Are you a tarot newbie? Maybe you had a reading and were intrigued by the cards’ designs and the way the reader interacted with the cards to weave a story about your life. Or maybe you’ve read a little bit about tarot and want to get to know the cards a bit better.
One of the first things you might hear is that you shouldn’t buy a deck for yourself. Instead, you should wait for someone to give one to you. The tarot community has moved away from this idea, mainly because of one simple reason. Our relationship with the cards is a deeply personal one. Aside from divination, many get to know their cards by using them in meditation. Because of this, it is a good idea to look at the designs and choose one that resonates with you.
There are some basic guidelines, though. For your first deck, it might be good to choose a Rider-Waite inspired deck but one that remains true to that deck’s traditional depictions of the cards. Much has been written for beginners, with most of it using this type of deck. And you can find a good variety of artistic styles. Here are some examples:
Traditional Rider Waite tarot: This deck is incredibly rich in symbolism, and the scenes are clearly illustrated. This makes it easier to interpret than some decks. Almost all resources for beginners will be based on this deck.
Hanson Roberts tarot: This deck features slightly medieval artwork with bright, positive colors. Images are clear and stimulating to the intuition. It is easy to interpret the card based on the relationship between images on the card. This is especially true with the major arcana and the court cards.
Morgan Greer tarot: This deck is based on the Rider-Waite Tarot and is designed to create an emotional response through the full, expressive scenes portrayed in deep, saturated colors. The images on the cards draw you into the scene the card depicts, allowing your interpretations to deepen.
There are many other options, but once you start getting into less traditional and more fringe decks, it can be harder to understand. The Fractal Tarot, the Weird Cat Tarot, and even (to a degree) the Thoth tarot deck bring other symbols into the images. Once you have a foundation in traditional styles of interpretation, you can have a lot of fun with unusual decks. But start with a more traditional version. It will help you learn!
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