How do you start?

Thread originally posted on the Aeclectic Tarot Forum on 10 Nov 2002, and now archived in the Forum Library.

Silencio	10 Nov 2002
I would like to start reading Tarot but I cannot find a deck which I like and can give me inspiration. There are not much choice in the place where I live and there is even no shop selling tarot decks. I have to go to other places to buy it. I think of buying one from the internet but it seems it is too expensive to me. In addition, I don't want to buy a deck and find out that I don't like it later. I have bought one which I found out that I feel nothing from it.

fairyhedgehog	10 Nov 2002
Hi Silencio and welcome to the world of tarot :) I have usually found that the cheapest place to buy tarot decks is online at amazon (I use amazon.co.uk but I'm not sure which amazon is best for where you are). You can sometimes compare prices using www.addall.com which is for books but also sometimes works for tarot decks. You can see lots of decks here at www.aeclectic.net (where you will find links to buy the decks) and at www.learntarot.com and at www.astroamerica.com/t-menu.html It is worth reading the reviews as well to get an idea of size and feel of a deck and whether it is brighter or duller coloured in real life than on the internet. If you get a deck you don't like, you can often trade it here on the trading forum. It can be good fun looking around and choosing a deck. If you get a short list of decks you like, you could ask for advice as to what those decks are like. Good luck!

HudsonGray	10 Nov 2002
You can also look over on ebay--see what's due under 'tarot' to end as auction for this day & see what the names of the decks are. Then take that name of the deck & look on the Aeclectic site here under 'decks' and see what the cards look like & what the review says. Look how many stars it's been given, the more stars, the more readable it is as a deck. Some are just collectors decks, and aren't very useful. You can get some good bargains on tarot this way. Otherwise I'd say stick with a standard Rider Waite deck or one of it's clones (Robin Wood, Aquarian, Paladin, Connolly, Hanson Roberts, etc.), these are the standard decks & the majority of the books are written for these, so you can get a good start. The Thoth deck isn't the same, so the books for the Thoth are different in the card meanings. Then go to the library & start taking out any tarot books they have there. Most are very similar & the mere fact you're reading through them will give you basic info on the cards, by putting each book through a good read, you'll pick up a LOT of info. Then look for info online--a good one is www.learntarot.com or maybe it's www.learnthetarot.com It's a FREE online course that covers all the cards. Nothing says you can't start reading about tarot before you get a deck! When you get a non-standard deck you run into the problem of the artist moving some of the meanings out of the standard. Specific decks sometimes have themes, and these are best used AFTER you learn the standard cards first. They're very good for use, yes, but learning the basics is the better way to go. You can get a lot of background info & pre-learning done even before you get a deck, so just start anywhere. The majors are like broad range cliche's. The mother figure, father figure, hermit, love, beginner learning, use of the intellect, use of the instinct & inner knowledge, etc. The minors flesh things out. These mostly refer to sequences in learning. The suits stand for specific types--cups is emotion & the heart. Pentacles is material goods. Wands is doing things. Swords is thinking & words. (I'm keeping this real basic). Look for spreads too, or lays as they're sometimes called. You'll find lots of different types online. Use spreads that use 5 cards or less when first beginning, to let you learn those easier. The Celtic Cross is complex & uses 10 or more cards (depending on the version). That spread will confuse the hell out of any beginner, so stick with the 1, 3, 5 card spread or variations on those. Then move on to larger spreads. What matters is that you just start. Don't wait till you have a deck first, just start researching & looking at library books or go to those half price bookstores & page through what they have & maybe get a few there since the prices in those stores is pretty low. Go to the main Aeclectic site & click on 'decks' and start looking at the pictures, see what attracts you. Then when you find one, search on ebay or amazon for that deck & see if you can find one at lower cost. A used deck is perfectly good to have, so long as it has all the cards in it. Buying used is fine.

Silencio	11 Nov 2002
Thank you for your advice. I will try to see if there is any deck which I can have some feeling. I have a book about reading tarot and have some spreads examples. It is quite useful because it give me a better idea of what the cards meant. I think I will search more tarot decks to have a look and see if there is one that is for me.

