5 Tarot Decks & Books Every Tarot Student Needs

To book a personal reading with me please visit my website: www.modernmetaphysicman.com
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People ask me all the time how I study the tarot. 'What books do you read?' 'What decks do you study from?' I wanted to answer these questions and share with you what, in my opinion, are five foundational study decks and books for the tarot student seeking to expand their world of knowledge concerning the Tarot!
The decks:
1. The Rider Tarot: amzn.to/3an3xkp
2. The Toth Tarot: amzn.to/2TkKUZ1
3. The CBD Tarot de Marseilles: amzn.to/2TjcGop
4. The Visconti Sforza Tarot: amzn.to/38gIUoF
5. The Mary-el Tarot: amzn.to/38kA09y
The Books:
1. Origins of the Tarot by Dai Leon: amzn.to/2IeRZDM
2. Pictorial Key to the Tarot by Arthur Edward Waite: amzn.to/2x28ZuI
Free Online: www.sacred-texts.com/tarot/pk...
3. The Book of Toth by Aleister Crowley: amzn.to/2TmzvrE
Free Online: www.bibliotecapleyades.net/cr...
4. The Marseilles Tarot Revealed by Yoav Ben-Dov: amzn.to/2IiF4ki
5. Holistic Tarot by Benebell Wen: amzn.to/2wo0ji0
Honorary Mention - WTF is Tarot? by Bakara Wintner: amzn.to/2Thv5SK
This video is not sponsored in any way. I purchased this product with my own money. My thoughts, views, and critiques are expressly my own. As an amazon affiliate, I earn from qualifying purchases.
#Tarot #TarotBooks #TarotStudy
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Music Info:
Song - ❰Chillout❱ Sappheiros - Embrace
Artist: Sappheiros
Link: • ❰Chillout❱ Sappheiros ...

[@CrystalSparklesTarot]

Love this Dustin, your passion for books just bursts out of the screen! Book reviews would be wonderful x

[@ModernMetaphysicae]

Thank you Crystal! I do love me some dusty old tomes!

[@CrystalSparklesTarot]

@@ModernMetaphysicae me too open those books and sniff :) x

[@kim-moonwhisper135]

Enjoyed your recommendations! Yes on the book reviews !!!

[@ModernMetaphysicae]

Thank you Kimberly!

[@Fragrance.Priestess]

I would love to see more book reviews from you! Thank you for another great video :)

[@ModernMetaphysicae]

Thank you! Noted!

[@judeannethecandorchannel2153]

Postcards...I want to check out your channel~

[@judeannethecandorchannel2153]

Looks great; I subbed.🥰

[@IbnTufayl1]

Thank you soooo much! So grateful to have found recommendations from the historical perspective!

[@ModernMetaphysicae]

Welcome!

[@Marilynnmc]

I'd love book reviews from you! 🖤🖤🖤 This was as always such a great video. Thank you.

[@ModernMetaphysicae]

Thank you Marilynn!!!

[@nataliaolivieri3841]

I love this video!! Yesss please, More Books videos 🙏🙏blessings for you Dustin

[@ModernMetaphysicae]

Noted! Thank you Natalia!

[@excellenttiger3778]

Dustin, that was awesome, thanks so much :-)

[@ModernMetaphysicae]

Thank you!!!

[@jennelle7152]

Incredible information! Thank you so much!

[@ModernMetaphysicae]

Glad it was helpful!

[@jaimekelly7722]

You added the two books, at the end, I would highly recommend. :) I think book reviews would be cool from your perspective. I don't know why, maybe it was your approach today, but I really enjoyed the compilation video. Nicely done! Thank you!!!

[@ModernMetaphysicae]

Thank you Jamie. Both of those books are awesome!

