the Nightmare of choosing the first deck..

When I first began to read, I had one deck.

Once I decided for sure that tarot was not just a passing phase for me, I purchased a few more decks. As I studied the cards, I'd pull the same card (for instance, the ten of wands) out of all the decks and I'd lay them side by side, looking for similarities and differences.
It took a while for me to find my main reading deck, but along the way, it really helped for me to have more than one. If I didn't understand or particularly like a certain card, I'd pull the same from the other decks, and more often than not, I'd come away understanding that card better, and liking the deck more. For me, it really helped me to get the grasp of the cards. Every deck had it's own version of a card, mostly similar, but with hundreds of little nuances. I feel like it helped me to learn that there are SO many ways to see the same card, and that helped me tremendously.

It's like having a pet. Although Doogie the cat is my favorite pet ever, I have loved each and every kitten and pup I've ever had. Some were hard to raise, others mellow, some feisty, some smart, some just flat out lazy. But I learned something about animals from each and every one of them, and they're all special to me in their own way.

Flaxen said:

I came to the conclusion that I'm not a one-deck woman.

I have too many interests and like variety too much to ever have just one deck for use exclusively.

So my advice (from one Surrey girl to another) is don't choose...get them all.

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Or... let a deck sing to you... while you're scouring the lists of decks, be aware of which one/s, yes "sings to you".... kind of like the book that falls off the shelf into your lap!!

Le Fanu said:

if I'm truly, truly honest I would say there are 5 - have long since left notions of a system behind them as they soar far, far away into another realm entirely!

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Don't quite understand why, but I'm intrigued by which 5 decks you truly love, Le Fanu!!!

Well, if you're here and asking how to decide what you want for your first 'chosen' deck (as opposed to the couple you have but don't feel spectacular to you)...I recommend you do what I did!

Scroll to the top of this page, on the right top is a link that says, "Decks". Click that, choose the link that says "list", and look at EVERY DECK THERE. If you find one you like, read the description. If you're short on cash and it says "now out of print" move on.

Yep, it'll take a while..but really, what's more fun?! Nothing that's what! *grin*

If you can't find one in that list that just says, ♥♥♥ to you.... I'll be highly surprised (If that happens, keep studying with your makeshift decks, to get a firm foundation in tarot, and create your own!)

Good luck!

(as another hint -- if you're so new you just don't know, like *I* was when I chose my first deck -- a full tarot deck has 78 cards. A 22 card deck is majors only. Assorted other numbers are oracles but not tarot. This is only important if you're trying to learn a system LOL)

DamePoplar said:

Hi all,

I am new to Tarot, and I am studying it with great joy but I now want to choose a deck with which I can learn in depth and with which I can really relate to.
And I am overwhelemed by all those decks...
I already have a Visconti-Sforza that I don't use, and a RWS with which I am learning the basics. But I want something that I will really like.
I find myself unable to choose!! It seems I like many of them but none of them is perfect, and when I love the artwork, like the Tarot of the Sidhe, I wonder if I'll be able to really work with them...and now I am looking at the Anna K, some of the cards amaze me and others disturb me deeply....
I love the the Old Path but the minors are quite boring...

Have you ever had a similar experience when you started? what can we do in this situation?

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My first deck that I chose was the Tarot of the Cat People...wow that really threw me.....not the easiest to start with I am sure. A dear friend of mine (that has left this world) said, he thought it was 'me'! Ha! I laugh, it was more him because he had about 20 cats!! Then had a reading done and she was using the Hanson Roberts and that was my next deck, then Universal Waite, and then...on and on...and on! The last one I bought was the Deviant Moon and that is the one I am interested in now....waiting for the Companion Book.....<rubbing hands together in anticipation> Just love looking at decks on the forum.....so much fun! And I could kick myself for not getting the Victorian Romantic!!! Just pick a nice deck that interests you....there is not a single deck that I can say I love every card in it....good luck

DamePoplar said:

Hi all,

I am new to Tarot, and I am studying it with great joy but I now want to choose a deck with which I can learn in depth and with which I can really relate to.
And I am overwhelemed by all those decks...
I already have a Visconti-Sforza that I don't use, and a RWS with which I am learning the basics. But I want something that I will really like.
I find myself unable to choose!! It seems I like many of them but none of them is perfect, and when I love the artwork, like the Tarot of the Sidhe, I wonder if I'll be able to really work with them...and now I am looking at the Anna K, some of the cards amaze me and others disturb me deeply....
I love the the Old Path but the minors are quite boring...

