swedishfish612
Do you dive right in and start reading with it, or do you study it first? I imagine it would depend on the deck and if it's a system you're already familiar with, but I'm curious what other folks do.
How do you approach a new deck?
Le Fanu
I need some days' familiarity with it first. I also like to keep the cards in order for a while so I can get familiar with its structure and how it develops (different to how I used to be; instant shuffling!)
I'm sure I could read with a deck right off the bat if I wanted to but I like to have a few days of getting familiar with it first. If I have a companion book, I will often read the companion book before I even shuffle and try reading with it. Others will probably find that very bizarre...
I'm sure I could read with a deck right off the bat if I wanted to but I like to have a few days of getting familiar with it first. If I have a companion book, I will often read the companion book before I even shuffle and try reading with it. Others will probably find that very bizarre...
Barleywine
I spend some time looking at the cards, getting a feel for them individually and as a sequence. I will probably also browse through the LWB to see how "standard" it is.Then I try a reading or two for myself to see how they "play." That's usually the make-or-break moment. If they are fluid and conversational, I'm comfortable reading for others with them. I may also read for my wife first, if I manage to convince her that any deck is worth reading with beside the Thoth 
.
.marimorimo
First I check the cards to see if there are any missing (while admiring them at the same time), put them in order, shuffle, then do a new deck interview.
After the interview, I put the cards back in order. I then proceed to read the companion book or LWB. I almost never use a deck until I have read at least half of the accompanying guide (a quick affair with LoS decks). After I've read most of it, I feel more confident and start using the deck for readings.
...And this 'ritual' (more like a compulsion) is probably the reason why I still haven't gone around to using my Osho Zen which I've had for 7 years now. The companion book I have is in Japanese, and it would take a while for me to read through all of it! I'm itching to read with it soon though!
(If anyone would like to swap out our donate their Osho Zen book, please send it my way
)
After the interview, I put the cards back in order. I then proceed to read the companion book or LWB. I almost never use a deck until I have read at least half of the accompanying guide (a quick affair with LoS decks). After I've read most of it, I feel more confident and start using the deck for readings.
...And this 'ritual' (more like a compulsion) is probably the reason why I still haven't gone around to using my Osho Zen which I've had for 7 years now. The companion book I have is in Japanese, and it would take a while for me to read through all of it! I'm itching to read with it soon though!
(If anyone would like to swap out our donate their Osho Zen book, please send it my way
)PAMUYA
I do this, but I rarely read the companion book. I do have a long hard look at the deck in order before shuffling. I do have a friend whom I normally will do the first reading with the new deck.
swedishfish612
I'm pretty new, so I had wondered if my approach is different because of that. I worked with my first deck off and on for 4 years, but I just jumped in. Problem is, I never let myself learn my cards and so I had to rely on my books for looking up meanings. I never just sat down with the deck and went through it, card by card. So if one day I pulled, say, the Magician, I might be looking at that card for the first time even though I'd owned my deck for months!
When I started studying Tarot more seriously a few months ago with a new deck, I didn't even do daily draws until I'd been through the whole deck. I started a journal and I noted my impressions of the card first. Then I'd look up what the deck creator said in the LWB. Last, I'd look up traditional meanings for the card in my Joan Bunning book.
Now that I've got my first RWS, I wondered it was silly for me to go through each card again in this way. Many of them are familiar to me because of my first 2 decks. But I kind of enjoy going through them slowly, making a few notes, that kind of thing. I suppose I could jump right in and do readings with it, but I kind of like the slow approach!
When I started studying Tarot more seriously a few months ago with a new deck, I didn't even do daily draws until I'd been through the whole deck. I started a journal and I noted my impressions of the card first. Then I'd look up what the deck creator said in the LWB. Last, I'd look up traditional meanings for the card in my Joan Bunning book.
Now that I've got my first RWS, I wondered it was silly for me to go through each card again in this way. Many of them are familiar to me because of my first 2 decks. But I kind of enjoy going through them slowly, making a few notes, that kind of thing. I suppose I could jump right in and do readings with it, but I kind of like the slow approach!
shadowdancer
mmm, approach to a new deck. Usually I:
** carry it around for a while.
** Have it on the sofa with me so I can get the feel of shuffling it whilst doing something else - a sort of subconscious thing I guess.
** Have a look through and brainstorm each card to see what jumps out.
** Intend to read any accompanying book, then give up after about 10 cards. It has to be a seriously fun book for me to get past that initial enthusiasm and subsequent cooling off period.
** Look up any new posts on AT about the deck to see how it resonates with others.
**Offer a few readings with it so I can get a feel of how it works in the field so to speak.
That's about it There have been maybe 7 or 8 decks I really did dive into beyond this point. Two I ended up writing about and they become either lwb's or follow up books used by the deck creator. One I wrote about for my own fun (zombie) and another I wrote up as a complete deck study and all those musings were posted here in the study forum. (Steampunk). Another deck I started to colour on paintshop pro, but as it was not a deck I felt would be a long term regular deck, I abandoned that endeavour. It is one I recommend though, and if I ever had another b/w deck that really did sing to me I would repeat the exercise and follow through.
