Tarot

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May 04, 2003

Tarot Decks

It seems like I collect Tarot decks. Over the years, I have acquired the following decks:

The Poet's Tarot, Rider-Waite Tarot, Shakespearean Tarot, and both sizes of Aleister Crowley's Thoth Deck. I remember having the Classic Tarot deck at one point, but must have given it away to someone.

Along with "real" Tarot decks, I also have a collection of other divination decks. These include: Sacred Path Cards, Medicine Cards, Rune Cards, I Ching Cards, the Cards of Winds and Changes, and a few others.

I originally learned Tarot on the Rider-Waite deck. It's a deck that is "traditional" among the New Age crew and there are many books devoted to teaching the deck. For a beginner, the Rider-Waite deck and Eden Gray's "Mastering the Tarot" is a nice little set. It will give you the foundation you need to explore further. And you should explore further.

Although I had already taught myself Tarot, I decided to take a formal class. It was held at a home in Virginia and there were 7 students in the class. The teacher was a woman who had been reading at Psychic Fairs for many years (and also had part-time private sessions on a regular basis). Her class was very interesting, but I think it's what I learned from the interaction with her and the other students that made the class memorable.

I was introduced to the Thoth deck at that class. One of the other students was using that deck and the images attracted me. It is now the main deck that I use for readings.

One of the things I like the most about the deck is that it has multi-system images in the design. It seems like Crowley was versed in many systems and used symbols and images from all of them in each card. It also seems to combine astrology and Tarot. The astrological archetypes are good mnemonics for the card meanings. Sometimes I'm more drawn to the symbols and other times I'm more drawn to the images. It depends on the message that's trying to be conveyed at that time by the card which will make portions of the card more attractive.

Depending on the depth of the reading, I sometimes use multiple decks. Yes, you can use more than one deck for a reading! I've found that it helps to use one of the "non-Tarot" decks with the Tarot to round out the reading.

The Rune cards can give you an idea of what you can do now to influence, change or assist a portion of the reading. The Runes tend to be more immediate and action-oriented in meaning. This will give a querent a course of action for a situation (so they feel more in control rather than at the mercy of the Fates).

The Personal Power cards are another deck that can assist in a reading. They have affirmations on them which are very useful. Usually, it helps to use a deck with a single idea to flush out the meaning of a Tarot card. During my class, I ran across a deck of purple cards with stylized drawings. I don't know what the name of the deck is, but I was able to obtain a copy of them and rigged a handmade deck of cards out of it. I sometimes use these cards to enhance a reading.

To use multiple decks, have the querent shuffle all decks first (until they feel "cooked")... I normally use three decks: The Thoth deck, Runes, and the Purple deck. I use the Thoth deck to lay out the spread. When I use the Golden Dawn spread, I usually put one Rune card at each set of 3 cards and one Purple card at each of the sets. For a pyramid spread, I'll use one Rune card for each layer and one Purple card for each layer. I place the Rune cards on the left side and the Purple cards on the right side of each layer. Then, I read the cards in the spread, using the Purple card as an "idea focal point" and the Rune card for action options. If the Rune seems to contradict the reading cards, it would be an action to change what's displayed. If the Rune seems to be in harmony with the reading cards, it would be an action to initiate or speed the process.

I also have another unusual Tarot deck - the Inspiration Tarot. It's not really a Tarot deck...yet. It's a blank deck where you put your own images in the frame of the card. I've always wanted to create my own deck, but I've had this pack for years and the wrapper was still on it. I broke the wrapper while writing this post. Hopefully, it's a sign that I will work on this deck soon.

Posted by BlueWolf on May 4, 2003 12:18 AM