When you've got a brand new shiny Tarot deck...

[choirqueer]

I'm sure this has been posted before in some form, but when I search under "new deck" I get 4000+ threads and I just don't have the search engine skills that some of the Google-fu artists out there rock. ;-)

What do YOU do when you have a new deck?
What rituals, games, tricks, spreads, activities do you use to get to know your new deck?
Have you used different techniques to get started with different decks? Which ones? What led you to do that?

When I got my World Spirit deck a few months ago, it pretty much demanded that I use it to read for everyone who would sit still long enough to draw a card. My Vision Quest deck let me play with it for a while, then it wanted me to spend time with each card individually for a while...but now it seems to have decided it doesn't want me anymore. I used one of the "interview your new deck" spreads I found here with my Revelations deck. My Rider got purchased as part of a Tarot class I took, so by the time I was done with the class I was already pretty well integrated with that deck. And I recently re-bought the Tarot of the Spirit, which was the very first deck I ever used during a period of my childhood that I don't remember very well, and I'm still a little afraid to tap into it too deeply because emotionally I'm just not quite ready to go back there.

So now I'm sitting here with my brand-new Gay Tarot, trying to figure out how to dive in....

 

[thorhammer]

I usually dont' read with a deck that's new to me before I've spent a week or so getting used to it, going through it minutely to look at the images, and shuffling it to death to get used to the feel of the cards and the sight of the backs flashing before my eyes. All those things sort of blur together in my mind and spirit t give me a sense of the deck's "atmosphere" and when I get used to that, when I get in that zone, I suddenly feel entirely ready and totally natural reading with the deck. It just comes without any warning or expectation.

Just let it come.

And nice to see you posting

\m/ Kat

 

[Tharivol]

I normally sit there at my computer, shuffling it for pretty much hours on end. There'll normally be a few test readings, to see where it wants to go, and, if it comes with a full book, 'll go through that, as well.

 

[ana luisa]

Excellent suggestions here. When I get a new deck, I get "acquainted" with it. Decks to me are like new friends. There are layers, unknown traits that need to be unfolded. As to how, it varies. I often go card by card looking at the images, simply trying to get into the visual world of that particular deck. Well, that's me. I need the images to work. If you are into symbols, then, go over those, try some 1-card or 3-card readings just to try it out, to "play" around a bit. Sleeping with the deck is also a popular technique but it may sound a bit too weird for you. Good luck with your new Tarot and don't forget to enjoy it!!

 

[loobiloo]

For me, it depends on the deck. I was given the Bohemian Gothic deck this Christmas and immediately felt a bond, the images are so vivid to me that reading has been a doddle so far . So in this case I just ploughed straight in and got on with it! But with my Gilded Tarot, for instance, I spent some time studying each card, getting a 'feel' for the deck and only then was I ready to try some reading.

I'm one of those people who doesn't have a particular ritual when it comes to reading, although I do try to get in-the-zone and open up. But that's the same for every deck, new or not.

 

[metal_romantic]

I usually look through the deck card by card a few times, (and then read through the accompanying book if it comes with one) and then I'll shuffle it, do some readings for myself (wish I had someone else to read for but at this stage I don't) to get a feel for it. After that, I put them all back in order... it's probably a bit strange but it helps me. Then it's back to looking through card by card... lol. What I want to do is go through each deck with the "21 Ways to Read a Tarot Card" and journal my findings... but that's VERY time consuming... one day I will... I hope ;-)
I'd like to sleep with my decks (Hmmmmm.... *raises eyebrow*) but I'm scared of damaging them.
If the deck has a theme I enjoy researching it.

 

[SunChariot]

When I get a new deck, I look through it few times just because I feel a need to immerse myself in the images after waiting so long for it to arrive (I always order decks online.

After I have satisfied that, I just think of what questions I would like answered in my life at that moment and I ask the deck those questions. The only ritual of any kind I have is that I always have a scented candle lit when I read.

But I don't need more than that to get to know it. I just start talking with it and let it talk back. For me that is the way I get to know any deck, by talking to it, in the sense of asking questions and then listening inside to what it has to say and how it answers (its speaking style). The more you use it, the more you know it.

Babs

 

[Sar]

I get drunk and then I just get started.

 

[afrosaxon]

I self-read cold with the deck (no "introduction"); I ask certain questions to see which it addresses better (or not). Then, when I'm comfortable with the way it speaks, I'll offer readings to others or incorporate it into my paid readings.

T.

 

[Disa]

Lately I've found that "studying" the decks first is sucking all the life out of them. When I got the Bohemian Gothic I looked through the cards a few times to say "ooh" and "ahh" then I put them back in the bag, took them to a friend's house and did a read. It was magical.

I still consider myself new to reading, not a total beginner, but maybe just on the level above that. I just got the Touchstone Tarot on Christmas Eve, thumbed through the deck a few times just to see, then sat down and did a reading for myself for January. It worked great!

Don't get me wrong, I will still study to become a better reader, but somehow it just seems if I study a deck too much, I miss the point. Things just sort of jump out better if the cards aren't connected to pages and pages of endless drivel. Too much information can sometimes bog down the message, I think.

I may change my mind later, but today, this is what I think.

So pull out your brand-new Gay Tarot, Oliver Danni, and see what it has to say.

Good luck,

Disa

P.S. Have fun!