i bought my first tarot cards

[louise_holm]

well i'll start of my telling you about them.i saw them in a shop 2 weeks ago and just connected with them so i saved up £15 and bought them. They are called the art nouveu (cant spell!) tarot cards by matt myers and the pictures are simple but beautifull. First of does anyone have any tips for memorising the meanings of the cards as you know there are alot,and second im not sure exactly how you do readings for yourself. i also have a personal problem my mam actually thinks i'm mad she even tried to embarras me yesterday at her friends house by making me tell them what i bought and then they had this big speech about how easy it is to get into the wrong the side of magick so is there any ways that you shouldn't use tarot cards for?
phew done!

[louise_holm]

CRAP! sorry i never meant for three threads to be started!! sorry sorry sorry!

[Zephyrstorm]

That was the first deck I ever bought too. I still use it. It truly is one of the most beautiful I've seen.

For now, I'd work on getting familiar with the deck. Just play with it. Pull out your favorite cards, and ask yourself what you like about them. Then put them back, pull out the cards that you don't like and do the same thing.

Look at the stories that the suits illustrate. Which story do you like the most? (for those who don't know this deck, the suits tell a story about couples... the Cups tells a love story, Swords a tragedy, wands a story about responsibilities, and coins about working and money.)

Just get to know the imagery a bit by studying them and playing with them. Sort them in different ways. What cards seem sad to you? happy? loving? dark? violent?

Then start looking at what the cards mean to you without looking at the book: so for example, the Fool in this deck is watching a butterfly between his hands while about to walk off a cliff - what do you think that might mean?
Then look at the book and see how close you are to the artist and author's idea - if you aren't close, don't sweat it. Just try to see the card from the creator's perspective.

Take your time. Rather than using the Celtic Cross Spread that's at the end of the little white book, I suggest doing a one card spread or a three card spread at first.
Ask your question and draw the card for the one-card spread.
For the three card spread, the most common way to see the cards is this:
1. The past of the question or situation.
2. the present of the question or situation.
3. what might happen in the future.

good luck.