When I first launched as a professional tarot reader, I was unsure about the best way to explain what in my background and experience qualified me to do so. The result was an about me page on my practice website that listed an array of life-long interests compressed into a given number of combined years of experience, but with no gauge for would-be sitters to discern which areas might be my strengths, and which areas I might be more new to.
To avoid that this time around, I’ll just tell you that I’ve been reading tarot regularly since 1996. That’s 28 years. And beyond that, I’ll share a list of relevant books selected from my Goodreads page, most of which have been read, or re-read, in the last 5 years, but all of which have either influenced me and my practice or speak to the nature of that which I passionately explore.
When I meet someone new and visit them in their home, I like to look at their bookshelves to get to know them better. I hope to create that experience here with you.
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Tarot & Astrology
Auryn, Mat. The Psychic Art of Tarot. Llewellyn Worldwide, 2024.
Belanger, Michelle. Watcher Angel Tarot Guidebook. Emerald Tablet Press, 2011.
Carr-Gomm, Philip, and Stephanie Carr-Gomm. The Druid Animal Oracle. Connections Book Publishing, 1996.
---. The Druid Plant Oracle. Macmillan, 2008.
Carmona-Holt, Brittany, and Kimberly Rodriguez. Tarot for Pregnancy: A Companion for Radical Magical Birthing Folks. Simon and Schuster, 2023.
Chang, T. Susan, and M. M. Meleen. Tarot Deciphered: Decoding Esoteric Symbolism in Modern Tarot. Llewellyn Worldwide, 2021.
DuQuette, Lon Milo. Tarot of Ceremonial Magick. Weiser Books, 1995.
---. Understanding Aleister Crowley’s Thoth Tarot. Red Wheel/Weiser, 2017.
Eakins, Pamela. Tarot of the Spirit. Weiser Books, 1992.
Gallagher, Claire. Body Astrology. Shambhala Publications, 2022.
Gargiulo-Sherman, Johanna. Guide to the Sacred Rose Tarot. U.S. Games Systems, 1999.
---. The Sacred Rose Tarot. 1987.
Jodorowsky, Alejandro, and Marianne Costa. The Way of Tarot: The Spiritual Teacher in The Cards. Simon and Schuster, 2009.
Kat, Alice Sparkly. Postcolonial Astrology. North Atlantic Books, 2021.
Latimer, Nell. The Commonplace Tarot. 2021.
Matthews, John, and Wil Kinghan. Oracle of Dr. John Dee. Eddison Books Limited, 2013.
McHenry, Travis. Angel Tarot. Rockpool Publishing, 2020.
Newcomb, Jason Augustus. The Guide to the Tarot of the Greek Magical Papyri: The PGM Tarot. The New Hermetics Press, 2021.
Nicholas, Chani. You Were Born for This. HarperOne, 2021.
Payne-Towler, Christine. The Tarot of the Holy Light. 2011.
Place, Robert M. The Tarot, Magic, Alchemy, Hermeticism, and Neoplatonism. 2017.
---. The Tarot of the Alchemical Magnum Opus: An Iconic Edition of the Alchemical Tarot Distilled to Its Essence. Hermes Publications, 2019.
Pollack, Rachel. Seventy-Eight Degrees of Wisdom. Weiser Books, 2020.
Road, Cristy C. Next World Tarot. 2020.
Smith, Christopher. The Unknown Tarot. Quarter Press, 2020.
---. Traversing the Unknown: A Guide & Creator Commentary. Quarter Press, 2020.
Snow, Cassandra. Queering the Tarot. Weiser Books, 2019.
Wang, Arthur and Mat Auryn. Ephemere Tarot. True Black, 2023.
Wang, Robert. Tarot Psychology. U.S. Games Systems, 2017.
---. The Jungian Tarot and Its Archetypal Imagery. U.S. Games Systems, 2017.
---. The Jungian Tarot Deck. U.S. Games Systems, 2017.
---. The Qabalistic Tarot: A Textbook of Mystical Philosophy. U.S. Games Systems, 1983.
Wilde, Jillian C. The Naked Heart Tarot, 2019.
Yoshitani, Yoshi. Tarot of the Divine: A Deck and Guidebook Inspired by Deities Folklore and Fairy Tales from around the World. 2020.
