Looking for answers (& help!)

Thread originally posted on the Aeclectic Tarot Forum on 23 May 2002, and now archived in the Forum Library.

golubok	23 May 2002
Hi there, I just opened my first pack of cards yesterday and attempted a reading for myslef. I found myself intrigued and here I am. I realise that, to be able to read tarot, it will take a lot of dedication and time (and most importantly will, otherwise there is no point). I have a deck of Fantastical Tarot cards and, whilst comparing the images to the Thirteen's Tarot Basics, most of the descriptions of the cards are totally different. The explanations in this site are far better that the ones I got in the booklet with the cards. They are very vague to be honest. Does anyone else use this deck? Do you think it would be better for me to get a beginners set until I get a better understanding of each card? I find the thirteen's basics on this site really good, well written and easy to remember due to the imagery in the text (if that makes sense!). Also, is it advisable to use more than one deck? I got some advise from Bella on Reversed meanings but do you have to purposfully shuffle the cards so that some of the cards are upside down? When would you know when to do it and when not to? Is there a need to do it? A million questions and only so much space to write them. Can I just say a heartfelt thank you to everyone for making me feel so welcome. I am a complete novice and it is really kind of you guys to be so helpful, it's a rarity these days.

wavebreaker	23 May 2002
Hi and welcome! I too started with just a deck and the LWB (Little White Booklet) that came with it, and I was completely at a loss about what to do with it! ;) So I started to search the internet for more information and I found Joan Bunning's website, www.learntarot.com. Personally, I thought that was really helpful to get me started. I haven't touched the LWB again after that... ;) Personally, I was happy to start with just one deck, I think I would have found it confusing to use several decks at first. Now that I'm beginning to get more comfortable with the cards and their meanings, I find it a lot easier to use differnet decks. But again, that's how it works for me. As for reversals: I decided not to use them right away, because I found that it made things even more complicated... I first concentrated on getting to know the cards and doing simple readings, with just 3 or 4 cards and no reversals. That was the best way to do it for me: start simple and go from there. So basically, I think you should choose a method of learning that suits you. And then of course there's always this forum where you can ask all your questions!! ;)

fairyhedgehog	23 May 2002
How exciting, your first pack :) And I see that you are one of us already, in only seeing it as your 'first' pack, not your only one :) I don't know the Fantastical Tarot, but if you like it and you can work with explanations that use different imagery from the pictures on your deck, you could just go for it. If you want a deck that uses the imagery in most of the books, then a Rider Waite clone is usually recommended, something like the Universal Waite, Robin Wood, Hanson Roberts or Connolly. You can look at all of those on the decks section here and I think there are reviews of all of those ones too. As to whether it is advisable to get more than one deck - I think most of us just can't help ourselves. With most things in Tarot, the answer is 'what works for you' but with so many lovely decks around it's hard to stick with just one. I don't use reversals, but I understand that you just take half the deck and turn it round from time to time. But hey, guess what, it's 'what works for you' :) You definitely don't need reversals, though, if you don't want them. I don't know if Thirteen's basics cover reversals but if not then Joan Bunnings site does, I believe. I hope you have a wonderful time in here. All the best, FH

Rhiannon	23 May 2002
Hello and welcome golubok! I have the Fantastical as well, and it's a rough one to work with. It was my second deck (after the RWS). About a month after buying it I went out and bought my 3rd deck (Robin Wood) because I didn't understand the cards. I'm sure you've found the majors to be very nice but the minors are definitely lacking. There just isn't enough symbolism there for your mind to grab on to. I have not used that particular deck for at least 6 months. Every now and then I look through it because I love the artwork, but that's about all it does for me. If you think you can work with it, that's great, but it may be more frustrating for you at first than if you had a deck such as RWS, Universal Waite or Robin Wood that has more to it. And the LWB that came with that deck was very confusing. I pretty much ignored it because the meanings didn't make very much sense to me. As far as reversals go, I've always used reversals. I shuffle and then flip part of the deck and then shuffle again. Occasionally I'll flip the cards a few times back and forth to make sure I get them mixed well. Reversals aren't neccessary though, and many here prefer to work without them. It's really up to you. Rhiannon :)

