Impact of first deck?

Thread originally posted on the Aeclectic Tarot Forum on 12 Mar 2003, and now archived in the Forum Library.

Vita-morte	12 Mar 2003
This is really comming from Trogon's comparing decks thread, but I thought it'd be better to start a new thread for a slightly different question... I personally (as I'm sure you all know and are sooooo sick of hearing) love the Spiral tarot. I think I got lucky and found a deck I immediately click with as my first deck (of course there is probably a better one so I'm required to keep searching :D ). There are some cards I find particularly beautiful in this deck (The Sun, The Moon, Death, Strength, The Six of Swords) that I find I place a great emphasis on when looking at other decks. FINALLY the question: Do you find that your first deck greatly impacted what you look for in other decks or did you outgrow what you liked/disliked about it?

ihcoyc	12 Mar 2003
When I started, there were far fewer decks to choose from. I started with the Swiss 1JJ deck. Learning to read with this deck meant that I had no additional chores to do reading other pip card decks. So when I got other decks besides this one, I chose those that were more traditional, rather than less.

magpie9	12 Mar 2003
When I started reading tarot in '62 there was not much to choose from. My first was a black and white version of the Waite-Smith,that was less expensive than the colored ones. I got a colored one as soon as possible! I had been reading for some years before I ever saw another kind of deck,including Marsaille and all that ilk.It was a big shock to me to meet pip-cards, and "moody Minors", like the Thoth has. I thought there must have been some sort of mistake! Where's the pictures????? O No, where'd they go!? :D My tastes have changed a lot, the RWS bores me now, but I absolutely still prefer color, and picture minors, even in ultra-modern decks that are nothing like the earlier tarots. I've only very recently come to like and read comfortably with decks that have pips; moody minors came a lot more easily, but for me if they're based on the Thoth numbering system I'm a lot better off with just plain pips. I think the spiral is a great deck, too. :) `````please ignore that i've edited this, not enough sleep last night is requireing considerable clean-up on my part today. Duh...

truthsayer	13 Mar 2003
i got my first deck long before i knew there were decks other than the hoi polloi. i used it for 10 years then had the thoth and rws for the next 15. the past 2 years i have gone hog wild. but i have rationalized this to represent my great love of art. ;) })

Icestorm	13 Mar 2003
my first deck was the Ancient Egyptian by Clive Barret. There was a limited selection of on-shelf decks(about 4) so I basically chose the best one there; without the reviews on aecletic that has so influenced my other two deck buys since. The Ancient Egyptian is still my main reading deck, and I love the artwork. The illustrated 'pip' cards are definitely keeping me interested in every card, so I can say that my first deck, although prolly not 'the' deck for me, was a great buy :-]

Alissa	13 Mar 2003
The first deck I ever owned was the Universal Waite, and for years it was my only deck. I remember the day I went out to buy it ... I was consumed with the need to buy a Tarot deck that day. I could see the deck I wanted in my mind -- the images gleaned from tv, or who knows where. I searched over Borders bookstore's collection of decks and was getting down right angry. All of these wierd decks, I thought to myself then, and none of the real looking ones. Learning with this deck as my first definitely shaped how I read Tarot to this day. It's like an imprint of sorts. Best wishes to you and your deck ....

Hedera	13 Mar 2003
I started out with the Thoth, about 15 years ago, and I just didn't *get* it. I didn't have any extra information, couldn't make heads or tails of the cards, disliked the essay in the LWB and I think in general I just didn't know what to *do* with tarot cards.... I just bought them out of a general curiosity about magic and the occult, and tarot seemed to be sorta magical. ;) I ended up hating the sight of them, and put them away in the deepest, darkes closet I had. Then, about 3 years ago, I became interested in magical stuff again - but this time stumbled onto the whole wicca, paganism, reclaiming thing, which has a lot of elements I really like and connect with. And from that, ofcourse, my interest in Tarot got rekindled. This time, I bought the RWS, and various RWS clones and workalikes. But my most consistent favourite deck turned out to be the Cosmic Tribe, which is a Thoth-based deck, although I didn't know it when I bought it. I also have a couple of other Thoth based decks that I really like, and am currently eagerly awaiting my Gill; also a Thothy. The deck I've been searching for in every bookstore I've visited in the last couple of weeks is the Rohrig: ditto. And the last couple of days, I find myself looking at the Thoth itself again..... It feels different, know. It *looks* different. I understand at least part of the symbolism, I can approach a card from different angles, have a lot more years under my belt, a lot more reading (both of books and cards), and maybe, just maybe..... I hate the keywords, I've just blacked them out with a magic marker, and that seems to help..... So it could be that the deck I end up with, the one I will be reading and meditating with and studying the most, is actually the first deck I bought (although a different copy: the first one just still had a really weird smell to me)........

