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Mary K. Greer's 21 Ways to Read a Tarot Card
Drawing on nearly forty years of tarot experience, Mary K. Greer has developed a new energizing approach-made up of twenty-one stimulating techniques to interpret or deepen your understanding of each card. Just as the twenty-six letters of the alphabet can be combined to form billions of words, Greer's twenty-one methods can be used in any combination for gaining amazing new insights and perspectives.
Emphasizing both traditional and personal methods of interpretation, Greer's techniques involve storytelling, sketching, symbols, metaphors, dialogues, acting, and other imaginative exercises. Designed to bring about interaction, transformation, and empowerment, this twenty-one-pronged approach to tarot can help readers expand standard interpretations and evolve new ways of connecting to the cards.
COVR Award Winner for Best Divination Book
Emphasizing both traditional and personal methods of interpretation, Greer's techniques involve storytelling, sketching, symbols, metaphors, dialogues, acting, and other imaginative exercises. Designed to bring about interaction, transformation, and empowerment, this twenty-one-pronged approach to tarot can help readers expand standard interpretations and evolve new ways of connecting to the cards.
COVR Award Winner for Best Divination Book
336 pages, Paperback
First published May 1, 2006
About the author
Mary K. Greer
58 books158 followersMary K. Greer is a scholar, writer, teacher and professional tarot consultant. With more than forty years experience in tarot as an author and teacher, she advocates a revolutionary approach to learning and using the cards that emphasizes personal insight and creativity. As an expert tarot reader, she works as a ‘midwife of the soul,’ using techniques that are interactive, transformational and empowering.
Mary is the founder of Tools and Rites of Transformation (T.A.R.O.T.) and is a member of many international tarot organizations. She is a featured speaker at tarot conferences and symposia around the world.
The author of nine books on tarot and a biography of four female magicians, Mary’s latest book is Who Are You in the Tarot? (RedWheel/Weiser, 2011). Her previous book, 21 Ways to Read a Tarot Card (Llewellyn, 2008) won the COVR award for best divination book.
Mary is the proud recipient of the 2007 International Tarot Lifetime Achievement Award and the 2006 Mercury Award from the Mary Redman Foundation for “excellence in communication in the metaphysical field.”
With an M.A. in English literature, Mary was a faculty member and administrator of a college in San Francisco for eleven years. She is an Arch-Priestess/Hierophant in the Fellowship of Isis. As a world traveler, she has lived in Japan, Germany, England, Mexico, six states in the U.S., and currently resides in Northern California.
Mary is the founder of Tools and Rites of Transformation (T.A.R.O.T.) and is a member of many international tarot organizations. She is a featured speaker at tarot conferences and symposia around the world.
The author of nine books on tarot and a biography of four female magicians, Mary’s latest book is Who Are You in the Tarot? (RedWheel/Weiser, 2011). Her previous book, 21 Ways to Read a Tarot Card (Llewellyn, 2008) won the COVR award for best divination book.
Mary is the proud recipient of the 2007 International Tarot Lifetime Achievement Award and the 2006 Mercury Award from the Mary Redman Foundation for “excellence in communication in the metaphysical field.”
With an M.A. in English literature, Mary was a faculty member and administrator of a college in San Francisco for eleven years. She is an Arch-Priestess/Hierophant in the Fellowship of Isis. As a world traveler, she has lived in Japan, Germany, England, Mexico, six states in the U.S., and currently resides in Northern California.
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May 10, 2026Source of book: KU
Relevant disclaimers: None
Please note: This review may not be reproduced or quoted, in whole or in part, without explicit consent from the author.
***
Skippable preamble on my tarot bullshit here
***
Okay, so I’ve read enough books about tarot by now know to understand that Mary K Greer is, like, this super important and beloved figure in what I guess is the tarot reading community (which I have no knowledge of or access to). Anyway, I loved the idea of this book, and Mary K Greer’s breadth of knowledge is genuinely incredibly impressive (as is her capacity to distill that knowledge effectively) but it didn’t work for me in practice. I think I probably do some of this organically anyway. But some of it I definitely don’t and wouldn’t want to. There will be no wriggling over my tarot cards, thanks.
