Lady_Elaine
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Posted Mon Feb 04, 2008 5:15 am...
Choosing a Tarot Deck
by Nina Lee Braden
I suppose that I hear more questions from Tarot Apprentices about choosing decks than about almost any other topic. I think that before you choose a deck, you need to decide why you want to study Tarot. Do you want to study Tarot itself, learn its history and traditions? Do you want to understand the system of Tarot? Do you want a mediation tool for yourself? Do you want a divination tool? Well, of course you can want all of the above in your Tarot studies! However, if you are mainly interested in a personal meditation deck, then you will have different criteria from one who also wants to understand Tarot as a system of symbols.
If you want to study Tarot as a system, I recommend that you start with a "standard" deck. What I mean by a standard deck is one of the three generally accepted landmark decks upon which many other decks as based, the Marseilles deck, the Rider-Waite (Smith) deck, and the Thoth (Aleister Crowley) deck, or a deck which is modeled after one of these decks. Most books written on Tarot are keyed to one of these three decks or a derivative of one of these decks, so if you have one of them, then you will be better able to follow the discussion in the books.
Personally, unless either the Marseilles tradition or the Thoth tradition speak to you more, I would recommend the Rider Waite because it is the most widely accepted deck in use today, although there is no true single standard. If you don't like the Rider Waite (Smith) deck, but are interested in it, I would encourage you to check out the Universal Waite. It has the same pictures, but it was colored by Mary Hanson- Roberts and many people find it more attractive. Waite-Smith clones or variants include the Hanson-Roberts deck, the Robin Wood deck, the Aquarian deck, the Morgan-Greer deck, and the Russian Tarot of St. Petersburg. These and many others have minor differences from the Rider Waite (Smith) deck that make them more appealing to some but that don't really confuse the newer reader who is trying to use a book or guide keyed to the Rider Waite Smith deck.
If you don't really care about Tarot as a system, but want something for personal meditation work and/or divination, I would advise just being sensitive and seeing what deck "calls" to you. Different decks call to different people. In fact, different decks call to the same person at different times. The deck that "calls" to you may not even be a Tarot deck. Instead, it could be the Medicine Cards or the Beasts of Albion or some other meditation/divination deck.
Now, if you have multiple goals/desires for your Tarot study and work, you may need or want more than one deck, a "standard" deck and also one that calls to you. Some people are fortunate and find that one of the standard decks is the one that they like most, and for them, one deck may be sufficient. I tell everyone to use a deck that he/she feels comfortable with, that works for him/her. I have several decks, and I choose the one to read with based on the purpose of the reading and the mood of the moment.
When choosing decks, there is really no substitute for being able to look at the cards in person. Try to patronize a store that has open decks for you to look at. Barring that, get a copy of the U.S. Games catalog to look at. (The address of U.S. Games is 179 Ludlow Street, Stamford, CT 06902. Their phone number is 1-800-544-2637. Their fax number is 1-203-353-8431.) This catalog doesn't list all decks, but it does show pictures from many different decks and may help you to get a feel for what speaks to you. An excellent resource, should you have access to it, is Stuart Kaplan's 3 volume Encyclopedia of Tarot which has pictures of more decks than you can imagine.
Depending on what sort of deck you are looking for, there are many excellent ones to choose from. The Hanson-Roberts deck is a very soft, gentle deck, derived from the Rider-Waite. It is smaller in size than most decks and easier for many people to shuffle. (It also takes up less room on the table.) This was my first deck and the deck that I usually give as a gift to those first expressing interest in Tarot. It is also a good deck for children. The Robin Wood is also a Waite clone, but it has a breezier feel, more contemporary, and a slight Pagan touch as well. The Witches Tarot is a Qabalistic Pagan deck. There is a Native American deck and a Medicine Woman deck, for those interested in Native American culture. There are feminist decks, Celtic decks, Norse decks,....the list is practically endless.
