Tarot anyone?

[Sparkly Girl]

Just wondering if anyone on this forum reads cards or knows someone that does, or knows any good websites or books to learn. If you think Tarot is stupid, please don't flame me. I am just interested in learning about it.

[dead man's girly]

<font face="comic sans ms">I've been reading the Tarot for about three or four years now. Edith Gray has written several books that are good for beginners. It's best to learn from someone, a professional, though. At least in my opinion. In the two years that I've studied with an actual psychic (yeah, argue it all you want ;) ) my learning and abilities have increased greatly.

And you know, the Tarot are a great source for meditation. Most decks (I use the Ryder-Waites deck most of the time) are designed based on ancient archetypes. I meditate on a card every day and it's helped me a lot.

[Sparkly Girl]

<font color=brown>Medea (love your name),
Where do you buy these things? I mean you can't just walk into Wal-Mark and find a deck of Tarot cards...I'm going to New Orleans this weekend...Do you think the voodoo shops carry that stuff?

[boy_for_pele]

I have the Universal Waite deck. I have tried to teach myself, but it isn't easy, so I haven't accomplished that much. I got mine in Spencer Gifts for about $22 and they came with a book.

[jcldragon]

<a href="http://home.beseen.com/internet/jclanim1/br.gif" target="blank"><img src="http://home.beseen.com/belief/jcldragon/myicons/tr.gif" align="left"></a> I began studying Tarot & Kabala back in 68. If you look at my website, you'll find an article I wrote called the Spiritual Tarot. In it, I explain the structure underlying the Tarot, and the meanings of all the cards. I think you'll find that very useful.

[dead man's girly]

<font face="comic sans ms">I got my first deck of cards at a Borders book store; I'm pretty sure Barnes and Noble has them, too. My favorite deck I purchased from an occult store.

[Antigone]

Just wanted to chime in here that I used to read Tarot cards regularly (and was scarily, eerily accurate). I have the Ryder-Waite deck, given as a gift. I was told (take this as you wish) that the best decks are given to you not bought by you.

I do know a friend had this amazing deck that just TINGLED when I held it. And she never used it. I was like "this deck should be mine!" but she never picked up on it.

I also have dabbled with - but don't own - Medicine Cards. They're fantastic.

Go to a good occult store, or a bookstore that is friendly (ie not a big huge Barnes and Noble type unless you know people there) and look at the cards. Some come in kits with books and other things. Handle them. See what feels right.

Oh and don't do what I did - try to get away from using "the book" after a while. Try to read whatever you see in the cards, trust your instincts. And don't really try to read your own cards - I've found it disastrous unless I desperately needed some sort of advice.

Oh and more advice - I found the King's Cross method easiest to read. But it's not the only way by a longshot.

Good luck!
Antigone

[bear]

I have dabbled for about 5 years now. I was really into it for a while and then moved on to dabble in other things.(I have a tendency to do that:))

I have found 2 books to be helpful:

Tarot for Beginners: An Easy Guide to Understanding and Interpreting the Tarot by P. Scott Hollander

Tarot for Your Self by Mary K. Greer

The first one is great because it is in line with what Antigone says. It tells you to go through the Major Arcana of the deck one card at a time (BEFORE reading the books interpretations) and write down any and all interpretations you get from it. Be it simple things that stand out, etc. Because really it comes down to your interpretation and intuition and if you read the books interpretation first you WILL be influenced by it.

I have 4 decks because none felt right until the last one I got. You need to feel them and hold them and such. You may not know if it is right until after you use it though.

Good luck and have fun.

bear

[bear]

Good website that has pictures from a lot of different decks:


http://www2.dgsys.com/~bunning/decklist.htm


bear

[syvvie]

http://www.learntarot.com

this site has heaps of information and tells you where you can order just about any deck out there. it also has a section for non-tarot cards.

a bit off-topic, but...you know what i hate? those commercials for phone psychic/tarot lines that are so full of crap it's pathetic. the woman lays down one card and says something like "Oh, the queen of cups. your husband is a crackhead who is still fucking his ex-wife 3 times a week and just got her pregnant with twins". what the fuck ever! i wish i knew how to get all that specific information about people from one card;)

[Elise]

I've gotten my decks at Borders (and amazon.com when they didn't have one in I wanted). You don't have to start w/ Ryder-Waite, I'd recommend to just go with whatever deck really speaks to you.
One of my personal faves is the Goddess Tarot, I find the images to be really helpful in reading spreads, they're very intuitive and it's an excellent deck for meditation as well.

P.S. If you do get a more 'theme' deck like that, then don't agonise over figuring out the Ryder-Waite correspondents for it. Every deck is a bit different, its better to just develop a general sense of the cards' meanings over time, and use their booklets (I've never used the really huge books for decks though) to augment that, mainly when you start out.

[Sparkly Girl]

<font color=bronze>Thank you everyone for your advice and links, etc.</font color=bronze> :O

[SeekerKosh]

Well, I learned Tarot from a witch, and I then developped my own style. At my peak, I was about 80-100% accurate. I haven't done any readings in a little more than a year, now...

