Beanie Posted January 10, 2021 Posted January 10, 2021 Hi everyone when starting off on your tarot journey which deck is the best to begin with I hear a lot about rider Waite but am thinking larger cards so to see everything a bit better but not sure, any advice is appreciated 👍
Grandma Posted January 10, 2021 Posted January 10, 2021 I recommend Rider Waite Smith as a starter deck. There is actually a large version called, appropriately, the Giant RWS. You can easily Google it. It's big enough to be unwieldy to shuffle according to comments - I've never used it. One solution would be to shuffle and draw from a standard RWS and then lay out the same spread from the bigger deck. But take a look at the standard deck if you haven't already done so. It's not difficult to make out the details.
katrinka Posted January 10, 2021 Posted January 10, 2021 A standard sized Tarot is pretty big. If you have trouble making out the details, why not use a magnifying glass? I think something like this would look cool on a reading table:https://www.garrettwade.com/copper-based-tabletop-magnifier.html
Grandma Posted January 10, 2021 Posted January 10, 2021 I LOVE this magnifier. Thank you for sharing it @katrinka! I shall order it pronto, if for no other reasons than its beauty and the opportunity to finally be able to read with the Shadowscapes deck!
katrinka Posted January 10, 2021 Posted January 10, 2021 It IS pretty. And it looks like you could put it on a black cloth and gaze into it like a crystal ball...
LogicalHue Posted January 10, 2021 Posted January 10, 2021 Have you looked around much and seen any that appeal to you? Any that really don't? I honestly feel like there are more decks that are fine for beginners than not. And any deck is fine if it really works for you. One thing to consider with size is handling the deck. The bigger the deck the trickier they are to deal with physically - for me anyway. Focusing on decks that have simpler / clearer imagery (which I feel like RWS does) may be easier in the long run than trying to get bigger cards.
katrinka Posted January 11, 2021 Posted January 11, 2021 The well-known decks are best for getting help at places like this. That way we can jump right in and you don't have to clarify what the cards are. RWS is very good that way, but if you don't like it, there are others. The Thoth is gorgeous. It's what people call a "pip deck", meaning the Minors show, for instance, four Cups rather than a jaded guy sitting under a tree, but they're still very expressive and it's easy to get the gist of them:http://www.aeclectic.net/tarot/cards/aleister-crowley-thoth/ The deck is complex, but you don't need to know everything to start using them. There's no reason a person shouldn't start off with the Thoth - a lot of people have. Another standard is the Tarot de Marseilles decks. http://www.aeclectic.net/tarot/cards/marseille-pierre-madenie/ It looks difficult at first, but it's actually pretty simple: just learn the meaning of the four suits, and the meanings of the numbers 1-10, and you've got your basics. From there, you can add as many - or as few - techniques as you like. It's a different system, but a lot of us are familiar with it. If you decide to go with a theme deck that follows RWS, make sure it's done well. The decks from Baba Studios are excellent - top of the line! The Fantastic Menagerie - which is one of my best reading decks - is currently available, as is the large format Tarot of Prague, which is SUMPTUOUS:https://baba-store.com/collections/decks-currently-available If you like weirdness, there's the Deviant Moon:http://www.aeclectic.net/tarot/cards/deviant-moon/ If you need something VERY inexpensive, the Miss Cleo can often be found on ebay for $10 or less. Ignore the low rating: people like to talk smack about this one, but it's actually a decently functioning deck. http://www.aeclectic.net/tarot/cards/miss-cleo-tarot-power/ If you like 70's kitsch, there's the Morgan Greer:http://www.aeclectic.net/tarot/cards/morgan-greer/ And the Aquarian:http://www.aeclectic.net/tarot/cards/aquarian/ Moving into the 80's, there's the Hanson-Roberts:http://www.aeclectic.net/tarot/cards/hanson-roberts/ The Connolly is quite nice, and you can use it for face-to-face practice readings on people who might be freaked out by some of the others. Just remember that "Transition" is actually Death, and while it usually isn't a literal death, it does talk about endings:http://www.aeclectic.net/tarot/cards/connolly/ There's others, more than I can call to mind. As a rule, it's better to go with a mass produced deck if you're just starting out. A lot of the indie deck/Kickstarter artists are primarily artists. What this means is that they haven't studied Tarot very deeply, they just see a Tarot deck as a good way to sell some art. And showcasing their art is a bigger priority to them than Tarot symbolism. I'm not saying all indie decks are bad, or all mass produced decks are good - far from it! - just that this often seems to be the case.
