Aeon418
If you're working with Golden Dawn based decks it's not really necessary to start from scratch. A lot of the knowledge you aquire along the way is directly transferable between Golden Dawn decks, even if the decks look radically different.I thought best to start from scratch, so to speak
The Thoth and the RWS might look like they are worlds apart, but the same system of qabalistic and astrological correspondences under-pins each deck. And it is from this system that the core meanings for the cards are derived. Once you understand this you will be able to see how a lot of information written for one Golden Dawn deck is directly applicable to another Golden Dawn based deck.
If you want an example take a look at the RWS Judgement and the Thoth Aeon cards. Radically different designs, but how come the core meanings for these cards are practically identical? Because each card draws it's core meaning from the Hebrew letter, Shin, and the element of Fire. The differences in the artwork are shading and nuance on top of the basic core meaning.