Can't decide which deck to get?

one of the first decks I bought was the Thoth...then I was told to purchase a RWS for the class I was taking, so I did. I learned the RWS and I grew to love it, but I always go back with longing to the Thoth, wishing I understood it more....

The Thoth was my first, and still my greatest love.

Pick the one that calls to you- though I agree with LeFanu that the Thoth will meet you wherever you are.

Le Fanu said:

Don't believe those who say the Rider Waite Smith is where you should start because it's easier (sorry, everyone above me who said exactly that..grrrr.)

The Thoth will meet you wherever you are. I love the Thoth and found it very accessible once I'd stopped listening to people (and I'm not sure I have any background in Thelema). The great thing about the Thoth is that it will meet you wherever you are. It will feed you in bite-sized pieces if you let it.

If you are drawn to the swirling, swooping, intoxicating art deco lines, go for it and read DuQuette and Snuffin gradually and then - finally - The Book of Thoth itself. It can only enrich you.

I'm not sure why the Rider Waite Smith is the benchmark but I do think it's a useful system for reading the Wild Unknown. Sure it's intuitive but I think having a RWS basis is useful not because it's "easier" but simply because it sort of abstracts the RWS meanings and does something else with them.

I love them both but do be aware of strangers trying to tell you the Thoth is difficult. I would really have to beg to differ on the "not the Thoth, how about Tarot of the Moon Garden?" . The Thoth can be taken on your own terms. Many people did just that before the invention of the internet and learnt to read very, very well with it.

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Thanks for the advise! Yes I do feel a bit blegh when people mention I should start with RWS because I am simply not drawn to it. I do have one more question though.. I think the Thoth deck comes in a few sizes and this is so confusing because I'm looking for the largest sized ones (Deluxe) but I don't know what color this one is. Some people say its the green box, some say it's the purple.. :s

unicornizm said:

Thanks for the advise! Yes I do feel a bit blegh when people mention I should start with RWS because I am simply not drawn to it. I do have one more question though.. I think the Thoth deck comes in a few sizes and this is so confusing because I'm looking for the largest sized ones (Deluxe) but I don't know what color this one is. Some people say its the green box, some say it's the purple.. :s

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Green box, from USG. No question. And NOT Konigsfurt - they are all on the smaller side.

But there is also the large one in the blue box from Muller...

Le Fanu said:

The Thoth will meet you wherever you are. I love the Thoth and found it very accessible once I'd stopped listening to people (and I'm not sure I have any background in Thelema). The great thing about the Thoth is that it will meet you wherever you are. It will feed you in bite-sized pieces if you let it.

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Um, no it won't. I have the Thoth, and love reading with it, but it has a very strong "Approach me if you dare" attitude about it, and when I did dare, it gave me one spectacular reading, then nothing but nonsense until I threatened to ship it back out the door if it didn't behave. The Thoth is a deck that you have to exercise your will over to work with, but once you do, it's quite rewarding.

If you are drawn to the swirling, swooping, intoxicating art deco lines, go for it and read DuQuette and Snuffin gradually and then - finally - The Book of Thoth itself. It can only enrich you.

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Definitely DuQuette. He makes Crowley's philosophy and thinking in regard to the Tarot almost understandable. I can only say "almost" because, well, we are talking about Crowley, and probably the only person who ever really understood Crowley was Crowley, and that only on Tuesdays.

I'm not sure why the Rider Waite Smith is the benchmark but I do think it's a useful system for reading the Wild Unknown. Sure it's intuitive but I think having a RWS basis is useful not because it's "easier" but simply because it sort of abstracts the RWS meanings and does something else with them.

