Which study decks do you like best?

Breakbeat_Mystic

An update on this:

My collection is still growing. I got two for BOTA, one 4" by 7" 22 major trump and one of the regular sized 78 card decks - coloring both of those as I go through the Tarot Fundamentals course.

I also have Tabitha Cicero's Babylonian deck which doesn't get a whole lot of use, it was a flashy and inexpensive deck that gives a different vantage point to the Golden Dawn assignments and it's neat to have around but not sure how much I'll do with it.

One thing I am pretty stoked about - I did get one of the last available copies of Nick Farrell and Harry Wendrich's Golden Dawn Temple Tarot. I think that'll actually serve as a wonderful auxilliary to my BOTA decks and I'll probably be using that even more so in conjunction with that than the other ones I have. Its a wonderful deck to have IMHO in lieu of the Thoth for those who aren't as naturally inclined to the Thelemic outlook.
 

EmpyreanKnight

Aside from the Rider Waite and the Golden Universal, I also have the Thoth Tarot. While all adhere to the Golden Dawn system, these were combined with Christian mysticism for the first two and Thelemic concepts for the last, though if one were to study these the Thoth definitely follows the GD system more faithfully. These are definitely worthy of deep contemplation, with the feast of symbols they flaunt and hide at the same time.

But in esotericism none really beats the decks that very strictly adheres to the GD system. I have the Ciceros' Golden Dawn Magical Tarot set, and while the deck alone would satisfy all your cravings, the book is a virtual embarrassment of riches. I'm also set to acquire the Hermetic Tarot, which is another GD adherent, and the Brotherhood of Light Egyptian Tarot, which seems to bore you a bit lol. The latter closely follows C. C. Zain's book The Sacred Tarot, which is chockful of arcane symbolism itself.

Among the G.D. decks, the Regardie-Wang Golden Dawn Tarot and Duquette's Tarot of Ceremonial Magick has fully-fleshed out companion books that deeply delve into their systems, although the latter also supports other knowledge branches such as the Enochian tablets, Goetia, etc. I don't currently possess any of them though.
 

baconwaffles

I'm jumping into this thread a bit haphazardly but, I have a few questions maybe someone here can help me on. First, I am fairly new to the tarot, my first deck because I was completely drawn in was the Hermetic Tarot. I have been using it often and interchanging with the RWS. I realize now they are slightly different perspectives, and have differing roots, it seems.

The Hermetic feels very Qabbalistic(not sure how to spell this), dense with astrological and esoteric symbols. Sometimes it is hard for me to fully grasp what I am seeing. Whereas the RWS is more accessible. As a begiinner would anyone here recommend focusing on one tradition first and familiarizing myself with one fully, for example the Hermetic? And could anyone point me towards resources to begin my studies, as far as Qabbalah and astrology go?
 

Zephyros

It really depends because the avenues of study are so different, although the decks aren't. The RWS is generally seen as an easy, intuitive deck although it is based on the same principles as the Hermetic.

A typical Golden Dawn deck's meanings, of which the RWS is one, are constructed out of their Qabalistic and astrological attribution, working in tandem. It doesn't take that much time or effort to learn the basics of both, at least for the purposes of beginning to read with them. For Qabalah what you chiefly need is a general understanding of how the Tree of Life works, the definitions of its parts and the meanings of the letters of the Hebrew alphabet. Astrology is rather more involved but you can get by with knowing the classical/mythological characteristics of the signs and planets. You could be become reasonably proficient in both in a month or a month and a half. That's the basics of what you need to know, the language or grammar.

After that it's up to you. A prominent feature of a GD deck is its interconnection, and the sky's the limit to where that can take you. Some understanding of how different planets and signs interact with each other astrologically is very useful, Gematria (kind of a Hebrew numerology) is good to know and also general knowledge of Golden Dawn teachings and rituals is also of benefit. But those are things that you naturally pick up over time. They shouldn't overwhelm you right from the start.

