Advice on types of decks please?

[ladyrowan]

Question from a complete novice here,

I've seen recommedations in various threads about good decks to use, and wondered if mine would be any good, or should i buy a deck that 'calls' to me?
I don't see any point in learning with a set that are no good, but if it doesn't really matter what the cards are I'll give it a go.

I got mine as a free gift with something i bought many years ago, but they don't look like any i've seen people use, and the descriptions don't match any cards i've seen mentioned in here. They seem almost like a 'toy' set, if you know what i mean.

The leaflet says they're a copy of the cards used by Mlle Lenormand, apparently she was famous in France in the 19th century?

There's 36 cards with a picture and a little verse explaing the meaning on each one. One example of a card is one i picked out for someone this morning - No. 16, picture of stars, and the verse reads:
One shining star alone in the skies
Bodes joy from afar where happiness lies.
When clouds obstruct the star from sight,
A chance of luck befalls tonight.

(the first bit was a bit uncanny, the person i was thinking about at the time lives a long long way from me! It's only the 2nd time I've looked at these cards, the 1st reading i done for myself years ago turned out to be really accurate!)


When you've finished laughing, perhaps you could give me your opinions on this deck please? 8O

BB

[loopy]

These cuties? http://www.aeclectic.net/tarot/lenormand/index.html

:D

I'm not sure-- no personal experience with the deck, but if you like them, use 'em. :D

I might go for a full 78-card set, but again, it all depends on you.

I don't think one deck is better or easier than another. One might be easier to grasp, definition-wise, but if you don't really feel a connection to them, they're as good as worthless.

Just go with your gut. That'll probably give you the best results. :D

That's my two cents, anyhow. :)

[ladyrowan]

Originally posted by loopy
These cuties? http://www.aeclectic.net/tarot/lenormand/index.html:D


Yes, that's the ones. There's no review of them on the site - looks like no-one uses them! Oh well, guess I've always been different! 8O
Anyway, can't decide whether they were sent to me for a reason, like i'd probably not have thought of getting any for myself!

BB

[Dagda Moon~Lily]

I agree with Loopy, if the deck doesn't draw/call/fascinate you, it will be MUCH more difficult to learn the what it is the cards are trying to convey to you. It can be done, but it would take a great deal of effort from you.....and alot of patience! ;)

I took a peek at the link Loopy posted, and they are very beautiful cards!

If you are getting accurate readings with the deck you are using, I see no reason to discontinue using them! I would only suggest getting a new deck if you are truely drawn to them. ....As humans, we grow and change....and so do our perceptions, sometimes a new/different deck is just what we need if we feel we are in rut. ;)

[Arduinna]

Hi,

Just my personal opinion, but I would get a traditional 78 card deck. Any one that speaks to you is fine. Most people I know have started with the Rider Waite deck. And most tarot books I have are based in that deck, or variation there of. I feel starting with a traditional deck helped me learn the core themes of the tarot. Then it is easy to move to less traditional decks and see the differences.

You can still use the deck you have, but it won't be the same as a 78 card deck.

Bright Blessings

[ladyrowan]

Ummm, are you trying to tell me that i'd have to learn, and remember, the names and meanings of 78 cards?? :eek:

<<<walks away scratching head,
makes a mental note -
forget the cards, they're too hard,
buy a crystal ball instead>>>


8O

BB

[Dagda Moon~Lily]

IMHO, throw out the books.....and just go by the impressions that the cards give you. One card has many meanings.....and it's different for everyone! The only reason I would suggest learning traditional means is for a jumping off place. If you get stumped, you have the traditional meanings to start with, which will help bring out the meaning of the card for you.

On the Rider Waite deck and it's look-a-like decks, the Major Arcana names are printed on the card, so you don't have to memorize names of cards. When you look at a card, it will invoke feelings in you, pay attention to everything you feel and the drifting little thoughts that pass through your mind...I feel these are the whispers of the Tarot.

:D

[ladyrowan]

OK, I'll stick with it. In the end it'll be much easier than carrying a crystal ball around with me anyway! hehe

I really don't think the ones i've got are the right ones for me, i tend to read the little verse and try to read some meaning into them. I'm sure that's not the way it should work.

Will go and look for some next payday - they're so expensive here!

BB

[loopy]

Ditto to what Dagda said. :)

Good luck! :D:D

Today is a weird day.

