Recommended Deck for a Novice?

Rubycon

Okay I had to make this mainly because after joining this forum yesterday, I have spent nearly 5 hours just looking at different decks, posts, cards etcetera. My initial intent was to go with the Osho zen mainly because I stumbled upon it by accident. After doing some research on here, I have probably 19 decks on "watch" on eBay right now! One thing I would like everyone to know is I am very nostalgic. I like the older as opposed to more modern in anything art, music, decor etcetera. So when I noticed some of the older decks they immediately caught my eye.

I am keen to the Thoth Deck (I collect first print Aleister Crowley novels) and I have never seen the cards before until yesterday. I really love the art and the concept of that deck. I also noticed it is very popular here too. I bought a deck a few hours ago from a guy I work with (Tarot of the Old Path) for $10. I wasn't planning on buying anything until I do more research but when I held it, it made me feel ... something I can't explain. I am glad I joined this forum, it seems like a very comfortable atmosphere and I like the web design in general. Plus, there are a lot of people on here!

Here's what I am asking for with help. What deck can you all recommend to me as starting out?
 

Sharla

The deck im using at the minute is the "Legacy of the divine" by Ciro Marchetti. I was drawn to this deck (this being my third deck now) through its imagery, i find the cards really speak out to you.
 

Thoughtful

Rubycon said:
Here's what I am asking for with help. What deck can you all recommend to me as starting out?
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Tarot is such a personal thing because what deck suits one person another absolutely can't get on with.
As with the Osho Zen you mention on another thread, it attracted you, you were drawn to it. l feel that is the way to go, l expect like many of us you will start to buy several decks before you find the comfortable one or two you can work with. l could list several tarot decks but again its my choice and may not be helpful for you. Just keep looking at the Tarot Decks (top of the page) and see if you find one that speaks to you.
Are you into Fairy, Goth, Vampire, Humorous, or RWS and the clones, once you get a feeling for the kind of deck you want, you can narrow down some preferences. Once you do that you can ask here for thoughts and opinions on your choice/s. There would be a lot of replies l am sure, which would hopefully make your mind up.
Good luck its a fun thing choosing :)
 

ana luisa

Hi, Rubycon! Welcome to AT :) there was a discussion about this topic a while ago and a poster said that he/she (can't remember) had picked the Thoth as the primary deck and was quite happy about the results. You should consider that, basically, there are three lines of reading : Rider Waite - Thoth - Marseilles. It is usually easier to sort out once you decide which line(s) you want to work with. then, you have to ask yourself HOW you respond and like to read. Are you moved more by imagery or are you the kind of person who likes to memorise meanings and apply them to the letter ? Are you fond of astrology and would like to mix it with tarot ? Are you into symbols and would like to deepen your studies and use them in your readings ? Are you more of an intuitive reader ? What would you rather use: a beautiful deck that didn't "speak" to you, from which you couldn't extract any message or a not-so-beautiful deck that spoke a lot ? And last but surely NOT the least there the "PULL".

You also mentioned old. What kind of old ? Like renaissance old ? Like victorian old ?

What I did and still do (we have almost NO shops that sell tarot decks in my city) is go through the decks on AT and get a feel of how they look initially. Then, imagine yourself asking a hipothetical question and pick two/three cards from that deck and try to interpret them as an answer to your question. If it comes naturally, keep doing it; chances are it's going to be an easy one to read with.

Being more to the point if that's what you're looking for :

Rider- Waite - http://www.aeclectic.net/tarot/find...qc7clg1y&ie=UTF-8&q=rider+waite+decks&x=0&y=0

Thoth - http://www.aeclectic.net/tarot/find...53379572:w1vqc7clg1y&ie=UTF-8&q=THOTH&x=0&y=0

