Which deck helped you to read tarot?

Its all trial and error when you first start out with Tarot. You either click with a deck or not, a lot depends on visuals and how the deck feels to you. l found at the beginning of my own journey the Gilded Tarot was very intuitive and workable, I liked the colouring and the expressions.
If you like cats another good and easy to read deck is the Pagan Cats Tarot.
l have bought quite a few decks in the past some very workable (for me) others l could not wait to be rid of. So welcome to the world of Tarot and l hope you find just the right deck or decks for you. Its great searching though it can be expensive

I started with the Hanson-Robert´s Tarot, it gave the clearest readings. ( And Tarot of a Moon Garden, the first deck I chose, to use when I wanted something more fancyful).

The first deck that i could read from just looking at the pictures was the Buckland Romani. it was totally clear what the cards were telling me.

One thing you could try is Mary Greer's 21 ways book. It can get you in there in a way that few others manage.

Well, once upon a time, I started with the Aquarian tarot, and then learned more later on with the RWS.

But the first deck that really jumped up and sang songs for me -- that really seemed right to me -- was the Tarot of Prague.

I'm not sure I'd recommend it as an ideal beginner's deck for everyone; there's a look and feel to it that won't appeal to everyone, though the same could be said of any deck.

Probably part of what drew me to learning with the Tarot of Prague was also the depth and quality of its companion book. The book and deck were so perfectly suited to one another -- it made learning easy.

Plus, the images were so evocative that I could read the cards without feeling a need to pull out the book to double-check myself.

I'm another one for Robin Wood. Although I basically studied every book I could get my hands on free at the library (had an awesome library network where I lived, unlike now) some books were helpful, some not. This was before so much being available online, to borrow...or order. And that's not the deck I started with. But I still have and use it, after cycling through other decks. I liked the Gilded when it came out, liked that it had a book of its own. BUT I actually got tired of it fairly quickly, I couldn't get used to the CGG.

I believe that any deck that you can visually comprehend immediately will suffice well. In regards to actually learning the deeper meanings, history and relative nature of the cards, this knowledge cannot be obtained by simply observing the art. A wealth of well-written books (notice I said plural) will get you on the right path to be able to read any deck over time.

As Mary K. Greer was just mentioned above, she is a highly respected and knowledgeable author that has inspired a bevy of other amazing writers. I do highly recommend nearly anything written by Rachel Pollack, especially 78 Degrees of Wisdom and Tarot Wisdom if you wish to go deep. She also has The New Tarot Handbook, which starts at a more comfortable level for starting enthusiasts.

Barbara Moore is also an excellent author with a more contemporary approach, fused with modern anecdotes and references that are entertaining and easy to relate to from a starting standpoint.

As I started with the Waite-Smith deck, I did well to avoid Waite's Pictorial Key to the Tarot at first. Check that out after you gain understanding first as it is convoluted with politics and has some discrepancies regarding accuracy. I'm also learning the Thoth Tarot slowly, which goes extremely deep and does indeed require 25 years to fully understand.

I had a hard time at the beginning in part because my first deck was the Tarot Classic (Marseille type). It was the only one in the store. Then I struggled with the Robin Wood.

Finally it was the Londa that "clicked" and that is because the picture on one of the cards reminded me of a recurrent dream I had (and I no longer have that dream). I don't think I would recommend the Londa although I do think the images convey more meaning than you might think. I don't consider that they are people really.

I had to keep trying different ones and some were very nice but I just couldn't read with them. I did read books and was on lists with some very good people back then (like Bunny Bob) and I expect something stuck.

I would second some good books. When I start wondering, I do check Rachel Pollack and I also used Alfred Douglas. I had Mary Greer's but I'm not sure how well I did with it.

One I like is Spiritual Tarot which compares the Rider-Waite, the Morgan Greer and the Aquarian. I see there is some other stuff there but if I ever read it, I forgot it. It is good for giving you a new way of looking at a card, no matter what deck. The new printing has better paper but the printed images are not as clear as the old one.

It got better. I kept the Tarot Classic in my desk and I could read with it if I had to.

Diana

Thoughtful said:

Its all trial and error when you first start out with Tarot. You either click with a deck or not, a lot depends on visuals and how the deck feels to you. l found at the beginning of my own journey the Gilded Tarot was very intuitive and workable, I liked the colouring and the expressions.
If you like cats another good and easy to read deck is the Pagan Cats Tarot.
l have bought quite a few decks in the past some very workable (for me) others l could not wait to be rid of. So welcome to the world of Tarot and l hope you find just the right deck or decks for you. Its great searching though it can be expensive

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It's certainly fun figuring it all out!

Genna said:

I started with the Hanson-Robert´s Tarot, it gave the clearest readings. ( And Tarot of a Moon Garden, the first deck I chose, to use when I wanted something more fancyful).

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They both look gorgeous!