[Dagda Moon~Lily]

Originally posted by ladyrowan
OK, I'll stick with it. In the end it'll be much easier than carrying a crystal ball around with me anyway! hehe

I really don't think the ones i've got are the right ones for me, i tend to read the little verse and try to read some meaning into them. I'm sure that's not the way it should work.

Will go and look for some next payday - they're so expensive here!

BB

I go by the pictures on the cards, what's in the picture, what draws my eye, what the figures are doing and feeling.....that type of thing.

If it's an option, you could always order a deck online.
This is a good site to "preview" a couple cards from popular decks...and there's plenty to look though!

http://www.aeclectic.net/tarot/tarota.html

If you find one you like, it gives you a link to "order" the deck from Amazon.com ...just a thought anyways. ;)

:D

[rantnraven]

How DODe. Loose the books and read the card. The book is just anothers impression of what is "Should" mean or, what it means to them. Use your heart and deside what they mean - and remember, they can mean something different in each reading.

RnR

Follow your heart.

Now, cut the deck and go to work.

[ladyrowan]

Originally posted by rantnraven
Now, cut the deck and go to work.

Ooooh Rant, you're so.. um, so......authorititive!! :cool:

BB

[stella01904]

I really don't think the ones i've got are the right ones for me, i tend to read the little verse and try to read some meaning into them. I'm sure that's not the way it should work.
MM ~ It's not, and neither is all that "near" and "far" stuff in the LWB.
Just look at the pictures, free associate, and make up a story. Let's say you have the Dog, a friendship and loyalty card, and the Tree. This could mean a deeply rooted friendhip that has been there for years. On the other side of the Dog you might have the Clouds, with the dark side facing the Dog. This would mean impending trouble for the friend, if the dark side of the clouds were facing the Tree it might be the friendship itself that was threatened.
See how easy these cards are?
All the european readers I've met online read like that, not the way the LWB's say.
BB, Stella

[watchman11]

I got Titania's fortune cards based on Lenormand's deck. The cards are ugly compared to the original but readings are insightful on practical issues like you said. They also tend to give the chronology of events.

I also have a chart commenting on each and every 2-card association. It's available here (http://www.msnusers.com/masternumbergathering/Documents/fortune%20cards.xls).

[Foxbarking]

I personally read the Robin Wood deck, but it's always whatever speaks to you.

[watchman11]

MM ~ That's an interesting deck! I'm not crazy about the colored photonegative images, either, but I saw something very interesting done with it once. A friend of mine scanned them and got them to flash, one after another, at a fraction of a second each. Your reading consisted of the cards you remembered seeing. They were perfect for that!Thanks for the link! It wants me to sign in, though. I'll have to register - but it sounds interesting enough to do that!
The La Strega forum
http://tinyurl.com/dwmb3
is back up but the adminstrators are thinking about starting a new forum on Invision, there's been so much trouble with this one going down. But we are all there, meantime, and I'll post the new link when it materialises.

Yes, the colors look like she let her grand-daughter play around with photoshop lol.

Sorry about the sign up thing, I'm used to being logged automatically. I'll try looking for an ftp account this week.

Saw the Lenormand board on your site. I'll pop in at some point. :)

[watchman11]

link update (http://perso.wanadoo.fr/watchman11/fortunecards.xls)

[stella01904]

Yes, the colors look like she let her grand-daughter play around with photoshop lol.MM ~ I am reminded of 80's neon-colored t-shirts! :hahugh:

Sorry about the sign up thing,Thanks for the link update! I'll look these over and come back...


Saw the Lenormand board on your site. I'll pop in at some point. :)You are most welcome to do that! We love discussing Lenormand.
On the one hand, it is very European, but on the other hand, it is also popular among Umbanda practitioners in Brazil - they correspond the cards to Orishas and Exu spirits, so there is something very universal about it. I'm surprised it hasn't caught on in the US.
BB, Stella

[CloeOtter]

Just so there is no confussion, Lenormand cards are not a tarot deck. Reading the thred it did not seem clear to some that it is a different system or oracle. Do not get me wrong here I use a variety of Decks, oracles, tarot and fortune telling cards. Just thought it should be stated clearly that is all. The Lenormand card oracle has 35 or 36 cards and is not set up as tarot with magor and minor arcana spilt and a total of 78 cards in a deck. And if I remmember correctly, though this really does not matter nor effect its usefullness, Lenormand oracle came out and was put in to use some time after tarot decks. Anyways, for a tool of phocus or devination it works as well as any. Its more a matter of what a person works best with to open the senses and recieves carrect info.