And also there’s more of masculine/feminine bullshit I actively cannot be doing with.
Relevant disclaimers: None
Please note: This review may not be reproduced or quoted, in whole or in part, without explicit consent from the author.
***
Skippable preamble on my tarot bullshit here
***
Okay, so I’ve read enough books about tarot by now know to understand that Mary K Greer is, like, this super important and beloved figure in what I guess is the tarot reading community (which I have no knowledge of or access to). Anyway, I loved the idea of this book, and Mary K Greer’s breadth of knowledge is genuinely incredibly impressive (as is her capacity to distill that knowledge effectively) but it didn’t work for me in practice. I think I probably do some of this organically anyway. But some of it I definitely don’t and wouldn’t want to. There will be no wriggling over my tarot cards, thanks.
And also there’s more of masculine/feminine bullshit I actively cannot be doing with.
March 8, 2019
This is a book on how to interpret the tarot cards. This is not a book for all things tarot. Greer does an excellent job listing different approaches to the cards. She lists 21 ways of interpreting the cards ie.; by image, with emotions, with numerology, applying the elements and so on. She has some interesting appendices to help the reader too; list of emotions, numerological meanings, suits, element combos, archetype descriptions, reading styles. There is a glossary and index as well in the back. All in all a very practical book and very approachable for the novice swell as the advanced reader.
This book can be purchased on amazon; https://amzn.to/3MEHB9b
This book can be purchased on amazon; https://amzn.to/3MEHB9b
December 13, 2017
Definitely one of my all time favorite tarot books. It provides so many different outlooks & explains how to intuitively trust your interpretations.
July 7, 2020
Lo que más me ha gustado del libro es que es una guía práctica para conocer y conectarnos más con las cartas del tarot a nuestra manera. Ofrece 21 ejercicios diferentes para que conectemos con las cartas desde nuestra subjetividad, desde lo que las cartas significan para nosotras, hablando con ellas y estableciendo una relación de confianza.
A pesar de que alguna de las maneras de leer ya las practicaba, otras ni siquiera se me habían pasado por la cabeza y sé que voy a experimentar.
No es un libro para nada dogmático y es algo que me gusta, porque a pesar de que las cartas tienen unos significado más o menos aceptados en general, no todo significa lo mismo para todo el mundo, así que me gusta la filosofía de la autora de que, basándonos en lo que hay, añadamos nuestra sabiduría y nuestra experiencia al significado de las cartas.
Es una guía práctica a la que voy a volver muchas veces en mi viaje por el Tarot.
Súper recomendable para aquellas personas que conozcan por encima un poco el significado de las cartas y quieran profundizar de una manera más personal en ellas.
A pesar de que alguna de las maneras de leer ya las practicaba, otras ni siquiera se me habían pasado por la cabeza y sé que voy a experimentar.
No es un libro para nada dogmático y es algo que me gusta, porque a pesar de que las cartas tienen unos significado más o menos aceptados en general, no todo significa lo mismo para todo el mundo, así que me gusta la filosofía de la autora de que, basándonos en lo que hay, añadamos nuestra sabiduría y nuestra experiencia al significado de las cartas.
Es una guía práctica a la que voy a volver muchas veces en mi viaje por el Tarot.
Súper recomendable para aquellas personas que conozcan por encima un poco el significado de las cartas y quieran profundizar de una manera más personal en ellas.
January 20, 2020
First off, this is a Workbook! There are plenty of exercises expected to be completed by Ms Greer. About 1/3rd of the book is basic/obvious, 1/3rd you have probably come across if you've read a handful of Tarot books, and 1/3rd expands upon the aforementioned topics. A decent book for the Tarot novice, but not necessary for the intermediate student or master.
October 28, 2018
Some of these 21 ways were helpful but others just seemed like common sense. Very beginner friendly, but I wouldn't recommend for an experienced reader.
May 28, 2016
It's easy to see why after ten years this book is still one of the most go to books in the tarot community. It's easy and open manner makes it an easy read. The exercises and journal work gives the reader tools to see tarot cards in different ways. Allowing them to tap into the entire potential of each card. It is also highly personal as it brings forth a great deal of yourself with each exercise that you complete. While it starts out light, if you're using this book properly it's going to go a great deal deeper than you expected or wanted it too. Awesome book for both beginners and advanced readers.
