Kabbalah is daunting, and reading books about kabbalah is daunting, too. Books are supposed to help us understand it but if they drown you in kabbalah jargon from page 1, well... then we don't finish them.
I recommend strongly, no matter which book you use: make your own Tree of Life (it's really easy, all you need is a large piece of paper or cardboard and a pair of dividers), and make it big enough.
And then write everything you learn about the Tree of Life into your sketch. It doesn't have to be beautiful, but doing it, writing down the names of the spheres and the names of the majors on the connecting paths, will help your brain retain the knowledge. There are beautiful trees on the Internet with perfect graphics but believe me, making a study tree yourself will be helpful. So whatever book you read, go ahead and make that tree.
I find Andrea Green*'s "Kabbalah and Tarot: A Step-Up Guide for Everyone" helpful and un-threatening. She explains kabbalah via the tarot which means you will profit from this book if you know the cards already. Her discussion of the Tree and the sephiroth is short and a bit dry - she gives keywords and doesn't use the narrative metaphors that helped me understand the tree (e.g. the divine light flowing through different-coloured vessels like a Renaissance fountain, retaining the colours and thus becoming less luminous and more "compact" - this metaphor really made the whole tree come alive before my inner eyes) but she focuses on the cards connected to each sephira to make us understand them. And that's good imo.
She starts with the majors, but her strong point imo is the chapter about the minors. If you didn't understand what the Fours and the Eights and all the other minors with the same number have in common, she will make it clear.
The court card chapter is very short but don't despair - the best resource on the court cards in the kabbalah is free on the Internet anyway. Zephyros' posts on the topic on AT are great reading and make everything absolutely clear. Basic explanation of the Tree of Life and the Four Worlds, Part 1 talking about astrology and the court cards, Part 2 about the kabbalistic background to the court cards. I found no better explanations in any book.
But Andrea Green's chapter about using the kabbalah in reading is good again. This is definitely the book for you if you don't want to dive into the Kabbalah for kabbalah's sake but for tarot's sake.
*Andrea Green is the pen name of Marcus Katz and Tali Goodwin, and their self-promotion for their books, websites, association etc is a bit obnoxious - on the other hand, tarotists have to live, too, and they give good value for our money from my experience, so I'm okay with that. But thought I'd mention it... Andrea Green's book about card meanings is good, too.
More book tips coming later, and I also plan to write about kabbalah-centered decks!
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Kabbalah - some book tips
Re: Kabbalah - some book tips - M.M. Meleen's Liber M
Working with the Thoth and Tabula Mundi decks is one of the best things to make progress in kabbalah studies. These are study decks in a very special way. When I started out with the Thoth, I had only basic astrological knowledge (I still don't have much more but this knowledge is pretty deeply embedded since I acquired it as a teenager - for years, I was obsessed with astrology and learned what I understand only now) and I didn't know anything about the kabbalah. The Thoth pulled me in. I worked years with it and got along well without kabbalah - or so I thought. But somehow, the Thoth made me study it. Really, I could say the Thoth sent me to find out more about the kabbalah.
I hope this encourages others to start out with the Thoth, too. The most useful books about the Thoth, by Lon Milo DuQuette and Michael Osiris Snuffin, mention the kabbalah and give you a good basic knowledge. DuQuette's book about the kabbalah is also fun to read and insightful but if you need only "functional" kabbalah knowledge, his Thoth book should suffice for a start.
I don't know when you should dive into Aleister Crowley's own book - I did so relatively late and I knew already enough so the book didn't frustrate me or throw me off the kabbalah wagon
but if you start reading it and feel it's too closed, too difficult - put the book away and don't feel bad. Come back to it later, it's very inspiring and instructive but if the time is not right, give yourself time to "grow into it". I'll write later more about all these books - I actually want to praise in this post another book which is invaluable if you want to learn more about the esoteric underpinnings of tarot.
M. Meleen's Book M: Liber Mundi, the book of the world, is the book you need if you really want to understand what she did with her incredible Tabula Mundi Tarot - a deck that literally changed my life. The Thoth brought tarot into my life, and the Tabula Mundi brought a deeper understanding and a daily routine and it brought me into cosmic rhythm.
The Book M is clearly based on Crowley's teachings but takes them to a new level of clarity. It is artisticially independent and original, and every little detail is there for a reason. And the book will tell you exactly the reason. Which is often based on either astrology or on the kabbalah, and most often, both. It combines in-depth discussions of each card with lucid explanations about these foundations.
So if you decide to study either the Thoth or the Tabula Mundi, to read with them, they won't only surprise you with precise, honest and insightful readings. They won't only please your eyes with divine beauty and unique visualization of esoteric truths. They will also pull you upwards and awaken your curiosity for astrology and kabbalah. Step by step, over a long time and organically (it took me decades and I'm still a beginner), you will win insight and the Tree of Life, planets, decans and celestial constellations will make sense to you.
