RWS suitability for beginners - Why?

[Karenwhe]

Where I come from RSW is still the standard and has been for longer than I can remember.

But I am mostly referring to the web.

Most of the articles I read on the web still have RSW illustrations (almost none have Thoth) some have new decks, but again like I said it is starting to change.

 

[Tarotphelia]

I have seen in a recent Thread that most people would suggest as a "first" deck or as a "beginner" deck the RWS.
I don't agree with that, but anyway I would like to know the reason why.
Riccardo

It is simple,-(deceptively simple) ,with fully illustrated minors. The illustrations are not muddied up with a lot of added on interpretations & changes that some of the modern artists like to layer on to suit themselves.

If you are going to learn a new language, most likely you would start with simple texts & representations.

Tarotphelia

 

[RiccardoLS]

To be honest with you, I thought it already was. Here in Berlin, when I was first interested in tarot, it appeared to me, knowing nothing, and from browsing bookshops, that the Thoth was the standard.

From what I know, it is said that Thoth is the Standard in Germany, while the Marseille is the standard in France. The RWS is the standard in English speaking countries, and that weights a lot, as most of web publishing and books are in English.

Ric

 

[Diana]

Re: Re: RWS suitability for beginners - Why?

The illustrations are not muddied up with a lot of added on interpretations & changes that some of the modern artists like to layer on to suit themselves.

Of course they are muddied with interpretations (I mean the Rider-Waite-Smith deck). And this was done to suit themselves. What's the difference?

 

[Tarotphelia]

Re: Re: Re: RWS suitability for beginners - Why?

Of course they are muddied with interpretations (I mean the Rider-Waite-Smith deck). And this was done to suit themselves. What's the difference?

Clarity. The more modern artists you have adding on their own interpretations, some of them completley opposite to the generally accepted meanings, the harder it becomes for a beginner to understand anything & make progress. It is just a base to progress from if you want to.

Tarotphelia

 

[firemaiden]

From what I know, it is said that Thoth is the Standard in Germany, while the Marseille is the standard in France.

Absolutely true! And the reasons that Thoth is standard in Germany may be fascinating to go into, a legacy of Crowley's time spent in Germany no doubt.

The RWS is the standard in English speaking countries, and that weighs a lot, as most of web publishing and books are in English.

Thank goodness there is Lo Scarabeo!

 

[Aerin]

Interesting thread.

For myself, I find that having a deck with images expands my intuition and allows my imagination to flow far more than a pips deck. Words can cage and mutilate thoughts, images are for me far more multi-dimensional and evocative. I agree that certain pictures can as well, and yet for myself if I'd started with a pips deck I would have had to rote learn key words with no context. As for images getting in the way, I find that for me the more images decks I get the more they help me to get my own image of the card. Now, this may differ from the interpretation of whoever wrote the first meaning attributed to the card, I don't care.

The RWS has pictures. For me, essential when I was a complete begnner. Also, lots of books use it. So again, for me, I wanted the deck to go with the books. Now, I also had a couple of other decks which I just loved, and comparing them with the RWS was useful. However, trying to learn with just a deck I loved and a book which referenced another deck - very hard. And Thoth? yep, tried that too, as a beginner Book of Thoth + Thoth = complete confusion and switching off.

Aerin

 

[Moongold]

Interesting thread.

For myself, I find that having a deck with images expands my intuition and allows my imagination to flow far more than a pips deck...........

The RWS has pictures. For me, essential when I was a complete begnner. .

As a rank beginner I found it easier to learn with RWS and switched to that from the Witches Tarot (my first deck). As others have said here, most of the literature in English refers to RWS. I moved later to Morgan Greer for a different perspective but this deck is a close clone to RWS.

I needed illustrations as well to begin with and still prefer them although after eight months I can manage without them.

Now that I know more about the history of Tarot I frequently go back to RWS and with the recent anniversary of Pamela Colman Smith's birth, I see this deck in a completely new light.

I'd like to quote from another web site (unfortunately I've lost the reference):

Today the deck is published by US Games Systems, Inc. and still manages to sell like the proverbial hotcakes. I frequently recommend it to beginners (even if they're not that keen on the artwork initially) as it forms an excellent basis for tarot study. I like to think of it as a tarot 'textbook' and am of the opinion that it is an endless source of information, inspiration and interpretation. I believe that the artwork is very easy to 'connect' with and Stuart Kaplan states that it exemplifies "the mysticism, ritual, imagination, fantasy and deep emotions of the artist" (The Encyclopaedia Of Tarot Volume 3).

The history of the deck is tinged by a little sadness. It remains one of the few remaining pieces of Colman Smith's work (she died penniless and obscure in 1951) and I find the fact that it has become the 'standard' deck in the tarot world deeply ironic, given that Colman Smith had little success in her lifetime and that she was only ever paid a nominal fee for completing the artwork in the first instance. I join Stuart Kaplan in lamenting the fact that Colman Smith never lived to enjoy the fruits of her success.



Moongold

 

[Stacie Doll]

RWS deck never appealed to me. Vision Quest was the first deck I was able to and read with.

 

[Sakura Murasaki]

It was only after I had started using my first deck, the Aquarian Tarot, before I heard that the RWS deck was the one for beginners. But the Aquarian is another clone, and I'm glad that it was my first deck. I'm sure that I'll eventually buy the RWS and other classics to add to my current collection I would recommend a "clone" I know as well as the RWS - it all depends on the person.