New to Tarot?

Question

i wanna learn how to do this Tarot thingy... but i don't know anything about it... and when i walked past a store yesterday, they had many different kinds of Tarot decks... so can anyone teach me how to use it and explain the different kinds of Tarot decks?

Answer 1

I am an unashamed tarot addict. :-)

I got my first deck when I was 16 (I'm 36 now).

The best piece of advice I can give you in reading the tarot is follow your gut and your heart. You are very rarely wrong.

The only problem with tarot books, is tat each author will put a slightly different spin on things, depending as to what their own interpretation of the cards is.

So it's fine to read read these books, but you may find that you get a little overwhelmed by them.

A good deck to start with is Ryder-Waite. But if you see another deck that you like more, then follow your heart.

At last count I had 8 decks and am hankering after more. :-D

This is a fabulous website to look at if you want advice on tarot, or just to see pictures of the hundreds of different decks...

http://www.aeclectic.net/tarot/

Hope this helps!

Answer 2

read up on the books, and definitely spend a day on each of the cards and their meanings.

Find a deck that resonates with you. I've been waiting for the completion of the deck that sings to me for years.

http://www.shadowscapes.com/Tarot/cardsm...

Answer 3

Hello

Tarot is a LARGE subject, you can be taught but it still takes a lot of time, dedication & practice on the students part.

You should buy the cards that you feel drawn to, but yes rider waite are the most common, I run a course around them & their symbolism & you can get a lot of books written about them.

Sadhara

Answer 4

Definitely choose the deck that you "connect" to the best.  The Rider-Waite deck is not necessarily meant for beginners, but most books on Tarot spreads are based on the art and symbolism of the Rider-Wait deck.  Most Tarot decks are similar to the Rider-Wait, but some are very different.  For instance, my Moon Garden deck uses the same basic symbolism, but my Goddess deck replaces all of the major arcana with goddesses of different cultures, so the "standard" meanings don't always apply.  

But that's ok, because while books can help (and yes, you should absolutely invest in a good one, and not just the little booklet that comes in the box with the deck), you'll find that with practice, reading the Tarot becomes more intuitive.  Learn to trust that intuition, when it tells you that the "classic" interpretation doesn't necessarily apply in a particular reading.  

Good luck, and feel free to email me if you have any more questions.

Answer 5

Well, there are very many different types of tarot pack - and that's before you start looking at the occult ones.

Tarot cards were created in the mid 15th century, commissioned by the Duke of Milan as part of the celebrations for his daughter, Bianca Visconti's marriage into the Sforza family. The extra cards added to a standard playing card pack took as their theme a traditional Christian triumph procession - hence they were called trionfi, meaning triumphs and from which we get our word trump. It was the invention of tarot that marked the invention of trumps in card games. The pack and games were, in Italy, known as tarocchi and they quickly spread beyond the borders to other countries. At one point, tarot was the most popular form of card game throughout continental Europe! Outside of Italy, the cards became known as tarock, tarokk, or taroky - it was only in France that they were called tarot.

In the early 18th century, German card makers began to produce French suited tarot packs using trumps that featured rural scenes, or architecture, or animals. These became the dominant form of tarot pack for two reasons. First of all, the Italian suit signs required costly woodblock printing, while the French suits required only a stencil. Secondly, the new trumps allowed card makers and printers to showcase their skills - at a time of great competition! Italy, Sicily, and Switzerland still used the old suits and trumps for play, with France adopting the new designs toward the end of the 18th century.

It was only in the late 17th century that occultists began to suggest, in ignorance of all we know about their history today, a mysterious and occult origin. The occultists began the practice of 'rectifying' the cards to better fit their theories. However, it was not until the early 20th century that the occult beliefs spread beyond France, carried to us by the Golden Dawn and this lead to the radical re-designs and re-invention of tarot that most English speakers know of today.

So, now to list the cards used today.

In Italy, they mostly play with a regional pack called the Tarocco Piedmontese, still using the old trumps and suits, although they have been made double ended. There is another regional pack called the Tarocco Bolognese that is reduced to 62 cards and that has an unusual arrangement of trumps - having the Empress, Emperor, Popess, and Pope, replaced by four equally ranking trumps called the Four Moors.

In Sicily, they have a 64 card pack, the Tarocco Siciliano (now only made by Modiano) and is a very small size, almost that of a patience pack. There are some unusual trumps there as well, including an extra trump called The Beggar.

In Switzerland, they play with a pack also popular with fortune tellers, called the Swiss 1JJ. This is based on the Besancon pattern that replaced the Popess and Pope with Juno and Jupiter.

The French 78 card pack has its standard pattern but the game is so mainstream that there are as many novelty packs as you would find in regular playing cards. So, there are packs that feature Droopy, Asterix, Woody Allen films, the Foreign Legion, tennis, rugby players, etc, etc.

