How you (and I) got started in tarot...

Thread originally posted on the Aeclectic Tarot Forum on 29 Jul 2002, and now archived in the Forum Library.

Sam	29 Jul 2002
Some people wondered why/how I got started in tarot, so this is my story. I was in borders, with my parents. as we were checking out, I saw a little mini book that said "Tarot book with mini deck" (The Deck was VERY small!!!) I knew I had enough money for it, so I said, "Mom, can I get this?" And she replied with the usual your-waisting-your-money voice, "It's your money. If that's really wha you want to spend it on." (This tacktic to get me to not buy it didn't work, so i bought the book.(HAHA) Then the next day, I wanted a real deck! So I went to the metaphysical shop and bought my first deck. The New Palladini. Then I did a google search, and found AT, and the rest is history. My mom probably approves of my hobby more than my dad. My mom occasionally asks me for readings, but my dad says, "Are you still doing that hippy crap?!" SO how did you get into tarot?

Roja	29 Jul 2002
Louisiana Trip, French Quarter, Bottom of the Tea Cup, Reading with a feminist psychic (she is real nice!)

wavebreaker	29 Jul 2002
I somehow found the Glastonbury tarot website (I think someone posted it on a mailing list I was on at the time) and tried a few of their online readings. At first, I considered it to be just a game, but after having used it several times, I got curious about it, because I did get some remarkable results. So I decided to buy my own tarot deck and I ordered the Rider-Waite. When I got it and found that I couldn't use it with just the LWB, I looked for more information on the internet, and found Joan Bunning's website. And that's how it all started... ;)

Starfish	29 Jul 2002
I found Jane Lyle's Renaissance Tarot Free Reading at a gaming site my DH likes to play at. From doing daily readings for about a week, I did a Google Search and found Aeclectic. :) The rest is history. :T9S Starfish

destinyawaitsme	29 Jul 2002
Well...long story short: I was depressed; i had no direction. For some reason I turned to those automated online free tarot readings and any other free readings I could get from people. Then I just decided that I should just read for myself. Did a bit of research, bought Shapeshifter, from Amazon.com. And a year and 7 months later...here I am.

Jimilyn	29 Jul 2002
Short Version: Spring of 2000...bought a Rider-Waite deck. Summer 2001...signed up for Barnes & Noble University tarot class written and conducted by Joan Bunning. At this time I had my Rider-Waite and Healing with the Angels decks. Summer 2002...24 tarot decks and 11 oracle decks. :D I bought 1 oracle deck and 3 tarot decks today at Half-Price books...I didn't mean to, I really didn't. I was there to *sell* some old books and make room... Honest! Jimilyn

Marion	30 Jul 2002
May, 1971: first job, in Vancouver, thousands of miles from home. Lonely. Found a wonderful bookstore, bought RW deck and Waite's Pictorial Key to the Tarot and later Eden Grey's book. Read using just those many years, not especially successful. 1984: introduced to I Ching by very spiritual neighbour. Loved it. Very successful, guided me many many years. April 2001: discovered Aeclectic (do not recall how, likely following links). Met you folks, learned to really read tarot. Gradually becoming tarotoholic.

Kiama	30 Jul 2002
I had always been interestd in nything 'spooky' or 'occult'. Ever since the age of around 4. When I was 9, my parents took me to Devon. We had to travel quite a long way by car, and we stopped off at a Welcome Break for a few minutes to freshen up. There was thisshop there, which sold a few books, magazine, sweet,s etc... In the book shelf, I noticed Stuart Kaplan's 'Fortune Telling With arot Cards', for 99p. I had enough money (Justabout! I didn't have vry much money when I was little!) so I bought it, and read it non-stop until we reached Devon, whereupon I read it again and again, untl I had practically memorised the whole thing! Being a kid with no money, I didn't get my first deck until th age of 12, when I got one which cae free with theSugar magazine. I read with that fr aboutr a year, unti lI lost thatdeck on a camping trp. (I recetnyl re-acqruired a copy of this deck!) Then, I saved up some money, and bought a cheap and tacky deck. I read silly reaings with my frieds a sleepoves until the age of 14/15, an learned alot during that time. Te readngs were never accurate, but I learned alot about the crds and their meanings! Then I got somemore decks, I read properly, found Aeclectic when I ws 16 and a half, and became a Tarot deck collector. Now, I'm considerig going Prfesional in September, and am spending most of my Summer (When I'mnot workin! perfecting my reding skills. I have 74 decks, far too many books, and lots of experience for my age. I love mystory! Kiama

divinerguy	30 Jul 2002
Sam, You are a lucky guy to haveparents who are open minded enough to allow you to use the Tarot. I'm a 43 year old attorney, and my mother would give birth to a litter of giant iguanas before allowing me to read for her.

