Starting with a new Tarot Deck

Starting with a new Tarot Deck

How to begin tarot reading:

1) Buy a deck.
There's a lot of old wives' tales about how to obtain your first tarot deck, ranging from "You should never purchase your own deck(s) EVER, they must be given to you by someone older/more experienced!" to "Never buy a new deck if Mercury is in retrograde" to a thousand others.  None of them are objective fact.  It's completely fine to walk into a bookstore (or log onto Amazon) and buy yourself a deck, and there's really no 'wrong' deck to begin with.  Just pick one with illustrations that resonate with you and that make sense to you.  If you don't get any kind of emotional reaction and can't inuit any kind of meaning behind the art on the cards, look at a different deck.

The traditional Rider-Waite decks are probably the easiest to read, because the illustrations are pretty simple and well defined.  There's a lot of layers of depth that may change or deepen the meaning of the card in context, but they aren't overly convoluted.  There's also a TON of different Rider-Waite inspired decks, from very minor illustration changes that are commonly sold in bookstores to radically unique 'indie' decks made by artist and released on a small scale through art sites or personal publishing houses.   If no artwork ever appeals to you or you don't feel that it can, it's completely okay, but tarot may not be the best option for you.

2) Get to know your cards.
A lot of people have little superstitions about this.  Some people say to sleep with your cards under your pillow or mattress; some claim they build a better relationship with their deck by carrying it around with them for a week before they even shuffle for the first time.  If you have a tendency to anthropomorphize objects (did you name your car? etc) those might help you bridge the gap between "this is a goddamn deck of weird playing cards" to "this is a tool I can use to help shape my life and spirituality".  There's no shame in doing those things or in not doing them.  Everyone is different.
When getting a new deck, it's not uncommon to purchase a notebook or journal along with it.  The first day, shuffle the cards to break them in a bit; get some oils on them, get a feel for the card stock.  Every deck feels a little different in weight, thickness, width; they're definitely all a little different so it's good to have a point of reference.  When you can tell which deck you're using simply by the feel of it in your hands, you'll have really 'clicked' with it.

The second day, try and pull out each card individually and make little notes on it.  This illustration elicits a strong feeling - is it fear, love, desire, confusion?  You're not making a dictionary of references; this is simply a way to acquaint yourself with the overarching 'feel' of the deck.  Some decks have an overall 'dark' tone, others are more whimsical or even sarcastic.  Note down anything that particularly sticks out to you on the card, but don't wear yourself out writing an essay for each one.  This might take a week or two; that's okay.  Just don't overdo it.
Once that's done, and you sort of have a sense of that deck's personality, start doing a more intensive 'daily draw'. It's a pretty simple process - you just pull one card, and keep it in mind that day.  When you're first learning your deck, it's a good idea to actually write yourself a little reference dictionary this way.  Shuffle 'em up and pull a card (or two; some like to do one in the morning and one before bed) every day, meditate on its meanings, how it applies to your current situation or state of mind, and write it all down in a manner that will be coherent for you to reread later.

Once you've done that for a good while, you'll have a really good idea of what this deck means to you, and how best to use it.  Some have separate decks for each task, ones for communing with spirits/deities, ones for personal readings, one's for public readings and so on.You can have as few as one deck and as many as hundreds; it depends on the individual, but if you follow the above steps you'll wind up very confident in your divination.  Using dictionaries, reference books, or even the booklets that come with the cards aren't foolproof ways to learn to read them, and I'd warn everyone away from trying to memorize those meanings.  The illustrations are psychologically very evocative of things we aren't consciously aware of; like many different pictogram tests given by psychologists over the years, Tarot is meant to help you comprehend things you can't quite grasp with the waking part of your mind.  But every brain is different.  Don't rely on the artist's suggestion as to what THEY meant when drawing it; trust your own brain and use the card the way it naturally appeals to you.

As for specific recommendations, I'd suggest the Rider Waite deck for your first as its the easiest to interpret and to 'get your feet wet' Past that you can trust your instincts on decks you connect with



ON READING:

Intuitive styles of tarot reading can vary greatly in how they look in action, and there's no 'wrong way' to do it.  Intuitive reading involves gaining an understanding of the card's "message" (or relative explanation in relation to the reading's question/topic) through simply looking at the image on the card and interpreting it into context.  Some people take as long as hours to interpret just one card; others go with their gut instinct upon first glance.  Neither is wrong.  You'll develop your own style the more you read.

Some people simply can't intuitively read.  Some mental illnesses, learning disorders, personality disorders, brain injuries, and other situations can severely affect a person's ability to intuit a meaningful message from a picture.  This doesn't mean they can't read tarot, only that it won't be doable in the format that tarot was designed to be used, nor will it likely be the most effective form of divination for that individual.  However in that situation it's recommended those peoples go with a minimalist deck as it's perfect for these individuals.
The Tarot Bible is a good read for Rider-Waite illustrated decks.  It contains the most common definitions for each card, including reversals and contextual importance's.  While I strongly advise against using it if you can read intuitively (as it can become a crutch and eventually a blindfold) it's not a bad starting point if you really struggle with intuition, or can't read that way at all.
Contrary to popular beliefs, you don't have to use 'spreads' (mapped-out contexts for the placement of each card) when reading.  You can just form a question and pull one card at a time, or throw down several and just puzzle out their meanings in relation to one another.  Or you can just pull a card and figure out the question based on the answer it just gave you.  You can also make your own spreads, which will be more meaningful to you and therefore much more powerful.

CARE AND FEEDING OF CARDS:

Again, there's lots of myths and superstitions on how to take care of your cards.  Some say to never clean them, and let the dirt and oils of your hands soak into the cards to strengthen them.  Some say to store them only in certain types of fabric or wood.  Really, you can do whatever you want with them - wrap them with a rubber hairband or tie them with ribbon if you want to - but I would advise everyone to at least store them contained in something to avoid outside dirt affecting them, and try to keep them all together and relatively safe and clean.

This isn't just a respect thing to the cards themselves, it's basically covering your ass.  Keeping your tools clean, well organized, and stored away properly will mean minimal risk to your readings, and keep whatever spirits may be hanging around them happy.  I believe that the stronger forces out there that we perceive as gods or demons or spirits sometimes like to talk to us through the cards and put their metaphorical 'hands' on the items themselves, so it is a show of respect to them (if you believe that) to make sure the spiritual nature of the deck is as positive as possible.
If your cards are dirty, sprinkle some talcum powder onto them and rub it around a bit.  It'll pick up the grease and dirt and pull it off.  If they're REALLY gross with something that won't come off with talcum, furniture wipes will help you clean them off without soaking into the card stock and warping or distorting the image or compromising the card's shape.
Always wash your hands, or at least use hand sanitizer with alcohol in it (like Purell) to clean them before you read!  You can also buy deck powder that will help keep your cards smooth and easy to shuffle and glide; it's used by magicians to make their cards move with less friction for slight of hand tricks, but it'll also keep them from getting folded or rubbed as easily.


Thanks to Bee for the script!