major, minor or both???

Thread originally posted on the Aeclectic Tarot Forum on 25 Nov 2002, and now archived in the Forum Library.

oldsoul	25 Nov 2002
hello people... i'm new to tarot and when i asked a clairvoyant friend of mine whose used tarot for years for some advice she said to only use the major arcana. i then got my deck (cosmic tarot) and am just learning the major but am interested in the minor as well... what's your opinion? should i use only the major? should i use the minor in certain situations? or should i learn all the cards and use them all all the time? thanks for any help... oldsoul

fairyhedgehog	25 Nov 2002
Hi oldsoul, You can do readings with just the Major Arcana, so if you're happy doing that to begin with then that's fine. I expect you'll want to add in the Minor Arcana at some point. Of course, if you want to try using all the cards straight away there is nothing to stop you doing that as well :) I'm sure the aim is to know all the cards, but it can be a bit daunting at first. Have you got a book to learn with? Thirteen in here has done some good explanations of all the cards at http://www.aeclectic.net/tarot/basics/index.html and another good place to look is at www.learntarot.com Hope you enjoy learning :)

Laurel	25 Nov 2002
I personally think that working with the "all" of the deck gives the best experiences, especially when looking at real lives rather than archetypes. Laurel

Keslynn	25 Nov 2002
I agree with Laurel. The Majors are archetypes, signs of inner transformation, larger life stages. But if you want to see how those things play out in the nitty gritty of everyday living, you need to use the minors. However, you must also take your learning style into consideration. If you think it would go better if you learned the majors first and later incorporated the minors, then by all means, use that method. I do think that you should definitely learn the minors at some point, though. :) Kes

oldsoul	25 Nov 2002
thanks for the advice... ok i'll start with the major and then work my way through to the minor. i want to be a tarot expert... no pain no gain! oldsoul thanks for the links fairyhedgehog, i'll check them out later tonight. no i haven't got a book yet, just the little tiny book that came with them, will be sorting out a proper book soon.

Umbrae	25 Nov 2002
If you want to be an expert, and if you really want to learn... Use 78 cards (and stop fooling around with 22).

Mystica	25 Nov 2002
A couple good books for beginners are Joan Bunning's "Learning the Tarot" and "Tarot Plain and Simple" by Anthony Lewis. IMHO these are great "starter" books. Be sure to check out Thirteen's basics here on Aeclectic, I think most of us have it printed for reference, it's wonderful!

Diana	26 Nov 2002
I don't think that learning with 22 cards is fooling around (like Umbrae says.) I learnt with 22 cards to start with, and I certainly don't regret it. (I probably wouldn't regret having learned with 78 either, but as I didn't......) Those Majors are absolutely awesome. If one gets to know them well, I mean really well, like they are part of your living and breathing, their nuances are infinite. I still frequently do readings with only 22 cards. I alway sense something tremendously powerful behind those arcana. Like I'm being touched, or am touching, or both, the Sacred. I don't get that feeling with the minors.

Major Tom	26 Nov 2002
Quote: Originally posted by Diana I don't think that learning with 22 cards is fooling around (like Umbrae says.) I learnt with 22 cards to start with, and I certainly don't regret it. (I probably wouldn't regret having learned with 78 either, but as I didn't I still frequently do readings with only 22 cards. I have to echo my friend Diana, our experiences are so similar. :) After starting with the Majors I used them exclusively for years. They can provide amazing details. You might not want to wait as long as I did before learning the minors. })

Trogon	26 Nov 2002
Well... I started by jumping in with both feet and starting with all 78 cards. This may or may not have been the best way to do it, I don't know. However I will admit that it has taken me quite a few years to get to where I am now... where I am at least comfortable with and have a good understanding of the cards (both Majors and Minors). Would I have learned faster if I'd started with just the Major Arcana? Don't know... but I do agree that you will probably want to learn the minor arcana at some point.

juice	26 Nov 2002
My suggestion is kinda like one of those how to study tidbits. Get the cheapest simplest, maybe a nice thin one, intro book that sticks to RWS meanings and a slightly more complex one that is good for beginners like 78 degrees of wisdom. Lay your deck out where you can look at it while you read the first smaller book. Don't study. Don't memorize. Don't do exercises. Read like you were reading a good story. In a couple of days you finished the book, or hours if you read that fast. Then pick up your favorite kind of light reading fiction and read on of those at a pleasant pace. Trust yourself and your subconcious to have picked up the overview you needed for the subject you are about to study. Now go back over the other book. It's perfectly OK to go back over the same book but some people refuse to read the same book twice that close together. Do the exerciese no matter how trivial they sound when you first think about them. You may find that it doesn't take all that long to get to know all the cards. This also assumes you are starting with a RWS Rider-Waite-Smith or RWS workalike deck. If you choose to start with a deck that is different in several of the meanings, you'll need to start with the book that goes with that deck. Feel free to ask here if your deck is a work alike. Better yet, don't buy 2 books. Read over the tarot basics. They're small in size. Then start your study book. Hope that helps and remember to have fun. You learn better when you're having fun.