Laurel	30 Jul 2002
The summer before I was a freshman in high school (Summer 1983) my family moved to Jackson Hole, Wyoming. For our first 2-3 weeks, we lived in the house of my parent's new boss. She had deck of tarot cards, Rider-Waite and I was completely fascinated by them. I would stare at the pictures over and over and just felt all tingly :) The next summer, I got a job working at a flourists. With my first paycheck, I ventured into one of my favorite bookstores and discovered the Voyager deck on the shelf- and grabbed it. It was more money than I'd ever spent on any "book" or "game" and I spent hours pouring over the cards, the not so lwb, and it became the most precious possession I had. Laurel

Maan	30 Jul 2002
I don't know how i learned about the existence of tarot. Its like i always knew ;) When i was 13 years old i was facinated with sjamanism and native american legends. I started reading about them. Discovererd the medicine cards. I got them at 14 as a gift from my parents. I works with these cards for a year and than felt like i needed more depth. With a short adventure into runes i got the norse tarot again from my parents for my 15 birthday/or christmas can't remember :( After a small year i started my hunt for my perfect deck....now i'm a colector :)

Mojo	30 Jul 2002
Quote: Originally posted by divinerguy Sam, You are a lucky guy to haveparents who are open minded enough to allow you to use the Tarot. I'm a 43 year old attorney, and my mother would give birth to a litter of giant iguanas before allowing me to read for her. That explains the interesting family photo.

VGimlet	30 Jul 2002
Like Kiama, I was interested in "spooky stuff" from a very young age. I also read a lot, so I am sure I learned about tarot around then. I started reading the Amber series. Not long afterward, I spotted the Aquarian Tarot in our local bookstore, and knew I had to have them. Since they were a lot of money for me then (12.95, I think) my dad agreed to split the cost with me. After several weeks of extra chores I finally got them. I was sooo excited! There wasn't much available on Tarot, so I was pretty much stuck with the LWB, and a few books that didn't really connect for me. I got interested in other things (boys, drama, etc.) but I kept using them all through school, and after. It wasn't a secret, but I didn't make a big deal about it, either. But any of my close friends knew I had them, and read with them. Even though I stuck to the LWB meanings I got okay readings. They were my faithful deck for almost 30 years, but they were getting a bit worn, so I decided to get a new deck when we were in New Orleans last year. I was so surprised at how many decks were out there. I'd known that tarot had progressed, but not how far. So, now I've been breaking away from those LWB meanings, and starting on a different path. And become a tarotholic in the process. :D

jade	30 Jul 2002
divinerguy, leave it to you to ALWAYS crack me up! a friend wanted to learn to read the tarot and she dragged me kicking a screaming to a 'learn to read the tarot' class at a local metaphysical shop. i soooooooo didn't want to go. by the end of the night i was doing readings for the other students heehee. i bought a deck, morgan greer, and i attended the rest of the classes with glee!! within about a month i was reading professionally ............ that was about 14 years ago and many decks later.....i'm still doing it :D i remember wondering why this was sooooo easy to do and why everybody wasn't doing it. it just came naturally to me (as gifts from the Goddess often do :D) in light, jade

DarkElectric	30 Jul 2002
When I was in high school, by best friend had a tarot deck, and thought that just because her family had immigrated here from Bohemia, she was a natural card reader. Trouble was, all she ever gave us were gloom and doom readings. And, thank Gods, they were always hilariously incorrect. then, about 9 years ago, I was visiting a friend. She'd had a large quartz point that she really liked a lot. it broke the day before, and she wanted to get another one. A new Wiccan/pagan shop had opened up. She was too chicken to go in there herself, so she sent me to get her a new crystal. Like kiama, I too have always been fascinated by so called "spooky" stuff. So I went. Thy were nice people, and there was a class schedule for the month. Classes were cheap, so I took a "Wicca 101" thing. It was ok, but there were a few things covered that really sparked my interest. Tarot, for one. I didn't hang out at that store much, but I started going to local pagan events. I met some people, and started hearing more and more about tarot. I began seeking out pagan oriented stores. Up in New Hampshire, I found a small one with lots of tarot decks. I bought the one that I thought looked the most interesting. It was the Connolly deck. It was not the right deck for me. Somebody told me to keep on trying out decks until one really made an impression. I did. I bought a Universal Waite, and that was better, but still no fireworks, Then I stumbled across the Spiral deck. Fireworks! I didn't stop there, though. I collect decks now, because I'm intigued by tarot art. And I want to read professionally. I love it, and want to read professionally, although I need more practice before I do. So now I'm a witch, and a reader. And my high school friend gave it all up when another girl got mad at her and sent her "Death" upside down through the mail!

truthsayer	31 Jul 2002
i think i began playing around w/ different divination techniques shortly after i learned how to read. my mother encourage my interest. family time was often when we all sat at the kitchen table and told fortunes by dominoes or dice or playing cards, automatic writing, etc. it's a fond memory. when i was 13 i was doing a speech for english in numerology. my 9th grade teacher asked me if i'd ever heard of tarot. i hadn't but was extremely intrigued. i finally found a deck in the games section of the jc penny catalogue. mom ordered it for me. i bought it w/ money i earned in tobacco or babysitting. it was the hoi polloi for $13! i used this deck for 10 years. then i bought the ws and thoth. i used them until 1999 when i learned of other decks on the internet. the first one i got was the legend arthurian. later came the celtic dragon, sacred circle, shapeshifter and many more. now in 2002 i think i have around 80 decks. i really enjoy collecting decks but i really don't think there a so called one PERFECT DECK out there for me. rarely have i found a deck that i absolutely could not tolerate. i have mainly read w/ ws style decks most of my life. i read all eden gray's books. i got other books when i was 23 but i had hard conditioning in ws by then. i adapted to the thoth but i have ws pretty ingrained in me.

