The Great Work Book - Journal for Tarot Symbolism

The Great Work Book is a unique blend of a tarot journal, logbook, and activity book, designed to organize information for tarot study.

Developed with the belief that writing by hand accelerates learning and reinforces memory, this DIY encyclopedia's specialized journal pages and activities are a great companion for memorizing tarot symbols and meanings, logging personal insights, and discovering the interconnected relationships among the cards, planets, elements, zodiac, and the Tree of Life.

It features over 250 pages, including 17 tarot-related activities on Astrology and Qabalah, journal pages for each tarot card, Zodiac sign, and Tree of Life position, as well as symbol, color, and deck-reference charts.

The Great Work Book Includes:

• A build-your-own Table of Contents

• Tarot Journal with two facing pages, sidebars for common astrology and Qabalistic attributes, and ample free-writing space for your personal insights.

• Astrology Journal with a page for each Zodiac sign, which includes a sidebar for common attributes and ample free-writing space.

• Qabalistic Journal with a page for each position on the Tree of Life, and includes a sidebar for common attributes and ample free-writing space.

The Great Work Book has 17 tarot-related activities, including:

• Astrological Symbols

• Minor Arcana and the Decans

• Astrology of the Major Arcana (Trump Cards)

• Astrology of the Aces & Court Cards

• Tarot and the Zodiac Wheel

• Zodiac Wheel Practice

• Astrology of the Tarot (Fold-out Zodiac Wheel Poster)

• Hebrew Letters and the Tetragrammaton

• The Parts of the Qabalah

• Connecting the Sephiroth and Paths

• Models of the Four Worlds

• Major Arcana: Paths and Colors of the Qabalah

• Court Cards: Four Worlds & The Tetragrammaton

• Colors of the Four Worlds

• Minor Arcana: Sephiroth, Color, and the Four Worlds

• Tree of Life Practice

• Tarot and the Tree of Life (Fold-out Tree of Life Poster)

From the creator…

The Great Work Book is a combination journal, logbook, and DIY encyclopedia for students of tarot. I created this project initially for my own tarot study after journaling became a disjointed way to track my studies over the years. 

I began entering data into spreadsheets to compare the astrological and Qabalistic symbolism of the cards, and a new way of looking at the cards began to emerge. I decided to create a book from my spreadsheet's data, with space for logging further study, and what would become The Great Work Book was born. 

I spent the next two years designing, writing, studying, and prototyping the book. I wanted the book to hold space for the common symbolism in traditional tarot decks while allowing each student to customize it for their studies. I also wanted the book to have a structure that offered easy cross-referencing from multiple angles. To this end, I developed a series of activities that allowed students to fill in information from their chosen tarot deck. Some of these became too long to fit on a single page, so I created a fold-out system for those pages. I then developed specialized journal pages with sidebars for common information and space for free-writing.

For the book's physical structure, I chose wire-o binding for ease of writing. I use the concealed-wire binding method so the book has a presentable spine, and the front and back covers are double-folded for stability. I use high-quality opaque papers throughout to withstand writing and coloring. The covers and pages are printed at a local printer, hand-assembled, and bound in our studio.

The book borrows its title from Aleister Crowley’s term "The Great Work," which describes an individual's pursuit of spiritual identity.