[@theislanderscloset4243]

Thank you for this awesome video! I have been only studying RWS till now but lately have been wanting to dive more into Marseille (as a french person It's about time haha) so i really appreciate you recommending an accessible book for it as I was feeling so lost as to where to start. Also loved Wtf is tarot ,fellow no nonsense Aries unite lol. Thanks again😊

[@ModernMetaphysicae]

Thank you for watching! Im glad you got something out of the video!

[@tarotyourtruth6851]

I really enjoy your approach and calm manner. Thank you for sharing

[@ModernMetaphysicae]

Thank you for your kind words and for watching and commenting! I try to keep things a little more on the chill side, after all it is just cardboard and paper right? :)

[@tarotyourtruth6851]

ModernMetaphysicMan absolutely...some people get very serious and persnickety about it though 😜. Hope you’re keeping safe and sane in this pandemic!

[@kiaradrake541]

This was a wonderful video! A bunch of great suggestions! I would just add one more deck into the mix for historical purposes and that’s the Sola Busca… it’s as old as the Visconti decks and it’s definitely an out there deck in many ways but Pixie took a lot of inspiration from it when she was working on the RWS… for example that’s the origin for the RWS 3 of Swords image.

[@ModernMetaphysicae]

Sola Busca is on my list for intermediate studies. I plan on doing a version of this video for beginners and intermediate studies too. :) Sola Busca very much had an influence on Pixie's art and I've spoken to that many times on the channel. :) The Game of Saturn is a wonderful book if you are interested in studying the Sola Busca. :)

[@topalaluiza9647]

Thank you so much 🙏🙏🙏

[@ModernMetaphysicae]

Thank you for watching!

[@judeannethecandorchannel2153]

Oh, I like this. So quiet. I loved reading Jung and Tarot my senior year in homeschool. My late husband had one of the more ancient decks.

[@ModernMetaphysicae]

That is some intense studying for a high school student! Thanks for watching and commenting!

[@dannybernard3693]

Thank you for your great video

[@ModernMetaphysicae]

Thank you for watching!

[@whalesong813]

This was a terrific video and a fun subject. Thank you so much for this. I agree for study. I recommend Vincent Pitisci's books on tarot often. I have all 3 of his books and for me his writing style is fun, full of common sense. His books seem to give you what you need to start and enjoy tarot. I agree with you on a deck of each of the 3 main systems of tarot, RWS, Thoth and TDM. Of course studying the source material for tarot to give perspective and history. I would love to see book review, yes please. :)

[@ModernMetaphysicae]

Thank you so much for watching and commenting. I've not read much Pitisci, I've heard good things from multiple people and is for sure on my list!

[@simonfernandes6809]

Agree on Vincent Pitisci's books - he puts down his 50 years of tarot knowledge down here. His theory on why tarot works - conceptual blending - is a game changer.

[@badlieutenant007]

awesome video, you're really great in reviewing Tarot swag 💙 I'd love to see your review of the Linestrider's tarot, it's one of my fav ones.. keep up the great work 💯

[@ModernMetaphysicae]

Linestrider is on my list for sure, but I still have not gotten it yet amazingly! Thank you for watching!

[@jettesrensen620]

Thank you 👌

[@ModernMetaphysicae]

Thank you for watching Jette!

[@JamesBishopCa]

Great video. Thanks for uploading! I've been considering picking up a second deck, and the CBD and Thoth were two of the top contenders, along with the Hermetic. I find that I don't get on well with the RWS, as I get distracted by the people in the pips.

[@ModernMetaphysicae]

Thank you for watching and for commenting. Marseilles is a great system to learn if you prefer pips!

[@StaceyHH]

Book reviews would be awesome. My top 4 study decks/5 books are: Tabula Mundi, and Book M: Liber Mundi; Tarot of the Spirit, and Tarot of the Spirit book; Ellis Deck, and Ellis Deck Guidebook (the one on the Fool's Dog app); Thoth, and Book of Thoth; Holistic Tarot by Benebell Wen I plan to add Robert M. Place's The Tarot: History, Symbolism and Divination, along with the Alchemical Tarot Renewed; and Barbara Walker's Secrets of the Tarot along with her deck. The Smith-Waite deck and I just don't get on well at all for reading, but I have a deck that I write on, it's gradually filling up with keyworks, concepts and correspondences. So it's a study deck in the purest sense.