The magical thing about this is the microcosm-macrocosm-aspect of it. You understand the esoteric principles that are the invisible foundations of human culture and science - and you see how they work in your life.
I can't encourage you enough to pick up either the Thoth or the Tabula Mundi if you want to learn more about tarot.
Btw I don't believe that you can't read the cards without these teachings. It's perfectly possible to read intuitively, to read narratively, and I love decks without all the esoteric underpinnings as well. But if you want to dive in - these decks are the best starting points.
I hope this encourages others to start out with the Thoth, too. The most useful books about the Thoth, by Lon Milo DuQuette and Michael Osiris Snuffin, mention the kabbalah and give you a good basic knowledge. DuQuette's book about the kabbalah is also fun to read and insightful but if you need only "functional" kabbalah knowledge, his Thoth book should suffice for a start.
I don't know when you should dive into Aleister Crowley's own book - I did so relatively late and I knew already enough so the book didn't frustrate me or throw me off the kabbalah wagon
but if you start reading it and feel it's too closed, too difficult - put the book away and don't feel bad. Come back to it later, it's very inspiring and instructive but if the time is not right, give yourself time to "grow into it". I'll write later more about all these books - I actually want to praise in this post another book which is invaluable if you want to learn more about the esoteric underpinnings of tarot. M. Meleen's Book M: Liber Mundi, the book of the world, is the book you need if you really want to understand what she did with her incredible Tabula Mundi Tarot - a deck that literally changed my life. The Thoth brought tarot into my life, and the Tabula Mundi brought a deeper understanding and a daily routine and it brought me into cosmic rhythm.
The Book M is clearly based on Crowley's teachings but takes them to a new level of clarity. It is artisticially independent and original, and every little detail is there for a reason. And the book will tell you exactly the reason. Which is often based on either astrology or on the kabbalah, and most often, both. It combines in-depth discussions of each card with lucid explanations about these foundations.
So if you decide to study either the Thoth or the Tabula Mundi, to read with them, they won't only surprise you with precise, honest and insightful readings. They won't only please your eyes with divine beauty and unique visualization of esoteric truths. They will also pull you upwards and awaken your curiosity for astrology and kabbalah. Step by step, over a long time and organically (it took me decades and I'm still a beginner), you will win insight and the Tree of Life, planets, decans and celestial constellations will make sense to you.
The magical thing about this is the microcosm-macrocosm-aspect of it. You understand the esoteric principles that are the invisible foundations of human culture and science - and you see how they work in your life.
I can't encourage you enough to pick up either the Thoth or the Tabula Mundi if you want to learn more about tarot.
Btw I don't believe that you can't read the cards without these teachings. It's perfectly possible to read intuitively, to read narratively, and I love decks without all the esoteric underpinnings as well. But if you want to dive in - these decks are the best starting points.
Tarotdecks for kabbalah work
The Thoth is THE classic deck for people who want to integrate kabbalistic insights into their tarot work. Some cards in the Thoth actually illustrate the relevant path on the Tree of Life.
Look at the Nine of Wands. Nine is Yesod. And the wonderful connection here is between solar Tif'eret and lunar Yesod - between Six and Nine - is so enlightening and beautiful. Why mention Tif'eret at all when the Nine is firmly placed in Yesod? Because this Nine is associated with the mutable sign of Fire, Sagittarius - and Sagittarius is associated with Temperance/Art, that sits on this wonderful path between Tif'eret and Yesod.
It's typical for the Thoth that it dances on most elegant Adjustment feet with kabbalah and astrology (and alchemy - and colour symbolism - and mythology ---). Your fun with this deck grows as you understand more and more elements of this tightly woven net of associations.
Here is a Six - the Six of Disks. This is Tif'eret, in all its radiant glory, with six of its paths that connect it to other sephiroth.
Have a look at the Tree and you see it. And then compare the astrological glyphs on the card - they're nearly exactly the glyphs of the planets associated with the sephira, only Saturn in Kether's position is problematic. Kether's astrological association is a chapter for another post, so I guess Crowley/Harris wanted to show here the connection of the Sun to the other six visible planets and put Saturn in the Kether position - the rest of the planets are in their proper position. Mars for Gvura, Jupiter for Chessed etc.
So the Thoth is a must for kabbalah work - and I don't usually say that something is a "must".
The Rosetta Tarot by M.M. Meleen in many ways follows the Thoth pattern but re-interprets it without projective geometry, in an artistically expressive experiment (different artistic mediums for all suits - works extremely well for me! you FEEL the resistance of the material in the Swords, the pressure needed to make the etching - amazing).
There is an expressive, emotional power in this deck that makes you think about your inner world fist, kabbalah and astrology second - but it's obviously based on the Thoth, especially in the minors.
The next "must" is the Tabula Mundi, M.M. Meleen's second deck. As I said already in my post about the fantastic book by M.M. Meleen, this artist/creator/scholar/innovator/fundamental thinker of the tarot creates an esoteric tarot deck that knows the tradition and wisdom - and invents a whole new visual language for it. It's fascinating to see how she progresses from the Rosetta to the Tabula Mundi - and yet the Rosetta retains its unique power.
