John Gilbert was a teacher of alternative spirituality active in the late twentieth and early twenty-first century. He was born in 1938 in Dakota into a Christian household, but his personal spiritual vision called him in other directions. Gilbert was an extraordinarily capable tarot diviner, as well as teacher of tarot, eventually founding the Tarot Institute. He was also the presiding bishop of the Universal Gnostic Church and the House of Independent Bishops, and the head of the Magickal Order of the Golden Dawn, the Order of Spiritual Alchemy, and the Modern Order of Essenes. Gilbert played a very active role in the Ancient Order of Druids in America. He died in 2021 in Wyoming, where he had moved with his wife Charlene, to be close to his children. John Michael Greer is the award-winning author of more than fifty books, including 'The New Encyclopedia of the Occult', 'The Druidry Handbook', 'The Celtic Golden Dawn', and 'Circles of Power: An Introduction to Hermetic Magic'. An initiate in Freemasonry, the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, and the Order of Bards, Ovates and Druids, Greer served as the Grand Archdruid of the Ancient Order of Druids in America (AODA) for twelve years. He lives in Rhode Island with his wife Sara. Greer is also the author of eleven fantasy and science fiction novels and ten nonfiction books on peak oil and the future of industrial society, and also blogs weekly on politics, magic, and the future at www.ecosophia.net.

“I am wary of endlessly similar books on Tarot. Not so with this book by John Gilbert. He builds a steady flow of practical teaching, expanding and developing in harmonious stages. I am confident that anyone following his clear instructions and insights will come to understand Tarot and develop as a good reader. As an author with over forty years of Tarot experience, I found new insights and inspirations set like jewels within the teachings.”R. J. Stewart, creator and designer of The Merlin Tarot & The Dreampower Tarot“Incisively practical, this book is focused squarely on lifting off the ground beginners at Tarot, but those already airborne will discover a cockpit bristling with original devices for elevating their skills towards a professional level, addressing ethics and etiquette as well as technique. A ponderous exploration of Tarot symbolism is certainly not this book’s style, but the tips, tricks, and conceptual frameworks and tools that Gilbert so generously shares are unlikely to disappoint anyone wanting to boost the quality and efficacy of their Tarot readings.”Duncan Barford, author of Occult Experiments in the Home

• INTRODUCTIONCHAPTER 1 First steps in tarotCHAPTER 2 Beginning tarot readingsCHAPTER 3 One-card tarot readingsCHAPTER 4 Dynamic Elemental SpreadsCHAPTER 5 Tarot and numerologyCHAPTER 6 Tarot and astrologyCHAPTER 7 Tarot dignitiesCHAPTER 8 How to develop your intuitionCHAPTER 9 How to really learn tarotCHAPTER 10 The seven-day tarot spreadINDEX

John Gilbert was a teacher of alternative spirituality active in the late twentieth and early twenty-first century. He was born in 1938 in Dakota into a Christian household, but his personal spiritual vision called him in other directions. Gilbert was an extraordinarily capable tarot diviner, as well as teacher of tarot, eventually founding the Tarot Institute. He was also the presiding bishop of the Universal Gnostic Church and the House of Independent Bishops, and the head of the Magickal Order of the Golden Dawn, the Order of Spiritual Alchemy, and the Modern Order of Essenes. Gilbert played a very active role in the Ancient Order of Druids in America. He died in 2021 in Wyoming, where he had moved with his wife Charlene, to be close to his children. John Michael Greer is the award-winning author of more than fifty books, including 'The New Encyclopedia of the Occult', 'The Druidry Handbook', 'The Celtic Golden Dawn', and 'Circles of Power: An Introduction to Hermetic Magic'. An initiate in Freemasonry, the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, and the Order of Bards, Ovates and Druids, Greer served as the Grand Archdruid of the Ancient Order of Druids in America (AODA) for twelve years. He lives in Rhode Island with his wife Sara. Greer is also the author of eleven fantasy and science fiction novels and ten nonfiction books on peak oil and the future of industrial society, and also blogs weekly on politics, magic, and the future at www.ecosophia.net.

“I am wary of endlessly similar books on Tarot. Not so with this book by John Gilbert. He builds a steady flow of practical teaching, expanding and developing in harmonious stages. I am confident that anyone following his clear instructions and insights will come to understand Tarot and develop as a good reader. As an author with over forty years of Tarot experience, I found new insights and inspirations set like jewels within the teachings.”R. J. Stewart, creator and designer of The Merlin Tarot & The Dreampower Tarot“Incisively practical, this book is focused squarely on lifting off the ground beginners at Tarot, but those already airborne will discover a cockpit bristling with original devices for elevating their skills towards a professional level, addressing ethics and etiquette as well as technique. A ponderous exploration of Tarot symbolism is certainly not this book’s style, but the tips, tricks, and conceptual frameworks and tools that Gilbert so generously shares are unlikely to disappoint anyone wanting to boost the quality and efficacy of their Tarot readings.”Duncan Barford, author of Occult Experiments in the Home

• INTRODUCTIONCHAPTER 1 First steps in tarotCHAPTER 2 Beginning tarot readingsCHAPTER 3 One-card tarot readingsCHAPTER 4 Dynamic Elemental SpreadsCHAPTER 5 Tarot and numerologyCHAPTER 6 Tarot and astrologyCHAPTER 7 Tarot dignitiesCHAPTER 8 How to develop your intuitionCHAPTER 9 How to really learn tarotCHAPTER 10 The seven-day tarot spreadINDEX