Paganism, Witchcraft, Hoodoo, & Voodoo
Artisson, Robin. An Carow Gwyn. 2018.
---. Letters from the Devil’s Forest. 2014.
Auryn, Mat. Psychic Witch. Llewellyn Worldwide, 2020.
Alvarado, Denise. The Marie Laveau Voodoo Grimoire. Weiser Books, 2024.
---. Witch Queens, Voodoo Spirits, and Hoodoo Saints. Weiser Books, 2022.
Arrien, Angeles. The Nine Muses: A Mythological Path to Creativity. Tarcher, 2000.
Bartlett, Sarah. Knot Magic: A Handbook of Powerful Spells Using Witches’ Ladders and Other Magical Knots. Wellfleet Press, 2020.
Blackthorn, Amy. Blackthorn’s Botanical Magic. Weiser Books, 2018.
Bogan, Chas. The Secret Keys of Conjure. Llewellyn Worldwide, 2018.
Brannen, Cyndi. Entering Hekate’s Cave. Weiser Books, 2023.
---. Entering Hekate’s Garden. Weiser Books, 2020.
---. Keeping Her Keys. John Hunt Publishing, 2019.
Brigde, Mael. A Brigit of Ireland Devotional. John Hunt Publishing, 2021.
Cross, J. Allen. American Brujeria. Red Wheel/Weiser, 2021.
Cunningham, Scott. Cunningham’s Encyclopedia of Magical Herbs. Llewellyn Worldwide, 2012.
---. Wicca. Llewellyn Worldwide, 2010.
D’Este, Sorita, et al. Hekate. 2010.
D’Este, Sorita, and David Rankine. Hekate Liminal Rites. Avalonia, 2009.
Dionne, Danielle. Magickal Mediumship. Llewellyn Worldwide, 2020.
Dorsey, Lilith. Love Magic. Weiser Books, 2016.
---. Orishas, Goddesses, and Voodoo Queens. Weiser Books, 2020.
---. Water Magic. Llewellyn Worldwide, 2020.
Faerywolf, Storm. Betwixt & Between. Llewellyn Worldwide, 2017.
---. Forbidden Mysteries of Faery Witchcraft. Llewellyn Worldwide, 2018.
Freuler, Kate, and Mat Auryn. Of Blood and Bones. Llewellyn Worldwide, 2020.
Grimassi, Raven. Communing with the Ancestors. Weiser Books, 2016.
---. Grimoire of the Thorn-Blooded Witch. Weiser Books, 2014.
Goodchild, Claire. The Book of Séances: A Guide to Divination and Speaking to Spirits. Voracious, 2022.
Hughes, Kristoffer. Cerridwen. Llewellyn Worldwide, 2021.
---. From the Cauldron Born. Llewellyn Worldwide, 2012.
Hunter, Devin. Crystal Magic for the Modern Witch. Llewellyn Publications, 2022.
---. The Witch’s Book of Mysteries. Llewellyn Worldwide, 2019.
---. The Witch’s Book of Power. Llewellyn Worldwide, 2016.
---. The Witch’s Book of Spirits. Llewellyn Worldwide, 2017.
Illes, Judika. Daily Magic. HarperCollins, 2021.
---. Encyclopedia of 5,000 Spells. Harper Collins, 2011.
---. Encyclopedia of Mystics, Saints & Sages. Harper Collins, 2011.
---. Encyclopedia of Spirits. Harper Collins, 2010.
---. Magic When You Need It, 2010.
---. Pure Magic. Weiser Books, 2022.
---. The Big Book of Practical Spells. Red Wheel/Weiser, 2016.
Jackson, Lesley. Sekhmet & Bastet: The Feline Powers of Egypt. Avalonia, 2020.
Jackson, Nigel, and Silver RavenWolf. The Rune Mysteries. Llewellyn Publications, 1996.
Miller, Jason. Consorting with Spirits. Red Wheel/Weiser, 2022.
---. Financial Sorcery. Red Wheel/Weiser, 2012.
---. Protection & Reversal Magick. Red Wheel/Weiser, 2006.