Choosing a Tarot deck is highly subjective. Some decks seem to work well for many people. Others work well for only a few people. You need to find the deck that works best for you. No deck is really universal. One more word: I would recommend that most beginners choose a deck that has descriptive pictures on the Minor Arcana. This seems to help us to learn the meanings of the Minors. The Waite decks and their derivatives all have descriptive pictures on the minors, as do many other decks. Be sure to check this though before buying a deck unless you don't mind a deck with pictures only on the Majors and court cards.
In making a decision on how buying your deck(s), you might think about who you read for. Do you read primarily for yourself? Or do you read for others? If you read for others, you might want to have at least one other deck, even if it is a second copy of your main deck, so that you can have a private deck and a public deck. If you have only the Norse deck (a good deck), and were to read for someone who had no affinity at all for the Norse tradition, there might be a problem. A more neutral deck would be better in that case. I know one professional reader who uses the Daughters of the Moon deck almost exclusively. She loves it and it resonates for her better than any other. However, she keeps a couple of other decks handy for those querents who do not like the Daughters of the Moon deck. (Many men would have trouble with a reading from that deck, for instance.)
The main thing is to be comfortable with the deck or decks that you are using. Again, knowing what you want from a deck will help you to avoid mistakes here. And know that it is perfectly fine to have more than one deck, to change decks from time to time. When I first began reading, I used the Hanson-Roberts deck. Later, I began using the Robin Wood deck. I shifted to the Voyager deck, and currently I am reading with the Osho Zen deck. However, my mental deck, the deck that I "see" in my mind when I read or think of a card, is the Universal Waite deck. Am I fickle to change decks? I don't think so. Did I make a mistake with the earlier deck choices? Absolutely not! Those are excellent decks, and I still read with them on occasion. I just changed, and with my changes, what I wanted and needed from a Tarot deck changed. Other readers stay with the same deck for 25 or more years.
Remember, the main thing is your level of comfort with your deck. If it feels good to keep the same deck, do so. If it feels good to change, do so. There are no mistakes, only opportunities for learning and growth.
by Nina Lee Braden
I suppose that I hear more questions from Tarot Apprentices about choosing decks than about almost any other topic. I think that before you choose a deck, you need to decide why you want to study Tarot. Do you want to study Tarot itself, learn its history and traditions? Do you want to understand the system of Tarot? Do you want a mediation tool for yourself? Do you want a divination tool? Well, of course you can want all of the above in your Tarot studies! However, if you are mainly interested in a personal meditation deck, then you will have different criteria from one who also wants to understand Tarot as a system of symbols.
If you want to study Tarot as a system, I recommend that you start with a "standard" deck. What I mean by a standard deck is one of the three generally accepted landmark decks upon which many other decks as based, the Marseilles deck, the Rider-Waite (Smith) deck, and the Thoth (Aleister Crowley) deck, or a deck which is modeled after one of these decks. Most books written on Tarot are keyed to one of these three decks or a derivative of one of these decks, so if you have one of them, then you will be better able to follow the discussion in the books.
Personally, unless either the Marseilles tradition or the Thoth tradition speak to you more, I would recommend the Rider Waite because it is the most widely accepted deck in use today, although there is no true single standard. If you don't like the Rider Waite (Smith) deck, but are interested in it, I would encourage you to check out the Universal Waite. It has the same pictures, but it was colored by Mary Hanson- Roberts and many people find it more attractive. Waite-Smith clones or variants include the Hanson-Roberts deck, the Robin Wood deck, the Aquarian deck, the Morgan-Greer deck, and the Russian Tarot of St. Petersburg. These and many others have minor differences from the Rider Waite (Smith) deck that make them more appealing to some but that don't really confuse the newer reader who is trying to use a book or guide keyed to the Rider Waite Smith deck.
If you don't really care about Tarot as a system, but want something for personal meditation work and/or divination, I would advise just being sensitive and seeing what deck "calls" to you. Different decks call to different people. In fact, different decks call to the same person at different times. The deck that "calls" to you may not even be a Tarot deck. Instead, it could be the Medicine Cards or the Beasts of Albion or some other meditation/divination deck.
