thinking about a deck

[Bittersweet]

ok, im new to wicca, and not v. experienced or skilled, so i was wondering what sort of tarot deck i should get???? im planning on getting one this or next weekend, but do all decks come with an explination as to what cards mean what? i mean, i have a gereral idea about the major arcana, but not of the smaller ones... stuff like the son of pentacles, the three of cups, etc.... and will i get better in time?
Thanx!
Hannah

[bluecat]

I would recommend one of the decks based on the Rider-Waite deck or the Rider-Waite deck itself. I think it is a very sound format for a new user and is, I believe, a very good place to begin.

Blue :cool:

[Vinga]

I started with a Rider-Waite, it might not be as pretty as many other decks but it's got the most basic symbolism which makes it easier to move on to the more elaborate ones because most decks in one way or another is based on the Rider-Waite, and more importantly it's usually the cheapest. Some decks come with a book or booklet with explanations for each card and ways of laying the cards etc written for that particular deck. If the deck you purchase doesn't come with a book, I recommend you buy a general Tarot book separately. I have been doing tarot readings for 15 years and I still use the book to peek in when I need to. A deck has 78 cards, it's more or less impossible to memorize the meaning of each card, and even though you should mainly go on your own intuition, it helps to have some keywords at hand.

If you absolutely don't want the Rider-Waite, you should go with the one that speaks to you. As long as you get familiar with the deck you want to use, any deck can be a beginner deck. It's actually quite important to have a good relationship with your personal deck, after all a tarot reading is a sort of communication between the reader and the cards, and very few people I know have fallen deeply in love with the Rider-Waite (like I said, it's not exactly the fairest in the land). Even those who own an extensive collection of decks will tell you they all have a favourite, one that speaks to them in a special way. Mine is The Lord Of The Rings Tarot, although the Robin Wood deck comes in close second.

[Emerald Sky]

I concur on the Rider-Waite type decks. I prefer the look of the Universal Waite deck. The colors are a bit softer and prettier. I own/use the Robin Wood deck which is also a great beginner deck.

Most decks come with at least a booklet giving some explanation of the cards and their meanings. I bought the Robin Wood deck off of her website and got the book that goes with it. Her book is one of the best (IMO) companion books. It goes into great detail of all the symbols.

My advice - research lots and lots of decks before you make a decision, then choose the one that speaks to you. If you're anything like me you'll want to jump right out and get a deck, but if you take a week to do some good research you'll end up getting the one that "fits" you the best the FIRST time! ;) ...and you can always get a "beginner" deck now to get to know it then buy others later.

Good luck. Let us know which one you end up with!!! :) :sunny: :cool:

[Dagda Moon~Lily]

this site shows a couple cards per deck. There are 250 decks to look at. I think it's a great place to start looking at decks.
http://www.aeclectic.net/tarot/tarota.html

Once you find the deck you like, you can order it from a local book store, or on-line.

I agree that the rider waite is a good beginning, but definately go with a deck that speaks to you! For a companion book, I would recommend "Learn the Tarot" by Joan Bunning. That is the book/website we are using for the Tarot lessons here. :D www.learntarot.com (this way you don't HAVE to buy the book, it's right at your fingertips.)

:sunny:

[bluecat]

I have the graphics of 5 complete decks on my site, including the Rider Waite Deck. You can just go to http://www.bluecatsden.com/bluecat1.html and scroll down until you get to the Tarot section, then click on a link under the name of a deck.

Blue

[Earth Walker]

Rooted in the Earth.... Penetrating the Cosmos

Through the use of universal concepts INFINITE TAROT
presents a timely oracle for everyone.
Inspired images and interpretations beautifully reflect
our modern human experience.

Seventy-six cards and interpretive booklet

www.infinitetarot.com

Why fear ye the Dark Queen, oh men?
She is your renewer.
--Dion Fortune

[Bittersweet]

thanks everyone, due to your your great and wonderful advice i have dutifully decided to check out a rider-waite deck.. at the moment, ill take a look at at the links ASAP!

[Bittersweet]

argh! ive gone through the site, and now, many more questions...
ok, why are there SO MANY different decks? what are they all for?
why are there Christian Tarot cards? sureley they are occult, and really, christianity isnt occult, no?
do you use the different packs for different things?
why are they all drawn differently, or is that the main difference between them?
when choosing, should i choose on looks, or name.. or advise... or what?