---. The Elements of Spellcrafting. Red Wheel/Weiser, 2018.
---. The Sorcerer’s Secrets. Red Wheel/Weiser, 2009.
Morrison, Dorothy. Utterly Wicked. Weiser Books, 2020.
Mortellus. The Bones Fall in a Spiral. Crossed Crow Books, 2022.
Murphy-Hiscock, Arin. Spellcrafting. Simon and Schuster, 2020.
Pagliarulo, Antonio. The Evil Eye: The History, Mystery, and Magic of the Quiet Curse. Weiser Books, 2023.
Penczak, Christopher. The Inner Temple of Witchcraft. Llewellyn Worldwide, 2002.
---. The Mighty Dead. 2013.
---. The Outer Temple of Witchcraft. Llewellyn Worldwide, 2004.
RavenWolf, Silver. Poppet Magick. Llewellyn Worldwide, 2018.
Roth, Harold. The Witching Herbs. Weiser Books, 2017.
Sanchez, Tara. The Temple of Hekate. 2011.
Wachter, Aidan. Weaving Fate: Hypersigils, Changing the Past, & Telling True Lies. 2020.
Weber, Courtney. Brigid: History, Mystery, and Magick of The Celtic Goddess. Weiser Books, 2015.
---. Hekate. Red Wheel/Weiser, 2021.
---. The Morrigan. Weiser Books, 2019.
Wolkstein, Diane, and Samuel Noah Kramer. Inanna, Queen of Heaven and Earth: Her Stories and Hymns from Sumer. HarperCollins Publishers, 1983.
Zakroff, Laura Tempest. Sigil Witchery. Llewellyn Worldwide, 2018.
---. The Gorgon’s Guide to Magical Resistance. 2022.
---. The New Aradia. 2018.
---. Visual Alchemy. Llewellyn Worldwide, 2022.
---. Weave the Liminal. Llewellyn Worldwide, 2019.
Animism, Ecology, Environmentalism
Abram, David. Spell of The Sensuous: Percep1on and Language in a More-than-Human World. Pantheon Books, 1996.
Ackerman, Jennifer. The Genius of Birds. Penguin Press, 2016.
Andrews, Ted. Animal-Speak: The Spiritual & Magical Powers of Creatures Great and Small. Llewellyn Worldwide, 1993.
Buzzell, Linda, and Craig Chalquist. Ecotherapy: Healing With Nature in Mind. Counterpoint, 2009.
Cruden, Loren. The Spirit of Place: A Workbook for Sacred Alignment. Inner Traditions / Bear & Co, 1995.
Dalai Lama and Franz Alt. Our Only Home: A Climate Appeal to The World. Harlequin, 2020.
Earle, Sylvia A. The World Is Blue: How Our Fate and the Ocean’s Are One. National Geographic Books, 2009.
Hanh, Thich Nhat. Love Letter to the Earth. Parallax Press, 2013.
Hawken, Paul. Regenera1on: Ending the Climate Crisis in One Generation. Penguin, 2021.
Moss, Stephen. Ten Birds That Changed the World. Faber & Faber, 2023.
Nozedar, Adele. The Secret Language of Birds. HarperCollins UK, 2006.
Siedenburg, Kai. Poems of Earth and Spirit. Our Nature Connection, 2017.
Tallamy, Douglas W. The Nature of Oaks. Timber Press, 2021.
Wohlleben, Peter. The Hidden Life of Trees: What They Feel, How They Communicate. HarperCollins UK, 2017.
World Religion and Mysticism
Chodron, Thubten. How to Free Your Mind. Shambhala Publications, 2013.
Dorje, Rig’dzin. Dangerous Friend: The Teacher-Student Relationship in Vajrayana Buddhism. Shambhala Publications, 2001.
Hanh, Thich Nhat. The Energy of Prayer: How to Deepen Your Spiritual Practice. Parallax Press, 2006.
Kempton, Sally. Awakening Shakti: The Transformative Power of The Goddesses of Yoga. Sounds True, 2013.
Le Guin, Ursula K. Lao Tzu: Tao Te Ching. Shambhala Publications, 2019.
McColman, Carl. The New Big Book of Christian Mysticism. Broadleaf Books, 2023.