Trogon	16 Mar 2003
Well... my first deck was a Tarot of Marseilles which I picked up at a used-book store. I ended up not liking it at all. My next deck was the Rider-Waite Tarot and I've been hooked on that ever since. Due partly to a less than favorable experience with the Marseilles, I now want the minors to be illustrated, or at least partly illustrated (or "moody") and I want Strength to be #8 and Justice to be #11. So, basically, my first deck helped define what I wanted in a Tarot deck by not being what I wanted.

Shadow Wolf	21 Mar 2003
My first deck was the the Celtic Tarot, it made a huge impact on me because of my Celtic heritage. I was drawn to it immediately !!! I've using other decks lately, but it always feels good to come back to that first deck !!!

Icestorm	22 Mar 2003
Shadow Wolf: is that the lo Scarabeo Celtic tarot? Ive been tempted to purchase that deck, so I'd be grateful to know how well/easy it is to read with it!

WolfSpirit	22 Mar 2003
My first deck was the rider-waite, simply because it was the only deck availbale in the local bookshop. Most books also had the pictures of the rws in it, os I thought this was the "norm"al deck :laugh: I only discovered how many decks there are when I came to AT }) I don't like the art-work of the rws very much anymore, but I still think the symbolism in the cards is very good. My first decks after the rws used the same meanings as the rws and I still feel easiest with those decks, although I am beginning to expand the meanings now. I am not too happy anymore with the rws meanings of the swords, which don't always have to be so negative.

Silverlotus	22 Mar 2003
My first deck was the Aquarian Tarot, and I can't say that it made a really big impact on me. Well, other then the Three of Swords. At the time I bought this deck, the store only had it and the RWS deck, if I remember correctly. I didn't like the RWS deck, so Aquarian it was. My second deck, Ms. Cannon Reed's Witches Tarot, did make an impact on me. I bought it after some research, and quite honestly the subject and idea behind it swayed me. I was in my semi-fluffy bunny stage at the time. I used it for years, and struggled with it the whole time. Now when I buy a deck, I make sure it's nothing like the Witches Tarot. Probably not the effect Ms. Cannon Reed was going for. :)

Emily	23 Mar 2003
My first deck was the Original Rider Waite, I never really liked the colouring of it but it was my study deck and I learned alot from it, I also tried to learn using the 1jj Swiss but couldn't connect to that deck at all. My favourite for quite a while was the Spiral, it is still a beautiful deck to use but I started to grow away from it, I wanted to experience more than Rider Waite symbolism so now I've moved onto the Thoth deck and Thoth clones like the Rohrig and Crow's Magick. I'm finding that my earlier studying of the Rider Waite, and especially the Spiral, is making it a little easier to adjust to the Thoth - but its still a constant learning curve lol :)

Ruby7	24 Mar 2003
My first deck (I forgot I had this one) was a black and white (so that you could colour it yourself) version of the Daughters of the Moon. I used it for a couple of years, gradually colouring it when I felt like it, at some point I realized that a card was missing, and have not looked at it since. I did not really connect with this deck. but it did have an impact on me, made me want to explore other tarot decks. I seem to connect better with more traditional decks, at the moment I am mainly using the Hanson-Roberts as well as Thoth. I was surprised at how much I like the Hanson-Roberts since I was not originally drawn to it when someone suggested it to me.