[Armitage]

I want the Hello Kitty ones....:P

[Earth Walker]

Originally posted by Armitage
I want the Hello Kitty ones....:P


Me Too. Where are they? :p

[Armitage]

I see them randomly on EBay...Right now I'm too effing broke to get anything though. T_T

[Vinga]

Originally posted by Bittersweet
argh! ive gone through the site, and now, many more questions...
ok, why are there SO MANY different decks? what are they all for?
why are there Christian Tarot cards? sureley they are occult, and really, christianity isnt occult, no?
do you use the different packs for different things?
why are they all drawn differently, or is that the main difference between them?
when choosing, should i choose on looks, or name.. or advise... or what?

Each deck doesn't have it's own purpose, a deck is a deck is a deck... The reason there are so many is because they are published by tons of different companies and artists. Some decks have the regular suites wands, swords, cups and pentacles, others have made up their own names and symbolism. The different pictures on the cards are for provoking certain associations with the reader. For example a card with water on it would often be symbolising the unconscious etc. The picture isn't really what is important, it's what you associate with the picture.

I don't have a good answer to why there are Christian decks, perhaps because tarot has become so popular lately that it isn't always considered 'occult'. There are hundreds of decks based on just as many things. I have a deck based on J.R.R. Tolkien's Lord Of The Rings trilogy, there are the 'Daughters Of The Moon' tarot that only features women on all cards (not one single man in the whole deck), there are decks with mideival artwork and decks with modern artwork (where 'the chariot' is a race car for example). It's all to accomodate everyones taste and style. When choosing a deck you should pick a deck that you like, as simple as that. If it's because you like the art or because the price is right or whatever reason, as long as you like it. Once you've got your deck you should take plenty of time to get to know your deck and it's symbolism. It doesn't matter if the chariot is an old wagon or a race car, it still symbolises the same thing, you should pick the one that makes the most sense to you.

If you're still confused or uncertain, why not buy a book on tarot first and get more familiar with the whole concept before picking your deck?

[Silver Venus]

Great advice Vinga ~ I love your new image :D

Bittersweet ~ Id like to wish you luck in finding your deck and becoming a great Tarot reader!! You will find your deck and grow so much ~ As the moon is Wanning now ~ why dont you put on your reading hat and take this week to read up all you can, then get your deck ~ maybe hold each deck in your hand if you can before you choose ~ If a deck shouts out at you its yours!! And with the New Moon next week ~ Its a perfect time to start using and reading from your Tarot ~ really look and get to know your deck and meditate on each card ~ forget the books ~ you can interperate each card and do a reading straight from your heart!!
Good Luck!! and its great to have you here :sunny:

[Vinga]

Thanks! I try ;)

[Bittersweet]

ok, thanx everyone!!!
everything is so much clearer now.. but still, i have a few more questions..ok, here goes
is it customary to have more than one tarot deck? of course, im not going to have more than one yet.. but ive heard poeple talking about their FAVOURITES.. and how do you even choose those?
how do you meditate on cards? do you just sit down and think about the meanings of the card, or just think ABOUT the card?
and then, one more...
a friend of mine said the only BAD card was the tower.. is this true, and why?
thanks!!!
hannah

[Emy]

I am using Gill, and also Cosmic, I like both but I am not really "overwhelmed" by them... so I thought of making my own Tarot deck one day, what do you think of that? =)

Blessed be

[Dagda Moon~Lily]

Bittersweet:

is it customary to have more than one tarot deck? of course, im not going to have more than one yet.. but ive heard poeple talking about their FAVOURITES.. and how do you even choose those?
how do you meditate on cards? do you just sit down and think about the meanings of the card, or just think ABOUT the card?
and then, one more...
a friend of mine said the only BAD card was the tower.. is this true, and why?

Customary???...more like compulsive! Once you start reading the cards and get into looking at all the decks available, you'll be drawn to more decks. It isn't necessicary to have more than one deck. But I feel sometimes you just "outgrow" the deck you start with. Other decks can be used to enhance your readings....used with your original deck. Favorites come from using more than one deck and deciding which you connect the most with.

To meditate on a card, just take the card out ....start examining it. Ask yourself questions about the card....why is the person doing what they are doing in the card, where did they come from, where are they going. How do they feel. Then try to "become" the person in the card to get a feel for what they are doing and why. The meanings will come from your explorations.

The Tower can seem pretty 'bad' ....it's a card of sudden change, and that is scary for most all people. The change is something you have no control over and can be perceived as devestating. It's also about Downfall, Release and Revelation.

Hope this cleared some things up for you. :D

[Vinga]

Originally posted by Bittersweet
a friend of mine said the only BAD card was the tower..

Well the Devil card isn't all fun and games either. Of course it all depends on how you look at a situation. For example the Death card, most people automatically think it's a 'bad' card, while infact it can represent a lot of good things. The Death card is mainly a card of change and new beginnings and extremely rarely predict someones physical death.
But because of the somewhat dramatical names of these cards, people who aren't familiar with them will look at them as 'bad'. The Tower card doesn't either have to be necessarily bad, sometimes it's just a reminder to build on solid ground.