Tarot is about image interpretation, and NOT psychic energy or spirit channeling. What's happening is the querent (person having their tarot read)shuffles the deck, and picks their cards at random. When turned over into the proper pattern, the cards reveal a "story" of sorts, each card's image one part of the greater mosaic.

I reccommend the Witche's Tarot as your starter deck. The images are clear and well-defined, and designed lovingly and spiritually. The Witche's Tarot is an "erotic" deck, with many nudes, but then the whole concept of wands and swords (phallic male imagery) and cups and coins (utero-vaginal female imagery) which forms the basis of the Minor Arcana is in itself somewhat sexual in origin.

That's all I gots to say...

[SisterJanet]

My grandmother learned how to read regular playing cards from a psychic in Rhode Island when she was young. She made some frighteningly scary predictions (like the death of a friend's brother and the birth of 2 sons to a woman who was unable to ever have children). Anyway, being very Catholic, she was forced to stop. The priest said it was the devil's work and she had to immediately stop using the cards. It's really sad b/c now that she's dead, I haven't been able to find anyone who knows how to read playing cards the way she did. Most people seem to be into the Tarot. I've looked on the internet for instructions and stuff...but I guess it's just a lost art. All I know is that the 9 of hearts represents a pregnant woman. Anyway, if someone knows about this or where I can learn about it, I'd appreciate any info.
~Allison~

[pretty dark]

http://community.webshots.com/album/634726
has images of major arcana rider-waite

http://home.att.net/~vilex/
holly's rider-waite site

http://www.goldenempire.org/chariots/
forty-nine chariots

[Electrolite]

I got tarot cards several years ago - the Merlin Tarot, has anyone heard of it?

I bought them complete with book from a 'new age' shop in the Lake District (UK). I could never quite get the hang of it though. I really feel like I have a sixth sense though, and often I dream things and then they happen (this has happened since a child). I thought tarot would come naturally, but it didn't. There seems to be a few experts here, does it come naturally?

[Sparkly Girl]

<font color=bronze>after posting this thread last night and doing a bit of research today based on some of the things that you guys posted in here, i feel drawn to the osho-zen tarot. none of you really mentioned it, but one of the links sent me to a page with 49 different types of cards...i just looked through them, and studied them briefly. osho-zen just grabs me for some reason. i'm not sure i'm just gonna run out and buy them, i'd like to look through a deck first to actually see them...but anyhow, thanks again everybody, you've been very helpful. </font color=bronze>

[Spacegrrrl]

Yep.
I have the Ryder-Waite deck. Someone else bought it for me (for Christmas, ironically enough) so I wasn't able to pick out my own and I don't know where she bought it. I think if I DID pick out my own it would be the one with all the animals on it...don't know what it's called...
Anyway, I do readings once in a great while....I'm so out of practice I have to cheat by looking at the book...although it's easy to remember what the suites stand for and then you can get a general reading, anyway. (i.e.-pentacles=money) I think of readings more as a sort of tool, like if you meditate on the cards you sort of unlock your subconscious mind a little. Like it's not actually the cards TELLING you what the situation is or what will happen but your mind pieces together the pattern or story the cards relate and you realize you knew the answer the whole time but it was locked away in your subconscious. Know what I mean?
When I do readings I prefer to use the Celtic Cross.

[toriphile8674]

i read the tarot for about 2 years...and then suddenly i stopped...i didnt feel emotionally stable so i didnt read for a while and then i moved during the move i felt so cluttered i have 7 tarot decks to good friends and lost my two favs that i kept...after i settled in from the move and felt a little healthier i got into other things...i was getting really good too.....
my favs are tarot of a moon garden and this one not really tarot but cards with flowers on them it was my first and the easiest for me to read....

[BodyShots of Christ]

i began studying Tarot in 1986 and my first deck was The Mythic Tarot which is a wonderfully integrated blend of Greek Mythology and Tarot..my second deck was The Cosmic Tarot..which is another branch of the Ryder-Waite Deck and i still use it because i find the art so engaging- it is very full and lusty with all things necessary like life, death, sorrow, rejuvenation etc...both these decks are easy to find and (i think) worth checking out..
otherwise..i have collected many splendid decks over the years..i have a very hard to find German deck and a VERY *SPOOKED* Spanish deck a friend gifted me with many years ago....
There are so many decks these days and all of them are so beautiful and engaging and, yeah like others have said..much easier to get a hold of than ever!!
And the decks these days are so unique so it is a good idea to have trustworthy authors who teach you the basics...one of my faves has been Rachel Pollack...her books are titled "Seventy Eight Degrees of Wisdom-part I and II"..taking you through the Major and Minor Arcanta,and also by her.."The Open Labyrinth" which lets you explore many different Tarot spreads...
In line with the Qabalah and Tarot...an author i found VERY!! useful was Amber Jayanti..her book is called "Living With Tarot" and very easily incorporates the knowledge of the Tarot and The Qabalah in an easy to understand..."homeworky" kind of way..if that makes sense..

otherwise..the advise given above about websites and decks is great too..use them!!
Have fun!!!!