reds97	25 Mar 2003
my first deck was Tarot de Paris... We were standing in chapters for about an hour trying to get teh girls at the till to give us the decks so we could look at them, they were too busy you see. so as it wound down i only liked one deck that they brought out, the inner child cards, and it wasnt really drawing me.. so i was about to pay for them adn sitting ont he top shelf was the tarot de' paris decka dn i asked to see it. i felt it in me right away,, i had to have that deck. I bought it and am still very possive of it.. only one other person has ever touched it and i had to cleanse it afterwards... now i get moments where i just want to hold it.. i would sleep with it under my pillow if my hubby would undersand! *L* he doesn't so i don't wil have to get a second deck so that i can do readings for others. *hands off the deck and back up fifty paces!* sandra

all78degrees	26 Mar 2003
My First deck was mini rider waite. It was something I got to play with when waiting for a group of decks I bought. I'd been scouring tarot passages and just could not decide. I ended up with Ancesteral Path, Osho, Sacred Rose, Universal Waite,Thoth and another I can't remember. I ended up using Sacred Rose for ages and ages but it didn't quite fit me neither did the Ancesteral Path. I ended up using the Universal Waite and love that deck. Its one of my comfort decks but not one I use that often any more. I've never been a person to be content to have one of something when you can have five! gav.

coldsuns	29 Mar 2003
I'm a 3 mins on 1 "hobby" guy. I used my friend's RW at first. I dont have the money to have a own Tarot Deck. Then i bought a large Thoth Tarot Deck. Thats my first own Tarot Deck. I used it at home helping my family members to read their spreads. Then i bought Fantastical Tarot Deck. It's much more easier to use as it size is smaller. Now i'm aiming for Whimsical Tarot Deck and Hello Tarot Deck. Thats so cooLz!

Shadow Wolf	29 Mar 2003
It's Julian De Burgh Celtic Tarot, and I find this deck very easy to read with. I don't know about the other one !!!!

scheherazade	29 Mar 2003
*smile* My very fist deck was this Running Press mini-deck I got from Borders, the Tarot Nova. It was a little cartoony deck, simple. I liked it fine, but more than anything, it made me want to obtain a deck that was more "mine." It led to the purchasing of many Llewellyn decks. :)

paradoxx	22 Apr 2003
I first worked with my "own" tarot on the computer in an excellent software program called Tarot Magic. The 4 cd set also included astrology, I Ching, and Palmistry. All of which were informative. My favorite deck presented is the Ibis Tarot. My first physical deck was the Egyptain Tarot as realized on Papyrus. Inspired by the Ibis it seems, followed by the Elemental Tarot and then the Celtic Dragon. From there my collection grew.

HOLMES	22 Apr 2003
it might even go down to your first tarot influence. while i saw the tarot used in the movie the manitou to get dramatic effect ( and the first teaching that death didnt' mean death and then he shuffled them again,, and death showed up just before the spirit possed the old lady and throw her down the stairs ) (again ,, it did cause some fear in me for a long time hehe, much like the excorist did :O) my first book was an eden gray book, it was a yellowish grayish kind of cover , it think it was either the tarot revealed or mastering the tarot . i read that book lots of time that month and was so sad when my first deck was the aquarian tarot. then the classic tarot and book, then a mexican tarot ( these two ladies who owned the book store didn't know what i was looking for ,, but i went in there just on the 15 and told them of doreen virtue new book and her old book the light worker way they order them. so i am glad we can communciate better ) i recall my first christmas gift was the servants of the light and that deck has special meanings for me . but i go on again. so all my images in my mind end up being a rider image. i tried to go into other decks but when i get stuck i see a rider image in my mind. so i kind of gone retro in the months to come, hoping to get intot he beginner tarot, the radiant tarot , the universal tarot, and the tarot of new vision. which are rsw clones. in fact i find rsw clones is what i use the most, be it the buckland roman gyspy tarot ,, ( not so much a clone but hey ) , or the robin wood, or the morgon greer or the aquarian tarot . as a result using decks with abstract such as the toth, the haindil , or without illustrated minors are hard. but i am striving to over come.

paradoxx	31 Oct 2003
for my first tarot influence, tht woudl be a " Tales From the Dark Side Episode." a calm and serene episode.

MoreMagic	31 Oct 2003
I first learned tarot on the Rider-Waite and those images are my fallback, mentally, when I read with other decks and get stuck. Picturing those images triggers the discussions I had with my teacher about the card and can get a blocked reading flowing again. As a result, I tend to stick close to the R-W symbolism, with my current favorites being Aquarian and Hudes. But I don't think I've met my perfect match deck yet! (I didn't really have a first tarot influence outside of my first lessons - I had never really looked at a deck, either in real life or on-screen before I decided to take the class...)

wavebreaker	01 Nov 2003
My first deck was the Rider-Waite, because I read somewhere that that was the most commonly used deck and therefore the best one to start with. I can't really say it had a great impact on me, except that it made me curious about learning about tarot. I guess in a sense, that's an impact too... ;)

