How early should the kids start?

[Ilithiya]

My daughter loves my cards, and will sit and actually tell me what to do with readings... I've been debating buying her a deck just for her own amusement value; I'm not sure how much of the actual learning & respect thing she'll retain if I start teaching her (she's 5).

Any ideas?

Illy

 

[a_shikhs]

hi,
i think you can buy your daughter an oracle deck if you like. something which is simple and easy to use. thats what i did with my little sister. she would always love my cards and always wanted to own one herself. so i bought her the magical unicorns deck by doreen virtue. and shes in love with them. once she gets the hang of the cards, i'll buy her a good tarot deck..

 

[Citrin]

Hey, why not? If she likes playing with them and is interested I don't see why she can't have her own deck. Make sure it doesn't have scary cards though (maybe the Whimsical? or Unicorn?).

As long as you don't shove your beliefs down her throat it's really nice that she's interested.

 

[Sophie]

Tarot is a game for all ages...she is sure to enjoy the imagery - and it will enhance her imagination. If she shows interest in "how it works", then teach her - otherwise - just let her play with a deck (her own, preferably - or you might find yourself missing cards!). You can also use tarot to teach her other things: how to count, how to recognise certain animals, trades, activities, cultures; you can also start on simple symbolic values: e.g. 8 of Pentacles is like a task she does that takes her time & that she is still learning (is she learning to ride a bicycle, for instance? You can link that card to the concentration & practice she puts into that). Later, you can give her an early grounding on systems.

I started with my nephew & niece when they were a bit older - my nephew first got interested in my cards when he was 7. Following my discussion of what kind of deck I could give him (by that time he had just turned 8), a lovely AT'er gifted him with the Olympus Tarot - which was a great choice, because he loves mythology. So he is learning both Tarot and mythology at the same time Later, because he had fallen in love with the Tarot of Prague, another generous AT'er gave me one of those for him - he loves it: the art, the characters, the history - everything! My niece, who loves animals, received the Baroque Bohemian Cats, and is enchanted with them - both because of the cats and the beautiful costumes & settings.

But I can imagine all sorts of explorations younger children can do with tarot, or thanks to it, whatever their tastes.

 

[lukedra]

i found my first deck when i was 12 but i didn't learn all the cards till i was 15 because all those big words where confusing and i seriously had trouble teaching myself. I'm sure having someone to teach you would help you get it earlier and just having the cards inspired me to learn even though i didn't learn till later.

 

[knowledge griffin]

I don't think it would matter if you got her a deck. The only thing you have to be careful of is her telling people at preschool/grade school. The teacher then might get some thoughts that you wouldn't want in their mind. I don't think your daughter would really understand the whole thing about tarot (seeing how vast it is for such a young child and the rest of us! Also, you would have to establish with her to keep it secret. One of the bonuses is that the younger you learn about tarot, astrology, the akashic records...... is that the younger your mind is, the easier it is for you to use your psychic ability. The older you are, the more involved you are in this world, meaning your psychic ability hasn't been used and would be tougher to start. I think I'd recommend about 8 years because she'll understand to be quiet about it but also learn the meanings and develop her 3rd eye.

KG

 

[Sulis]

I've just bought my daughter (Who's 6) a Hanson Roberts deck. She chose it herself from my collection and I think she chose it because it's small enough for her to handle easily.

I've explained about the different suits and she's really enjoying telling stories with it.
Her stories usually begin with 'Once upon a time there was a beautiful princess'
I thought that the Devil card may frighten her but it doesn't seem to - he usually ends up as a monster in one of her stories and somehow the 10 of Swords usually ends up being used too.

As far as having to 'keep it secret' - why should she do this? My daughter went to school on Friday and told her teacher all about her new tarot deck - the teacher was very interested, especially when she heard that Indi was using it for story telling. I think it's good to talk about tarot - get rid of those negative views that people have about it (which are there mainly from ignorance).
Show people that tarot isn't scary and they'll hopefully stop being scared of it - act as if it's something not to be spoken about and those negative views will continue - that's what I think anyway.

I'm waiting for some fabric to arrive and then I'm going to make her a bag to keep her cards in - she's just as excited about this as she is about the cards themselves.

Love

Sulis xx

 

[knowledge griffin]

As far as having to 'keep it secret' - why should she do this? .... I think it's good to talk about tarot - get rid of those negative views that people have about it (which are there mainly from ignorance).
Show people that tarot isn't scary and they'll hopefully stop being scared of it -

The reason we should do this is to keep from those negative things from ever coming up in the first place. I'm not saying I'd like to keep the negative views but (as you said) they "hopefully" will stop being scared. Is it really a matter of being scared or do you think they think that we're people who will ruin their well-being so STAY AWAY!!!! It's probably just better overall to just avoid the mess and PrObAbIlItY of breaking friendships up.

KG

 

[Jeanette]

My nephew ended up with the Miss Cleo deck I gave my sister (which was a fun gift). But he makes up stories from the pictures on the cards about people he knows and the things he imagines them capable of doing. He is only about 5-1/2 years old, and he doesn't seem to be having any trouble with anything in his life! This helps keep him from messing with Mom's good deck (her Universal RWS)!

My advice is to go ahead and get her a deck to play/learn with and let her do it on her own schedule.

 

[Sulis]

Is it really a matter of being scared or do you think they think that we're people who will ruin their well-being so STAY AWAY!!!! It's probably just better overall to just avoid the mess and PrObAbIlItY of breaking friendships up.

I'm sorry, I'm not sure I understand what you're saying here.

I can understand folks who live in areas such as the US bible belt having to be a little careful who they talk about tarot to but I really think it's detremental to a child to tell them that they mustn't talk to people about their new and exciting hobby.
My daughter loves making up stories with her new tarot deck, why should she think it's a negative thing when it's not? I'm sure another 6 year old isn't going to break up a friendship with her because she has a tarot deck.

Sulis