tarot for a ten year old

I know a lot of people have a problem with younger children reading Tarot/doing readings for younger children, but my mother is not one of them. My sister looks up to me, I guess, and she really wants a Tarot deck for her tenth birthday, and my mother wants me to deal with it since I know most about Tarot. For age appropriate decks, I was thinking the Medieval Cat Tarot (no naked people ), but I'm a little stumped about what instructional book to get her. I was twelve when I started Tarot, and I used Mary Greer, but I'm not sure I'm comfortable with getting it for my sister. She's very precocious, so reading level isn't the problem, but I'm hoping that someone can recomend a book that is a) low on sexual refferences b) has few religious refferences and c) is relatively simple. Thanks!

Hana

Some will say to throw the LWB away altogether and read by intuition however if you still want a book

My 1st choice might be
Learning The Tarot-http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1578630487/ref=nosim/103-0882319-8364643?n=283155
also has online info and course-http://www.learntarot.com

Tarot For Yourself is a good one as you mentioned too...

Tarot: Your Everyday Guide
http://www.aeclectic.net/tarot/books/your-everyday-guide/
This might be a better 2nd or 3rd for a 10 yr old.....I was just flipping thru mine and have mixed feelings.....it's still a good book though!


A little pricey but The International Icon might be a great deck:
http://www.aeclectic.net/tarot/cards/international-icon/
Or
Baroque Bohemian Cats' Tarot
http://www.aeclectic.net/tarot/cards/baroque-bohemian-cats/

if she likes cats.....

I would recommend Hanson-Roberts as a deck; its small size is an extra plus for little hands to shuffle. I also second FantasyWorld's opinon of "Learning the Tarot." Check out the online book - it is exactly like the written one.

Many blessings,
Bodhran

Hanson Roberts or Whimsical...
They're both great decks for a child with clear and nice images, nothing that could frighten anyone...

That's my suggestion....

How about Tarot Nova?
Or the Halloween Tarot?
Or my own Ator Tarot?
Any of those are a set of images that kids can easily handle.

If I had a 10-year-old, I wouldn't hesitate to leave a Waite-Smith around. That's pretty much when and how I started with tarot...

rota said:

If I had a 10-year-old, I wouldn't hesitate to leave a Waite-Smith around. That's pretty much when and how I started with tarot...

Click to expand...

It's not that I have a problem with her being exposed to those images, it's just that she's at that age where she thinks nudity is "gross."

Have you seen Tarot of the Magical Forest. It is a Rider Waite clone but one I've considered using when reading for children (for fun)! Here is an ebay link that shows a lot of cards from the deck:

http://cgi.ebay.com/Tarot-of-the-Ma...yZ102521QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

I third the vote for Joan Bunning's book, "Learning the Tarot". It was my first tarot book. My second was Robert Mueller's "The Heart of the Tarot". The premise of the book is a two card layout, like the center of the Celtic Cross spread. The first card is called the Situation Card and the Second the Challenge card. The book shows illustrations and interpretation for the Rider Waite and the Robin Wood Tarot. And then interprets both in each of the two positions. It is a gentle way to learn to read ... with a two card spread ... by using a story created by only two cards. I'm not sure if it is too wordy for a 10 year old but it really helped me sink my teeth in reading the cards.

lacewing

Hey!

I'll second the suggestion for the Ator as a superb choice for a small reader... in fact that seems like the ideal choice for someone who isn't freaked by Tarot but is. If you're gonna go with cats, I would strongly urge the Baroque Bohemian over the Medieval Cats. No question.

I teach playwriting to 10 year olds and I feel like the Hanson-Roberts & the Whimsical may be too twee (more like the idea of a child's deck than a deck for a child), but then again it depends on the 10 year-old. I just had a conversation with a 10 year-old who finished a book report on Stoker's Dracula which was titled: "Thicker than Blood: The Myth of Penetration"... All 10s are not the same.

You can also check out Tarotpedia's list of kid-friendly decks.

I think study with a text sounds like a great idea, though I think you'll wnat to keep it manageable and focussed so she doesn't feel overwhelmed... I was trying to think of a kid-friendly text for Tarot study, with the caveat that it should be illustrated sans nudity and not be SO massive that she can't carry it around: here is a list of Teen focussed ones, but they may be a bit much. The Whimsical Tarot has a fantastic companion book, but is too focussed on the deck's imagery and stories to make it useful separately.

That being said, even if you don't buy her the Hanson-Roberts deck which illustrates it, Laura Clarson's Tarot Unveiled is an friendly, concise intro to reading with any Waite-Smith clone, and introduces the basic topics from which meanings are derived. Since it isn't illustrated with the RWS, she won't get icked out, but it's coverage of symbolism is generic enough that any RWS deck will be supported contexually. It starts out with broad concepts of numerology and elements and builds to meanings for each card and a guide to spreads and reading... all in 140ish pages.
a) No sexual references
b) No religious references
c) Simply articulated and clearly organized.
I was not expecting much from this little guide, but it's terrific.

Would love to know how it turns out.

Scion

For a 10 year old, you may want to check out The Gummy Bear Tarot. The format/cards are RW cards, but instead of people, they use Gummy Bears. The cards are also smaller, so it might be easier for littler hands.

They also come in a sturdy tin, which is *very good* for young children who aren't always as gentle as they could be...

http://www.isisbooks.com/tarot/t1572814713.asp

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/15...0000-5389552?_encoding=UTF8&v=glance&n=283155

My daughter, who's 7 has the Hanson Roberts deck.

She doesn't use a book with it - she uses it to make up stories and through them she's getting a good grasp of what the cards actually mean.

I think it's quite a good way of learning for the very young and since a lot of the cards that she chooses to use most are the court cards, it means that she's getting an idea of their personalities: for example she thinks the Queen of Cups looks very dreamy and kind whilst she thinks the Sword Queen would be a lot stricter....
Her stories are wonderful - she has various 'characters' going on shopping trips or on days out together and it's amazing how spot on her insights about their personalities are.

There are already 78 pages in a tarot deck - maybe you should leave the books alone until your sister has got to know her cards a bit on their own.

Sulis xx