mondk	01 Aug 2002
About 2 years ago, I noticed that a small shop in our town had a couple of different tarot decks for sale. The Dragon and the Witches' tarots. The Dragon one was the book and deck set. I really wanted the Witches' (it beckoned to me) but selected the Dragon simply because I knew very little about tarot. I too had always had an interest in anything to do with the occult or the paranormal. I took the deck home and put it on a shelf and didn't really touch it again until about a year later...a year ago from now. That was not a beginners' type deck, I soon learned. But, out of sheer persistence, I finally learned it and then everything just fell into place. I have a total of 7 tarot decks now, and 2 oracle decks and angel meditation cards and also a bone rune set (I learned the runes right after I learned the tarot). I found this site through one of my Wiccan friends: she emailed me the link because she knew how fond I was of the tarot in general....and I've been here since June! Blessings all, M.

Strega	04 Aug 2002
I was 9 years old... This girl I used to ride the school bus with brought a Tarot deck to school (no idea whose it was... hers... her aunt's... her granny's?). To make the long story short... She wanted my Barbie's evening gown (because it glows in the dark :D). And I wanted her deck. Guess who got a nice trade? :D

cherrywind	05 Aug 2002
Good question :). Summer 1997 - I was always interested in different religions, so on my constant research, somehow or another I happened upon tarot. Being really interested in divination techniques, my interest grew. One day I decided to get a deck and get the real deal for myself, and I'm glad I did :D.

Kiama	06 Aug 2002
Quote: Originally posted by Strega I was 9 years old... This girl I used to ride the school bus with brought a Tarot deck to school (no idea whose it was... hers... her aunt's... her granny's?). To make the long story short... She wanted my Barbie's evening gown (because it glows in the dark :D). And I wanted her deck. Guess who got a nice trade? :D Now THAT is an amazing story! Which deck was it? Kiama

mara	06 Aug 2002
I first came in contact with the tarot through a relative. He did a couple of spreads for me, explained what it stood for (the cards I pulled) and after awhile things he read from the cards started to fall into place for me. Being curious (a natural habit I have about all sorts of things) I told my husband I wanted to have a pack of my own so I could use them to see what my subconsious had to tell me. He thought it was a great idea, seeing that he is exactly on the same wavelength as myself, and bought me a pack (crowley) for mother's day when I was 7 months pregnant :) At a later time he bought me the Book of Doors (I have a thing about ancient egypt) and they are the only two packs that we own. I don't really have the need for more packs as I really relate to these two. I do use the cards often though and they still help me out in personal growth issues (also with anything else I need to see) ;) Mara

Moongold	06 Aug 2002
I wandered in to the local Esoteric Bookshop just a few months ago and saw some decks there which were mysterious and beautiful to look at. The RW wasn't amongst them, I remember, and I liked the Witches Tarot by Ellen Cannon Reid so got that. The book was hard to understand so I went to the library and borrowed a couple of great books. A few weeks later I decided that the Rider Waite was probably a good idea and purchased that, getting 78DW at the same time. I think that was a good idea because the symbolism is clearer and all the books reflect RW stuff. Didn't go out much for a few weeks and buried my head in reading and playing with the cards. Then purchased the Mythic Tarot and the Old English. A few weeks ago I obtained the Morgan Greer, which I love. I also really like the Mythic Tarot. Got off to a nervous start with doing my own personal readings and sought help here a few times. This is a great site. Lots of learning and support and really nice people. Thanks everyone! I'm using the Tarot as a spiritual guide but just have this fascination for the images, the feel of the cards, and the knowledge. Still very much a newbie though. Moongold

Poetlove	07 Aug 2002
My ex was into reading all the time, and I took up the interest in them, but I didn't start looking at the for myself until I got with my current. She has studied some of the Wicca traditions, and others, and she bought my my first good deck for my 24 th birthday. I love the deck I have.... The Celtic Dragon

Sulis	08 Aug 2002
I`ve always been interested in things occult but was under the impression for years that you had to have some obvious psychic ability from birth to be able to read tarot and since I`m not obviously very psychic I didn`t think there was any point in trying. When I serioulsy started practicing witchcraft I realised that this wasn`t necessarily the case and that it is possible to develop ones psychic abilities anyway. I got my first tarot deck, The Witches Tarot by Ellen Cannon-Reed a year ago but couldn`t get on with it so I bought the New Palladini and Joan Bunnings book. I find the whole subject completely fascinating and I think that I can safely say that I`m well on the way to becoming a tarot-hollic. Finding this site has been such a help as well. Blessings Crystalmynx xx

The How you (and I) got started in tarot... thread was originally posted on 29 Jul 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.