The atmosphere of every card is influenced by its place on the Tree of Life even if it's only hinted at. I'll write about the Tabula Mundi a separate post. Don't want to crash this post
Another deck of great wisdom is the Hermetic Tarot.
It doesn't have the magical innovative art that the Thoth and Tabula Mundi have but it's a serious deck for study and reflection (I didn't try it for readings yet). There is a great review by Benebell Wen - it may tell you whether this is a deck for you, and I have nothing to add.
The Tarot of the Sephiroth is a great deck, and totally attuned to the kabbalah.
Judgment
Temperance - there we have the path I mentioned above, from Tif'eret to Yesod.
And the Star.
You can see how the Tree of Life dominates the iconography completely. You can build a map of the Tree of Life from these cards (I didn't try that yet, have to do it - I'll post pictures, promised!). The book is fantastic, too.
The sharp, nearly caricaturistic graphic style of the decks is maybe not everybody's favorite style - this is a very cerebral deck, and I like it for this quality. There's a place for all kind of decks.
Have to finish now - next time, I'll tell you about the Hermetic Kabbalah Tarot and the Kabbalistisches/Tree of Life Tarot....
Look at the Nine of Wands. Nine is Yesod. And the wonderful connection here is between solar Tif'eret and lunar Yesod - between Six and Nine - is so enlightening and beautiful. Why mention Tif'eret at all when the Nine is firmly placed in Yesod? Because this Nine is associated with the mutable sign of Fire, Sagittarius - and Sagittarius is associated with Temperance/Art, that sits on this wonderful path between Tif'eret and Yesod.
It's typical for the Thoth that it dances on most elegant Adjustment feet with kabbalah and astrology (and alchemy - and colour symbolism - and mythology ---). Your fun with this deck grows as you understand more and more elements of this tightly woven net of associations.
Here is a Six - the Six of Disks. This is Tif'eret, in all its radiant glory, with six of its paths that connect it to other sephiroth.
Have a look at the Tree and you see it. And then compare the astrological glyphs on the card - they're nearly exactly the glyphs of the planets associated with the sephira, only Saturn in Kether's position is problematic. Kether's astrological association is a chapter for another post, so I guess Crowley/Harris wanted to show here the connection of the Sun to the other six visible planets and put Saturn in the Kether position - the rest of the planets are in their proper position. Mars for Gvura, Jupiter for Chessed etc.
So the Thoth is a must for kabbalah work - and I don't usually say that something is a "must".
The Rosetta Tarot by M.M. Meleen in many ways follows the Thoth pattern but re-interprets it without projective geometry, in an artistically expressive experiment (different artistic mediums for all suits - works extremely well for me! you FEEL the resistance of the material in the Swords, the pressure needed to make the etching - amazing).
There is an expressive, emotional power in this deck that makes you think about your inner world fist, kabbalah and astrology second - but it's obviously based on the Thoth, especially in the minors.
The next "must" is the Tabula Mundi, M.M. Meleen's second deck. As I said already in my post about the fantastic book by M.M. Meleen, this artist/creator/scholar/innovator/fundamental thinker of the tarot creates an esoteric tarot deck that knows the tradition and wisdom - and invents a whole new visual language for it. It's fascinating to see how she progresses from the Rosetta to the Tabula Mundi - and yet the Rosetta retains its unique power.
- tabula mundi tarot xxi universe.jpg (142.39 KiB) Viewed 1892 times
The atmosphere of every card is influenced by its place on the Tree of Life even if it's only hinted at. I'll write about the Tabula Mundi a separate post. Don't want to crash this post
Another deck of great wisdom is the Hermetic Tarot.
It doesn't have the magical innovative art that the Thoth and Tabula Mundi have but it's a serious deck for study and reflection (I didn't try it for readings yet). There is a great review by Benebell Wen - it may tell you whether this is a deck for you, and I have nothing to add.
The Tarot of the Sephiroth is a great deck, and totally attuned to the kabbalah.
- tarot of the sephiroth judgment.jpg (19.62 KiB) Viewed 1892 times
- tarot of the sephiroth temperance.jpg (22.32 KiB) Viewed 1892 times
Temperance - there we have the path I mentioned above, from Tif'eret to Yesod.
- tarot of the sephiroth the star.jpg (20.57 KiB) Viewed 1892 times
And the Star.
You can see how the Tree of Life dominates the iconography completely. You can build a map of the Tree of Life from these cards (I didn't try that yet, have to do it - I'll post pictures, promised!). The book is fantastic, too.
The sharp, nearly caricaturistic graphic style of the decks is maybe not everybody's favorite style - this is a very cerebral deck, and I like it for this quality. There's a place for all kind of decks.
Have to finish now - next time, I'll tell you about the Hermetic Kabbalah Tarot and the Kabbalistisches/Tree of Life Tarot....