Non Christian decks for beginners?

Thread originally posted on the Aeclectic Tarot Forum on 01 Feb 2002, and now archived in the Forum Library.

Kissa	01 Feb 2002
Hi! I came back to Tarot after a few year break. I had a traditionnal Rider-Waite then and it is said that you get deeply marked by your first deck, well as a matter of fact, obviously I am. This time I've purchased a Morgan-Greer and an Enchanted Tarot (Zerner Farber) because I wanted something different for my new start. I am disappointed with Enchanted Tarot : somehow the colours are not so bright, the designs look small on these huge cards which are anyway far too big to shuffle properly and finally, I get absolutely NO vibrations from it (none, zero, nada). (PLEASE note that I can easily imagine that many people LOVE this deck and disagree with me). Anyway, in the book that came with Morgan Greer deck "The Book of Tarot" (S.Gerulskis-Estes), you can read some Christian meanings in the card description whereas (from what I have read so far), I didn't notice any Chritianity in Enchanted Tarot. So my question is : can you get a beginner deck which doesn't feature Christianity ? Are all Pagan, Wicca decks only for experienced readers ? And if you get used to Christian symbols, are you ever able to read from another deck like Pagan (ok, at that point, I must admit I was blown away by the pics of SACRED CIRCLE, yet I read in a review that it is not a BEGINNER's deck). Finally, I must say that I am just glad I found this site and this discussion group as Tarot is absolutely not part of the finnish culture and I had to order all my decks on-line since no-one even knows here what Tarot is (Ok, I live in a small city but ...) I have ordered and received 3 decks so far: Morgan Greer, Enchanted Tarot and Inner Child (in french -since I am french). Most people here have NEVER heard of Tarot, even if there is a Kalevala Tarot existing. Kalevala is a very ancient saga, telling about the first Finns, it was written in 1840 but takes place in prehistorical times). Well, I hope that my question has not been discussed a thousand times already! Have a nice time, Kissa

divinerguy	01 Feb 2002
Hi Kissa, I had the Robin Wood Tarot. Its a deck with a mild pagan feel, but not so extreme as to turn non-pagans off. Its a very popular deck, and is small enough so that people with petite hands can still use it. The Nigel Jackson has nice artwork, and seems to also be a popular choice. I personally favor the Cosmic Tarot by Norbert Losche. They can all be seen at Diane Wilkes' website, Tarot Passages. http://www.tarotpassages.com/deckrev.html Gary

catlin	01 Feb 2002
Hi, What about getting the Robin Wood deck for you? A lot of aeclectic.netties use it. If you are much interested in Celtic/King Arthur matters and are familiar with Chrétien de Troyes I think you might also like the Legend: Arthurian tarot deck (A. Fergueson) or the Arthurian deck by Caitlin Matthews. These are 3 of my very favourite recommendations.

faunabay	01 Feb 2002
Robin Wood! Robin Wood! Robin Wood! LOL What do you think my first choice would be? :D If you decide to get her deck I would also suggest getting her book. It's filled with lots of information as to why she picked which symbols and which colors for each card....it helped me to see the reasoning behind everything on the cards and opened my eyes to things I would have never even noticed before. Anyway, I also agree with divinerguy's suggestions. I love my Nigel Jackson and even though I didn't learn the cards from it I could see it being very easy on beginners.

Talisman	01 Feb 2002
'Lo all, Agree with Faunabay. Robin Wood's book to go with her deck is the very best deck-specific book I have seen. And, in Solandia's survey, the Robin Wood deck was number one. Talisman ---------- "That restaurant isn't popular anymore. Too many people go there." -- Yogi Berra

Bings	01 Feb 2002
Kissa, I'm a beginner at tarot. I just purchased my first deck a few weeks ago. The Sacred Circle deck. It is a beautiful deck (IMHO) and I just love it. But it was not a good choice for me to start learning with. Some of the Major Arcana cards are renamed and the order changed. They are also huge. 13cm x 8 1/2cm. I do love this deck, I'm drawn to it. But I can't wait for my Universal Waite deck to arrive in the mail so I can use that deck to learn with. Dianne

truthsayer	01 Feb 2002
some other non-christian more beginner style decks: hanson-roberts(she also did the universal waite), tarot of a moon garden, mythic, art nouveau, celtic deck by deburgh, and hudes. i also approve of the robin wood and the nigel jackson. however, to me the nigel jackson has some symbolism that i consider has a christian flavor. to me, it's nigh impossible to totally cut pagan and christian themes apart b/c of the influence of paganism on the early church and vice versa. personally, i like the mike myers art nouveau for beginners for this reason--in most deck the suit cards can be the most difficult to learn b/c it's hard to catch the theme going thru each suit. however, the myers deck emphasizes the ups and downs of a relationship through each suit. during the course of the 1st-10 you follow a relationship and then things positive and negative done. it's easier for me to remember the divinatory meanings by the images on each card by the growth or deterioration in the relationship instead of by numerology or symbolism or rote memory. then i take that correlation and transition that to other decks pretty easily b/c i can see the interconnectedness. another plus is that the deck has beautiful artwork and isn't overly christian in theme. i like the majors, too but most decks have their best work in the majors. it's rare to find a deck that attention has been put into ease and readability of the minors. anyhow just my opinion.

Kissa	03 Feb 2002
Thank you all for your advices! By reading them awa your answers to Momof3 "Which of these decks should I get?", I think I know pretty much what I want and do not want. Right now, I am working with my Morgan Greer that I like quite much, I am waiting for my old RW to come by mail from my parents' place. I think I will have to purchase an Universal RW as I remember I didn't like the RW art so much, too simplist and the colors! But anyway, as many of you, it is with Good All RW that I've learned the few things I know about Tarot, so, I'll stick to it or one of its clones for now... until my birthday?!? Thanks again, guys and see you around ! Kissa

Jewel	06 Feb 2002
Okay so I am late to this party but will share my recommendations anyway ... Robin Wood, Robin Wood, Robin Wood ... did I say Robin Wood? ~giggles~. Another deck that has worked really well for me with a pagan theme is the Tarot of the Old Path. I did most of my learning with these two decks and would never part with either. Getting the books that go with them is a good idea. Love & Light,

The Non Christian decks for beginners? thread was originally posted on 01 Feb 2002 in the Tarot Decks board, and is now archived in the Forum Library. Read the active threads in Tarot Decks, or read more archived threads.