Thirteen	12 Nov 2002
Quote: Originally posted by Silencio Thank you for your advice. I will try to see if there is any deck which I can have some feeling. Although you do want a deck for which you have feelings, that can wait while you learn. Unless you feel that you won't be motivated to learn unless the deck feels special to you. The Rider-Waite deck is the most common deck. It is the one that most other decks copy or rely on for meanings. And it is a good deck to start with and learn on. Best of all, you can get it cheap, even used--and in a variety of sizes. Minature even. I advise you get one to help you learn the tarot. Then, when you get the hang of Tarot, you can start searching for YOUR special deck. Another reason to start with Rider-Waite is because there are a lot of decks out there, some very strange and unusual. If you know nothing about tarot, you could pick one of these odd decks. That would be bad for learning. Like learning English with accents and slang from a very remote and rual area. You head New York and no one can understand you, and you can't understand them, because you learned a very unique version of English with a thick accent and odd slang terms. See? You want to learn basic, common English first. Then you can move onto English with thick, remote accents. Same with Tarot. Learn the most common deck and meanings first, then go onto the uncommon ones. Using a RW deck to learn will also give you a taste of tarot and let you know how you like it, which cards are you favorites. And these can help you find that special deck. Because you begin to know what to look for when you examine a deck to see if you want it. That's my advice. Of course, none of this should stop you from searching for that special deck while you learn, as someone else pointed out. Good luck and have fun!

jmd	12 Nov 2002
Welcome to the Forums, Silencio. Obviously, HudsonGray and Thirteen both favour a Waite type deck, even though the deck has numerated the Fool and has reversed the order of Strength and Justice. It is certainly the case that most of the anglophonic books published in the eighties and nineties tend to favour this deck, and that there are, at this stage, more decks of this sort sold than any other. I do not think, however, that the majority is necessarily always correct (or did the Sun revolve around the Earth?). You will probably get four fundamental suggestions. One, which has already been given, is for a Waite style deck; another, which is bound to make its appearance, is for a Crowley/Harris styled deck; a third is for choosing whichever deck appeals; and the fourth, if you want a classic from which all of these derive, is for a Marseilles. By all means choose whichever - but I cannot agree that choosing a Waite/Colman-Smith can be highly desirable for a learner. The pips, especially, have been altered in such a major way, and two of the Major Arcana interchanged, amongst other factors - it is still, despite this, a great deck. If you did choose a Marseille, if such appeals, then a great little book to accompany it is Rowenna Stuart's Collins Gem Tarot: a mine of information, HarperCollins, Glasgow, 1999. If you do not fancy a Marseilles deck, then I suggest to just go with whichever takes your fancy, ensuring that it is a 'real' Tarot (ie, has 78 cards, of which 22 are Major Arcana and 56 minors). Best of luck with your search - and let us know what you select!