Davina
Davina
** carry it around for a while.
** Have it on the sofa with me so I can get the feel of shuffling it whilst doing something else - a sort of subconscious thing I guess.
** Have a look through and brainstorm each card to see what jumps out.
** Intend to read any accompanying book, then give up after about 10 cards. It has to be a seriously fun book for me to get past that initial enthusiasm and subsequent cooling off period.
** Look up any new posts on AT about the deck to see how it resonates with others.
**Offer a few readings with it so I can get a feel of how it works in the field so to speak.
That's about it
There have been maybe 7 or 8 decks I really did dive into beyond this point. Two I ended up writing about and they become either lwb's or follow up books used by the deck creator. One I wrote about for my own fun (zombie) and another I wrote up as a complete deck study and all those musings were posted here in the study forum. (Steampunk). Another deck I started to colour on paintshop pro, but as it was not a deck I felt would be a long term regular deck, I abandoned that endeavour. It is one I recommend though, and if I ever had another b/w deck that really did sing to me I would repeat the exercise and follow through.Davina
Davina
canid
Nuh uh! I do that too, sometimes you get a new take from someone else's perspective. I want to savor a new deck, stretch it out. First I'll briefly look at each card. I don't think shuffling over & over will truly randomize a deck that's in order, so I hold the deck in my hand & look at the top card, then randomly put it back in the deck, after I've really scrutinized the card. I try to stagger where I slide it - with same suits: middle, end, toward the front, etc. of the deck, so I know when I'm done there's no way the King & Queen of Cups can be together, unless it was by accident & they were meant to be. During the process of this is when I learn the deck. Well, not learn learn it but it helps me to acclimate. It is time consuming - 78 cards.
ThunderWolf
I'm pretty happy with the deck I use and don't often vary from that one. When I do it's the Robin Wood Tarot. So the new decks I get are generally just part of a collection that I enjoy looking at.
In the past, however, I would go through the entire deck, card by card, keeping them in order. That was just to get acquainted with the deck.
Then I would get a 78 page notebook like used in grade school, and I would start at the beginning of the deck giving one page to each card.
I would then study the symbolism I saw on the card making notes and keywords in the notebook. This not only helped me remember what I saw in each card but would allow me to refresh my memory if I felt I was missing something later on.
Once I had gone through that process I would watch TV or listen to music and just mindlessly shuffle the deck over and over to get my energies into it. (Some people like to sleep with it under their pillows, but I just shuffled the deck--a lot!)
In the past, however, I would go through the entire deck, card by card, keeping them in order. That was just to get acquainted with the deck.
Then I would get a 78 page notebook like used in grade school, and I would start at the beginning of the deck giving one page to each card.
I would then study the symbolism I saw on the card making notes and keywords in the notebook. This not only helped me remember what I saw in each card but would allow me to refresh my memory if I felt I was missing something later on.
Once I had gone through that process I would watch TV or listen to music and just mindlessly shuffle the deck over and over to get my energies into it. (Some people like to sleep with it under their pillows, but I just shuffled the deck--a lot!)
magpie9
First I mindlessly, without really looking at the cards put it in order if it's not. Then over the next few days I slowly look through the cards noticing details differences from other decks similarities, interesting ideas, new ways of working with the symbolism....and judging the art.
Then I start looking in the book or LWB reading bits looking up cards that are interesting....I'm realizing it's a really slow approach....! Then I start doing little one card and 3 card readings, see how smoothly that goes, how it feels, how they read. With something that's a very close RWS clone, this process gets speeded up...I probably won't mess with the book until further down the line, or only on intriguing cards. With decks with different systems or wide variations on RWS this can take weeks before I just read with it.
Unless it's a really far-out deck like universal fantasy or circle of life..those I just pick up and read and don't look back! Now, why I can't do that with the MaryL or Silicone Dawn, I dunno!Maybe it's a different kind of Far Out?? Too Far Out?
Then I start looking in the book or LWB reading bits looking up cards that are interesting....I'm realizing it's a really slow approach....! Then I start doing little one card and 3 card readings, see how smoothly that goes, how it feels, how they read. With something that's a very close RWS clone, this process gets speeded up...I probably won't mess with the book until further down the line, or only on intriguing cards. With decks with different systems or wide variations on RWS this can take weeks before I just read with it.
Unless it's a really far-out deck like universal fantasy or circle of life..those I just pick up and read and don't look back! Now, why I can't do that with the MaryL or Silicone Dawn, I dunno!Maybe it's a different kind of Far Out?? Too Far Out?