Now, if you have multiple goals/desires for your Tarot study and work, you may need or want more than one deck, a "standard" deck and also one that calls to you. Some people are fortunate and find that one of the standard decks is the one that they like most, and for them, one deck may be sufficient. I tell everyone to use a deck that he/she feels comfortable with, that works for him/her. I have several decks, and I choose the one to read with based on the purpose of the reading and the mood of the moment.
When choosing decks, there is really no substitute for being able to look at the cards in person. Try to patronize a store that has open decks for you to look at. Barring that, get a copy of the U.S. Games catalog to look at. (The address of U.S. Games is 179 Ludlow Street, Stamford, CT 06902. Their phone number is 1-800-544-2637. Their fax number is 1-203-353-8431.) This catalog doesn't list all decks, but it does show pictures from many different decks and may help you to get a feel for what speaks to you. An excellent resource, should you have access to it, is Stuart Kaplan's 3 volume Encyclopedia of Tarot which has pictures of more decks than you can imagine.
Depending on what sort of deck you are looking for, there are many excellent ones to choose from. The Hanson-Roberts deck is a very soft, gentle deck, derived from the Rider-Waite. It is smaller in size than most decks and easier for many people to shuffle. (It also takes up less room on the table.) This was my first deck and the deck that I usually give as a gift to those first expressing interest in Tarot. It is also a good deck for children. The Robin Wood is also a Waite clone, but it has a breezier feel, more contemporary, and a slight Pagan touch as well. The Witches Tarot is a Qabalistic Pagan deck. There is a Native American deck and a Medicine Woman deck, for those interested in Native American culture. There are feminist decks, Celtic decks, Norse decks,....the list is practically endless.
Choosing a Tarot deck is highly subjective. Some decks seem to work well for many people. Others work well for only a few people. You need to find the deck that works best for you. No deck is really universal. One more word: I would recommend that most beginners choose a deck that has descriptive pictures on the Minor Arcana. This seems to help us to learn the meanings of the Minors. The Waite decks and their derivatives all have descriptive pictures on the minors, as do many other decks. Be sure to check this though before buying a deck unless you don't mind a deck with pictures only on the Majors and court cards.
In making a decision on how buying your deck(s), you might think about who you read for. Do you read primarily for yourself? Or do you read for others? If you read for others, you might want to have at least one other deck, even if it is a second copy of your main deck, so that you can have a private deck and a public deck. If you have only the Norse deck (a good deck), and were to read for someone who had no affinity at all for the Norse tradition, there might be a problem. A more neutral deck would be better in that case. I know one professional reader who uses the Daughters of the Moon deck almost exclusively. She loves it and it resonates for her better than any other. However, she keeps a couple of other decks handy for those querents who do not like the Daughters of the Moon deck. (Many men would have trouble with a reading from that deck, for instance.)
The main thing is to be comfortable with the deck or decks that you are using. Again, knowing what you want from a deck will help you to avoid mistakes here. And know that it is perfectly fine to have more than one deck, to change decks from time to time. When I first began reading, I used the Hanson-Roberts deck. Later, I began using the Robin Wood deck. I shifted to the Voyager deck, and currently I am reading with the Osho Zen deck. However, my mental deck, the deck that I "see" in my mind when I read or think of a card, is the Universal Waite deck. Am I fickle to change decks? I don't think so. Did I make a mistake with the earlier deck choices? Absolutely not! Those are excellent decks, and I still read with them on occasion. I just changed, and with my changes, what I wanted and needed from a Tarot deck changed. Other readers stay with the same deck for 25 or more years.
Remember, the main thing is your level of comfort with your deck. If it feels good to keep the same deck, do so. If it feels good to change, do so. There are no mistakes, only opportunities for learning and growth.
If you cant explain it simply, you dont understand it well enough.-- Albert Einstein
Blessings Bright and Dark,