June 7, 2022
There are some interesting exercises in this book. I only found about half of the activities useful, but of those I found a couple incredibly creative and inspiring. A lot of material I'd seen before, but also some wonderfully fresh ideas I hadn't expected. A good recommendation for an intermediate-level tarot reader.
February 8, 2008
Basically, the information given is easy to understand. But, it is better if your tarot is one of the three tarots illustrated on the front cover.
July 7, 2025
A 4 for solidarity but a 3 if I am being honest.
I love you Mary K. Greer but if I had to choose an intro to reading tarot, I'd have to go with Tarot for your Self, which was my first tarot book purchase that remains a fundamental influence in my approach to tarot.
21 Ways to Read a Tarot Card suffers aesthetically. I really think they should have gone with a different cover as well as a different lay-out for the information. It reminds me a lot of Rachel Pollack's Tarot Wisdom book, as they are both appear identical in terms of the actual book dimensions and the design lay-out within, down to the black-and-white cards.
To new beginners to tarot, this would be a good book if you will do the activities, but I would recommend getting a group together to work on the activities together and then discuss. To a tarot reader who enjoys tarot books, this is not a must-read. The best thing about this book would probably be its appendices, particularly the tables that show different tarot systems all in one comparative table.
I really enjoy books on tarot reading, as someone who reads for themselves and offers tarot readings to the public, so I am not expecting really paradigm-shaking takes or even hot take perspectives. I am just hoping for another way to think of an idea.
I enjoyed some steps like numbers, dignities, and archetypes but most of it I flipped through fast.
I love you Mary K. Greer but if I had to choose an intro to reading tarot, I'd have to go with Tarot for your Self, which was my first tarot book purchase that remains a fundamental influence in my approach to tarot.
21 Ways to Read a Tarot Card suffers aesthetically. I really think they should have gone with a different cover as well as a different lay-out for the information. It reminds me a lot of Rachel Pollack's Tarot Wisdom book, as they are both appear identical in terms of the actual book dimensions and the design lay-out within, down to the black-and-white cards.
To new beginners to tarot, this would be a good book if you will do the activities, but I would recommend getting a group together to work on the activities together and then discuss. To a tarot reader who enjoys tarot books, this is not a must-read. The best thing about this book would probably be its appendices, particularly the tables that show different tarot systems all in one comparative table.
I really enjoy books on tarot reading, as someone who reads for themselves and offers tarot readings to the public, so I am not expecting really paradigm-shaking takes or even hot take perspectives. I am just hoping for another way to think of an idea.
I enjoyed some steps like numbers, dignities, and archetypes but most of it I flipped through fast.
October 2, 2024
Worked through the book with a study group and it was a fantastic experience! Highly recommended for folks at any level of tarot study. Plenty of activities that can be done alone or with a group to deepen your understanding of a card.
November 15, 2021
Bản Tiếng Việt: "21 Cách Giải Nghĩa Lá Bài Tarot"
• Sách có kết cấu hơi khó tiếp cận và dịch cũng chưa mượt, nhiều bài tập thực hành quá nên cũng cần phải nghiền ngẫm kỹ.
• Sách có kết cấu hơi khó tiếp cận và dịch cũng chưa mượt, nhiều bài tập thực hành quá nên cũng cần phải nghiền ngẫm kỹ.
June 25, 2017
Este libro es ideal para todo aquel que quiera hacer una práctica del tarot más exhaustiva y concienzuda. Me encato su abordaje holístico de la práctica, así como cada capítulo brinda una manera distinta de acercarse a las cartas. Creo que todo el que empiece a aprender la disciplina debería tener este libro como su compañero infaltable, sin duda resuelve muchas dudas y entrega información valiosa sobre los números, cómo relacionarse con las cartas e involucrar la intuición.
Mi favorito, de referencia personal siempre!
Mi favorito, de referencia personal siempre!
September 5, 2018
A helpful intermediate level book on performing readings. Many wonderful suggestions for enriching readings and connecting with the cards in different ways. I think this would be an excellent book for people after they've gotten to know the cards a fair amount and want to expand their Tarot horizons in a performing readings way, as opposed to an Occult philosophy/symbolism way.
