple illustrations. Great guide that I can use for reference over and over again.

[Franck]

Du très beau travail. Moi qui depuis des années ai souhaité me lancer dans cette aventure me voilà servi. Je recommande sans réserve. L’idéal est d’avoir déjà un deck à portée de main et d’avancer au fur et à mesure plutôt que de lire le livre en une fois.

[Hollidaisy]

Very good reference book. Clear and easy to understand. The only thing missing that I keep looking for is a clear list of questions/groups of questions that would be good for a variety of spreads. Especially a daily spread. But overall this was very helpful!

[Tracey Curtis]

The BEST Tarot Book

This is the best Tarot learning book I've read! I understand so much better now than I ever have! I recommend this book for those new to tarot, as well as those who have been studying for a while!

[Elizabeth]

In-depth and Informative

I've been reading a lot of tarot 101 books and this by far one of my favourites.
I loved the breakdown of each card and the layout of the book.
Highly recommend!

[Ori Villamizar]

It's also a Tarot 101 book but it has detailed insights about the different context and meaning in every card. You still have to continue learning but this is a great book to begin with, if you have no experience.

[Olivia Newman]

I’m new to tarot and witchcraft and this was such a good book to start with!! All the descriptions were so good and everything was so helpful!! I absolutely suggest this to anyone who wants the get into tarot!!

[Ophelia MJ]

While I've only read this one, I think this is the best book a beginner could buy.

[Alexis]

Really good structure. Easy to find different sections and use as a reference. It’s helped me understand the tarot better and feel more confident in readings.

[Anna Farha Miller]

Really nice read and love the modern take on the tarot!

[Alex]

Good basic knowledge for tarot cards.