(sorry about spelling bad day)

peace, Cloeotter

[stella01904]

Just so there is no confussion, Lenormand cards are not a tarot deck. ...Just thought it should be stated clearly that is all. The Lenormand card oracle has 35 or 36 cards and is not set up as tarot with magor and minor arcana spilt and a total of 78 cards in a deck. MM ~ You are absolutely correct, it is not. Since Lenormand is based on some system of reading a partial deck of playing cards, they may share a common ancestry, but the methods of interpretation diverged long before Lenormand was developed. There is no point in trying to match the Rider to the Nine of Cups (though the Rider can be a very good card to get in a spread!)
BB, Stella

[Absit_Invidia]

I would agree with the earlier posts. Take your time, look at the cards in various decks, and see which cards speak to you...imagery, feelings, and intuitive hits. What works for one person, does not necessarily work for another.

My favorite deck is the Thoth deck. It contains every planetary and/or elemental attribution, Hebrew letter assignment, path on the Tree of Life, and the color schemes are all listed at the beginning of each card entry, along with the decanates associated with the card (if pertinent).

Good Luck!

[Aidron]

I'm not sure if it has been touched upon yet as I'm unable to read the posts in this thread at the moment, but consider the foundations of the tarot in selecting the most appropriate deck for yourself. One would be the elemental correspondences to the suits. Now, most tarot decks attribute swords to Air and wands to Fire, and if this association makes sense for you then you'll have a much larger selection of decks to choose from. If, however, are you like me and associate wands with Air and swords with Fire, you'll only have roughly 10 or so decks to choose from.

Of course, there are other elemental associations for the suits and I dare say that there has been a deck created for every correlation imaginable. But if you approach deck selection from basic principles that are in line with your own fundamental ideas you'll have a much easier time in selecting a deck.

Another consideration is numbering. Justice and Strength are the two that are often reversed, with Justice being 8 or 11 in most decks and Strength being 8 or 11 in most decks. Other numberings are not as common, but do exist. This would be most critical from a numerological point of view.

You also have to consider the major arcana. Some use varying names for similar cards (Fortitude for Strength, as an example). Other times, the similarities are less obvious (Art in place of Temperance for example).

But overall, the most notable foundations in a tarot deck, besides any underlying themes (vampires, dragons, mythologies, etc.) are the elements in regards to the suits and the numbering/placement.

(Though quite honestly, I'm probably going to think of one or two more critical fundamentals within the tarot an hour from now... I'm having a brain fog day. This gives you a good start though.)

[stella01904]

One would be the elemental correspondences to the suits. Now, most tarot decks attribute swords to Air and wands to Fire, and if this association makes sense for you then you'll have a much larger selection of decks to choose from. If, however, are you like me and associate wands with Air and swords with Fire, you'll only have roughly 10 or so decks to choose from.
MM ~ Actually I was thinking of this as a Lenormand thread, but you bring up such a great point!

When I do rituals, Wands are East and Air, my Blade is South and Fire. A wand would not last long in a Fire, but a blade is forged there. This is set into my energy field, so to speak, it is the way I operate.

I have learned to be flexible with correspondences, to a point, anything can be anywhere, and if I am reading Rider Waite Smith then Wands are Fire, and the King has salamanders all over him, I can't change it.

I prefer Marseilles. You can assign your own elemental correspondences. I don't know of any Tarot decks (though the Well Worn Path resonates perfectly with what I am doing!) that purposely use the Wands-Air, Swords-Fire correspondence, would you mind listing some? For our edification. :lol:
BB, Stella

[Aidron]

Here are some (http://www.aeclectic.net/tarot/cards/changed-suit-element-associations.shtml)

Though there are a few others not mentioned there, so do search around.

[stella01904]

MM ~ Thanks! (Good old ATF, why didn't I think of that...:lol:)

I'll stick with my Marseilles (and WWP, and Lenormands, and Sibillas...no more decks for awhile!:drinking: Enough!) but this is great to know. Thanks again!
BB, Stella