Did you start with RWS?

bershka

Yes, this is the first deck I used to learn tarot!

I love the symbolism and beautiful colours :)

Now, I am ready to move to other tarots xD
 

arcana17

Yes, my first deck was the Universal Waite.

I still love it dearly.
 

MeeWah

Yes, acquired during teen years, so my RWS decades old. Very fond of it since it not only represents my first Tarot deck, but one with which I learned to appreciate Tarot & its symbolism. I never tire of seeing its images. & the learning continues despite its frayed & stained appearance.

I acquired a UK edition from a dear friend that is like a twin version of my old reliable, but in far better condition. It, too, reads in like fashion.

At the time, the only deck available. That it has not only withstood time, but remains popular for both the beginner & the experienced very telling.
 

lunafae

I started with a Hanson-Roberts. I still go back to it when comparing decks.
I got a Radiant RWS for Xmas as a gift longtime ago and gave to a friend.I used it as a learning curve but found my readings were muddy.
I like RWS clones but not so fond of the original eventhough it's an all round deck.Different RWS decks might change my mind though.
 

Starling

I think that one of the reasons I love this deck is that it is the one that I've gotten the best readings out of. It is also decades old. It is in a bag because the box disintegrated decades ago, and not because I thought it needed to be in a bag for any other reason.

At the time I bought it, it was probably the only deck available. And for a long time it was the only "real" deck out there, again for me. In fact, I'm amazed that other people actually can read with other decks. Most of the others that I bought were bought because I thought they were pretty, or beautiful, but when I opened them up I realized that something was missing from them.

I don't find the art work particularly wonderful in this deck. But it is complete in a way that even the clones I've taken a good look at aren't.
 

ofbainbridge

I also started with the Rider/Waite...it was the deck my mother used and at the time being so young I had not idea that there were even any other decks in the running...I actually thought this was the only deck out there...

As I got older and discovered I had a choice and could move onto other decks I did so for the experience and novelty and excitement in exploration but also because not being Christian I wanted to move away from the Judeo/Christian perspective and symbolism...

I still have the original R/W and still use it - Its a comfort to feel the age and that I have stuck with something and worked on something for such a long time...
 

Bluecat

I got a rider-waite as one of my first decks for studying purposes as lots of the books relate to it - didn't click with it at all.... I have however clicked with Robin Wood which is a clone of RWS - guess it was just a probelm with the images in the original one
 

FaireMaiden

When I decided to master Tarot, I bought two decks... the Universal Waite and the Cosmic... I liked the pictures in the Cosmic very much, but after going home and going thru the two decks, I realized that the Cosmic just didn't do anything for me except please my eye...

The Universal Waite, on the other hand, captured my intellect in a way that was palpable... So, I put the Cosmic away and worked and studied with the UW...

All these years later, it is still the only deck I read with... And altho, after joining AT, I began purchasing so many more various decks to build a collection, I find something wrong in all of them... indeed, I find a lot wrong in them... While I appreciate the artistic expression of all these other decks, and love having them for that reason alone, I just have no desire whatsoever of 'reading' with any them...

When I do readings, I just go into the 'zone', *lol*... And it's my oneness with the Universal Waite that allows me to do so, *s*
 

BrightEye

firemaiden said:
I did not. My first deck, and first point of reference was the Thoth deck. I was living in Berlin, Germany when I discovered the tarot. For some reason the Thoth is much more of the "default" deck in Germany.
Same here. When I started reading, I lived in Germany. I think the shop where I bought my first deck only stocked the Thoth. I couldn't read with it for ages, but I thought the images were lovely.
 

firefrost

I started out with RWS, too.

I've since read with a few different decks, but RWS will always have a special place in my heart to return to with its comfiness. It's like an old and trusted family member!