Once you have the basic tools under your belt you find that this knowledge isn't good merely for one deck but for all of them. You can pick up any GD deck, RWS, Thoth or even many RWS clones and immediately feel comfortable with them. Some people even use Marseilles decks using GD methods and there's no reason not to. So I would embark on studying those things I've outlined above and then reassess what you want when you've got them down. The reason is that if you study the RWS then you know the RWS, but if you study what the RWS is made of through something like the Hermetic than you'll know all the decks.

As for books, each one gives something else, so it is difficult to say which is best. Still, Chicken Qabalah by Lon Milo DuQuette (under an assumed name) is probably the most approachable, with modern teaching sensibilities. It's also really funny. After that, I found Robert Wang and Dion Fortune useful. As for the astrology, there are many different resources online, and Greek and Roman mythology is really fun to read anyway.

I wrote two short essays on starting out with these things that you might find useful:
http://tarotforum.net/showthread.php?t=201798
http://tarotforum.net/showthread.php?t=213790

There's also a sticky at the top of this forum with links to threads:

http://tarotforum.net/showthread.php?t=11847
 

baconwaffles

As for books, each one gives something else, so it is difficult to say which is best. Still, Chicken Qabalah by Lon Milo DuQuette (under an assumed name) is probably the most approachable, with modern teaching sensibilities. It's also really funny. After that, I found Robert Wang and Dion Fortune useful. As for the astrology, there are many different resources online, and Greek and Roman mythology is really fun to read anyway.

I wrote two short essays on starting out with these things that you might find useful:
http://tarotforum.net/showthread.php?t=201798
http://tarotforum.net/showthread.php?t=213790

There's also a sticky at the top of this forum with links to threads:

http://tarotforum.net/showthread.php?t=11847
Thank you so much for your response, your help, words and the resources you have given me. I have begun reading the threads you wrote.
 

La'al quiet fella

Samael Aun Weor

Within western esotericism the GD systems seem to be the most popular, but thought I would just mention Samael Aun Weor who designed his own Qabalist deck and accompanying books.

These do not follow the attributions the GD used, but Samael Aun Weor's system is widespread as the worldwide 'Gnostic Movement' but seems less known in the Western world, perhaps due to language barriers, (Samael being South American).

Just thought it was maybe worth mentioning as an alternative.
 

EmpyreanKnight

I have just previewed the Kabbalistic Visions Tarot by Scapini and Marini, and it left me awe-struck. Definitely nothing to sniff at, and though not as staid as the other decks mentioned here, it nevertheless seems to belong. I wonder if anyone here has used it for meditative and perhaps even more complex purposes, and what they think of the companion book. I would definitely be ordering it.
 

Whatsawhosit

i use the c.c. zain egyptian deck, they are sparse in art work so i could write all over them and change the errors with the aleph bet correspondences on the majors and astrologically this deck is in the proper order of the constellations which is pretty important to me, it kept my corrections to a minimum of scribbling and swapping cards around.
 

Nemia

I had the chance to swap the Kabbalistisches Tarot of the Tree of Life (wrap your head around that one, you non-Germans!) and although it's quite fugly, I thought it might be useful for study purposes. It has furthermore the distinction of getting only 2 points from Solandia, an achievement in itself.

What I would really like is the Hermetic Kabbalah deck. It looks a whole lot better. But it's so packed full with information that there are probably things which I can't get along with. But it seems an interesting study deck.

Does anyone of you have any experience with either deck? Good or rubbish?
 

Snaut

I had the chance to swap the Kabbalistisches Tarot of the Tree of Life (wrap your head around that one, you non-Germans!) and although it's quite fugly, I thought it might be useful for study purposes. It has furthermore the distinction of getting only 2 points from Solandia, an achievement in itself.

What I would really like is the Hermetic Kabbalah deck. It looks a whole lot better. But it's so packed full with information that there are probably things which I can't get along with. But it seems an interesting study deck.

Does anyone of you have any experience with either deck? Good or rubbish?

Hallo Landsmann,
The first deck you linked to looks really ugly in my opinion. More like flash-cards made by someone like me rather than real tarot cards.

The second one looks nice though, but very dense with information. This may go on my wishlist.
For mere purposes of studying both look useful, but maybe a little dry.