To those who don't use LWBs...

As you all probably already know by now, I am the poster child of tarot newbies. I am also insane enough to try and learn tarot without the use of any aid beyond asking you guys for help when I am really stuck, just to try and develope my own uncontaminated view of the cards (and no, I don't mean I see explanations as contamination, I just want to have a voice of my own when I begin this journey). I'm even trying (note that it is nearly impossible to participate in this forum without getting a little insight on what others think the cards mean) to avoid looking at any explanations on any card of any deck, except personal decks that people post here, to make my experiment a little more of a challenge.

So, what's this have to do with Tarot creation, you ask? I was thinking that, since I really don't have any book to look at, after a few more months of looking and contemplating my decks, as well as participating in this forum, I will try and create a deck that portrayed my early views of Tarot, after which, I would start reading material, compare it to my earlier thoughts and create a new deck which combined both my early views and my knowledge gained from reading meanings.

First, I have a few questions to all you Tarot creators out there:
1. Has anyone ever tried this and, if so, how did it go for you?
2. Am I stupid to try this?

And to any other newbies out there:
Anyone want to try this with me and learn from eachother's successes and mistakes?

Hi, I am also a newbie, and feel that your approach is novel and well worth trying. I am also trying to create a deck with my limited knowledge. It is helping me learn the card meanings and symbolism more clearly. I first look at the card and write down my intial feelings, then read what the general meaning is then I try to create a card combining the two. How are you progressing? And what helps you?

Interesting idea IT!

When I was first leaning tarot creating my own deck was my main tool. I didn't have access to the internet at the time (and I worked in a bookshop ) so I got as many different books writtin from many different perspectives as I could. When working on a card I would read all the different meanings and then work out what *essential* meaning/s needed to be there and then illustrated that.

I look forward to hearing your reflections and seeing the results of your tarot challenge!

Hey Fanci, nice to meet a fellow newbie! I am happy to hear that someone wants to try and walk down this road with me .

I have tried the same approach as you, with the sole exception that I have not looked at any general meanings (Or at least tried not to. SAee my first post for the reason why). Another thing I have been trying is redrawing the cards (great for catching all those little things you never noticed while just looking at them) from my decks side by side in a notebook to try and compare them. I wouldn't suggest this unless you have a big note book, by the way. I'm already on my third notebook (350 pages each) and I have only been studying them for less than two weeks.

As for how I think I am progressing, I think I am doing pretty well. I try and do a couple three card spreads a day for practice and to see if any of my readings make sense. I don't do that bad... at least I seem to be getting better. Of course, I really won't know how close I am until after I finish my first deck and start learning what the general meanings actually are (for my second deck, that is), so it's turning into a rather suspenceful and exciting journey.

I'm thinking about starting my first deck in 2-3 weeks (I know I said a few months in my first post, but my notebooks are going so fast I probably won't have any left for skecthing ). Maybe I am being a complete fool for rushing things... but I won't know till I try

When are you planning to start on yours?

Nice to meet you Kayne! Impressive post count! I am honored to be in the presence of a Tarot guru

Interesting to hear your take on your first deck! I didn't know that there were essential meanings in tarot cards, so what I come up with for my first deck should be quite interesting, if not completely far off, of what they are supposed to mean. Just makes my experiment more exciting by the minute!

I ask that, when I start creating my deck, please guide me around a bit as I will probably need it .

hi IT--

(immediate thought after typing that is the addam's family-- that great bundle of hair with the sunglasses...LOL!)

anyhow, creating a deck before delving into other peoples slants sounds like a great idea. manifesting your untampered feelings and imagings into a deck you can really handle...

i think you're really onto something here. the ultimate in visual flash cards, so to speak.

you've got an idea i wish i had come up with in my beginnings. it might have saved me a lot of time

go for it
ravenswing

But to create a deck -- you have looked at decks? Which one(s)? You might come out with a fresh veiw -- or just a replication (more or less) of the decks you have worked with?

I would suggest getting a very wide range of old and new decks to look at -- no looking at print, but making sure you use a diverse range of visual sources? This to ensure that the essence you extract is truly 'essential'?

No doubt you have though to this already

which deck do you have? Old ones, a range, the most important? The most experimental and diverse?

I wonder

does it really matter whether you look only at pictures or also at text.