Marseilles - http://www.aeclectic.net/tarot/cards/marseilles.shtml
 

Rubycon

lefty said:
I think you could work with the the deck you have for a while before you buy more. That way the newness of the whole thing will give way to experience and you will know what kind of things you like in a deck and what you'll use it for. The Thoth is a pretty amazing deck. The way people who use the Marseille love it is impressive, but it does not speak to me. I used the Gilded and Liz Dean's Golden decks primarily for a long time, using Lon Milo DuQuette's deck also for myself a lot. For me that last deck functions great but the images are not inspiring. I am partial to Pamela Colman Smith's drawings. Also I feel compelled to pick up the Hanson Robert's deck because the facial expressions seem to be really readable, and some historically based decks just to round out my knowledge. But, I used with the Dean's Golden and the Gilded and Lon's deck a lot. Other decks I've had for a while just don't speak to me.
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The Gilded is one of the Decks I have on watch on eBay, even though it is more modern something about it I liked. I guess I won't tell until I have them in my hands!



ana luisa said:
Hi, Rubycon! Welcome to AT :) there was a discussion about this topic a while ago and a poster said that he/she (can't remember) had picked the Thoth as the primary deck and was quite happy about the results. You should consider that, basically, there are three lines of reading : Rider Waite - Thoth - Marseilles. It is usually easier to sort out once you decide which line(s) you want to work with. then, you have to ask yourself HOW you respond and like to read. Are you moved more by imagery or are you the kind of person who likes to memorise meanings and apply them to the letter ? Are you fond of astrology and would like to mix it with tarot ? Are you into symbols and would like to deepen your studies and use them in your readings ? Are you more of an intuitive reader ? What would you rather use: a beautiful deck that didn't "speak" to you, from which you couldn't extract any message or a not-so-beautiful deck that spoke a lot ? And last but surely NOT the least there the "PULL".

You also mentioned old. What kind of old ? Like renaissance old ? Like victorian old ?

What I did and still do (we have almost NO shops that sell tarot decks in my city) is go through the decks on AT and get a feel of how they look initially. Then, imagine yourself asking a hipothetical question and pick two/three cards from that deck and try to interpret them as an answer to your question. If it comes naturally, keep doing it; chances are it's going to be an easy one to read with.

Being more to the point if that's what you're looking for :

Rider- Waite - http://www.aeclectic.net/tarot/find...qc7clg1y&ie=UTF-8&q=rider+waite+decks&x=0&y=0

Thoth - http://www.aeclectic.net/tarot/find...53379572:w1vqc7clg1y&ie=UTF-8&q=THOTH&x=0&y=0

Marseilles - http://www.aeclectic.net/tarot/cards/marseilles.shtml
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Thanks! Okay, when I say old I mean not necessarily the oldest possible. I have noticed that the Thoth Deck is not that old (compared to the Marseilles you mentioned) I think it was printed in 1969 or something like that, but Aleister used it a lot in the early 1900's I do believe? So in a sense it's not that old as opposed to the french tarot in the 15th century or artwork like that. I just don't want my knowledge of Aleister Crowley hinder my ability to choose a deck with an open mind, i .e. subconsciously use Thoth because I read his books. The Marseilles concept looks promising too! I have been seeing a lot of the Rider - Waite deck but I don't feel anything for it particularly.

I will say I did order a Thoth deck on eBay for $15 in Like New condition so I will be receiving Osho Zen and Thoth tarot soon.


I will say I really like the Robin Wood and the Tarot of the Sevenfold Mystery. Both of those speak to me unlike many others. Any other old art suggestion decks would be great too!
 

Rubycon

Thanks for the tips! I have been thinking and I do believe this is a personal journey. Like a few others have stated earlier I should go with my intuition on a deck choice. What my initial intent was is to get some clarity on which deck would be less confusing. I'm really leaning towards the Thoth Tarot at the moment. I should get it Friday along with my Osho Zen Tarot. :D
 

feynrir

Rubycon said:
Thanks for the tips! I have been thinking and I do believe this is a personal journey. Like a few others have stated earlier I should go with my intuition on a deck choice. What my initial intent was is to get some clarity on which deck would be less confusing. I'm really leaning towards the Thoth Tarot at the moment. I should get it Friday along with my Osho Zen Tarot. :D
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Yes! Someone who's going with their gut on deck purchases, right from the get go! I love it :D

The first deck that I got that was easy for me to read was the Tarot of the Hidden Realm, which operates primarily with close-ups on faces and body posture. For some reason, I knew it would all click after I read with it, and sure enough, it did. :love: It's not a recommended one "for beginners," but heck, whatever speaks to you :)

Your taste seems very ethereal. I dig it.
 
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