Learning a New Deck

When does one know when one is ready to learn a new deck? Is it just the desire to learn it that decides?

thanks for any input

Hi Cormac,

Yes the desire to learn decides. But what I find interesting is to think about why and when this desire is there. I don't collect decks. Well, maybe I do, but not for collecting reasons. The decks I have are imho gems to read with. So if I see a deck which could be a supplement for the styles of decks I have, and for my readingstyle and querents, I might consider obtaining the particular deck. And that is where the desire starts, from that moment my collection is not complete without that deck. And when I get it I need to learn how to work with the deck because that is what I want it for. So with buying or trading the learning starts. Occasionally it happens with two decks at a time. That is the most I can handle at the same time.

Blessings

Hi Cormac

I have on recently gotten a second deck of tarot cards, after like 6 yrs with just one!
I felt a strong urge to learn something new, i am finding it a real challenge to work with my new deck (Fey deck by the way), since i know my other cards like the back of my hand, finding different interpretations for cards is very exciting but a little weird (??)
anyway i guess that doesn't really answer yr question...i think that if you want to get a new deck, if one is really calling to you, definently get it

julie

I haven't had a choice lately... seems like this past year someone is giving me a deck or two every few months.
What else can I do but learn to use them?

It's a trip... I've gotten 5 new decks since February and haven't bought one of them!!!
Life can be so sweet sometimes.

When you find a deck that you can look at and say, "I understand that card! ooo, look at that, I never thought about it that way..." And want to examine them closer, it is time to get take it home to play.

I, as I often say, am serially monogamous. When I started, I felt bad I couldn't find a deck besides the RWS that I liked. I would talk to people:

others: "Oh, you read tarot, too? which deck do you use? I use The esoteric tarot of 1942 of the cat people, what deck do you use?"

Me: "oh, I just use the Rider-Waite deck."

Others: "Oh. (Long uncomforable pause) well, aren't tarot cards wonderful?

I was relieved when the Robin Wood came out and I found a deck that talked to me other than the RWS.
Ace

When I see a deck here that I just HAVE to have. When I unwrap it (after finally getting it cause the Aus post system can be quite slow) and while i am looking at the cards and writing down my notes on them and then if I return to them within a few days I am ready to really learn with them. There have been purchases that just ended up sitting unused for a month or two or even a year before i had the urge to study them.

I think when I feel stagnant with the decks I have, I start looking around for another deck. Also, I'm a big believe in using different decks for different types of question. When I think of a question and I don't have a deck to match it, I know it might be time to start shopping around. (Example: lately I've been wanting to ask a lot of questions about emotions/spirituality, but I didn't have a deck that felt right for the questions I wanted to ask. Then, along came the Robin Wood, and my questions were answered. )

I have the urge to get to know a new deck when I get really comfortable with the deck or decks I'm using. For quite a while now I've used one main primary deck and its given me the confidence to try out other decks - some like the Gilded and the Herbal I've took to but others like the Gill and the Gothic (Vargo) are hard work.

When I get a new deck I go through it and see if any of the images match the symbolism I already know, I keep a notebook handy and write down any cards that speak to me or write down the impressions that I get from cards that don't match the symbolism I already know.

Some decks I'll never be able to read with but the artwork is so interesting or attractive that its a learning curve each time I get it out. The Gothic Tarot of the Vampires (LoS) is one of these lol

I usually see the new decks that come here,and some I can´t resist.Like the Animals Divine(got it for my mum),now it´s the Shakespeare Oracle(a tarot really),and soon,very soon the wonderful Fairy Tale Tarot by baba-prague.I think I will settle down then,and really play with The Fairy Tale Tarot for a long time.

Only a few decks

I have only a few decks after being into tarot for a long time. My last new deck was the Fey Tarot. This deck was quite different from my Waite-Smith, Robin Wood, Witches Tarot and ToP. The appeal wasn't due to glitzy artwork and coloring, although the Fey is quite nice in those terms. The Fey offered a different view and level of "seeing" life in more than just physical terms.

It has a unique concept approach and also has the artwork to bring that concept to life. It is a unique deck. I've never heard anyone refer to it as a "clone" of some other deck -- in fact, it may represent a new path in Tarot development as a tool to raise the reading and understanding level of the reader. Dave