April 17, 2021
Really useful, although my biggest takeaways as a newbie are that mirroring the body language on a card really helps understand it, and that reading for another person is a very different thing than reading for yourself!
April 28, 2019
Didn't really love this book, I had a hard time connecting to it. I guess I'm just not really a fan of Mary Greer?
August 17, 2026
Mary K. Greer's 21 Ways to Read a Tarot Card is one of those books that can permanently change the way you read tarot. Instead of giving you another set of meanings to memorize, Greer teaches you twenty-one different ways to approach a card, which means she is really teaching something much more valuable: how to generate meaning for yourself.
That's the brilliance of this book. Most beginning tarot education works through accumulation. You learn what the Fool means, then the Magician, then the High Priestess, and eventually you're carrying around seventy-eight little bundles of keywords in your head. Greer takes the opposite approach. What happens if you enter the image? Tell its story? Speak to a figure in the card? Pay attention to a symbol? Act out the scene? Sketch it? Turn it into metaphor? Suddenly a card you've pulled hundreds of times starts talking again.
Her alphabet analogy is perfect. Twenty-six letters don't limit language to twenty-six words. They create practically infinite combinations. Greer's twenty-one techniques work the same way. You don't need to use every method every time you pull a card. You learn them well enough that they become different lenses you can reach for depending on the reading, the question, or what isn't immediately making sense.
I especially love the emphasis on interaction. Tarot can become strangely passive when we're taught to look at an image, retrieve its accepted definition from memory, and apply that definition to the question. Greer makes you engage with the card. Storytelling, dialogue, movement, imagination, metaphor, and creative exercises force you into a relationship with the imagery rather than leaving you standing outside it.
That is where intuition begins getting much more interesting.
The traditional meanings are still there. Greer isn't arguing that tarot history and established symbolism should be thrown away so everyone can simply invent whatever meaning they want. Instead, traditional knowledge becomes one source of information among several. The image itself matters. Your response matters. The context of the question matters. The relationships between symbols matter. The person receiving the reading matters. Good interpretation emerges from bringing those things into conversation.
This is also one of the best books I've encountered for getting out of a tarot rut. After you've been reading for years, familiarity can become its own problem. You see the Three of Swords and your mind immediately jumps to heartbreak. You see the Tower and think disruption. The cards become shorthand. Greer's exercises force you to slow down long enough to actually look again. Sometimes what you notice has very little to do with the interpretation you automatically reached for.
And that's the larger lesson underneath all twenty-one techniques: knowing a card isn't the same thing as knowing what that card is saying right now.
Mary K. Greer's decades of experience are evident everywhere, but what I admire most is that she uses that expertise to make readers more independent rather than more dependent on her authority. The goal isn't to learn how Mary K. Greer reads tarot. It's to discover how deeply you can read tarot when you're given enough ways to approach it.
There's a reason this won the COVR Award for Best Divination Book and remains so frequently recommended. It's not another tarot dictionary. It's a training manual for interpretation itself.
If you've memorized the cards but sometimes struggle to move beyond their standard meanings, this book is essential. Twenty-one ways to read one card eventually becomes hundreds of ways to read seventy-eight, and at that point tarot starts feeling infinite.
That's the brilliance of this book. Most beginning tarot education works through accumulation. You learn what the Fool means, then the Magician, then the High Priestess, and eventually you're carrying around seventy-eight little bundles of keywords in your head. Greer takes the opposite approach. What happens if you enter the image? Tell its story? Speak to a figure in the card? Pay attention to a symbol? Act out the scene? Sketch it? Turn it into metaphor? Suddenly a card you've pulled hundreds of times starts talking again.
Her alphabet analogy is perfect. Twenty-six letters don't limit language to twenty-six words. They create practically infinite combinations. Greer's twenty-one techniques work the same way. You don't need to use every method every time you pull a card. You learn them well enough that they become different lenses you can reach for depending on the reading, the question, or what isn't immediately making sense.
I especially love the emphasis on interaction. Tarot can become strangely passive when we're taught to look at an image, retrieve its accepted definition from memory, and apply that definition to the question. Greer makes you engage with the card. Storytelling, dialogue, movement, imagination, metaphor, and creative exercises force you into a relationship with the imagery rather than leaving you standing outside it.