Ladyhawke	23 May 2002
I have the Fantastical as well and *LOVE* the artwork. But I'm struggling with the same problem you are, golubok -- very different artwork and images. So I've pretty much relegated it to meditation type work or personal readings. When I do reading for myself, I use whatever meaning jumps out at me from the images on the cards. So now I'm on the prowl for the "perfect deck" (Hahahahahaa....like that really exists ;) ). Maybe my new Tarot of the Cloisters (oooh..... pretty......) will work for me.

shinta	23 May 2002
hi there! i know what you mean about opening the first deck and all. everything just overwhelms you at first, but give it some time and all will be good. personally, some LWBs are actually short and sweet... most are just... well.. short :D! u could try searching online for resources as the guys have already said before and most importantly just try reading with them and looking at the pictures. sometimes you don't see certain things like symbols in backgroun and all that even down to the position of the objects in the card and these will help you more than anything else. a card may mean something to you and a totally different thing to another person who reads the same card. it's perfectly alright. :) hmmm, on reversed cards, well... i myself haven't done them yet. i'm keeping an upright thing going on. best of luck!

Thirteen	24 May 2002
Wonderful to hear that you like the basics and that they're doing their job. They were absolutely meant for newbies like you, and it's good to hear that they're easy to understand and use. As for the deck: My recommendation is that you put the Fantastical Tarot aside for the moment. Start with a RW clone (you can get one pretty cheap) and think of it as your "primer." Most beginner books on Tarot will use some form of RW as their template to the cards and their meanings--which is why we used it when we started up the original Basics threads. You'll also find that other tarot decks often use RW as well in shape or symbolism. In short, if you're going to get into tarot, you kinda have to go RW. Once you feel comfortable with reading the cards, then you can go back to Fantastical. You might find it easier, by then, to make sense of the images and work out the meanings. As for reversals--my recommendation is to not use them till you're comfortable with the upright meanings. Mainly because a lot of the reversal meanings rely on a knowledge of the upright meanings. And also because there's no reason to try and learn everything all at once (upright and reversal and spreads....). Does this help?

golubok	24 May 2002
Just a short and sweet message to thank you guys for being so helpful. I kind of thought that the Fantastical pack was maybe a case of jumping in at the deep end but will keep them aside for when I get to grips with an easier pack. Could I ask your advice on another completely unrelated thing. My husband has told me that he doesn't want me getting involved with 'these things'. Probably didn't help that we watched The Gift last night (ha, ha!!). Any advise as to how to tackle this one, I know your guys are no councellors so forgive me for asking such a question but I am sure that you must have had someone approach you who was against it. Any advise would be warmly welcomed as always.

aeonx	24 May 2002
Greetings golubok and welcome to the forum. :) First, I would recommend the Hanson-Roberts RW-clone. You can read my opinions on this deck here: http://www.tarotforum.net/showthread.php?threadid=3535&perpage=10&pagenumber=2 Scroll the page all the way down. *s* You can view the deck here: http://www.aeclectic.net/tarot/hansonroberts/index.html or here: http://www.wicce.com/hansonrobertspix.html and read reviews. (The deck, though, is much more beautiful in 'real life' :P ) Second, about your husband... I can understand his concern to some degree, I have people around me who also have reacted to the Tarot. However, there is a 'valid' reason for this: ignorance. People tend to think tarot is evil and scary, much because of the myths surrounding it. Often you see the fortune teller in movies laying out her cards and predicting death and chaos. You seldom see the use of fortune telling/tarot as being used as something good. My advice to you: talk to your husband about tarot. Show him your cards and books and explain what you are doing. Don't tell him that's it's certain that one can predict the future. I suggest that you say tarot is used for selv improvement in many ways. I see tarot as a help, something that shows you where you can improve things and learn about yourself. One can use tarot for many things, not only 'predicting the future': meditating, card games and past life exploration to mention some. :) Hope this helpes. If you have any questions, just ask! :D ~aeonx~

wavebreaker	24 May 2002
In addition to aeonx's advice, you might want to ask your husband if you could do a reading for him, to show him how it works. A while ago I was talking to someone who was very skeptic about tarot. He didn't judge it, but he just didn't believe in it either, he just thought is was nonsense. So I asked him if I could draw a card for him. He agreed. I didn't know this person very well, so I hardly knew anything about his private life. When I told him what I saw in the card that I had drawn for him, he was very much impressed, because it described exactly what was going on in his life at the time. It definitely changed his view on tarot. ;)

Diana	24 May 2002
edited

The Looking for answers (& help!) thread was originally posted on 23 May 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.