--- personally I see the tarot as %100 about other peoples ideas -- whether repesented visually or in text, with my own slant coming with experience conversing with these ideas and applying my own experience to their archetypal forms. thus your idea sounds odd to me [alas my poor closed mind -- do ignore me]

Hi Turtle,

I read with three others at a book shop. I'm the only one of us who's gone through memorizing, learning and comparing other people's meanings for the cards, mostly from books. The other three just got a deck they liked and learned to let the cards speak to them.

All three are razor sharp diviners. Their clients love and trust them.

I say go for it. You might just be crazy to go at it like this, but I think you're far from stupid.

Fuzz

Ravenswing - Thanks for your comment on how you think I'm on to something. The only problem I see is that this experiment really only works once (unless, of course, I decide to stop studying tarot cards after I create my deck, but I'm not going to do that).

Fuzzmello (love that name by the way ) - Nice to know that there are others that have tried this thing I call "experiment" for divination purposes before. Hopefully it works just as well for divination as it does for creating a deck.

Patter - I should probably explain where the origin of this experiment came from. Whenever I pick up a new medium or an art program, I never look at the instruction manual until I believe I have a firm grasp of it, no matter how frustrating it may be or how long it takes. Why? Because I am serious about art and there's nothing I fear more than to lose my own "voice". When you start with manuals, you see it though the eyes of another person but when you play with something on your own first, you develope your own way of seeing it (which is what I mean by voice). Only when I have found my own voice am I comfortable looking for other voices to help my own voice grow.

At the moment, since I am being serious about learning Tarot, I will treat it as I do any other art form.

To answer your questions, yes I have thought about it, and my Tarot collection has doubled since I decided to take this experiment on (not that doubled is a great number. I started with 5 decks and now I have 10. I can't go too overboard because decks are expensive ).

Before I list the decks that I own I would like to mention that I know pretty much next to nothing about the types of tarot cards, so whether I have chosen my decks correctly for diversity I do not truly know, though I seem to have a wide variation. Here are my decks in the order which I recieved them (special thanks to soem friends who donated a few decks toward my cause ):

Aleister Crowley Thoth
Tarot Art Nouveau
Robin Wood Tarot
Tarot of Ogre Battle (Not on Aeclectic. Looks alot like RW)
Albano-Waite Tarot
Haindl Tarot
Tarot World (Not on Aeclectic. Looks alot like RW)
2 Unamed Tarot Decks (From whet I see on Aeclectic, they appear to be the Marsailles (sp?) type)
Clamp Unofficial Tarot (Not on Aclectic. Looks alot like RW)

In addition to that I have been checking out images of many Tarot cards on the net which is also helping a lot (though my list of decks I want is growing way too fast to keep up with my debit card ).

As to ensure I will extraxt the "essential" meaning from all this visual information, I really can't without looking at text, which would be cheating and therfore destroy the experiment. It is also difficult to find "true essential" meanings with the Tarot decks I own (not to mention all the images on the net I've looked at) as they use different imagery and, therefore, my feelings toward each card is different, although they might have the same name.

I can see why you think my experiment to be odd. In fact, my experiment is completly impractical in many ways. But the purpouse of this experiment is not one in rational thinking. It's about learning how I see the cards with my own eyes, then comparing my own vision with what others think. Maybe it will be successful, maybe it will crash and burn in a pitiful ball of flame. I will only know when I finish. And even if this experiment fails, it will definatly be a fun journey .

Insomnia Turtle said:

Here are my decks in the order which I recieved them (special thanks to soem friends who donated a few decks toward my cause ):

Aleister Crowley Thoth
Tarot Art Nouveau
Robin Wood Tarot
Tarot of Ogre Battle (Not on Aeclectic. Looks alot like RW)
Albano-Waite Tarot
Haindl Tarot
Tarot World (Not on Aeclectic. Looks alot like RW)
2 Unamed Tarot Decks (From whet I see on Aeclectic, they appear to be the Marsailles (sp?) type)
Clamp Unofficial Tarot (Not on Aclectic. Looks alot like RW)

In addition to that I have been checking out images of many Tarot cards on the net

Click to expand...

So you're not trying to do this in a complete vacumn then.

Other artists have, of course, created Tarot Decks without reference to others' explainations - Salvador Dali comes to mind. These efforts have sometimes ended up being completely useless for divination but valid as art nonetheless.

Yours should work though - simply because you've provided yourself with a diverse supply of 'visual information'. You're in for a major transformative journey - enjoy the ride.

It was too late for me to try this - I already knew too much about tarot before I started my deck.

I look forward to seeing your work.