Woof	01 Nov 2003
My first deck I purchased over 20 years ago. It was the Aquarian. Cold deck. That combined with the Eden Grey book and I didn't do much with tarot for the next 20 years. About a year ago I picked up the Alchemical and the Universal Waite and found this forum. Its been all downhill since then! ;) Woof

WolfyJames	01 Nov 2003
When I was a kid, my mother started doing cartomancy and she was good at it. She has always been a spiritual person, so cartomancy (and other things) was something natural for us. I wanted to do that too. Some years later, my father (my parents were separated at the time) bought a tarot, Le Tarot de Marseilles. He told me it was a fortune-telling tool, just like cartomancy. I wanted to see the cards, of course, but I was greatly disapointed when I saw the hideous, repulsive and horrible images on the cards. I tried reading the LWB, but I couldn't decipher a thing. And the pips were so horrible and useless as well, that my curiosity and interest for tarot died that day. Until... Until one day, many many years later, in a bookstore, looking for a Rilke's book (Letter for a poet, I think), I saw a box that attracted me form afar. I got closer and it was tarot box, The Enchanted Tarot by Zerner-Farber. I just fell in love with The Moon card on the box. I knew I wanted it, but I couldn't, the deck was too expensive. I cried for month until I saw it again and bought it. That deck has brought me so much joy, I don't even know where to start. My repulsive-hate relationship with tarot ceased to exist, but always awaken when I see a Tarot de Marseilles. The deck is so beautiful, the images so meaningful, that reading with it, or just holding it and looking at the cards is pure enjoyment. I also discovered that there are many kind of tarot beside Tarot de Marseilles; it's French here, and it's like Tarot de Marseilles is the only tarot that exists, when, thankfully, it's not the case. I ended up buying other oracles after that, I started doing cartomancy as well, following my mother's steps. Sure, I had issues when I was reading (french) books about tarot and the only tarot mentionned was, of course, tarot de Marseilles; the meanings were not fitting with my deck. But lately I found this place and all, the Thirteen's Basics, and there's not much about Tarot de Marseilles here, I'm happy.

Mystic Zyl	06 Nov 2003
My first deck was Universal Waite given to me by my Wiccan boyfriend, even though I am a Christian. Ironically, the cards told me, he was cheating and we would break up, his present was his undoing. I still love the cards, but errrr having trouble remembering his name!

Sulis	06 Nov 2003
My first deck was the Witches Tarot by Elen Cannon-Reed. I really tried to like it but all it did was confuse me: I'm a witch and use the swords/air, wands/fire correspondences, this deck was the other way round. The court cards are all the same, just different colours and some of the illustrations are just plain weird (I'm thinking green speedos here):D. I slept with it under my pillow, I ploughed through the accompanying book but I just couldn't connect with it. Like Silver lotus the only impression this deck has left me with is to never buy another deck like it. After that I moved on to the New Palladini which was OK for learning with because it's very similar to Rider-Waite, some of the cards are absolutely beautiful, Strength and The Moon for example but the faces are all very expressionless and I found them quite cold. I finally found a deck I loved in The World spirit. I still use this deck regularly and it's left me with a deep love of decks with rich, dark colouring. I have a bit of a 'thing' for black borders too. Love and light Sulis xx

Star Spirit	06 Nov 2003
I think all decks are unique and although I was very drawn to my deck, my next deck in mind is quite different. It's all about the experience, so if I'm going to get a new deck I want to get one that's unique and different from the one I already have, so that I can continue to learn. The only thing I look for in decks specifically is beautiful and insightful artwork :>

Majecot	14 Nov 2003
Mine was The Enchanted Tarot, ( tend to like the larger cards) but the deck did nothing for me, so for years I only used my second deck which was Legend: Arthurian. I have recently retired them as well. I now have moved on to something more colorful and mood inspiring.

Chronata	14 Nov 2003
My very first was the RWS. And because this was my first, I am still drawn to RWS type decks, if not for reading, then at least in my collection. Like the Hanson Roberts, Morgan Greer, Aquarian, Universal Waite, Hoi Polloi, Radiant, and even to some extent the goofy decks that play off of RWS symbolism like the Wonderland.

The Impact of first deck? thread was originally posted on 12 Mar 2003 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.