Books for understanding tarot

Hi everyone! I've always had a deck of tarot cards and would use it every now and then when I was feeling a bit lost. Now, I'm officially being taught how to read them by a psychic in my area. He insists that I don't need to read a book in order to learn, but I really want to have good understanding of the cards. The deck I'm learning with is the Rider Waite.

After browsing Amazon for a while, I came across a couple options: 78 Degrees of Wisdom, Tarot 101 and The Ultimate Guide to the Rider Waite.

Are these good to start off with? Do any of you have better suggestions or books that helped you a lot?

Thanks so much guys!

I'm in 100% agreement with your local psychic. You can read a dozen books and they'll give you a dozen interpretations for the cards. You'll be learning someone else's method, which then leads to having to choose which method to use/believe.

I have never used Rider Waite, as I find it a negative deck with unpleasant images. It's also too religious for me.

If you feel strongly that you want to learn someone else's method, one of the better sites for information on tarot is here: Aeclectic Tarot
Start there. And check out the information here, too:
Facade
Do readings for yourself and check out the meanings of the cards there. They're quite different and interesting.

The best advice I can give is to sit with your cards and study them and let them tell you what they mean. It could be very different from anyone else's interpretation, but trust yourself. In a short time, you'll know what the cards mean to you.

Originally Posted by Everly

I'm in 100% agreement with your local psychic. You can read a dozen books and they'll give you a dozen interpretations for the cards. You'll be learning someone else's method, which then leads to having to choose which method to use/believe.

I have never used Rider Waite, as I find it a negative deck with unpleasant images. It's also too religious for me.

If you feel strongly that you want to learn someone else's method, one of the better sites for information on tarot is here: Aeclectic Tarot
Start there. And check out the information here, too: Facade
Do readings for yourself and check out the meanings of the cards there. They're quite different and interesting.

The best advice I can give is to sit with your cards and study them and let them tell you what they mean. It could be very different from anyone else's interpretation, but trust yourself. In a short time, you'll know what the cards mean to you.

Everly, thank you so much for your advice!!

When I first got the RW deck, the images never really appealed to me, but symbolism was easy for me to grasp. I fell in love with the Cosmic Tarot images and purchased the deck. It's been harder for me to grasp the meaning of them, but I feel like once I've learned a little more, it might be easier to go back to that particular deck.

I just got done signing up for Aeclectic Tarot, it definitely has a wealth of knowledge. I'll definitely take your help to heart and do my best to trust my own interpretation of the cards. Thanks again!

You're more than welcome, dashofgold. I love teaching and the first thing I say to my students is this: The first rule of tarot is that there are no rules.
I teach intuitive tarot...I teach people to use the cards intuitively, rather than following someone else's rules. I also teach with only one deck. Everyone uses the same deck so we're on the same page (or card). I encourage them to look around and find the deck(s) that appeal to them. It's good that you took a liking to Cosmic Tarot. So now your job is just to sort of play with them and let your intuition guide you wherever you need to go with them. Above all, have fun with it.