Superstition has it that you should not buy your first Tarot deck; it should be given to you as a gift. It’s a lovely idea but in reality most people buy their own first deck. I know I would still be waiting if I’d kept with the superstition!
Once you’ve made the decision to learn to read the Tarot, you’re faced with a difficult choice of which deck to buy. There are hundreds of decks on the market ranging in every theme possible – there are classical, spiritual, mythical, religious, comical – the list is endless.
Choice is a wonderful thing but too much and you can become overwhelmed. Most people (me included) start with a Rider Waite deck, or a clone in that style. A.E. Waite, together with the help of artist Pamela Coleman, created a deck back in the early 1900s that had pictorial representations on each card. Before this, the Minor Arcana were just shown literally – for example the card of the 10 of Cups would show an image of 10 Cups. The Rider Waite deck shows a picture of a happy family facing a rainbow made from 10 cups. Symbolism is laced in the cards.
For a beginner images on both the Major and Minor Arcana can be helpful in understanding the meaning. You can look at the card and get involved in the scene being played out. This helps your intuition and for you to develop your own interpretation of the cards.
Another reason for choosing a Rider-Waite style deck is the amount of learning material available which uses those cards. One very good and highly recommended website is Joan Bunnings’s www.learntarot.com. You can download the whole course for free (but if you prefer the more traditional method, a book can be purchased).
The following decks are in the Rider Waite style:
- Rider Waite
- Universal-Waite (better defined images and a more realistic use of colour)
- Albano-Waite (slightly more colourful but the same images as Rider Waite)
- Colman-Smith (bright, on the border of psychedelic, cards)
- Aquatic (softer, brighter cards)
If you decide the Rider Waite cards are not for you that is perfectly acceptable. Tarot is about interpretation and what is right for you as a reader. If you are being drawn to a particular deck then go with your instincts. Having said that, as a beginner it is easier to have images on all the cards. Not all decks have this and unless you are fortunate enough to know a metaphysical store that will let you handle and view the cards before purchase you will need to do some research.
Luckily the internet has some excellent resources. A good place to start is http://www.aeclectic.net/tarot/ This website has images and card reviews of over 350 decks. Joan Bunning’s site (www.learntarot.com) has a shop which displays card images, it’s not as extensive as Aeclectic but does show the back of the cards too.
As a beginner, the world of Tarot can seem a daunting place. Tarot decks are not cheap so getting your first purchase right is important. You are not left high and dry when you’ve bought your first deck as nearly all packs come with a little white book (commonly known as the lwb). This booklet will give you a brief description of the card and it’s traditional meaning for that deck. Sometimes having only the very basics in reference can be your best tool to understand the cards.
Your first deck will become your close companion on what will be a fantastic Tarot journey. And, if the bug bites, it will be the first of many decks to come.
Posted on May 1st, 2006 by Lyn