That is where intuition begins getting much more interesting.
The traditional meanings are still there. Greer isn't arguing that tarot history and established symbolism should be thrown away so everyone can simply invent whatever meaning they want. Instead, traditional knowledge becomes one source of information among several. The image itself matters. Your response matters. The context of the question matters. The relationships between symbols matter. The person receiving the reading matters. Good interpretation emerges from bringing those things into conversation.
This is also one of the best books I've encountered for getting out of a tarot rut. After you've been reading for years, familiarity can become its own problem. You see the Three of Swords and your mind immediately jumps to heartbreak. You see the Tower and think disruption. The cards become shorthand. Greer's exercises force you to slow down long enough to actually look again. Sometimes what you notice has very little to do with the interpretation you automatically reached for.
And that's the larger lesson underneath all twenty-one techniques: knowing a card isn't the same thing as knowing what that card is saying right now.
Mary K. Greer's decades of experience are evident everywhere, but what I admire most is that she uses that expertise to make readers more independent rather than more dependent on her authority. The goal isn't to learn how Mary K. Greer reads tarot. It's to discover how deeply you can read tarot when you're given enough ways to approach it.
There's a reason this won the COVR Award for Best Divination Book and remains so frequently recommended. It's not another tarot dictionary. It's a training manual for interpretation itself.
If you've memorized the cards but sometimes struggle to move beyond their standard meanings, this book is essential. Twenty-one ways to read one card eventually becomes hundreds of ways to read seventy-eight, and at that point tarot starts feeling infinite.
September 5, 2023
As the introduction states, “21 Ways to Read a Tarot Card is full of techniques for gaining insights into tarot readings”, and it doesn’t disappoint. Working with a single card in 21 different ways definitely expands both your ways of working with your cards and your personal insights. The idea isn’t to utilise every method every time however. Rather, one of the goals of the book is to help you “evolve an individualized reading style or technique.” I love that it’s a how-to book that keeps you very much in charge of how you ultimately work with your cards.
Each of the twenty-one sections offers two different levels of exploration. There are exercises for both the apprentice and the adept. This has nothing to do with your skill level. Instead the way of the apprentice provides an overview while the adept exercises delve more deeply into the concepts and offers additional variations you can explore once you’ve completed your apprenticeship.
21 Ways to Read a Tarot Card is definitely a book you can keep returning to. For example, Step 16 asks you to draw your chosen card. And no, you don’t have to have amazing drawing skills to gain the benefits. I used XXI The World from the Chrysalis Tarot deck and there is no way I could come close to creating anything nearly as beautiful, but it really didn’t matter. I was amazed by how many additional details I discovered during my attempts. This exercise alone is definitely worth revisiting over and over again as are so many of the others. I am glad this book is part of my collection.
About the Author
Mary K Greer is a tarot scholar, teacher and reader who has published many tarot books. (Understanding the Tarot Court, The Complete Book of Tarot Reversals, Women of the Golden Dawn, The Essence of Magic, Tarot Mirrors, Tarot Constellations, Tarot for Your Self and her latest, Who are you in the Tarot). She has over 40 years of tarot experience – and it shows.
21 Ways to Read a Tarot Card Contents
Introduction
How to Use this Book
Step 0 Stepping Out
Step 1 Name
Step 2 Description
Step 3 Emotion
Step 4 Story
Step 5 Number
Step 6 Mode, Suit, Element
Step 7 Synthesis
Step 8 Metaphor
Step 9 Query & Snapshot
Step 10 Meanings
Step 11 Range
Step 12 Modification
Step 13 Symbols
Step 14 Dignity & Theme
Step 15 Dialogs
Step 16 Drawing
Step 17 Embodiment
Step 18 Imagination
Step 19 Myth & Archetypes
Step 20 Deck Comparison
Step 21 The Possible Self
Step 00 Full Circle
Appendices
Emotions List
Number & Rank Keywords
Mode, Suit, Element Keywords
Elemental Dignity Combinations
The Empress Vision
Archetypal Motifs Chart
Reading Styles
Traps & Solutions in R.I.T.E
21 Ways Worksheet
Glossary
Bibliography
As you can see this book offers a lot. It’s conversational style makes it easy and enjoyable to read. I don’t know what Mary K Greer sounds like, but I felt during the reading of this book that I was sitting in a casual “classroom” being given lots and lots of tips designed to encourage me to develop my own personal reading style and I loved it. I would thoroughly recommend this book to tarot enthusiasts of all levels.