Norbu, Ngawang Tenzin. A Guide to the Thirty-Seven Practices of a Bodhisattva. Shambhala Publications, 2020.
Salzberg, Sharon. Real Love: The Art of Mindful Connection. St Martin’s Press, 2017.
Stevens, Rachael. Red Tara. Shambhala Publications, 2022.
Tassone, Susan. The Rosary for the Holy Souls in Purgatory. Our Sunday Visitor, 2002.
Tuku, Ringu. White Tara: Healing Light of Wisdom. 2022.
Vyasa, Krishna-Dwaipayana. The Bhagavad Gita. 1973.
Heretical, Gnostic, and Folk Christianity; Qabalah; Ceremonial Magick; and Occultism
Auryn, Mat. Mastering Magick. Llewellyn Worldwide, 2022.
Belanger, M. The Dictionary of Demons: Expanded & Revised. Llewellyn Worldwide, 2021.
Book, Enfys J. Queer Qabala. Llewellyn Worldwide, 2022.
Brand, Damon. The 72 Angels of Magick. The Gallery of Magick, 2016.
Carding, Emily. So Potent Art. Llewellyn Worldwide, 2021.
Carmichael, Alexander. Celtic Prayers and Incantations. Courier Corporation, 2012.
Chanek, Jack. Qabalah for Wiccans. Llewellyn Publications, 2021.
D’Este, Sorita, and David Rankine. The Cosmic Shekinah: A Historical Study of the Goddess of the Old Testament and Kabbalah. Avalonia, 2011.
---. Practical Elemental Magick. Avalonia, 2008.
---. Practical Planetary Magick. Avalonia, 2007.
---. Practical Qabalah Magick. Avalonia, 2009.
DuQuette, Lon Milo. The Chicken Qabalah of Rabbi Lamed Ben Clifford. Weiser Books, 2010.
---. The Magick of Aleister Crowley. Weiser Books, 2022.
Duriel, Durgadas Allon. The Little Work: Magick to Transform Your Everyday Life. Llewellyn Worldwide, 2020.
Echols, Damien. Angels and Archangels. Sounds True, 2020.
---. High Magick. Sounds True, 2018.
Kaczynski, Richard. Perdurabo, Revised and Expanded Edition. North Atlantic Books, 2010.
---. The Weiser Concise Guide to Aleister Crowley. Weiser Books, 2009.
Rankine, David. The Book of Gold. Avalonia, 2010.
---. The Grimoire Encyclopaedia. 2023.
RavenWolf, Silver. Angels: Companions in Magic. Llewellyn Worldwide, 1996.
Riva, Anna. Powers of the Psalms. 1982.
Sacred Sex, Sex Magick, Eroticism
Faerywolf, Storm. The Satyr’s Kiss: Queer Men, Sex Magick, and Modern Witchcraft. Llewellyn Worldwide, 2022.
Herstik, Gabriela. Sacred Sex: The Magick and Path of the Divine Erotic. Penguin, 2022.
Hyatt, Christopher S., and Lon Milo DuQuette. Sex Magic, Tantra, & Tarot: The Way of The Secret Lover. New Falcon, 2008.
Levy, Howard Seymour, and Akira Ishihara. The Tao of Sex. 1989.
Miller, Jason. Sex, Sorcery, and Spirit: The Secrets of Erotic Magick. Red Wheel/Weiser, 2014.
Sovatsky, Stuart. Eros, Consciousness and Kundalini: Deepening Sensuality Through Tantric Celibacy and Spiritual Intimacy. New Age Books, 2003.
Thomas, Sophie Saint. Sex Witch: Magickal Spells for Love, Lust, and Self-Protection. Weiser Books, 2021.
Vātsyāyanna, Mallanaga. The Complete Kama Sutra. Inner Traditions / Bear & Co, 1993.
Zettnersan, Chian. Taoist Bedroom Secrets: Sexual-Therapeutic Exercises for Enjoyment, Health, and Rejuvenation. Lotus Press, 2002.
Cultural Studies, Geopolitics, and Social Justice
Axelrod, Howard. The Stars in Our Pockets: Getting Lost and Sometimes Found in The Digital Age. Beacon Press, 2020.
