Beginner Question

Migdal93

Hi all! Hope it's ok to post this here, since the question is about the TdM.

I'm a complete beginner to tarot. Have felt drawn to the cards for many years but I finally found it was time to start working with them. (Working in the sense of learning and such, not of actually making readings for others. One day though, who knows!)

My question is - I see so many people telling beginners to use the Rider Waite. It's a beautiful deck for sure, but I don't feel the same strong, instant connection to it as I feel with the TdM. Seriously, when I searching for the decks in a store, I got the RW in my hands and thought how beautiful it looked. But when I touched the TdM I had this strong urge to it. I started shaking. It was a very intense moment, I was not expecting it.

The biggest difference between the two is how the pips are illustrated on the RW. My biggest fear is finally buying my TdM but not being able to read the pips, as they are very basic.

As a complete beginner, am I taking a big leap here? Should I hold my horses and start a bit more simpler? Or should I just go with my intuition?

Thank you :)
 

Abrac

Personally, I'd trust your intuition. I don't have a preference one way or the other for TdM or RWS, but I'm a big believer in listening to your own inner guidance. :)
 

Chèvre

Same as Abrac !

A feeling is something precious, and such a strong feeling as the one you had with TdM, well, its kinda rare, so I feel you should listen to yourself...

No problem if you dont have the use of the pips for now. Give you some time. You can very well use only 1-22 trumps; I mean from Le Bateleur to Le Monde + Le Mat and practice with that. Or you can use all the 78 cards, and see what happens. Sometimes, you wont have the use of all the cards, and sometimes the pips will give you a clue or a tip of some kind...

Say, you make a reading, and amongst the 3 cards you draw, there is a 4 of Cups, for exemple.

So it says 4... maybe there is a 4 in the reading, meaning there are 4 days, 4 months, 4 years... 4 people, 4 problems, 4 solutions, 4 kilometers, 4 hours... 4 centimeters, 4 faces, 4 items, 4 jobs, 4 feelings... 4 nication, 4 malization, 4eign people , 4ward looking...

Just try, and you'll see !
 

QueenLove

Go with your gut!

I agree w/ the others. Tarot is such a personal communication between you, the cards, spirit, your intuition, etc. You will have certain meanings for certain cards based on your interpretations. Your interpretations are always going to guide you as much as, if not more than, what others say.

I started with Lover's Path b/c it spoke to me. I'm such a love bug. Plus I liked the interpretations and the illustrations. I still use this forum and other online guides for assistance, but the interpretations are largely layered and suggestive.

Plus, you'll see in some of the other forums that ask, "what cards have you gotten..." for certain situations that in spite of different decks, many people have gotten the same cards. Or similar situations with slightly shifted meanings that fall in line with the querent/reader's life.

Hope this helps. :)
 

Migdal93

Thanks everyone!

I do believe my intuition is trying to tell me something here. I'd normally go for the RW (love the illustrations) but I've even had dreams where the TdM cards showed up to me! There's just something about that rustic feel that makes me entranced. My mother who is very intuitive said to me she feels a similar urge to it, although she has no personal interest in learning the tarot for now. So I think this is a case of the deck trying to "tell" me something.

Also Chevre, what you said will help me very much when it comes to the pips. I had not considered I could make interpretations like that. Just goes to show how much I still have to learn :)

TdM it is!
 

Chèvre

Thanks everyone!

[...]I've even had dreams where the TdM cards showed up to me!

Wow ! That's something !

So I think this is a case of the deck trying to "tell" me something.

Yes ! Either that, or else YOU've got something to tell to yourself ! ;)

Also Chevre, what you said will help me very much when it comes to the pips. I had not considered I could make interpretations like that.

Sure ! You'll see that it happens all the time (especially, for me, with these old Tarots : TdM, Vieville, Anonymous... )

Just goes to show how much I still have to learn :)

no kidding ? Join the club !

TdM it is!

Cheers ! :)
 

Gwynydd

Go for it, and have fun!
 

jtdemers

Hello Migdal93,

I am also a rank beginner, and feel very similarly, to the point that I'd like to take an art history class on RWS, but want to read and study tarot only with the various TdMs.

Solidarity!
 

Richard

......My biggest fear is finally buying my TdM but not being able to read the pips, as they are very basic......
Many amateur as well as professional readers use only the TdM trumps, not the court cards and pips. The trump images are very suggestive to the intuition, but there is no consensus on how to read the minors.
 

Redfaery

RWS is the prevalent style in the Anglosphere. It's "easier" to learn in large part because there's more support available (if your primary language is English!)

I think the relative difficulty of reading the TdM pips is exaggerated. If you're going to get into number symbolism and elemental dignities, the pips in the TdM are actually easier to work with.