[bear]

toriphile8674 - that deck was my fav too! Tarot of the Moon Garden. Some people find that deck a little bubbly so I've heard but I really liked it. I am not holding tight to that now because it has been awhile since I practiced and who knows what I am drawn to now.;) But, it was the first that really hit home with me. I also have, The Spiral Tarot, The Renaissance Tarot and The Herbal Tarot. I LOVE the Herbal Tarot too but it has a lot more too it. Every Card is also represented by an Herb and looks at the physical and spiritual qualities of those herbs. I am an herbal girl so it was my first deck.

This thread has inspired me. It's funny too cause I started thinking about practicing again a couple days before this thread popped up.

bear

[KJnomadic]

i like what spacegrrrl said:

"I think of readings more as a sort of tool, like if you meditate on the cards you sort of unlock your subconscious mind a little. Like it's not actually the cards TELLING you what the situation is or what will happen but your mind pieces together the pattern or story the cards relate and you realize you knew the answer the whole time but it was locked away in your subconscious. "

i will look at the interpretations in books too, but only as guides...keep your mind open and receptive, and you'll be able to interpret where the cards are leading you...

just a personal story: i had taken 3 or 4 pregnancy tests that showed a negative result...i am wildly irregular so it made sense i could just be late, but i was so confused...i *felt* pregnant, but the tests were messing with my head so i didn't "know"...i finally decided to clear my mind, trust my own intuition and read my tarot cards...i can't remember which pattern i chose that night, but over half of the cards were clearly calling out "pregnancy" to me...the others dealt with community and life changes...and, yes, i was pregnant...he's four now :)

trusting your own intuition is important, if you clear away all the other information you process all the time...tarot cards can help you explore that

[jcldragon]

<a href="http://home.beseen.com/internet/jclanim1/trinity.gif" target="blank"><img src="http://home.beseen.com/belief/jcldragon/myicons/trinity.gif" align="left"></a>Sister Janet, I cover the issue of reading with a 52 card deck in my article on the Spiritual Tarot on my website. I use the Tree of Life for laying out the cards, after I have the person I'm doing the reading for, shuffle them. The deck you use is up to you. What I have written applies to all of them. And, I don't charge for my knowledge. I put it all up there on the net for free. My only interest is generating good karma.

[Paganvamp]

i have the vampire deck
a friend bought it for me
and it has always clicked with me
may i suggest finding a deck that is very good pictures
i never read out of those books and tent to get more feeling from a descriptive picture on the card

[P-boy Mommy]

The Osho Zen Tarot deck is the best i've ever used, and i've been reading for 13 years. It's beautifully illustrated, pretty neutral in gender, and very accessible. It always tells me what i need to know, regardless of whether it's what i want to hear. I do the best readings for other people with this deck. Several friends of mine who were curious about tarot stumbled upon my cards and have since bought decks of their own and use them regularly. I know i sound like a total salesperson here, but, at the risk of that, i *really* have to recommend this fabulous deck!

http://www.osho.com/Main.cfm?Area=Magazine&Sub1Menu=Tarot&Sub2Menu=OshoZenTarot&Language=English

Happy reading!

[post100]

[Vintage Betty]

I am an online tarot reader and I use the Tarot of the Druids :) I have found it to be very accurate when doing my readings, and really love the design of it.

[1500]

I had a deck back in HS. It was the hangman's version. My friend bought it for me right before I started HS, but I never used it until about sophmore year. I was never fully open to the deck and then I got spooked after a bad experience I decided to get rid of them. My friend warned me not to burn the deck so I threw them out. Two days later they were on my shelf in the spot I use to keep them. Never could explain that one ( could have been anything really).

I've been drawn to the cards many times since, but have never acted on it. They give me an odd feeling, but I have always had this strange calling to them. I'm curious. I would like to look through a deck again, but it doesn't feel right just yet.

[angel84]

^^ I bought a deck awhile back, and i was planning on getting a book, but i couldn't find any that looked good, or helpful as i wanted. the cards were in a case, so i couldn't hold them, i could have, but i didn't ask. I didn't feel drawn to any of the decks, i just didn't like their selection, but i really wanted a deck, and so i got one, i don't remember what it was though. But i lost them, i seriously lost them. And when looking back on it, i think it is the opposite of what lotus moon said, i think that they were not the right deck for me, and i think it is just better i didn't deal with them.

But i hope to get a deck soon, a deck i like, that i can work with. And then i think after reading what everyone here has suggested, i think i want to find some one who can teach me, or just buy a deck, and look through them, and then find some one. I don't know. But good luck to everyone here who still needs it. This thread is over 3 years old, lol. So then good luck to those who need it. :)

[hugs]
Jessi

[Tirgana]

I've been reading Tarot for over twenty years, the last ten professionally. My favorite deck was also my first which is the Cat People deck. I also use the Cosmic and Native American Spiritually. There are decks for almost every interest. Borders, Barnes and Noble--most of the chains have them. If you go to Witchvox.com and look under shops you'll be able to find a store in your area that carries spiritual items including tarot.
The Connelly books are the best to start from they have the best information that is the easiest to retain.

I also do online readings if anyone is interested.
Tirgana