Each of the twenty-one sections offers two different levels of exploration. There are exercises for both the apprentice and the adept. This has nothing to do with your skill level. Instead the way of the apprentice provides an overview while the adept exercises delve more deeply into the concepts and offers additional variations you can explore once you’ve completed your apprenticeship.
21 Ways to Read a Tarot Card is definitely a book you can keep returning to. For example, Step 16 asks you to draw your chosen card. And no, you don’t have to have amazing drawing skills to gain the benefits. I used XXI The World from the Chrysalis Tarot deck and there is no way I could come close to creating anything nearly as beautiful, but it really didn’t matter. I was amazed by how many additional details I discovered during my attempts. This exercise alone is definitely worth revisiting over and over again as are so many of the others. I am glad this book is part of my collection.
About the Author
Mary K Greer is a tarot scholar, teacher and reader who has published many tarot books. (Understanding the Tarot Court, The Complete Book of Tarot Reversals, Women of the Golden Dawn, The Essence of Magic, Tarot Mirrors, Tarot Constellations, Tarot for Your Self and her latest, Who are you in the Tarot). She has over 40 years of tarot experience – and it shows.
21 Ways to Read a Tarot Card Contents
Introduction
How to Use this Book
Step 0 Stepping Out
Step 1 Name
Step 2 Description
Step 3 Emotion
Step 4 Story
Step 5 Number
Step 6 Mode, Suit, Element
Step 7 Synthesis
Step 8 Metaphor
Step 9 Query & Snapshot
Step 10 Meanings
Step 11 Range
Step 12 Modification
Step 13 Symbols
Step 14 Dignity & Theme
Step 15 Dialogs
Step 16 Drawing
Step 17 Embodiment
Step 18 Imagination
Step 19 Myth & Archetypes
Step 20 Deck Comparison
Step 21 The Possible Self
Step 00 Full Circle
Appendices
Emotions List
Number & Rank Keywords
Mode, Suit, Element Keywords
Elemental Dignity Combinations
The Empress Vision
Archetypal Motifs Chart
Reading Styles
Traps & Solutions in R.I.T.E
21 Ways Worksheet
Glossary
Bibliography
As you can see this book offers a lot. It’s conversational style makes it easy and enjoyable to read. I don’t know what Mary K Greer sounds like, but I felt during the reading of this book that I was sitting in a casual “classroom” being given lots and lots of tips designed to encourage me to develop my own personal reading style and I loved it. I would thoroughly recommend this book to tarot enthusiasts of all levels.
September 28, 2024
Mary K. Greer’s 21 Ways to Read a Tarot Card is one of those rare books that manages to be both practical and profoundly transformative. Greer doesn’t just present a list of techniques—she guides you through an experience, offering readers a chance to see the Tarot from entirely new angles. Her methods range from the analytical to the imaginative, so whether you’re inclined to take notes or dive into a more intuitive approach, there’s something here that will challenge and inspire.
Each of the 21 ways feels like a different facet of the same gem. One of my favorites is her focus on dialogue with the cards. It’s not about what the card means traditionally, but about what it has to say to you in that moment. Greer’s exercises gently nudge you to break free from rigid interpretations and engage with the cards as active participants in a conversation. The storytelling and metaphor methods are particularly engaging, helping you move beyond simple symbolism and into a more fluid, nuanced understanding.
What makes 21 Ways truly valuable is that it’s less about definitive answers and more about deepening your relationship with the Tarot. You won’t find set meanings here; instead, you’ll learn how to listen to the cards and let them reveal their layers. Greer’s book isn’t just a toolkit—it’s a guide for anyone ready to let go of “right” and “wrong” readings and embrace the complexities of intuitive interpretation.
