Beginner needs guidance

I just got my beautiful Hadar deck thanks to Diana !

I'm a total beginner and I am anxious to learn about Tarot de Marseille system. The LWB is in french and since I'm not yet so good in french, it is hard to learn from it.

I would love to have advice on where to start and where to find information? Should I start with the majors or what? I guess there aren't any books in english available (yet, maybe Diana will one day translate one for us )....

Thanks in advance! I'm going to go and browse through the cards now that I believe I've successfully arranged them in right order and made sure they're the right side up.

I started by going through the Table of Contents that jmd organized, and reading all the posts. Then, I started at the very beginning of this forum (H&I) and read all the other posts.

It takes some time, but it's worth it. There is a vast amount of information there that you probably wouldn't even get in a book anyway.

I'm not sure as to what kind of 'total beginner' you are, Aure...

When you have the time, reading through the various wonderful contributions by numerous people in this section of the Forums is certainly very worthwhile - as pointed out by twenty~one (& thankyou for referring to the Table of Contents ).

However, nothing surpasses, in my view, the beginner's careful note of noting down what each card seems to indicate as they are each carefully and meticulously looked at...

...perhaps a good start is thus to also lay out the cards, and make notes... and post those insights to the threads related to those cards - whether atouts (majors), courts, or pips

And glad you've made it to this area too!

Well, I've been studying the RWS a bit but I'm no expert yet. Something has bothered me in those cards and the system and I have felt drawn to the TdM.

I have printed out some info from Kris Hadar's website and I plan to study first the colors and the majors and some numerology relating to them.

Should I do readings already or not? I'm not sure.

Aure said:

The LWB is in french and since I'm not yet so good in french, it is hard to learn from it.

Click to expand...

I have written to Kris Hadar about this and am awaiting his answer as to how we can solve this problem.

The Table of Contents here is indeed a good place to start. I would start with the Majors. If some of the posts seem too academic or dry, leave them and skip to those that you find easier to read. The others will wait and you can return to them when you are more at ease with your cards.

Don't hesitate to post on the threads. Whatever you do, don't be intimadated by them. It would be lovely to revive some of those threads with new questions and insights. Sometimes just a simple question, seemingly innocuous, can bring up great treasures.

Often it is those who are new to the Marseilles who see things that the people who are more used to using it have become blind to out of habit.

It would be very useful if you made sure you have a basic understanding of the numbers from 1 to 10 which will help you to understand the Minors.

jmd's advice is wonderful.

You could also draw one card a day. Use it as "Advice for the day" (in the line of the Advice for the Week threads in the Reading Exchange that Jewel-ry and I are doing). Note down all your impressions. In the beginning you will say "But I don't SEE anything". But as you start noting.... you will realise that there is a whole rich tapestry unfolding before your eyes.

As to translating a book... I would need to get the author's permission, and finding a publisher willing to pay for this. And translating is not an easy task. It is one thing to speak a language - to translate is something different. And if I ever wrote one, by the time it would be finished and published (if any publisher would even want it) you will already be so well-versed in the Tarot of Marseilles that you will be able to write your own.

Hi Aure! Like you, I just got the Hadar deck thanks to Diana and I am loving it. I am busily reading the History and Iconography threads in an attempt to educate myself about the Marseille, and have started to keep a journal of what the cards mean to me. I so appreciate all of the generous members of Aeclectic who share their wisdom and expertise about the TdM! Congratulations on getting the deck, Aure. (By the way, for members in the US who are having trouble getting it -- Tarot Garden anticipates a shipment within the next 2-3 months, and in the meantime it is available through Amazon in Canada.)