[@ModernMetaphysicae]

If I were to recommend a M. Place book I would say get The Tarot, Magic, Alchemy, Hermeticism, and Nepolatonism over The Tarot History Symbolism and Divination. I got so much more out of the former compared the ladder. I also ADORE M. Meleen's work, its so good, for sure a bit further into the intermediate and advanced study! Thanks for watching and commenting Stacy!!

[@StaceyHH]

@@ModernMetaphysicae Totally plan to get that book. Tarot History is available on Kindle, that's the only reason I'm using that one first. :) I keep hoping Place will release the newer book as an ebook soon. I'm not much of an either/or person when it comes to books. More of a This AND That person. Heh.

[@ModernMetaphysicae]

Stacey H LOL same!! 🤣

[@amandawood9440]

Great video❤️ I always love your book reviews and recommendations. I must admit I really struggled with the writing style in The Origins of The Tarot ; I preferred Helen Farley’s History of Tarot - I would be interested in your opinion on it. I do love Crowley’s writing style, it is irreverent and unabashed.

[@ModernMetaphysicae]

Farley is pretty much a copy paste of Dummet & Decker I found, she really didnt offer anything new and it was a rehash of the academics with a gloss over of the occult side of things. She also postulates that the ur-Tarot (or tarot that all others derive from) is the Visconti decks, which we knew was untrue in 2019 already as the discovery of the Mamluk was well know by then so her research is flawed to say the least.

[@VintageMoon-]

Hi Dustin...I just bought “Origins of the Tarot” cannot wait!! I’m sure you’ve seen this deck on Kickstarter but wanted to bring to your attention in case you missed it it looks stunning. Lux Ex Umbra Tarot

[@instagamrr]

oh my, I love it!

[@ModernMetaphysicae]

Its a great meaty book! I hope you enjoy it! I did check out the Lux Ex Umbra, it just doesnt jive with me so I have decided to pass for now. Thank you for the suggestion though!!

[@Audrey-rb2nf]

Great recs! The link at Sacred Texts didn't work for me, but I did get it at archive . org . I've gotten other great books there, too. Thanks Dustin!

[@ModernMetaphysicae]

Thank you. Thats odd, it is working on my phone and my PC right now. Try this one: www.sacred-texts.com/tarot/pkt/

[@MichelleJNorton]

I think I disagree on the Visconti Sforza, since it is an incomplete compilation of quite a few decks, I would recommend the Sola Busca instead. Not only complete, but directly influenced Pamela Colman Smith in the creation of the Rider Waite.

[@ModernMetaphysicae]

The reason I excluded the Sola Busca is the entirety of the Major Arcana does not follow the traditional tarot archetypes as they are a collection Roman emperors and mythological characters, but it was ALMOST in the list. It is another great study deck for sure since Smith pulled so much from the minors for the RWS, but because it is such a departure in the Major I chose not to include it for the fundamentals I think everyone should have. The Sforza deck is the oldest most complete deck that follows the usual and standard structure, specifically the Pierpont Morgan Bergamo deck which includes 74 of the 78 cards, most modern versions of the deck are a mix of the Pierpont Morgan, Cary-Yale, and Brera-Brambilla decks. Busca I would say falls more into advanced studies for sure because of the Majors departure. Definitely a good study deck that I have a few copies of! Thank you for watching and commenting Michelle!

[@judeannethecandorchannel2153]

8:24, that's the deck we had. My cards are The Priestess and The Star... ~☆

[@ModernMetaphysicae]

It's a good one!

