If you are going to read Tarot cards, first you need – um – Tarot cards.
There is lore, tradition if you will, that to be a successful Tarot reader you must receive your first deck as a gift.
Bullpuckey.
Literally, this holds no water at all. I can see a metaphor in it. That the “deck” must be “given” could be the good advice to find a teacher. Teacher might mean anything from a book, an actual person, or even a humble blog like this one. The point is to have some guide, some inspiration, some point of reference and learning. Psychics should be life-long learners just like any good professional. The wise people and cunning folk who are drawn to Tarot tend to be curious with a love of learning anyway, professional or not.
I’ve had many wonderful teachers over the years – both in actual classes and defacto examples, beloved authors and more.
First was Sallie who gave my first ever reading and whose oft repeated phrase (and later title of her book) “the highest and best” is still the prime intent of every reading I do. Thanks to Paul and his brother Roger who taught psychometry and aura reading, visiting a museum will never be the same. Joy Star taught intuition development classes – and sparked many epiphanies. I can’t recommend the writings of Ted Andrews, Christopher Penczak, Mat Auryn, and of course “Magical Tarot, Mystical Tao” by Diane Morgan highly enough.
All of that is great, but what about the actual, literal deck of cards?
Pick a deck, any deck.
It’s an occupational hazard for Tarot readers. We all have a bunch of decks. (If you don – you will, child, you will)
Like everything else in the business, the best advice is to follow your instincts. When you know, you know. When looking at a deck seems to pop ideas and interpretations right into your head, then that deck is very readable for you as an individual. If you want it and can afford it – go for it.
Most of my deck purchases have been driven by the aesthetics (and granted permissions) of photographing the cards for the blog. Special thanks and shout-out to Seven Dane Asmund of publishinggoblin.com and Thom Pham of heartofstarstarot.com for allowing me to use their brilliant creations.
Once you have more than one deck, how do you know which deck to use in any given reading? Once again – pure instinct comes to the rescue.
We Tarot types also tend to anthropomorphize our decks. They do seem to have personalities. I suppose it’s no different than the kind of relationship Han Solo had with the Millennium Falcon in Star Wars or that a sea captain has with his ship. For example, I have one deck that I mostly picked up to support a small business and as a souvenir of a vacation. Although I know some readers that love it, that particular deck is about as readable as a brick for me EXCEPT for yes/no layouts. My black cats deck loves yes/no readings. That’s partly what sparked the idea for bringing “zombie cat” out of a one time post and making a full on alter ego reading out of it.
Zombie can and the black cats deck have an attitude, and will answer any questions even if they turn out to be dead wrong about it.
With distance readings, I’ll pick up whichever deck just seems right. More often than not, it will prove itself to be a good choice because the artwork on the deck is more apt for the message compared to other decks.
When I go to in-person readings, I often carry two decks and let the client choose while they are still in the bag. For parties,which I very seldom do any more, I’ll choose whichever deck I’m feeling for the night in order to meet the demands of party style readings.
(P.S. party and in-person readings are still closed for summer. When they return in the fall, it will be on a very limited basis – please follow the blog for details)
Do you have a favorite Tarot card or one you feel really represents you right now? Most of us do, and it seems common for it to change as time goes by. If you are in the market for a Tarot deck, comparing your personal “significator” card among decks is one way to find a deck that is a good energy match for you. Look for a deck that has artwork that increases the resonance with that one special card even more.
Or look at a few favorite cards. If special key cards resonate with you, there is a good chance the whole deck will be serviceable as far as readings go.
Aesthetics for photos is another story. Make sure you are clear about copyrights and permissions for that, no intuition about it.
Once you pick your new deck and indulge in purchasing (or, lucky you, get one as a gift) make friends with the deck. There are lots of ways to do that.
Just handling it, shuffling it, browsing it is a good start. Or, as we’ve done here with the Alleyman’s Tarot and the Lenormand Tarot, just USE it. Daily one card meditation readings are a great way to learn BOTH your deck and how to read Tarot in general.
Want to learn to do daily meditation readings? It’s HERE in my ebook Peace tarot.
You can also get to know a new deck through interviews. You can set the intention of learning the deck, then ask questions about the deck itself. Daily-Tarot-Girl.com has some wonderful interview your new deck ideas. Check out Kate’s fantastic suggestions!
I’ve tried this one – it works. You know that Black Cats deck I was telling you about earlier that seems to like doing the yes/no readings? The interview technique confirmed that hunch, so that’s the deck I use for Zombie Cat readings these days.
So yes, in a sense, you must be “given” your first Tarot deck in a symbolic way insofar as finding a guide: books, a class, a mentor of some sort.
And no, you don’t have to be literally given your literal first deck as a gift – although it is a really cool gift to receive regardless of your Tarot reading experience level.
In short, pick a deck, any deck – and then get to reading.
Speaking of reading – thank you as always for reading Sage Sips’ blog and social media posts.
See you at the next sip!
Sage Sips / TaoCraft Tarot 
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