My new tarot deck and workbook just arrived in the mail!

[kiraboo]

It's the "Golden Tarot" and it's BEAUTIFUL! I don't believe in the supernatural power of the tarot, but it is helpful when trying to sort out one's thoughts when life gets complicated. And the decks are so pretty.

[WilmywoodNCparalegal]

1. Congrats...

do you do readings for people... for instance, me? :D

[kiraboo]

3. Not yet! I'm just starting to learn the tarot.

I became interested by using on-line versions but never attempted to unerstand the cards. When I get better at it, I'll let you know :)

[Spider Jerusalem]

2. Yeah...

I don't believe in the tarot as supernatural, either, but I use it sometimes in the manner you've described (and the I Ching, too).

My personal favourites among tarot decks (artistically) are the Dali tarot:



And Aleister Crowley's Thoth deck:

[kiraboo]

4. Both of those decks are marvellous.

I like the Thoth for meditation because the images have both traditional and original elements.

[Bridget Burke]

18. The Thoth deck is my favorite, too.

Crowley knew quite a bit--despite his eccentricities.

[Spider Jerusalem]

21. Personally...

I regard Crowley as one of the more maligned and misunderstood figures of the past century; his writings are far deeper and more subtle than most are willing to credit (in part because they take his persona at face value...but part of the reason for the persona was put off fools unwilling to see past it, and it still seems to work).

[meegbear]

5. So what's going on with my love life ...

or lack thereof.

[kiraboo]

7. I like the eyebrow smiley.

When I get better at readings maybe I'll do some. I bought a workbook which will teach me as I go through it. I'm looking forward to the learning process.

[meegbear]

9. LOL - OK!!

[caty]

6. Here's a good site.

http://www.learntarot.com/journey.htm

Understanding the journey gives a little extra insight.

[kiraboo]

8. Excellent. I'll bookmark it.

Thank you very much!

[LaraMN]

10. Cool! I think I'd be too scared to use them on myself.

I'd be afraid of what they'd say...:scared:

[kiraboo]

12. Well, since you get to interpret the cards,

there is nothing to fear! Even the "Death" card can be viewed as a positive.

[RebelOne]

15. You can't read your own cards.

So don't worry about what they would say.

[kiraboo]

16. There are two schools of thought on that one.

For my purposes, reading my own cards is just fine.

[rug]

11. My entrails are arriving tomorrow.

[kiraboo]

13. LOL!

Like I said, I don't believe their being any supernatural power to the cards.

Are those entrails arriving the same way Omaha Steaks do... packed in dry ice and shipped in a styrofoam cooler? If not, the auger is going to be kinda hard to read. :puke:

[noonwitch]

14. I have the Rider-Waite deck

I've always liked that one, even if it is sort of the standard. If you ever do readings for money, that seems to be the deck people expect to see. I used to read them for $2 a pop at parties.

I like the pictures on your deck. They are cool. I always like to look at other decks and see how other artists interpret the concepts.

The trick to reading for others is to either know the people really well or to know how to ask questions. Also, if you have a good understanding of jungian symbols and how they apply to tarot symbols, it helps. I don't remember the author's name off-hand, but I read a book called "Jung and Tarot" that was helpful in this sense. Being a good "psychic" is mostly about knowing how to interview people and knowing how to read their responses-it really doesn't have that much to do with some kind of magical ability. It just takes time to learn what the cards symbolize and to learn how to work it all together into a good technique that works for you. Everyone has a different approach and a different way of interpreting the cards.

I don't really do a lot of readings anymore, just for family and friends, and I don't charge them. It takes a lot out of you to do lots of readings in a short period of time. I also have a friend who takes it all a little too seriously, and I don't like to encourage that kind of thinking. Mostly, I read for my sister and her little girls, but I take the scary-looking cards out before I read for the kids.

[kiraboo]

17. That's the classic, isn't it? I haven't got it because I need to "feel"

the cards and it doesn't work for me. Your post is very interesting. I agree on what you say about knowing the person for whom you are doing a reading, although in theory you could do the quick and dirty, give them the gist, and let them come up with the ultimate meaning. But there is so much I don't know. Thanks for your response.

[Bridget Burke]

20. The Rider-Waite deck is good for beginners....

But it is definitely not ONLY for beginners.

With so many decks available, just find one that "works" for you.

[ComerPerro]

19. now burn them. This is a Christian Nation

[kiraboo]

22. Yeah, no kidding.

If the local school found out I was reading the tarot, my kids would probably be expelled!

I'm going to burn incense while I learn. Or maybe an american flag.

[intheflow]

23. I also use the tarot in the way you described.

As a meditative tool, giving me food for thought when life gets complicated. That being said, I've both given and had some uncanny readings.

I use two decks. The first, and my new favorite, is the Animal Wise tarot. I love the photography, and the book weaves facts and legends about the animals/insects/reptiles/birds into the card interpretation.


The other deck I use is the Witches Tarot.

I never had the full book that went with the Witches Tarot, just the little lame one that came with the deck. I bought that deck for its artwork, nothing more.

The book I usually use is called Choice-Centered Tarot by Gail Fairfield, recently republished under the title Everyday Tarot. Ms. Fairfield has a psychiatry background, and so seems to bring more common sense and less mumbo-jumbo to the card interpretations. This really is the best tarot book I've found, because of it's common sense approach, but also because it's not tied into a specific deck--so you don't have to know everything about whatever legend/myth/religion any given deck is based upon.

[kiraboo]

24. I have never heard of the Animal Wise tarot.

Funky! You just reminded me that I want to do a bit from my tarot workbook. It's supposed to help me get to know the cards and learn about basic readings. I think I'll do some of it right now.

[u4ic]

25. I have

the Mythic tarot. Greek mythology. I've had it for almost 20 years.

I don't think there's a supernatural element, either. I do remember my first reading for someone other than myself - it was for my niece, who wanted to know whether she should phone a chap she met at a club.

The cards came up with him being a master manipulator - just ready bad vibes from the whole spread.

She called him anyway.

Two kids later and a restraining order after he stalked and attacked her, she still remembers that reading. So do I.

Never had quite that success after, what a doozy that first reading was. (it was free, I've never charged anyone)

Eventually I'll get another deck, it's not a priority for me right now, as I rarely use it anymore. The artwork on some is quite astonishing.

[Major Hogwash]

26. According to my ouija board you'll find it fascinating at first, but then

you'll want more and you'll begin a quest to discover the meaning of the future and the meaning of the past and the meaning of now and then you will wind up studying Aleister Crowley and then you'll want to contact "the others" and then you'll become an Ozzie Osbourne fan and start smoking those thin black cigarettes and develop a taste for fine wines.

At least that's what happened to me when I got my first tarot deck.

:)

[kiraboo]

27. You must be a fascinating person then!

I'd be surprised if your ouija board is right about the cigarettes though.