[@simonfernandes6809]

Agree with the first three decks - RWS, Thoth and CBD TdM. After that it's personal taste. I recommend Alchemical Tarot Renewed to read for intuition if you use it like Robert M. Place does. I would add a pip deck to let the intuition flow - I recommend either The Inversion tarot or Tarot of the Witches. As for books I definitely agree with Holistic tarot. Also strongly encourage ' The Tarot, Magic, Alchemy, Hermeticism, and Neoplatonism' by Robert M. Place. Complements Holistic Tarot really well. Also, 'WTF is Tarot' by Bakara Winter for a fresh take on the cards.

[@ModernMetaphysicae]

Robert M. Place's works are little more advanced, and I have a feeling one may sneak into my 'advanced' version of this video coming soon. WTF is Tarot will certainly be featured in my 'beginner' version of this video, also coming soon! Both great recommendations for sure! :) Thanks for watching Simon!

[@katieh6853]

I need the What the F is Tarot book. Aries sun, Aries moon. But pretty calm for one :)

[@ModernMetaphysicae]

Its a great book. Just so real. Love it! Thanks for watching and commenting Katie!

[@judeannethecandorchannel2153]

I'm sun Sag, moon scorpio, rising Virgo. I'm calm when I'm calm but not when I'm not. (I'm working on the latter.)

[@katieh6853]

I think I am chill- but definitely get elevated when I see people wrongly treated.

[@SoulsJourney]

I'm not even sure off the top of my head how many copies of the RWS I have! 😂 Ditto Thoth.

[@ModernMetaphysicae]

I too love the classics! :D Thanks for watching and commenting!

[@saliyahstar3556]

I am also Aries Sun Cancer Moon 3/31/1974

[@ModernMetaphysicae]

Yay! Whats your rising? Im a Gemini

[@seacat4501]

Thank you Justin. And what about Oswald Wirth?

[@ModernMetaphysicae]

Hi Maria, my name is Dustin. No worries though, it happens all the time! Oswald Wirth is another one that was on the top end of my list, but didnt make the cut because I wanted to include a more modern deck like the Mary-el. The Wirth and Papus were both up there though and are both fantastic study decks and have a distinguished impact on Tarot today! Thank you for watching and commenting!

[@seacat4501]

@@ModernMetaphysicae I'm sorry Dustin!

[@jakubmalawski6823]

Yes all depends on where you believe tarot comes from and ‘the light’, hence Ancient Egypt, all golden dawn decks which are based on Kabalism and also ancient Egypt beliefs as we all come from one source and only ,

[@ModernMetaphysicae]

In France, writer Antoine Court de Gébelin asserted that the tarot was based on a holy book written by Egyptian priests and brought to Europe by Gypsies from Africa. In reality, tarot cards predated the presence of Gypsies in Europe, who actually came from Asia rather than Africa. Regardless of its inaccuracies, Court de Gébelin’s nine-volume history of the world was highly influential.

[@00spitfire70]

I know you have temporarily stopped making custom tarot boxes but do you have any in stock already created boxes in your store for a Pagan Otherworlds deck?

[@ModernMetaphysicae]

Pagan Otherworlds is not a standard size, so no, sorry! Feel free to email me to get on the wait list if you so desire! Thanks for your interest!!

[@j.michaelgarland7163]

Have you ever studied the Golden Dawn Ritual Tarot by the Ciceros?

[@ModernMetaphysicae]

I’ve not. I have it on my books to read list though at present. Do you recommend it?

[@j.michaelgarland7163]

Modern Metaphysicae oh I definitely do. It is very much like RWS and Thoth in one system. Since both Arther and Crowley we’re both members at one time, you see a lot of similarities. Or at least I do.

[@agafio8115]

0.00-0.12 what book is this? with so many spreads?

[@ModernMetaphysicae]

Holistic Tarot by Benebell Wen

[@ettoliram8116]

Boooooksssss.....

[@ModernMetaphysicae]

I do love book. Old book stores are like my most happy place. Thank you for watching!