All cards in a deck can be 'bad', and all cards can be 'good'. It all depends on how the person receiving the reading looks at the situation. A card predicting child birth for example, would probably be a very bad card for you who is still too young for that sort of thing, while for someone struggling with infertility it'd be the best card possible. See what I mean?

[Emerald Sky]

I agree Vinga. I don't necessarily see the tower as a bad card. Of course it depends on the reading. Maybe I'm just too much of an optimist, too because I know from experience that when I "fall from grace and lose everything" it usually for the best. Those are the times that I grow. KWIM?

I think the most "bad" card for me is the ten of swords. I just see this one as utter defeat and hopelessness. The actual "death" of something... (not someone)... like an idea, a project, a hope, a dream, a relationship, etc. That's just my interpretation though.

That's the great thing about the tarot. Yes, there are "standard" meanings, but your readings are *your* readings. Go by what each card means to you at that particular moment. For me, a card can have one meaning most of the time, but in a certain reading, a particular thing or detail might jump out at me from the picture, and the whole meaning of the card will change. That's part of the reason I love the Robin Wood tarot... there's so much detail in each card and so much symbolism in each detail.

Okay, now I'm rambling. ;)

[Lavender]

Does anyone use the "Wheel of Change" deck? I saw it flipping through the aeclectic tarot site & really liked what I saw. I checked at some of the local places & they can order the cards in for me but they're quite expensive. I will also have to put down a 50% deposit first which I'll lose if I don't want the cards after they bring them in.

[Dagda Moon~Lily]

wow! 50%??!! Yikes! ...but I guess i could understand. I don't know of anyone here that uses that deck. Sorry. :crazy:

I would just really take my time to think about it. Then, if I still felt that I had to have them, I'd get them. :)

[Lavender]

Yeah, that's what I thought too. I'm a bit leery of buying a deck that I haven't held (heheh! after what I've learned here) & am in no hurry right now. I did like the looks of the sample cards that aeclectic had on their site. Right now, I use runes but I also enjoy reading about what the cards mean & have been following the lessons here.

[Lucidia]

i think sometimes... as time passes... we lose a lot of the original symbolism of certain practices. as generations take hold of old traditions and practices, they add their own energy and ideas to it.

the original tarot is long gone.. and just as it has changed into something new, so have we as a race of beings.

there are so many different types of people and different paths of belief. the cards have deep symbolism, but it's the people behind the cards, in my opinion, that make them 'work' for us.

the cards you work with should mean something special to you. the rider deck is a great place to start and i have a rider deck myself. however, once you've establised yourself in the practices of using them, you may feel the need to find a deck that is more of an extention of yourself. I myself am endeavoring to create my own deck (quite a project), and perhaps someday you may feel the need to do that yourself.

remember that you (and the people you read for) are controlling the cards, and the cards should never control you. they are only guiding you from your own energy.

also keep in mind that in a time period where phrases like "phone psychic" and the concept of having 'wicca for dummies' and 'the idiots guide to the occult' are floating around everywhere, we need to realize that the tarot is also VERY commercialized in the eyes of the world. many people will buy a deck without having any REAL knowledge or interest in divination at all. a lot of those decks where designed only to make money, not to help people or pass on the tradition of tarot. This doens't mean that people can't use them (as i've said before, its' not the cards, it is the people holding them), but i think perhaps the symbolism is tainted in some cases....

blessings be with you in your endeavor with the tarot... there are so many wonderful and skilled people here to help you as you learn.

[Dagda Moon~Lily]

Well Said! :)

[MistOfTheSea86]

My beginning Cards were the Thoth cards by Aleister Crowley. But I have heard that He was an evil man with evil intentions. Is this true? Should I get a new deck?

[Lucidia]

if the cards work for you... simply pay no mind the rumors about it's creator... because the only way that negative energy would affect you and your readings is if you choose to take it for truth.

As long as you feel comfortable with your deck, you shouldn't let what other people say about it make you want to change it. The relationship you have with you cards is indeed an intimate one, and any negative feelings can destroy the link you created.

[Silver Venus]

Like with everything in the occult there are allot of different ways of looking at everything ~ what may be somebodies tatse is not anothers... and I think youve just picked the major debatable subject ~ Crowley!
I know allot of people with the Thoth deck and it works very well for them ~ if you like the energy of the deck dont worry about what you have heard about the man....
& Maybe if youve got time ~ do a search on him and read up more so you know the history for yourself... and maybe do a search of the thoth deck too :)