Baxley, Traci. Social Justice Parenting: How to Raise Compassionate, Anti-Racist, Justice-Minded Kids in an Unjust World. HarperCollins, 2021.
Bronski, Michael. A Queer History of the United States. Beacon Press, 2012.
Chambers, Deborah. A Sociology of Family Life. Polity, 2012.
Coontz, Stephanie. The Way We Never Were: American Families and the Nostalgia Trap. Basic Books, 2016.
Croucher, Sheila. Globalization and Belonging: The Politics of Identity in a Changing World. Rowman & Littlefield, 2018.
Cusk, Rachel. Aftermath: On Marriage and Separation. Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2012.
DiAngelo, Robin. White Fragility: Why It's So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism. Beacon Press, 2018.
Dorren, Gaston. Babel: Around the World in 20 Languages. Atlantic Monthly Press, 2018.
Fisher, Helen. Anatomy of Love: A Natural History of Mating, Marriage, and Why We Stray (Completely Revised and Updated with a New Introduction). W. W. Norton & Company, 2016.
Foster, Diana Greene. The Turnaway Study: Ten Years, a Thousand Women, and the Consequences of Having—or Being Denied—an Abortion. Scribner, 2020.
Hardy, Janet W., and Dossie Easton. The Ethical Slut: A Practical Guide to Polyamory, Open Relationships, and Other Freedoms in Sex and Love, Third Edi9on. Ten Speed Press, 2017.
Healey, Joseph F., and Andi Stepnick. Race, Ethnicity, Gender, and Class: The Sociology of Group Conflict and Change. SAGE Publications, 2022.
Jenkins, Henry. Textual Poachers: Television Fans and Participatory Culture. Routledge, 2012.
Kendi, Ibram X. How to Be an Antiracist. One World, 2023.
Leifer, Joshua. Tablets Shattered: The End of an American Jewish Century and the Future of Jewish Life. Penguin, 2024.
Lorde, Audre. Sister Outsider : Essays and Speeches. Crossing Press, 1984.
Luiselli, Valeria. Tell Me How It Ends: An Essay in 40 Questions. Coffee House Press, 2017.
Markham, Lauren. The Far Away Brothers: Two Young Migrants and the Making of an American Life. Crown, 2018.
Masalha, Nur. Palestine: A Four Thousand Year History. Zed Books Ltd., 2018.
McBee, Thomas Page. Man Alive: A True Story of Violence, Forgiveness, and Becoming a Man. Canongate Books, 2017.
McNeill, Lynne S. Folklore Rules: A Fun, Quick, and Useful Introduction to the Field of Academic Folklore Studies. UP Colorado, 2013.
Newport, Cal. Digital Minimalism: Choosing a Focused Life in a Noisy World. Penguin, 2019.
Oluo, Ijeoma. So You Want to Talk About Race. Seal Press, 2019.
Parton, Dolly, and Robert K. Oermann. Dolly Parton, Songteller: My Life in Lyrics. Chronicle Books, 2020.
Rojansky, Matthew, et al. From “the Ukraine” to Ukraine. 2021.
Twist, Jos, et al. Non-Binary Lives: An Anthology of Intersecting Identities. Jessica Kingsley Publishers, 2020.
Young, James O., and Conrad G. Brunk. The Ethics of Cultural Appropriation. John Wiley & Sons, 2012.
Novels, Poetry, and Literature
Aoki, Ryka. Light From Uncommon Stars. Tor Books, 2021.
---. Why Dust Shall Never Settle Upon This Soul. 2015.
Bajaber, Khadija Abdalla. The House of Rust. Graywolf Press, 2021.
Ben-Oni, Rosebud. If This Is the Age We End Discovery. Alice James Books, 2021.
Butler, Octavia E. Parable of the Sower. 1995.
Calvino, Italo. If on a Winter’s Night a Traveler. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 1981.
---. Invisible Cities. HarperCollins, 2013.
Carson, Anne. Autobiography of Red. Cape Poetry, 2010.
Chen, Chen. When I Grow Up I Want to Be a List of Further Possibilities. A. Poulin, Jr. New Poets of Am, 2017.
Coelho, Paulo. Brida. HarperOne, 2008.
