knowledge about Tarot

Thread originally posted on the Aeclectic Tarot Forum on 19 Mar 2002, and now archived in the Forum Library.

Andrea	19 Mar 2002
I just bought my Haindl Tarot deck and book yesterday. I am now wondering what the difference is between this type and other forms of Tarot. What makes this one different or "better" than the others. I am VERY new to Tarot. I know nothing about it. I happened to talk to a person who said it is very spiritual and often misunderstood. I decided to try it. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

piccolo	21 Mar 2002
Hi Andrea, I am not familiar with Haindl, althought I've seen it in the stores. But since you're new, and no one else has replied, I'll tell you my experience. I've been studying Tarot for a few months. and my first deck was a beginners deck by Katherine somebody...:-) It was a nice, cute deck but I was quickly bored, and wanted a fancier, prettier deck to motivate me. So, I went for the sacred circle deck, since my first and only reading ever that I paid someone for was done with a beautiful Celtic deck. I too, knew NOTHING about tarot. I heard rumours later that the sacred circle was kind of difficult for a beginner, but by that time I had already figured out that while the cards were lovely, and I felt drawn to them, I was having trouble with the book. So I found a few other books that were helpful to me. I kept using the sacred circle deck, but I found card definitions in other books that helped me to understand the cards in a way that worked for me. I found that many people spoke of 'traditional Rider Waite' tarot definitions, and I found historical explanations that helped me understand the history of Tarot. I also read about some decks changing the numbers of the cards, or changing the meanings of the cards, and many many varieties of viewpoints about how to interpret cards. Ultimately I realized I was going to have to do a bit of searching to find what 'fit' my needs and desires, because something in myself drew me to tarot-I needed to trust that voice. I bought a couple of books that didn't work for me. Some are great! You might float around this board a little, and read about the most common decks and book suggestions, there are some great people here who could suggest a place to start. I use 'Complete Book of Tarot Spreads' by Evelin burger, 'Choice centered relating and the tarot' by Gail Fairfield, and other books by Christine Jette. I'm planning on increasing my collection, because I have a strong thirst right now to read about other's various ways of reading and understanding tarot. But I don't know if the books I have chosen are the easiest, or the best. maybe someone more experienced then myself can help you. All the best, Piccolo

Original Destiny	21 Mar 2002
Hi, Decks are a purely personal thing...What might suit one person might not suit someone else... I bought 3 decks befor I found one that i really liked...I now have about a dozen of which only 4 i can really get on with ... check out the deck section it's really unbeatable if you feel the need to look for something else

arizonagirl	22 Mar 2002
Andrea, you are what makes the deck better than the others. Do you feel comfortable with it? Do you find the pictures intuitive? Even something as basic as liking the way the cards feel when you handle them can make all the difference between a deck that speaks to you and one that doesn't.

Jewel	22 Mar 2002
Hi Andrea. I have the deck and it is lovely. I agree with Arizonagirl that what makes any deck "better" than others is you. Did you get the deck/book set? or just the deck? The author of the Haidl books (there are three) is Rachel Pollock. She is very highly regarded as a Tarot author so if you do not have any of her books I would recommend them. I believe the third book is titled Haidl Tartot and is a combiniation or blending of her two orginal books, one of which focused on the Haidl Major Arcana and the Other on the Minor Arcana. Two other books I would highly recommend to you are "Tarot for Yourself" by Mary Greer which is a fabulous work book that will really help you learn your own deck, and "78 Degrees of Wisdom" by Rachel Pollock. 78 DW uses the Raider Waite deck but if you go to the "Study Group" forum here at Aeclectic you will see how we are studying the book and using all sorts of different decks and using the book as a text. We also have a Tarot for Yourself study group and you are more than welcome to join these groups. Both books can be found at www.amazon.com or at your local chain bookstores such as Barnes & Noble.

Silence Dogood	22 Mar 2002
To add to your confusion, Andrea, you may also find that a deck that 'suits' you now may not do so in the future. We all grow and mature. If you start exploring the old posts, you will also find people who said they passed over a deck in the past, but went back and 'rediscovered' it ! Personally, I find the Haindl deck dark and brooding...... My recomendation to you is to find a deck where the Pips are all illustrated; that way you can use the meumonic devices in them to help you remember your meaning for the cards.

Umbrae	23 Mar 2002
I always recommend to begin with the RW deck. Read books. Do readings. Keep a journal! Use the deck until it wears out. Most folks never really understand the RW. The understanding occurs after you are totally bored and sick of the deck. Then the love starts. Much later you can branch out. Only use a deck that speaks to you. Buy your deck from a store. You want a RW? Have the clerk bring all the decks out and lay them on the counter. Like a puppy, one will call you. Buy that one. Years from now you may use as many as 3-4 decks for readings. The rest are your collection (a euphemism for wasted assets).

Lion-O	24 Mar 2002
Quote: Originally posted by Andrea I am now wondering what the difference is between this type and other forms of Tarot. This will probably sound a bit cliche but still; the main difference will be the fact that after a few months you will be more familiar with this deck then other decks. In fact; when you're ever going to get another deck you will notice that there are quite a few things you will have to get used to again. I started using the Mage Tarot deck and recently got myself the Rider Waite deck. Although the Rider deck is commonly acknowledged as being an "official" (not literally, hence the "") Tarot deck the Mage deck simply works better for me at this present time. I'm still in the process to become more comfy (I really should grab my dictionary, this is the 3rd time I flunk this word) with it.

The knowledge about Tarot thread was originally posted on 19 Mar 2002 in the Talking Tarot board, and is now archived in the Forum Library. Read the active threads in Talking Tarot, or read more archived threads.