A Newbie decision on what deck to buy, Modern or Traditional?

I'll play the dissenting voice ...

Seriously I think the preoccupation with the RWS is a by product of ubiquity and clever marketing, not to mention timing, by Stu Kaplan. Justin Beiber is both popular and ubiquitous, but I wouldn't recommend using him as the basis for a study of 'popular' music. The Picture Post is a good selling magazine; is it good journalism. Fox News broadcasts to millions of households and look how that's working out.

Yes indeed many contemporary Tarot books are written based on a single deck, and surprise surprise, most of those books say the same things, however much they dress it up. Since Eden Gray's book was originally published little has changed, but goodness it's been sold, resold, repackaged, and redressed for each new cohort. There are very few Tarot authors with anything original to say and to suggest that to work with Tarot you have to start with the RWS and suffer through some of the dreariest teaching methods is farcical.

A LWB, even if it is gussied up and wearing lipstick, is still a LWB and alas, nearly all Tarot books are little better.

But, there are exceptions.

A good Tarot book will enhance your understanding of Tarot, not just the RWS deck. A good author will develop, highlight, explore all manner of issues that will be transferable across a variety of decks, not just one.

A good deck will speak to your intuitive mind and your analytical mind. It will spark your conscious and unconscious ... you can see where this is going.

Find a deck that sings to you. Find a couple of good authors, but better than that, read about myth, archetypes, symbology, religion, fairy tales, art, and dare I suggest some psychology. Live a life, and get some, as they say, life-experience. And use your cards, whether for self development and growth, or for divinatory readings. Using your tools makes your use better and You, proficient.

Develop your own relationship with Tarot; don't just regurgitate one author's ideas, becoming a pale imitation of them. Find the aspects of Tarot that appeal to you, or work for you, and study in those areas. I'll bet the most interesting reading you'll do won't be a sad old Tarot book that has 78 pages devoted to the RWS.

Or you could just get a RWS, buy one of the many many mediocre Tarot books and, be, um, yeah, be something other than what you are.

X

The Universal Waite has the same images but softer colouring. I like it--I have both the regulation size and the pocket version in the heavy box. Radiant is another recoloured version with the same images. I love the tinned version and am expecting the Chinese language(!) one here in the next couple of days. It just passed through customs yesterday around noon in Los Angeles, so if it's not here tomorrow, Monday at the latest.

The Hanson-Roberts is also another RWS clone that works well. I like the smaller size of the cards as I have small hands. It's also popular with friends and clients. It's basically the RWS takes over the RenFaire.

Learn the RWS and you'll be able to pick up pretty much most decks printed in the last 50 years or so and be good.

Browse the listings here, look at the images, and choose one that speaks to you.

ETA: Spiffo: that's funny you mention Gray. I learned off her work. Her books are still considered classics and are still in print. I still recommend them for beginners as they are very accessible.

What you said about plenty of seemingly unrelated background knowledge is also truth. I've been doing this for so long that it's second nature, but it's not for a lot of people. Hell, I learned most of my medieval and Renaissance history by studying the occult(!), not sitting in class. So the cards can also be a springboard into a larger world, too.

Edward Tarot Hands said:

Yes I think a RWS is the best to start with but if like me you find the images horrible you could try The Morgan Greer or The Aquarian Tarot which don't stray too far away but have IMO a much more pleasing ascetic

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A faithful RWS "clone" is a reasonable choice. I've found the Gilded Tarot to be more aesthetically pleasing than both of the above, and not as dated.

Darkmage said:

ETA: Spiffo: that's funny you mention Gray. I learned off her work. Her books are still considered classics and are still in print. I still recommend them for beginners as they are very accessible.

What you said about plenty of seemingly unrelated background knowledge is also truth. I've been doing this for so long that it's second nature, but it's not for a lot of people. Hell, I learned most of my medieval and Renaissance history by studying the occult(!), not sitting in class. So the cards can also be a springboard into a larger world, too.

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There is such a great line of development from Gray, to Pollack, to Greer ... my line gets a bit fuzzy after that, mind you that coincides with the explosion in mediocrity. Oh and that mediocrity isn't just evident in the Tarot world, it's everywhere; that's why we have Beiber I suppose.

I suppose I'm just trying to prod. Mmm, or maybe just being contrary.

RWS is one deck. Popular yes, but one of many many decks. I just think the journey is far more satisfying when you side-step the whole 'RWS is a good standard' rubric.

Viva la différence!

Spiffo said:

There is such a great line of development from Gray, to Pollack, to Greer ... my line gets a bit fuzzy after that, mind you that coincides with the explosion in mediocrity. Oh and that mediocrity isn't just evident in the Tarot world, it's everywhere; that's why we have Beiber I suppose.

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I've also despaired of most recent entries into the field. I do like Anthony Louis, but it may be as much because I came up with him in astrology and tarot back in the early '70s in Connecticut. James Ricklef seems to have his head on straight, as does Elizabeth Hazel. It seems to me that mediocrity and the culture of instant gratification go hand-in-hand, hence the appearance of "Learn Tarot in 24 Hours" books.

I think the Universal Waite would be a good place to start. Joan Bunning's Learning the Tarot is a great learners book. The whole book is on the web for free, so you can have a look at it first.

http://www.learntarot.com/

There are lots of beautiful modern decks out there for the future.

Barleywine said:

I've also despaired of most recent entries into the field. I do like Anthony Louis, but it may be as much because I came up with him in astrology and tarot back in the early '70s in Connecticut. James Ricklef seems to have his head on straight, as does Elizabeth Hazel. It seems to me that mediocrity and the culture of instant gratification go hand-in-hand, hence the appearance of "Learn Tarot in 24 Hours" books.

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I don't really know Ricklef's work, but I notice him out there, maybe I should take a closer look. Agree absolutely with Louis, and Hazel. I still get stuff out of Jana Riley's wee book. For someone who has even a passing interest in the Esoteric Wang's The Qabalistic Tarot is good stuff.

But back to actual decks, which is what this was all about ... got me thinking what would I actually suggest?

So I broke it down, a bit, idiosyncratically, for what it's worth, thus:

Esoteric - Tabula Mundi, and the accompanying book, close second Thoth.
Romantic - Scapini Medieval, close second Gypsy Palace
Egyptian style - Nefertari's Tarot (& sunglasses)
Arty - Dali, close second Japaridze Tarot
Quirky - Deviant Moon, close second The Tarot of Physics
TdM style - Chosson, close second Pat Valenza's Trionfi Della Luna
Visconti style - the OTT Lo Scarabeo gold Visconti-Sforzi
Unclassifiable - The Orbifold Tarot
Sentimental (in a nice way) - RWS, or Morgan Greer

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Thank you guys for the insightful help. Ordered The TRW and still waiting for them to arrive but think possibly will switch to n Oracle deck once I grasp the gist.