Trogon	12 Nov 2002
Hello Silencio and welcome! I'm not familiar with Macau, so had to look it up on line. I believe you are in/near China, but more or less independent. Is that true? As for places where you might buy Tarot decks (and perhaps look at some before buying), you may not need to go to a shop that specializes in Tarot, new age, or Wiccan type merchandise. In this country, and some others (I believe) I know that many "regular" book stores, especially larger ones, carry Tarot decks and books on Tarot. Perhaps you can check some of them, or call them and ask about Tarot decks? Here are 2 links to the web sites to which I almost always refer for pictures of the Tarot decks being discussed on Aeclectic Tarot; Aeclectic Tarot List of Decks Tarot Garden Both of these have samples of many different Tarot decks. They usually show 4 to 6 cards in varying degrees of detail. While this may not be a huge sample out of 78 cards, it can give you a feel of how the deck looks in general and what the art work is like. This can be a big help in making your decision on which deck you might want to purchase. I won't add a great deal to the discussion on deck might be best. However, I will agree with the suggestion that you start with one of the basic, "main-stream" decks, such as the Rider-Waite (or a direct "clone"), the Marseilles, etc... Having one of these basic decks will, I believe, make it easier for you to learn Tarot as this is what most of the books will cover. I will also add the suggestion to get more than one book. I am finding that using different resources gives me more insight, is allowing me more flexibility and helping to open up my intuition more. Different authors can give you different views (sometimes wildly different) on the individual cards. At first I thought this might be confusing, but I am find that the more different views I read or hear, the more I form my own opinions and feelings on the card. Also, be sure your books and deck agree... for instance, it will be much more difficult to learn the Tarot if you're using a Tarot of Marseilles deck, but have a book on the Rider-Waite deck. This may lead to some confusion as some of the symbolism is different. (By the way... [i]personally[i] - I don't care for the Tarot of Marseilles - I like to have pictures on the minor arcana that depict something other than the number of some object. ;) ) Another suggestion I would offer is that you should start doing readings (on yourself, your friends, coworkers, anyone who is willing) as often as possible. Again, in my experience, the more readings I do, the more comfortable I am doing readings and the better I am able to interpret the cards. The last suggestion I have is to keep reading and posting here at Aeclectice Tarot! ;) This place is a wonderful resource with many, many people who are very knowledgable and helpful. And almost everyone here seems to be very willing and happy to help you with your Tarot experience.

Joywalker	12 Nov 2002
Hi Silencio! :) Been to Hong Kong several times but haven't had the chance to visit Macau yet. Try Universal Waite.It's very similar to Rider Waite but the color of this deck is much softer than RW.As a beginner ,I started with RW too. Ask around and see any of your families or friends are going overseas for holiday.Give them a list of the decks that you like!That will help you to save some shipping fees! For those decks that you are not that 'in-tune' with,you could trade here or give them away as presents. :D

Laurel	12 Nov 2002
In the mean time, while you are searching for the "right" deck, it can't hurt to visit the library and see what books they have on tarot. My guess is there will be at least one. For me, even though I've found "right decks" for various periods of my life, the minute I first held ~any~ tarot deck, the RW, I was inspired by it and learned the basics until the right deck for my then sixteen year old self (the Voyager) came my way. Laurel

HudsonGray	12 Nov 2002
That's one of the problems with the huge number of decks available these days. Yes, there are several major styles of deck--the Rider Waite & all the clones of this, the Thoth, etc. Point is, the majority of the books available do focus on the Rider style decks. However, learn whatever type you wish to! It's often easier to learn on one of the major types, get that under your belt, then find a deck you really like & see how that compares to what you learned, then you modify your learning some more so you know THAT deck inside out. Then maybe get another deck...repeat the process. Thing is, you do start with a basic understanding under your belt for a standardized deck. From there you can move to the next without relearning the complete system (unless you pick the Osho Zen, then you have to relearn, that's outside a standard tarot system). But the point is to start. Everyone has their favorites. Everyone can suggest lots of decks. Don't get confused, just pick where to start & then begin. My Ancestral Path is different than my Robin Wood deck, which is different than my Medicine Cards, but that doesn't matter much. I started with the Rider clones & know I can move back & forth between them without relearning those. I adjusted for the Ancestral Path, then bought the Arthurian Legends & had to relearn a whole new set of meanings on that...... think of it as a learning process, you CHOOSE which way to go, but starting is the main point. Just pick somewhere & start. Find the books. I can highly recommend 78 Degrees of Wisdom, that's an excellent book. Look around, there are several just for beginners too.

Major Tom	13 Nov 2002
Quote: Originally posted by HudsonGray Just pick somewhere & start. Step 1 - get a book (or go to http://www.learntarot.com ) Step 2 - get the deck for the book Step 3 - learn the basic card meanings Step 4 - find or create the deck that speaks to you. You've got to walk before you can run. You have to learn the alphabet before you can read. })

The How do you start? thread was originally posted on 10 Nov 2002 in the Using Tarot Cards board, and is now archived in the Forum Library. Read the active threads in Using Tarot Cards, or read more archived threads.