oldsoul	27 Nov 2002
ok, maybe the best way for me would be to concentrate on the majors AND start reading about the minors, becoming familiar with them until i'm comfortable enough with the majors to devote more time to the minors... what do ya think??? oldsoul

paradoxx	27 Nov 2002
Everyone is familiar with the minors to some degree, we've all used playing cards. if one does not want to divine with them, play solitare instead, 4 of cups on teh 5 of wands; 3 of swords on teh 4 of pentacles; etc. The cosmic tarot is one of the best decks with some of the most isnteresting minor arcania (i have already mades some posts about this), astrology factors in seamlessly (the Elemental tarot associates teh 78 cards with 78 potential astrological combination) and the major arcania is limited to 22 (maybe 23 cards), now here the real question: do you use the extra 2 cards as part of the divinitory use of the deck as power cards or cards that amplifiy the energy of the reading with extra power cosmic?

allibee	27 Nov 2002
My opinion differs from most of the others in that if you only read with the Majors, you only get half of the story. Reading with the minors too fleshes the story out, and gives you the indepth insight that archetypes alone can't IMO. Example: Hanged man: Time out. Need to look at things from a different perspective, maybe make a sacrifice to gain something of more importance. (Well, that doesn't tell you much) 5 Wands + Hanged Man Ok, so here we have a 'situation': There are difficulties and division from a clash of wills; bickering and a general need to clear the air. Now along comes the Hanged Man and tells you to step back out of the fray and rethink your position. You may need to make a sacrifice and back down to achieve a community spirit here again. One where everyone is in harmony again. To extrapolate on this: 2 Swords + 5 Wands + Hanged Man So here we have a person who is not willing to make a decision that needs to be made, and it is causing a situation of deep unrest....there are difficulties and division from a clash of wills; bickering and a general need to clear the air. Now along comes the Hanged Man and tells you to step back out of the fray and rethink your position. You may need to make a sacrifice and back down to achieve a community spirit here again. One where everyone is in harmony again. Do you see what I mean? Its the difference between a sweeping general statement and, actually getting down to the nitty gritty, IMHO allibee :)

Umbrae	27 Nov 2002
I had to re-think my answer… My unthinking answer is “Use all 78 cards!” Then I had to examine my own evolution of reading – how my approach to reading, and reading itself have changed… If you are going to read books, and follow directions…use 78 cards. If you are going to read the cards… It does not matter…22 – 52 - 78

finn	27 Nov 2002
I'd advise you to stick with 22 cards at the moment. When I was still very new to tarot, I used all 78, but because there were too many cards, I didn't have the chance or will power to learn each card's meanings. Now that I'm using only 22, it gives me the chance to observe and admire the artwork, and also I pay more attention to each major, making it easy for me to get an idea of what each card means. Collaterally speaking, perhaps you'd like to purchase the Book of Reversals...I've got that book too. It doesn't make u so miffed at reversals anymore...

Diana	28 Nov 2002
Quote: Originally posted by allibee Example: Hanged man: Time out. Need to look at things from a different perspective, maybe make a sacrifice to gain something of more importance. (Well, that doesn't tell you much) allibee: I can't agree here. No-one is going to have the Hanged Man all alone in a spread (unless they're doing a one-card spread which would not serve much purpose, in my opinion.) The Hanged Man will have other cards around it, whether they be minors or majors, and the same message will come across, if one knows how to interpret the cards. Of course, I suppose it depends which deck one uses. I suppose some decks are so empty anyway that they are just like pretty postcards. So then perhaps one would need not only 78 cards, but 178 in order to get a correct picture. A good deck, a good reader, and all the intricacies are staring at you in the face. Minors are our little helpers, and they are very generous in their help. But I think if a really good reader could do without them altogether. I say could, not should. Umbrae's suggestion is not bad. I think I'm going to try and read just with the courts for a few days, and see what I can come up with.

Major Tom	28 Nov 2002
Quote: Originally posted by Diana allibee: I can't agree here. A good deck, a good reader, and all the intricacies are staring at you in the face. Umbrae's suggestion is not bad. I think I'm going to try and read just with the courts for a few days, and see what I can come up with. Echoing my friend and hopefully adding a bit. :) Umbrae got it right the second time. ;) And your suggestion isn't bad either Diana... Another idea is to read with the majors and aces so with 26 cards. Yet another is to read with a single suit so with 14 cards. You can stack the deck as it were. It really doesn't matter how many cards you use - it will still deliver it's message. Do let us know how you get on with the courts only please Diana.

allibee	28 Nov 2002
Quote: Originally posted by Diana Minors are our little helpers, and they are very generous in their help. But I think if a really good reader could do without them altogether. I say could, not should. I think we'll have to agree to disagree on that one in view of the original question posed by oldsoul. Bearing that in mind, you are saying that a really good reader can get on without the full deck. Of course that's true. But oldsoul is just starting out. Its a lot to learn, 78 cards, but if you can start learning them all, then you can do without some in a reading. But if you only start off learning some, then you're missing out on so much IMHO allibee

oldsoul	30 Nov 2002
i had a look at the minor cards in my deck yesterday and was amazed at how beautiful they are. i'd always thought that the minors were rather plain compared to the majors. allibee, i understand exactly what you are saying about the minors giving more detail. i also agree with diana that a good reader is able to read just the majors and understand the meaning. i guess it's like how i want to develop my psychic ability... i need more help now than i will in the future. oldsoul

The major, minor or both??? thread was originally posted on 25 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.