Have you ever had a similar experience when you started? what can we do in this situation?

Click to expand...

There are three main Tarot branches: Rider Waite, Tarot de Marseilles or Thoth.

All other decks, with a few exceptions, are clones of those three.

If you are learning tarot and want a deck with which to learn then I suggest you choose one of the three main decks and start with that.

If you are wishing to develop your intuition, I would suggest the Tarot de Marseilles as the minors are not depictive.

If you are interested in elementals and astrology, I would opt for the Thoth.

Otherwise go for one of the Rider Waite decks.

An alternative is the Minchiate Tarot which you may find interesting.
http://www.aeclectic.net/tarot/cards/ancient-minchiate-etruria/

Or the Solsa Busca:
http://www.aeclectic.net/tarot/cards/sola-busca/

My first deck (well I only have two) the Sharman-Caselli actually chose me, it fell on me when I accidently bumped into the stand in the store. I was a lucky gal

I wanted a 2nd deck and as I'm still a bit of a beginner I wanted something different to the rider-waite style but still closely resemble it enough that I didn't get all confused with the imagery etc while studying, so I went for the Divine Legacy tarot. The images are absolutely stunning, I love it.
And now that I think about it, that deck also kind of chose me as well, it's Queen of Wands image decided to follow me around the internet that day until I couldn't ignore it anymore & I ordered it.

well that's where I am fussy, I don't want somehting too similar, otherwise I'd rather use the RWS, but not something that belongs to an entire different system..

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Not sure if this will be helpful or not, but 3 decks I like for versatility in working both within & without the box of the RWS system are:

1) The Fairytale Tarot (Magic Realist Press) - because while it's based on the RWS system, the individual cards hold entire stories within themselves too, which works great for more intuitive readings that involve finding answers within the pictures and stories alone.

2) The Bright Idea Deck - this one is maybe more loosely based(?) on the RWS/Thoth systems, but with really different pictures on the cards, and the companion book is one of my favorites, because it encourages different ways of seeing and linking the cards together through prompts and thought provoking questions for each card. I also like it for learning and working with the court cards outside the box of seeing them as strictly "people" cards.

3) The Feng Shui Tarot - is linked to the RWS system too, but mixes it up quite a bit with the different pictures, suits and integration of the Chinese system/philosophy in there. The companion book is a well written & pretty thorough study guide too (again, IMHO).

I think Le Fanu pretty much summed it up... go for the second option I did and haven't looked back. I love that first few days with a new deck and I love, after that, considering my whole collection and thinking hhhmmmm, what am I in the mood for today?

Any specific recommendations I make are just that... MY recommendations, based on my taste in art and the fact that I don't care a hoot about systems, I pick a deck based on whether or not I like it and try to mainly read intuitively (am still new so I study decks and refer to LWBs as well).

But all that aside... Tarot of Dreams or Legacy of the Divine would be great if your looking for something fresh.

It shouldn't be a nightmare.

I think...if I were you, I'd wait. The right one will make itself obvious.

Thank you for all your answers and advice!!

I have already looked at pretty much all the decks in the list, but it might not be good to have all this to choose from.

about a week or two ago I was really besotted with the Sidhe but now I am thinking I might not be able to read it. Since yesterday, the Medicine Woman Tarot has been singing to me (a loot!), and the Anna K aswell.
I think I probably ask myself too many questions, I should just buy them!

it is comforting to see that most of you have gone through this..