Tarot Decks for Children

Thread originally posted on the Aeclectic Tarot Forum on 25 Jun 2003, and now archived in the Forum Library.

Kistarr	25 Jun 2003
My neice asked to look at my Tarot cards the other day [she's in the 3rd grade]. I was pleased that she'd shown an interest. We spent the afternoon looking them over. But I'm not a very good teacher. I tried to explain the cards in words that a child would understand but i don't know if I was very successful. Her birthday is coming up and I was wondering if there are any Tarot decks out there designed specifically for younger audiences. Kind of like "My First Tarot Book" Something with pretty pictures, easily understood text and maybe a booklet that offers tips on what tarot is and isn't, and how to use it. Any suggestions would be very helpful. Thanks.

LadyMedusa	25 Jun 2003
Kistarr, My 9 yr old is finding the Whimsical very interesting. The cards are based off childrens fairy tale and nursery rhyme characters. The artwork is very child friendly. She is picking up on them rather nicely. LadyMedusa

LittleWing	25 Jun 2003
i am not really up on all the deck contents .... but what is she into?? - perhaps ..... a flower faerie type deck ........... a hello kitty ....................alice in wonderland or similar????

fairyhedgehog	25 Jun 2003
Hi Kistarr, I really like the Whimsical, and not just for children. The pictures work fairly intuitively. I don't know if the book is any good though. Tarot of a Moon Garden is also nice and gentle but maybe not so easy to read with. I'm not sure what other decks are good for children. You might like to look at this recent thread: http://www.tarotforum.net/showthread.php?s=&threadid=971&highlight=children to see if any of the suggestions there are any use to you.

LadyMedusa	25 Jun 2003
Kistarr, I forgot to mention the book. I did get it, it reads very generically on the explaination on the cards and it is geared more towards an adult. I personally found some of the ritualistic parts a bit much. I plan on giving her the book and let her make her decisions on those parts when she is a bit more ready. What I have done in the meantime is to get several fairytale, fable, and nursery rhyme books. Then the characters she is not familiar with she can read to learn the basic intended meaning of the cards. LadyMedusa

Mimers	25 Jun 2003
My daughter is 9 and she loves the Fey deck. (She is here right now dictating this, BTW.) She would like to say that the Fey is her favorite, but it does have some female breasts. If you don't like that she said her second favorite is the Mythic. She loves to read stories about Greek Myths and likes to make stories with the pictures of the cards. She made a story with the Fey cards too and told it to her Mommy at bedtime. (Mimers speaking here) Well, there is the opinion of a nine year old girl. I don't feel the breasts in the Fey are anything inappropriate, but that is me. The Mythic has no exposure in it at all if you are not comfortable with the Fey. I don't have the Whimsical, but I have to say that I have heard many times that it is wonderful for children. I hope your niece enjoys her deck as much as my daughter. She really doesn't try to 'read' the cards, she just likes to make stories with them. Mimers

truthsayer	25 Jun 2003
supposedly, the inner child deck by isha lerner is for children. it's an overlarge deck. lerner says that is so smaller hands will have an easier time handling it. i don't know that i agree but that's me. the art is absolutely incredible. i think a child could look at the pictures and make up stories. they are geared more towards the old faery tales instead of the disney-fied version.

Mimers	25 Jun 2003
Truthsayer, I didn't think of that one, but that would be ideal. I do not have the deck, but have been very tempted to purchase it :D I have looked throught the Inner Child Workbook at the bookstore. It shows all the cards and it indeed would be wonderful.

Kistarr	26 Jun 2003
thank you for your suggestions. She's just getting out of Pokemon and she loves bedtime stories. I've seen the Mythic Tarot deck in book catalogs but I've heard it reads very adult. She may get frustrated if she can't understand. For the others...where would I get them? I'm new to tarot and my computer skills are sadly basic. Can you order such things on the internet?

truthsayer	26 Jun 2003
yes, go to the decks page and check out the sticky solandia has on buying a new deck. there are several internet sites listed that would love to sell you any deck you want.

The Tarot Decks for Children thread was originally posted on 25 Jun 2003 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.