Central Europe also uses French suited cards, though with more baroque standard trumps. Their packs are reduced to 54 cards - though some of their games use as few as 40.

One pack worthy of mention is the Minchiate, having extra trumps to make a pack of 97 cards! This was once a very popular game, being played as far afield as New Orleans in the mid 19th century. Sadly it died out in the 1930s but reproduction packs are still available and it is a wonderful game!

When the cards were first exported outside of France they were the old Marseilles pattern, it was Arthur Edward Waite who brought about the first revolutionary designs, often known as the Rider Waite Smith (publisher, designer, and artist). This redesign conformed to the Golden Dawn's occult philosophies and began a new trend of fully illustrating the pip cards. The second big redesign came from Alastair Crowley and the artist, Frieda Harris. This pack is usually known as the Thoth pack and is, in my opinion, the most beautiful and has, perhaps, yet to be bettered.

You can find examples of the game packs here:

http://www.tarocchino.com

You can find examples of the occult packs here:

http://www.aeclectic.net/tarot/

Answer 6

purchase the deck you are most attracted to.(most i have seen come with an interpretation book) after that, go to the library or a book store and get a book that tells you the interpretations of the cards. I would get to know the cards by taking 1 card a day and study it. after reading the interpretation, try to build a story around it. try to put yourself in the story.

you could also meditate with the card, ya know, just kind of focus on the card and write down whatever emotions, thoughts, and pictures come to mind. you can check your associations to the interpretations and see how they match up. while doing this you will be exercising your intuition, and building a personal relationship with your cards.

Answer 7

Stay away from that ridiculous dark practice. I can't believe how many grown adults believe in bull c**p such this, horoscopes and the like.

I'm sitting at work and then grown people start talking about zodiac signs, and they believe in it. Unbelievable.

Answer 8

The many different tarot decks will all portray symbolic imagery which must then pass through your psychic senses and, given the context of the questions asked, bring forth a tarot card meaning that significantly answers your question.

If you are using Tarot cards as an oracle, you may be more inclined to read card meanings and spreads. But if using Tarot Cards as a tool for Psychic Ability you would be less likely to hold to any hard and fast guide lines. I’m a profession psychic and use Tarot Cards in a random way. In 25 years of professional readings I’ve never used any ‘meanings, spreads or reversals’ of tarot cards from any books.

So if you want to develop ‘Psychic Ability’ throw the books and guidelines away and let the images inspire you. But you may need to try the Rider Waite or another imaged deck.

Here’s the how-to of reading tarot cards with your psychic perception in six simple steps. http://www.psychic-junkie.com/reading-ta...

You can use this four minute video as a brief meditation on the tarot that, repeatedly viewed, will help you learn how to read tarot cards psychically. http://www.psychic-junkie.com/tarotvisio...

To tap in to it more you can go to my free psychic development pages here: http://www.psychic-junkie.com/develop-ps...

But on the other hand, if you want to use the Tarot as an oracle, a form of divination that needs no real ‘psychic ability’, then keep the books and use the meanings and spreads if you prefer.

Here is a free download demo for a great Tarot program. To keep the size of the demo manageable it contains the Rider/Waite deck, the actual program will have 10 complete decks. This Demo version of Tarot is a full working copy for 30 days. So you get 30 days to study meanings and spreads! http://www.free-tarot-download-demo.wots...

Answer 9

First, I would like to ask the previous user (Josheph S), why does it call it dark? Has he ever dared to explore such realms of occultism and found it too obscure. I hope he says so out of experience.... In any way,  I find it interesting that he calls such practice as dark. That is simply because I agree with him: tarot and all the things that involve the use of it are 'dark ' to the ignorant.  But to agree with him, I will have to know if his authority in the matter comes from understanding the principles that work  behind it. Unless Josheph S  has at least embarked on a search that will allow him to understand tarot, he will have no authority in the matter to say what he says about it. Ironically, if you Joseph S says it is dark, yes, he will be right, ONLY if he speaks from a point of view which stands obscured the veils of ignorance.

Now, to the reader, I will recommend that you read a book written by one of the pioneers of psycho analisys. That book will give you an understanding of why it is that something (tarot reading) that appears as random, seems to be too meaningful to appear merely as a coincidence. The author of the book is Carl Jung, and the book is called 'Synchronicity, An Acausal Connecting Principle'. If you find it too heavy, you can do a search in wikipedia for the word 'Synchronicity'.

I will also recommend the aforementioned book to the user (Josheph S).... and in case that he has any doubt, he can also check the New Scientist Magazine (22 September 2007, Mind Tricks: Six Ways To Explore Your Brain). In that copy you will find an experiment, which according to scientists,  is based on the same principle that explains other types of divination (i.e using a pendulum).

