Have I gotten myself in a pickel?

I started reading when I was 16 with a simple deck(I didn't even know the name of it just picked them up and started learning, got scared and put them down. Then a decade later picked it up again. I got crowley's thoth deck given to me so that is what I have been learning with for 3 months now. I am taking it easy by only doing upright facing and only 1 meaning per card but now i'm kinda stuck. Should I have started with a different one? It took me 6 hours to go through and assign each card to the deck. I am afraid because I always heard that you never move to a new deck until you know the old inside and out - would i carry my same meanings to a new deck. If not doesn't that get confusing? So confused can anyone shed some light? I do pretty darn good on the thoth but??????

Robinsong said:

I started reading when I was 16 with a simple deck(I didn't even know the name of it just picked them up and started learning, got scared and put them down. Then a decade later picked it up again. I got crowley's thoth deck given to me so that is what I have been learning with for 3 months now. I am taking it easy by only doing upright facing and only 1 meaning per card but now i'm kinda stuck. Should I have started with a different one? It took me 6 hours to go through and assign each card to the deck. I am afraid because I always heard that you never move to a new deck until you know the old inside and out - would i carry my same meanings to a new deck. If not doesn't that get confusing? So confused can anyone shed some light? I do pretty darn good on the thoth but??????

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Welcome to A.T., Robinsong! No, you have no worries about not being able to learn a different deck. It doesn't really matter which deck you begin with, it's only that some decks are easier then others. I do not own the Thoth deck myself, but from what I understand, they are a bit difficult to get use to. If you are feeling frustrated with them, go purchase another deck from the bookstore or new age store near you. Borders bookstores generally have some that you can open and look at, or they will have a book showing the pictures of the cards. you can see if they appeal to you before buying them.

I have some decks that I never could get use to, though I tried often. I moved right from them directly to other decks w/o any problems.

as far as carrying the meanings from one deck to the other-well that really depends on the decks. generally, the meaning for the number of the card and the suit of the card is the same, but if you read intuitively, you can't really carry the same meaning from deck to deck, and you don't need to!

the best system is to really look at the card you are reading, and look for anything that pops out at you-the colors, the overall picture or an obscure thing in the card. whatever seems to pop out at you generally is doing so for a reason, and you 'read' that. sounds difficult, but after you've tried this a few times and continue to practice, it gets much easier and becomes 2nd nature.

don't throw your Thoth away, nor get frustrated with them, and don't worry about going from Thoth to another deck. experiment and enjoy each deck you own. with each different deck, you will see a different message in each card. that is the beauty of tarot. no two decks give the same message!

If you like the Thoth, use it. Use whatever deck you fancy and that you feel you can connect to. There really aren't any "shoulds" -- just follow where your curiosity and spirit take you. Try the Thoth forum on this website. There you will meet many people who can help you; they love that deck and have studied it deeply. I don't like it myself, but it's a popular deck that many people find penetrating.

Are you keeping a daily journal? Have you considered buying a copy of L. Milo DuQuette's book about the Thoth? It's supposed to be the best Thoth book for beginners. Good luck to you!

This will probably confuse you more but here is my answer. As to if you should ever move on to a new deck before you know the old one inside out....depends on your reading style. There are many ways of reading and that is true of some and not of others.

I personally do not believe you should say to someone you should "never" do something in Tarot. To me Tarot is a very individual path and we each have to find our own personal way that calls to us and that works best for us. I don't believe it is right to tell someone else what that is for them.

As for me, the way I read, it is not so much a matter of needing to know a deck fully before moving on. For me, the way I read, the essential is knowing and understanding my method of reading backwards and forwards. Once had it down pat and working for me (although nothing is ever "down pat" per se, we always evolve and learn as we go), my method works equally well with any deck.

I personally do not "learn" decks. I just use my method that I use on them and it works equally well with any deck with images (not so great on non-scenic pips).

That's mainly because I don't really make use of set meanings for the cards but read by analysing imagery. My method works fine for me, and I don't have to learn any decks at all. In fact I have 50 decks or so and I rotate the ones I use on a regular basis (all get used equally) just for that reason, so that each card comes up so rarely that when it does show up I have no clear memory of what it said last time and can read it intuitively with a clear mind and not be hampered by any memory of any set meaning.

By now, I am sure you are completely confused.

Babs

Robinsong said:

It took me 6 hours to go through and assign each card to the deck.

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Did you find these six hours difficult or unpleasant? I'd worry if it took you six days to do this, but not six hours. That would mean, to me, that the deck was challenging--and Thoth is most certainly that. It's not a deck to just flip through in an hour. What matters if is you felt those six hours worth it--if the deck challenged and stimulated you and made you connect with it deeper.

I am afraid because I always heard that you never move to a new deck until you know the old inside and out

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Nonsense. yep. I said it. Nonsense. You can think you know a deck inside and out, and then ten years later find out that there's more to it. There's no being sure that you know a deck "inside and out." So how would you know it was time to move on? Nonsense. You move on when you need or want to move on. As others have said here, sometimes the deck clicks with you and you want to keep using it forever. Sometimes it doesn't, and you put it aside and move on.

would i carry my same meanings to a new deck. If not doesn't that get confusing?

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Depends. Decks do differ. Each creator has their own vision, and gives their deck their own feel. So even "clones" of certain decks--like clones of Rider decks--have difference in feel if nothing else. You bring the broad strokes of meaning along from deck to deck, like the Fool can sometimes mean folly, but you shift on the specifics, like the Thoth deck having Alchemy instead of Temperance...that will make a difference.

Is it confusing? It doesn't have to be. The cards have their images, their names, their numbers. They give you clues and hints and ideas. You don't have to shift meanings by pure memory, let the deck and it's images help you.

From what you're saying, by the by, there's something about the Thoth that clicks for you--so you keep with that deck. And kudos! There are a lot of people who find the Thoth deck too difficult or wild or even scary--it isn't, if you will, a friendly or average deck. If you can connect with it and use it, then you are among a rarer percentage of deck users. Don't worry about it, be proud and give it all the time it needs to teach you its secrets.

Thanks

Thanks for all the help, I really have a strange fondness for the thoth and I don't even know anything about it, it was just given as a gift. I think i'll definantly keep using it but with the knowledge that if I want to switch things up I can, good stuff. Thanks again!

I also have the Thoth. I really love it, I do find it both challenging, and very interesting. I don't think I could ever be done with it, so to speak.
Sometimes I use it, sometimes I use the Universal Waite.
I have other decks, but mostly stick to the two above mentioned.

I think that switching can be very fruitful, and knowing one deck can shed light over your work with other decks. I don't think you should be afraid of trying other decks out - if you should wait until you learned the Thoth so to speak - you would never get around to all the other interesting decks you could think of.

On the other hand - if you have some kind of affinity with or love for the Thoth, it will never let you let it go ;o)

Just my take

Gazel

and well recieved!

If you really like the Thoth, like the other's said, hang on to it.

How about laying out the Major's first. Do you see a story happening? If so, what kind unfolds for you?

Then with the Minor's, how about laying out all the Aces, 2, 3, 4 , 5 ect... What to all the two's, or three's etc... have in common?

Keep playing with them, read all the posts, maybe in a study thread make *perseverance* your moto and keep going until you finish the deck. Make it one suit a week, to write a post about the meaning of each card in a suit.

The more I learn, the more I don't know!!! I bought a book, "Tarot Combinations." I am nowhere near ready for that book yet.