For anyone serious about exploring the full potential of the Tarot, this book is a game-changer. Greer’s experience and depth of knowledge shine through on every page, but it’s her encouragement to trust your own instincts that makes this work feel so empowering. 21 Ways to Read a Tarot Card isn’t just a how-to—it’s an invitation to create your own unique, evolving language with the cards.
Each of the 21 ways feels like a different facet of the same gem. One of my favorites is her focus on dialogue with the cards. It’s not about what the card means traditionally, but about what it has to say to you in that moment. Greer’s exercises gently nudge you to break free from rigid interpretations and engage with the cards as active participants in a conversation. The storytelling and metaphor methods are particularly engaging, helping you move beyond simple symbolism and into a more fluid, nuanced understanding.
What makes 21 Ways truly valuable is that it’s less about definitive answers and more about deepening your relationship with the Tarot. You won’t find set meanings here; instead, you’ll learn how to listen to the cards and let them reveal their layers. Greer’s book isn’t just a toolkit—it’s a guide for anyone ready to let go of “right” and “wrong” readings and embrace the complexities of intuitive interpretation.
For anyone serious about exploring the full potential of the Tarot, this book is a game-changer. Greer’s experience and depth of knowledge shine through on every page, but it’s her encouragement to trust your own instincts that makes this work feel so empowering. 21 Ways to Read a Tarot Card isn’t just a how-to—it’s an invitation to create your own unique, evolving language with the cards.
September 12, 2026
This is the book I wish more people reached for when they get tired of trying to cram seventy-eight little definitions into their head and calling that reading tarot. Mary K. Greer gives you twenty-one ways to meet a card through description, feeling, story, number, symbol, metaphor, dialogue, drawing, embodiment, imagination, comparison, and more, and somehow it never feels like a gimmicky list. Each method opens another door. I have read the same cards for years and still found myself noticing things I had been walking right past. The apprentice and adept sections are a smart touch too, because you can work simply when you need to or go much deeper when a card has really got its hooks in you. Greer understands that tarot is both a tradition and a living conversation, so she gives enough structure to ground you without turning the cards into a set of rules you are scared to break. My only criticism is that this is not a book to speed-read on the couch and then feel accomplished about finishing. Some of the exercises can feel a little earnest or outside your comfort zone, especially the drawing, dialoguing, and embodiment work. But that is kind of the point. If you are willing to actually do the work, not just highlight it, this book can change how you read. It is creative, rigorous, playful, and endlessly reusable.
August 29, 2026
this book kind of blew open my idea of what it actually means to “know” a tarot card. Instead of memorizing 5 keywords and calling it a day, Mary K. Greer gives you 21 completely different ways to get inside ONE card through things like symbols, emotions, storytelling, dialogue, imagination, metaphors and even physically embodying whats happening in the image. Some of these sounded a little silly when I first read them and then I actually DID them and was like oh wait... why did that work so well 😂
I especially loved the methods where you basically let the card talk back to you instead of immediately reaching for the traditional meaning. Theres also an apprentice and adept level for the exercises which I appreciated because some days I want to spend an hour journaling with one card and other days absolutely not lol. I tried several of these with cards I thought I knew really well and STILL noticed things I had somehow never paid attention to before. Thats exactly what I want from a tarot book at this point because I dont need another explanation that The Hermit means introspection, I need somebody to make me actually LOOK at The Hermit again.
My only issue is 21 ways is honestly alot and by the end I started feeling slightly like I had assigned myself tarot homework 😭 There are definately techniques in here I cant imagine using very often, and a few of the older gendered ideas around the cards didnt really work for me either. But I dont think you're actually supposed to use every single method forever, its more like trying on 21 different pairs of glasses and figuring out which ones help YOU see the cards differently. I already stole like 6 of them for my regular practice so yeah, extremely worth reading. 4 stars.
I especially loved the methods where you basically let the card talk back to you instead of immediately reaching for the traditional meaning. Theres also an apprentice and adept level for the exercises which I appreciated because some days I want to spend an hour journaling with one card and other days absolutely not lol. I tried several of these with cards I thought I knew really well and STILL noticed things I had somehow never paid attention to before. Thats exactly what I want from a tarot book at this point because I dont need another explanation that The Hermit means introspection, I need somebody to make me actually LOOK at The Hermit again.
