Tarot Fellow
The Big Book of Tarot — by Joan Bunning
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The Big Book of Tarot by Joan Bunning — Joan Bunning is the author of Learning the Tarot, one of the most widely used beginner guides, and this expanded volume covers all 78 cards with detailed interpretations, spreads, and guidance for developing an intuitive reading practice. Suitable for those stepping beyond the basics and wanting to deepen their relationship with the cards through a structured, accessible approach.
Description:Quick Specs
- Author: Joan Bunning
- Publisher: Red Wheel/Weiser
- Format: Paperback, 368 pages, 8.4 x 10 inches
- Best for: Serious beginners, self-study learners, structured progressive tarot courses
Joan Bunning's Self-Teaching Method
Joan Bunning has been teaching tarot online since 1995, when her Learning the Tarot course became one of the first comprehensive tarot curricula available on the internet. Hundreds of thousands of learners have worked through it. The Big Book of Tarot draws directly from that course material and expands it into a single comprehensive volume that functions as a structured, self-paced learning program rather than a reference you skim. The distinction matters: this book is designed to be worked through, not just consulted.
Bunning's core approach is lesson-based and interactive. She recommends taking one card per day, working through the deck systematically or intuitively, allowing the card's energy to inform your actual experience over a 24-hour period before moving to the next. Each card gets two full pages: a card image from the Rider-Waite deck, keywords, action phrases, and notes on cards with similar and opposing meanings. The exercises aren't filler; they're built to develop real interpretive skill through practice rather than memorization.
How This Compares to Other Tarot Books
Seventy-Eight Degrees of Wisdom by Rachel Pollack is a scholarly deep-dive into RWS symbolism aimed at intermediate-to-advanced readers who want to understand the archetypal and psychological architecture behind each card. It's not a course; it's a sustained analysis. The Big Book of Tarot serves a different function: it's a structured beginner-to-intermediate program built for people who want to actually learn to read, not just study the tradition abstractly. You'll use Bunning to build fluency; you'll return to Pollack once you have it.
At 368 pages and a large 8.4 x 10 inch format, the book is physically substantial and meant to stay on the desk. Part Four covers tarot spreads in detail, including how to construct your own spreads and how to use card pairings to build narrative flow across a reading. Part Five is a reference section with keyword lists and sample readings. Practitioners who already own the Learning the Tarot website course material will find expanded content here, including new material on reversals, card pairs, and the Fool's Journey. Browse my tarot and divination books to see other titles in stock.
How to Use The Big Book of Tarot
How to work through The Big Book of Tarot as a structured self-teaching program, from the daily card method through card pairs to spread design.
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Follow the One-Card-a-Day Method
Start with Part One and work through the lessons before moving to card descriptions. Then pull one card per day, study the two-page entry, and carry that card's theme through your day. Bunning's method builds instinct through lived experience.
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Practice Card Pairs and Narrative Flow
Once you know individual card meanings, work through the card pairs section. Understanding which cards reinforce or oppose each other takes you from keyword recall to reading the story of a spread. The Big Book devotes full lessons to this skill.
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Use Part Four to Design Your Own Spreads
After the card descriptions, work through Part Four on tarot spreads. Bunning breaks down spread structure: position count, placement order, position meanings. This section lets you design spreads for specific questions rather than fixed layouts.
The Tarot Fellow Standard
I stock The Big Book of Tarot because Bunning's method produces actual readers. The structured lesson format, the daily card practice, the card pairs section, and the spread design guidance give a beginner a complete program rather than a list of keywords to memorize. At 368 pages in a large format, it's a working tool you keep on the desk during readings, not a book you read once and shelve. If you're building a tarot library, this is a core reference. Explore my full books and journals collection for companion titles and other learning resources.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, it is designed as a self-teaching course for beginners. The lesson structure is progressive, building from basic card meanings to pairs, reversals, and spread design. Exercises and sample readings develop practical skill, not just knowledge.
Seventy-Eight Degrees of Wisdom by Rachel Pollack is a scholarly analysis for intermediate and advanced readers. Bunning's Big Book is a structured learning program for beginners who want real reading fluency through daily practice and lessons.
Yes. The Big Book of Tarot uses the Rider-Waite deck throughout, with a card image in each two-page entry. It is best paired with a Rider-Waite or RWS-based deck. The keyword and symbol analysis is specific to the Smith-Waite pictorial tradition.
It is 368 pages in an 8.4 by 10 inch softcover format. That large format accommodates the two-page-per-card structure and makes it practical as a desk reference during readings. The size and page count reflect a comprehensive course, not a summary.