---. The Alchemist. HarperCollins, 2015.
---. The Witch of Portobello. Harper Collins, 2009.
---. Veronika Decides to Die. Harper Collins, 2009.
Diaz, Natalie. Postcolonial Love Poem. Graywolf Press, 2020.
Ende, Michael. The Neverending Story. G K Hall & Company, 1984.
Erdrich, Louise. Original Fire. Harper Collins, 2009.
Faerywolf, Storm. The Stars Within the Earth. Mystic Dream Press, 2003.
Gibran, Khalil. The Prophet. Knopf, 1923.
Harjo, Joy. An American Sunrise: Poems. W. W. Norton & Company, 2019.
---. Conflict Resolution for Holy Beings: Poems. W. W. Norton & Company, 2015.
---. She Had Some Horses. W. W. Norton & Company, 2008.
---. Soul Talk, Song Language. Wesleyan University Press, 2013.
Herbert, W. J. Dear Specimen. Beacon Press, 2021.
Hobb, Robin. Ship of Magic: The Liveship Traders, Book I. Bantam, 1998.
James, Henry. The Turn of The Screw. 1898.
Joukhadar, Zeyn. The Thirty Names of Night. Atria Books, 2020.
Lee, Li-Young. Rose: Poems. BOA Editions, 2013.
---. The Undressing: Poems. W. W. Norton & Company, 2018.
Le Guin, Ursula K. A Wizard of Earthsea. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2012.
---. Always Coming Home. Univ of California Press, 2001.
---. Gifts. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2004.
---. Lavinia. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2008.
---. No Time to Spare. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2017.
---. Steering the Craft. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2015.
---. The Left Hand of Darkness. Penguin, 2000.
---. The Wave in the Mind. Shambhala Publications, 2004.
---. Words Are My Matter. Mariner Books, 2019.
Le Guin, Ursula K., and David Naimon. Conversations on Writing. Tin House Books, 2018.
Levin, Dana. Now Do You Know Where You Are. Copper Canyon Press, 2022.
McLemore, Anna-Marie. Dark and Deepest Red. Feiwel & Friends, 2020.
---. Lakelore. Feiwel & Friends, 2022.
Miller, Madeline. Circe. Little, Brown, 2018.
Morrison, Toni. Recitatif. Knopf, 2022.
Nagamatsu, Sequoia. How High We Go in the Dark. HarperCollins, 2022.
Oliver, Mary. A Poetry Handbook. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 1994.
---. A Thousand Mornings. Penguin, 2013.
---. American Primitive. Back Bay Books, 1983.
---. At Blackwater Pond. Beacon Press, 2006.
---. Devotions. Penguin, 2020.
---. Dog Songs. Hachette UK, 2021.
---. Dream Work. Penguin, 2024.
---. Swan. Beacon Press, 2012.
---. Upstream. Penguin, 2019.
---. Why I Wake Early. Beacon Press, 2005.
---. Winter Hours. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 1999.
Penczak, Christopher. The Phosphorous Grove: Aflame with Love Upon the Witch's Tree. Copper Cauldron Publishing, 2017.
Sendak, Maurice. Where the Wild Things Are. Harper Collins, 1988.
Singer, Isaac Bashevis. Yentl, the Yeshiva Boy. 1962.
Smith, Danez. Don’t Call Us Dead. 2017.
Sutton, Emma. Virginia Woolf and Classical Music. Edinburgh UP, 2013.
VanderMeer, Jeff. This World Is Full of Monsters. Tor Books, 2017.
Varga, Adriana. Virginia Woolf & Music. Indiana UP, 2014.
Vincent, Norah. Adeline: A Novel of Virginia Woolf. Houghton Milton Harcourt, 2015.
Vuong, Ocean. Night Sky with Exit Wounds. Copper Canyon Press, 2016.
Ward, Jesmyn. Sing, Unburied, Sing. Simon and Schuster, 2017.
Woolf, Virginia. A Room of One’s Own. 1929.
---. Mrs. Dalloway. 1925.
---. Orlando, A Biography. 1928.
---. The Voyage Out. 1915.
---. The Waves. 1931.
---. To the Lighthouse. 1927.