AlbaTross Posted January 15, 2021 Posted January 15, 2021 (edited) I think if I were to go back and give a recommendation to myself when I got my first deck, it would be to go with something in the RWS tradition, maybe even the RWS deck. Both TdM and Thoth look interesting to me, but I'm glad that every deck since the one I've started with has been RWS, as the number cards all contain imagery to assist in understanding their meaning. Most resources I've come across have been RWS-based too. Of course, RWS decks seem to be far more common than the rest, as the vast majority of decks I've come across seem to come from this tradition. I'd say try to find one that really sticks closely to the RWS imagery as well, as it's the general meaning of those cards that you're trying to learn, and then you can branch out from there. I'd also recommend sticking to decks with defined imagery. The images don't have to be overly complex, as Everyday Tarot is a good example of one where the images are very simple. But, I wouldn't recommend a deck where the pictures are overly abstract, as that can make it difficult to determine their meaning. Having cards with text in English, or another language you understand, is also a great idea. They can be in more than one language, so long as at least one language you understand is there. Once you're more experienced, text on cards is less important, but you'll have a really difficult time with a lot of, say, Lo Scarabeo decks that have no text if you're just starting out. I would especially recommend seeing if you can get a deck with a good guidebook. If you stick to the traditional RWS and clone decks, you can find all sorts of resources to assist you in understanding the imagery. But, if you're going to work with decks that have different imagery, even if it all represents the traditional meanings, having a good guidebook will help you understand the thought process, and how the cards relate back to the traditional meanings. It's great to rely on intuition too, but you'll be more able to fall back on that once you at least have a basic grasp of a good portion of the cards. Until then, you're going to want to have as many resources as possible, and if the guidebook is barely existent or not present at all, you might really feel stuck. Edited January 15, 2021 by AlbaTross
JeanJames Posted January 15, 2021 Posted January 15, 2021 Great topic, very informative. I’m looking for a new deck and I’m really taken with the Morgan Greer that Katrinka mentions, so may try that. Also looking at The Dreaming Way. I’m studying tarot again in earnest and relate to what you’re saying about the imagery and traditional meanings - it’s very important for me at that the images support and represent the meanings in a clear way. I don’t think this has always been the case with some of my previous decks, which have had beautiful imagery but perhaps haven’t ‘spoken’ to me clearly. Helpful guidance and advice - thank you!
Guest Posted January 15, 2021 Posted January 15, 2021 The “Marseille” style tarots are, for me, the best deck for beginners. Their iconography is simple, yes, but powerful and have influenced most schools of thought. Start with the 21-trumps and Fool. After a while, you can then add in the pips. The Ancien Tarot de Marseille is my preferred. If you do not like the woodcuts you could try the Sopraffino tarots (Della Rocca, 11J, et cetera). There is another very interesting tarot referred to as the Thomson Leng. It is, however, quite small (poker size).
Guest Posted February 13, 2021 Posted February 13, 2021 Get a deck you really love the look of. I bought a RWS and pretty much threw it out. The artwork is eerily similar to a bible I owned as a child. Nope, not using that. I eventually settled on a deck that depicts my special interest (Faerie) without being twee. It's very beautiful without a preponderance of fairytale childrens characters all over it. There are hundreds of decks in print, choose one that speaks to you because you will need to spend hours with it.
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