Tarot Set for Advanced

[Michael Sternbach]

Nice introductory post, Zetta!  Good advice, especially for beginners.

 

I'm going to reiterate what a couple people have already said.

 

I am still looking for somebody who would explain the difference between "iterating" and "reiterating" to me. Not that it would matter much...

 

Anyway, to show you what a fun forum TDB can be, I'm going to reiterate/extend/comment on what you have already said. Alright?

 

The deck is only as good as the reader, and you should use whatever resonates with you the most. I use the Rider Waite a lot now (just because my clients recognize it), but it's not the deck I started out with. Actually, I started out with the deck everyone told me NOT to start with. 

 

So did I! With me it was the Thoth deck that first caught my attention. Said to be far too complex in its symbolism for a beginner! Therefore it intrigued me all the more!!! Well, that was a long time ago, and I'm still alive and arguably more or less sane.

 

In fact, the Thoth turned out to be something like an intro to all of Western esotericism (I had some knowledge of the Eastern systems already at the time). It introduced me to Astrology, Alchemy, Magick, Kabbalah, Mythology and other fascinating fields of study. I soon became familiar with other Tarot decks as well, of course, including the unavoidable Rider Waite. Even though the Thoth and some of its derivates are still my preferred decks - especially for reading.

 

Um, so what did you start out with?

 

I would recommend the Palladini Tarot: http://www.aeclectic.net/tarot/cards/new-palladini/

and the Universal Rider Waite: http://www.tarot.com/tarot/decks/universal_waite/box.

 

Those decks have different coloring than the original Waite. The Palladini has darker, richer color, while the Universal Waite is a little bit brighter than the original.

 

The Palladini strikes me as quite a different deck from the RWS, not least it's simpler in its symbolism. Maybe useful for some stark beginners? The Universal seems to be very close to the regular RWS - but yes, the colours are more vivid, and the style is less cartoonish. Not too much of a leap for your RWS fixated clients, I would hope.

 

No matter what deck you use, I HIGHLY recommend getting a book called Holistic Tarot by Benebell Wen. It's hands down the only book you need (in my opinion) to learn the Tarot. I've had many other books, and none of them even come CLOSE to this one!

 

Thank you for reminding me, that book has been on my reading list for quite a while already. What intrigues me most is its integration of different metaphysical systems into Tarot, not least due to Benebell Wen's Chinese background. Your recently awakened interest in Daoism wouldn't have anything to do with it, by any chance?

 

Remember that the most important part of any Tarot reading is the implementation of your own intuition. For example, I might draw the Five of Wands for someone and get a TOTALLY different message than the prescribed meaning. Over time I've learned that if you try to go by the book and leave out what your intuition is telling you, the reading is largely ineffectual. There have been times in which I drew a card, got a weird message, and decided that it was all in my head and settled for the usual meaning only to have the reader DENY what it says and then TELL ME what I intuitively wanted to say in the first place! Talk about frustrating.

 

Yep. Even Grandmaster Crowley advises us not to slavishly stick to text book meanings. Tarot's language is just too differentiated and subtle for such an approach. So it's important to follow one's intuitive and psychic impressions when reading.

 

That's why it's so important to get a deck that you connect with, rather than trying to adhere to a traditional presentation that only confuses you.

 

So yeah...just go with what calls to you. It's not permanent. You can get another deck if you don't like it.

 

I couldn't agree more. Rather than going with the well intended advice of some smart aleck, choose a deck that you really resonate with, beginners! The Internet makes it easy to have a preliminary look at countless samples.

 

Also, a surprisingly great resource (besides Aeclectic) for viewing decks/readers is Instagram. Seriously, there are TONS of readers/pictures of cards on there (myself included.) You might want to check it out.

 

I am a regular poster on Aeclectic, but I was not as aware of Instagram as a source for Tarot related materials, although I find some of the cards I am posting there. Of course I had a closer look now - and really found loads of colourful, lovely posts by you! Keep them coming - I will drop in again.

 

Best,

 

Michael