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I think the RWS is considered the "benchmark" because as far as decks with illustrated minors go, it's been around the longest, and it has an easy familiarity to it. I actually learned on the Aquarian, but if I had it to do over, I would have started with the RWS. Also, the vast majority of decks on the market are based on the RWS, so if you can read with it, you can pretty much read with all of 'em. There are exceptions- There are a fair number of Thoth-based decks out there, and then there's Dame Fortune's Wheel, which, as far as I'm able to gather is based on the Eteilla system. And talk about a deck that does not yield its secrets easily. You really have to work at reading with Dame Fortune's wheel, but if you're willing to do the work, it really is a great deck to read with.
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The very first deck I bought was the Tarot of a Moon Garden. I bought it because I thought it was pretty. The image on the cover seemed like something I would like. There was no way to check out all the cards, only to look at the cover. Well the cards on their own are really lovely but when I did a spread or tried to read with them, the images were too cluttered for me. Now I wouldn't have a problem but it's been almost 20 years. It wound up frustrating me and turning me off tarot for a while. I wound up going to a more simple deck and started over. It was much easier for me to learn and understand when the images were less cluttered. That was just my experience though, you might be different.

Do you like to study? Some decks will require more study if you want to learn all the symbols and meaning behind the images. I do not really have time right now to take on a new deck that requires lots of reading and studying but you might. You might find that a great challenge and really enjoy it. I think that might be a better way to decide is how much time do you want to spend in the beginning to get to know the system? The RWS and the Thoth are very different and each take time to learn. There are plenty of people on the forum who can direct you to great threads and study groups about either system.
Most of the decks on the market seem to follow the RWS system or they have one of their own, like the Wild Unknown you mentioned. It really does have it's own style and anyone can pick it up and read with it intuitively. I don't know if anyone has tried to design a deck similar to the Thoth. I'm sure there are Thoth users who can answer that.

There was just a question about the different sizes of the Thoth in this forum:

http://tarotforum.net/showthread.php?t=200087


Have you seen any decks in person yet? Been able to look through the cards and see what you think? Or are you only able to look at pictures on line?

Generally my advice to newcomers is, do what feels right and don't be afraid to mess up. There is no accepted "right" way to approach tarot. Everyone has different responses to different decks and the only one who can tell you what you will like is you. And honestly, if you don't end liking the deck you get you can always try another one. Worst case scenario you have a pretty looking deck of cards.

Personally I'm with you in that I find RWS unappealing. I haven't worked with the wild unknown, but I have worked with thoth and I've had very good experiences with it with just a small amount of background study.

unicornizm said:

Thanks for the advise! Yes I do feel a bit blegh when people mention I should start with RWS because I am simply not drawn to it. I do have one more question though.. I think the Thoth deck comes in a few sizes and this is so confusing because I'm looking for the largest sized ones (Deluxe) but I don't know what color this one is. Some people say its the green box, some say it's the purple.. :s

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Mmmm...I also was told "start with Rider-Waite" and even convinced to buy Dusty White's Book. I'm not saying it's not good, because it is....just not for me.
I bought Thoth and I love it. I love that every card is different and you can spot a card just by the colors.... I purchased mine from Amazon (crowley thoth small tarot- purple box: it's just the right size for my hands for shuffling )

My advice, like many others, is to go with a deck that YOU like. If it doesn't appeal to you, you won't enjoy it, and you won't stick with it. Trust me. The RWS got trashed. Sorry guys! Really I am!

Don't feel like you need to learn the RWS first. It is easier, but the thing is you need to go with what feels right. If the Thoth is calling to you, answer the call

I also have to vouch that the Thoth will meet you wherever you are. In fact, the Thoth was my first deck and met me when I was 15 years old. Let me tell you, it has continued to grow with me over the past 20 years.

DuQuette's book does help, but I'll go out on a limb here and say that you don't necessarily need to know the intricacies of Thelema, numerology, and the Tree of Life in order to get bang on readings with this deck. The best thing to do is ignore how everyone else interprets the Thoth including Crowley himself. *ducks* I found the best practice is to just let it speak to you....because it will if you let it.

I have to say the large edition of the Thoth is pretty huge. The upside to the large edition is that you'll be able to see the Frieda Harris' beautiful artwork more clearly. I've heard people use this size for more meditative practices because that thing is a challenge to shuffle...at least for me because I have tiny lady hands. I have done just fine with the US games purple box edition (the medium size). For on the go readings, I'll use the mini.

Good luck!

I have the big version and I have no trouble shuffling it (and yes, it came in a green box), but the other good news is that those borders are so thick, if they end up being too big for you, trimming them will take the size down a lot.