Tarot has been much more mainstream and popular in the last few years than it has been in the past. It’s an interesting phenomenon, given how taboo it was to talk about when I started getting into spiritual practices as a teenager a couple of decades ago. There’ve been a number of great tarot books to get you started, and even since we wrote about that and about gorgeous tarot and oracle cards, so many more resources and decks have emerged (I won’t lie about how smitten I am with the board book Tarot for Baby, even though it’s a concept for the adults and not the babies).
There’s a lot of history to the practice of tarot, which you can read about in the above-linked pieces. In addition to the benefits of how tarot can help with mindfulness, journaling, and grounding oneself, tarot is simply a lot of fun. While a wide array of decks exist to entertain most any aesthetic or interest, the meaning of the cards remains similar across them. This means that each of the cards is symbolic of something, though what it means or how it might play out differs depending on the person using the cards, the spread used for the cards, and the reader’s interpretation.
It’s those symbols that allow tarot cards to grow beyond their deck, into clever jewelry, tote bags, tops, and more — and for readers, there are so many fun and, indeed, powerful bookish tarot goods out there. It may feel at odds for something that holds within it spiritual power and insight to also be manufactured for consumerism, but as you’ll see below, these creators are all independent, small businesses who have found ways to both respect the practices, as well as share them for more people to explore. The same is to be said about things like witchy bookish goods: fun, but with the potential to introduce and encourage understanding a practice or symbology in new, unexpected, and transformative ways.
Many of these goods are going to be bookmarks, as there are so many possibilities with how to shape bookmarks to feature the tarot. I’ve not included either tarot decks nor goods that correspond to books which feature tarot (including Holly Black’s Folk of the Air series nor Maggie Stiefvater’s Raven Boys or Scorpio Races).
Bookish Tarot Goods
The Reader may be the best tarot card for, well, readers. This sweatshirt is excellent. $40, S–5XL
I’m fond of how this bookish Three of Swords sticker looks on a travel mug! $3
What makes these holographic tarot bookmarks more special is that you don’t get to choose which one you receive. It will be intuitively selected for you. $6.50
Sometimes the simpler, the better, as is the case with this tarot bookmark featuring four of the celestial cards. $3
The Reader knows how to pull magic from the pages of a book. $2.50 for this sticker.
Take a tarot card and add a favorite romance trope, then you have this clever T-shirt. $22 and up, size S–3XL men.
The Book Lover bookmark features the reader in their natural habitat, surrounded by moon light, candle light, the stars, and an expanding TBR. $4
The vintage vibes for this take on The Reader shirt make it really pop. $21, S–2XL in women’s sizes.
Maybe you want to choose from among a ton of color options for a take on The Reader as a sweatshirt? You’ve got it. $30, S–5XL
Writerly folks, never fear: you can have your own tarot sticker, too. $3
Keep your book or reader safe with this tarot themed book sleeve. $15 and up, depending on size.
Another option for your tarot bookmark collection is this magnetic and holographic take on The Sun card. $5
And finally, one more tarot bookmark option (which is really two). These gorgeous takes on The Sun and The Star feature gold foil, making them beautifully sparkly and fun. You can get them individually at $7 or grab the pair for $11.
– Kelly Jensen
