Question by william.shook: Questions about the tarot?
I’m new to studying the Tarot, I really enjoy it and am fascinated by it, but am having some difficulty. I bought the Deviant Moon Tarot deck, I was attracted to the images on the box and really love the deck. But I am having problems learning from the deck since I am using The Idiot’s Guide to the Tarot. I want to know is this the best deck to begin with or should I get the traditional deck and how do I come up with questions to ask the tarot?
Best answer:
Answer by Gitana
I have been using Tarot for about 20 years. Here’s my opinion.
It’s a good idea to familiarize yourself with the Tarot in general. I don’t know if the book on tarot from the “Idiot’s” series is a decent one or not, as I haven’t personally seen it. Not considering myself an idiot I steer clear of those titles 😉 Read the book, but don’t try to force the connection between the book and your deck. What I mean is, learn the general concept of the tarot. See if there is a class happening on tarot at a local bookstore, or search on meetup.com or on witchvox for classes. Then, for the specifics about your deck, refer to the booklet that came with it. I looked up your deck online, and there does not yet seem to be a book that offers detailed interpretations, just the book that came with the deck. So, you will have to do your best with that. Practice, practice, practice! Do many readings for friends, or even yourself. If you love the deck, and the images ‘speak’ to you, then it is a good deck for you. If they don’t, then it’s not for you. I at one time had over 20 decks. Now I have only 2. 1 is for meditation, and 1 is for readings.
What do you think? Answer below!
Congratulations & welcome to “The Tarot”.
Usually it is best to start with the Rider-Waite Tarot deck, but honestly whatever deck you pick will be best for you.
In your book “The Idiots’ Guide To The Tarot”, why don’t you write “cheaters notes” with how your deck corresponds to what is in the book. Example: If your deck has a beautiful lady on it and is the “Emporess” in the deck, write down in the book that your card is the beautiful lady. In this regard while you are learning, you will know what card in your deck corresponds with what is in the book.
In order to start to learn the Tarot, please ask simple “yes” or “no” questions. Keep a record of your spreads and what you determined the answer to be. If you asked “will today be a good day” and the response from the cards, according to your own interpredation, is “yes”, and you did indeed have a good day, you will know that you are beginning to understand the cards and their meanings.
Have a lovely rest of the day. Bright Blessings.
I like Paul Foster Case’s Builders of the Adytum deck, it’s like the Rider-Waite deck but with extra symbolism. P.F. Case, A.E. Waite and A.E. Crowley all studied under McGregor Mathers in the Golden Dawn and based their decks on his notes. Case’s book on the Tarot is a good explanation into it’s symbolism.
I don’t use the Tarot for divination, I find the I Ching and pendulum divining easier. I read the Tarot as a book of wisdom. Taro backwards is Tora, implying that it contains a wealth of mystical knowledge like the Torah. The 22 cards of the major arkana contain profound symbolism and correspond to the 22 letters of the Hebrew alphabet, 22 paths between the Sephiroth on the Kabbalistic Tree of Life, astrological houses, planets, numerology etc.
The phrasing of a question is important to get right, or you could do a general reading if you don’t know what to ask it.
The absolute best deck for beginners is The Pictorial Key Tarot deck. This is a Lo Scarabeo deck published by Llewellyn. You can buy it at http://www.bn.com. This is a very expressive deck with all the pertinent symbols that would go with your Idiot’s Guide book. This is the deck I teach from, because it is the best deck available today. Much more pleasant to the eye than the Rider Waite.
Some of the less known decks have card variations such as princess’s or goddesses etc. If that is the case with your deck, it might be easier if you got a more traditional deck such as Raider Waite. I use the Mythic Tarot which is based on Greek Mythology and has really nice pictures in my opinion. It has all the standard cards.
That will make it easier for you while learning from a book. My personal opinion is that a class is much better. You can usually find them at New Age book stores. They give you the opportunity to share ideas and practice with other students.