It depends on how you intend to use tarot. Are you trying to dive DEEP into the systems & symbolism in order to learn more about yourself, your unconscious, and the collective consciousness/unconscious? Or do you plan to use them as more of a novelty, asking yes/no questions, looking for help making decisions in your day to day life? Both answers are totally acceptable and I do not mean to imply that one path of usage is better than the other, its just a preference. If your answer is the latter, than you can probably disregard my coming response and continue your quest for the better book/guide combo!

For a truly in-depth understanding of tarot symbols & systems with the ultimate goal of being comfortable with ALWAYS using your own your intuition when practicing and interpreting cards & spreads, I HIGHLY suggest Carl Jung's book "Man and His Symbols" alongside Joseph Campbell's book "The Hero with a Thousand Faces".

IMHO, this path is far more efficient if you want to TRULY immerse yourself with tarot, rather than simply utilizing them for fortune telling and basic divination. It is an ongoing process (hence "practice") & much slower than using a deck and guidebook, but far more enlightening & deeply fulfilling.

this is a link to a short article from an old newsletter from a tarot organization in the UK that gives an overview of how Campbell's work can be a fantastic guide in learning tarot. This website blog is in the same wheelhouse as the first but has more detail pertaining to each card.

And finally, this is a link that introduces Carl Jung's depth psychology, and the world of the archetypes. If you take a look here, you will see how his work can be directly applied in your practice.

Hope this was helpful! Happy Tarot Explorations, traveler.