My only issue is 21 ways is honestly alot and by the end I started feeling slightly like I had assigned myself tarot homework 😭 There are definately techniques in here I cant imagine using very often, and a few of the older gendered ideas around the cards didnt really work for me either. But I dont think you're actually supposed to use every single method forever, its more like trying on 21 different pairs of glasses and figuring out which ones help YOU see the cards differently. I already stole like 6 of them for my regular practice so yeah, extremely worth reading. 4 stars.
August 31, 2026
I’ve been wanting to deepen my understanding of tarot, and this book came highly recommended. I understand why now! Mary K. Greer does offer us 21 different ways to read and connect with tarot cards, and each chapter offers two tracks: apprentice (like a fast track) or adept (deep work). There’s no pressure to read the book in chronological order, but I find that it was helpful to read it that way.
I particularly connected with the techniques on Emotion, Embodiment, and Imagination the most. I get a more meaningful read of the cards this way, but I’m looking forward to applying the other techniques too.
I guess that’s the gift of this book! You do get 21 ways to interpret a card, but ultimately it’s up to you which one brings out the most insight for you and your querent.
I do recommend this book to budding tarot readers like me, and if you’re an expert, maybe this book can serve as a refresher too!
I particularly connected with the techniques on Emotion, Embodiment, and Imagination the most. I get a more meaningful read of the cards this way, but I’m looking forward to applying the other techniques too.
I guess that’s the gift of this book! You do get 21 ways to interpret a card, but ultimately it’s up to you which one brings out the most insight for you and your querent.
I do recommend this book to budding tarot readers like me, and if you’re an expert, maybe this book can serve as a refresher too!
August 18, 2026
Truth be told, the book put me into a book rut. Yes, this book put my massive, excited reading streak into a burst of oblivion. It took me eleven days to move 40 pages through this book - when I am normally able to finish a 400 page book in less than a week. I started rather enthusiastic about this book and found the first two ways to read the card to be interesting, then, after six boring ways to read the card that didn't offer any new dimension to my bond with my deck, I couldn't do it anymore. This is my first Mary K. Greer book and, quite frankly, her overall done doesn't really encourage me to want to read others, either. DNF.
December 30, 2025
Provides a variety of ways to understand the cards and how to interpret the meanings of spreads. Provides exercises to try for each way, however, I’d recommend trying to partake in this book when you have an extraordinarily amount of time to focus. Not something you can really put down and come back at a later time. Parts were quite enlightening but was not what I exactly expected when purchasing the book. Will try my best to reflect back on this book moving forward and using the various ways when performing a reading.
February 2, 2025
Very good content, lots of useful information references but also practical advice and examples. I did not know how flexible and subjective tarot reading could be. I appreciate a seasoned and respected tarot expert like Greer publishing a book like this that teaches the basics and the not so basics. And it really felt so much more exciting that I’ll get to develop my personal style, learn to lean into my intuitions and evolve on it.
January 8, 2025
Rounded up from 3.5. I found the first two-thirds of this book insightful and instructive and then it got redundant and too psychobabbly for my taste. I skimmed over steps 15 through 18 and didn't think much of the ones after either though 19 (Myths & Archetypes) could have been very interesting if done well. Didn't the editor have anything to say about phrases like "midwife of the soul"?
May 23, 2020
Là một cuốn sách cần thiết cho những người vừa bắt đầu học Tarot. Tác giả giới thiệu 21 cách để đọc và giải 1 lá bài/1 trải bài bên cạnh cách đọc ý nghĩa và nhớ keyword truyền thống. Ngoài lý thuyết, mỗi step tác giả còn hướng dẫn các bước thực hành cụ thể giúp người đọc có thể hiểu và làm theo.
January 11, 2026
I absolutely adore Mary K Greer's way of working with Tarot and how she explains so much depth in such an accessible way! I highly recommend this book for anyone who wants to deepen their Tarot practice!
April 19, 2018
Really into this! It's the tarot theory I've been wanting. Advanced and thorough and I don't understand it all, but that's great.
February 7, 2020
Just read the beginner parts but seemed very comprehensive and inclusive.
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