the Nightmare of choosing the first deck..

linnie

DamePoplar said:
Thanks for your answer Linnie, well the Visconti-Sforza is a bit too Italian for me..nothing wrong there just that it is not really me ( I didn't really choose it), and there's nothing on the minors really but I must admit the majors are really beautiful.
And the RWS well, that's the one that was recommended to me by my Tarot teacher when I asked her what deck I should choose to start studying.

I am making some lists and trying to imagine what it is liek to have them in hands and to really read from them, but I'll just buy I fancy at the moment and then if it doesn'r work out I'll sell it and buy another one!
Yes... That sounds like a plan!!! :):):) I haven't had a teacher, and RWS was all I knew of back in the early 70's, but it does seem the most frequently used teaching deck. BTW... I'd have to be one of the least collector-ish of all ATers (just check my sad little list! :):):)), so my humble opinion doesn't count overly much, but... one does read comments frequently about cards being too big, too small, etc... I'd never have thought of that before finding AT, as I didn't even know all these cards existed before AT.... seriously... My vision isn't improving with age, so I like images that can be seen, and borders annoy me when the image is really what offers the cards' message most immediately... especially when that border serves no purpose...
 

lark

Sometimes it's not just the pictures or the elemental associations that matter...I personally have to pick decks according to color.
A certain kind of jeweltone bright color clicks my psychic switch and that's what makes a deck a great reading deck for me...
So as much as I like the beautiful sweet soft watercolor decks...I know if I get them they are eye candy.
And very dark decks ...I mean here dark coloration like the Anna K, Legacy, ...don't work for me either.
My best reading decks seem to be those bright toned decks and I know them the minute I see them in a scan.
Robin Wood
Morgan Greer
Sheridan Douglas
Guilded
Albano Waite
Regular Rider Waite
Wild Spirit
Druid Craft
Illuminated
International Icon...a marvel this deck is!
Greenwood..this is lighter colored, but has a visionary quiality that just sucks your brain right in.
Tarot of Transformation does this too.
Noblet is a very crips colored deck.
Soprafino and Vacchetta have this coloration, just beautiful!

So did I know this at first...NO
It was something I had to learn from handling and reading with a few..cough cough... decks...I was lucky in that the Robin Wood was the third deck I ever bought and I stuck with that one during my learning phase..and ever since.

But I think the most imporatant thing to do is sit down an make a list of the colors, art styles etc. that you are attracted to in other things outside of tarot.
That might lead you to the perfect study/friend deck.

I really wish like others have said that there was a way to handle many decks before we buy....
Really when you think about it what other thing in life are we required to buy "blind"...most things we get to handle and look at first.
And it only seems fair that it should be the same with a tarot deck.
But sadly it is not.

good luck on your adventure...
 

linnie

GryffinSong said:
Because many of us don't study tarot. We use tarot. Big difference, although of course the two support each other. I read intuitively for the most part. I respond to the image itself. The numbers, planets, etc., are irrelevant to me. And since I'm a conceptual, intuitive, artsy-fartsy type, this may always be true for me. Too much study tilts me totally into my left-brain logical side, and at that point I lose what I love about tarot.

For someone like me, each deck brings its own depth, richness, and personal voice. Each has something different to say. And that's a beautiful thing.

To each their own! :)
All of that and the moment... the moment... what mood are we in tonight?! :) Maybe really sombre, and a frivolous deck would just insult, or perhaps an analytical mood, a melancholic moment... Different decks, with that personal voice, will surely gain your attention better in certain situations...
 

lark

GryffinSong said:
Because many of us don't study tarot. We use tarot. Big difference, although of course the two support each other. I read intuitively for the most part. I respond to the image itself. The numbers, planets, etc., are irrelevant to me. And since I'm a conceptual, intuitive, artsy-fartsy type, this may always be true for me. Too much study tilts me totally into my left-brain logical side, and at that point I lose what I love about tarot.

For someone like me, each deck brings its own depth, richness, and personal voice. Each has something different to say. And that's a beautiful thing.

To each their own! :)
Totally me too...great points to bring up...that's why the colors are so important to me.
 

velvetina

My first deck was a Rider Waite tarot. There were no others to choose from, in fact it was the only one in the shop. I loved it straight away..some images more than others. It is still the deck dearest to my heart :). I can still pick it up and something new will emerge.

Then the Crowley-Thoth. I began a long & complex relationship with that deck. I'd recommend both of these to anyone.

Finally the Marseille. You can create your own stories with this, more than any other (in my opinion).

I use these three decks more than any others (I have a small collection - I've given many, many decks away as they didn't suit me.) But you kind of have to meet the deck before you can decide..just like any relationship! And just like a relationship, the closeness will wax and wane. But some endure for a long, long time.