Once you understand this principle (synchronicity), you will come to realise that there are not rules on how to use the cards. I say this out of experience.

Can I ask you what deck of cards are you using?

In my case, I have always used the Rider-Waite set of cards. It is the most famous. I will also recommend a website called www.learntarot.com. Inside that website you can look at the section called Cards which will give you the archetypical meaning for each card.

The different tarot decks are differ from one another only on their appearence. For as long as they all have 78 cards, they are all the same.

Please let me know how you get on and if you have any questions feel free to write ([e-mail]) Also, to Josheph S, I want to know how dark does the tarot thingy looks after you have read more and tried it by yourself.

Yours,

Andres

Answer 10

Rider-waite would be the best deck to start with.  I don't know if his books are still in print, but the ones I used when learning were written by Eden Gray.

Answer 11

I think the Rider-Waite-Smith -- or a Rider-Waite-Smith variant (there are hundreds) is easiest for beginners.

There are three basic types of decks -- Marseilles style, Rider-Waite-Smith (RWS), and Thoth-style.

The Marseilles style is the closest to regular playing cards.  It contains the Major Arcana, or Trump, cards.  It has four face cards.  It also has the "pip" cards -- the Ace through Ten.  Marseilles style decks use a simple "pip count" marking on the pip cards -- just like regular playing cards.

RWS Style decks also have the Trumps and four face cards.  However, RWS decks have "scenes" or "vignettes" on the pip cards.  This makes it MUCH easier to relate to these cards and visualize the meanings of these cards.

Thoth Style cards have the same cards (Trumps, face cards, pip cards) as the others, but every card has unusual and arcane artwork -- non-human kind of artwork.  Each card is labelled with a "word" denoting the meaning of the card.  Thoth decks lend themselves well to advanced Magick work since there is so much symbollism in the artwork; the artwork also ties in astrology and Kabbala well.  In some ways, the card label can make the Thoth deck easy to use for a beginner, in other ways the Thoth deck only begins to shine once a user is adept in astrology and Kabbala.

My vote would be for a RWS deck (or a variant).  Note that there are several versions of the original RWS deck -- the artwork colors vary from stark to smooth.  Most find the smooth colors (I think it's the Universal RWS variant) easier on the eyes.

The majority of Tarot books (but not all) will use a RWS style deck for illustration.  Also, Eden Gray is not a guy; she died several years ago.  She's a Tarot pioneer, but I can't really recommend any of her books.

Answer 12

A book that I found extremely helpful and easy to understand is the Absolute Beginner's Guide to Tarot by Mark McElroy. Decks are a different story altogether. Many readers have favorites that they connect to on some level. Artwork and symbolism seems to be the most common link. You should look around at all the different decks and then choose the one that seems to "call" to you. You can view many of them online.

Answer 13

The most common deck which is listed in most books regarding this topic is the Raider Wait deck.  The imagery used can be seen in a few others as well so if you begin with this deck it is a bit easier to move to another.  There are also many books on this subject as well as websites.  My suggestion is to work with many, not just one.  Take notes on your thoughts as you work with each card and begin with one card at a time.  This process will take time.  It is not something that will happen in a month or two.  Work with your cards/deck every day and carry them with you.

There are also people around that may share their knowledge or teach you what they know.  It might be challenging to find these people, but know that they are all around us.  

I hope you find what you seek.

blessings

Answer 14

The Rider-Waite deck is not meant for beginner's but it is one of the first decks most people start off with.

Personally, I would go in and find a tarot deck that suits you, and find a professional teacher for it.  In addition, you can check a website called Eclectic Tarot (I believe thats how it's spelt).  They check out most of the tarot decks offered, show you pictures of some of the cards, and for most of them, there are small essays written on each, and how easy it was to read from them.

My first tarot deck was the Rider-Waite, and I have found that I currently resonate the most with it and can read the images within it most clearly.  However, this could also be because it was my first deck, and the one that I was professionally trained to read (although I should add that I was proficient before hand, the teaching just helped me to remember all the cards meanings without reverting to a book each time for the meaning).

The only thing I would warn you about when buying the Rider-Waite is that they tend to use overly spiritual and obtuse words to relay their meaning, and that can make them harder to learn if you have no one to teach you.  The modern decks tend to have confusing text, which does make them easier to learn.

Answer 15

rider-waite is the most common deck--good to start with

Answer 16

Its an evil thing that you want to learn. It's wrong, it does work.

Answer 17

Find a deck that has a book to go along with it because in that book it will tell you how to use it and what the cards mean, different draws, everything. The one I got that I LOVE is "The Instant Tarot". It's fabulous.