I am eternally fascinated by the tarot. I had a Rider-Waite deck in high school, but it did not speak to me at all, and eventually I let it go. After all, I worked with the runes quite effectively, so that should be enough, right?
Yet I keep wanting to try the tarot again. The cards are so beautiful, so rich in meaning and symbol. And there are so many unique decks to choose from! I love the simplicity of the runic symbols, but the ornately cluttered details of some tarot cards fascinate me. I'm a rather cluttered person myself, after all. But to what end? I love them, but I cannot read them. I am conversant in the basic meaning of the major arcana (and I do mean *basic*), but the minor arcana baffle me.
I've looked into take a class, but they always seem to require the use of a Rider-Waite clone, and those leave me on a frozen tundra of bored incomprehension. The imagery of Rider-Waite does not speak to me.
A few years ago I picked up "The Wild Spirit" tarot. The art is lovely, but the meanings ascribed to the cards do not particularly match up with traditional tarot. Plus, the cards may be lovely, but they rarely convey much meaning to me.
Since that purchase, I have tried - unsuccessfully - to forget about the tarot. For awhile I was considering getting the major arcana only deck of the Gaian Tarot by Joanna Powell Colbert. Her images are rich and human, and I love her descriptions of the cards. Plus, I thought that a "majors only" deck might help me to overcome my biggest obstacle -- memorizing the meanings of so many cards! Yet I never ordered it.
Now, I find that my favorite faery artist has a deck coming out later this year. I found a page with pictures of all the cards, and they are stunning. I could gaze at those all day. I love how she plays with the traditional imagery - it seems like each card has some of the expected ideas, but she isn't afraid to play with it. But is it too non-traditional for me to learn with? I have no idea. A voice says I want!, but I know that voice does a poor job of predicting what will and will not make me happy in the long run, so I don't know what to do.
People have told me over and over again that you have to take the deck that speak to you, but I thought that my current deck would do that, and instead it leaves me flat. Tarot decks are expensive, and I would prefer not to make that mistake again. Plus, I am still in the middle of a project whereby I am working my way through the runes, in depth. Wouldn't it behoove me not to split my focus that way?
And most of all, why does such a simple question torture me so much?
3 comments:
I totally hear you about the Waite deck leaving you feeling flat... I have the Universal Waite, and I use it as my "learning deck." But the decks I love are the Greenwood (out of print, unfortunately), and the Crone (just back in print, recently). I also use the Tarot of a Moon Garden, and I recently ordered the proper book (not just the LWB that comes with)... Anyway, what I've found is that comparing the same card from deck to deck will give you lots of insight, and over time you'll develop your favorites, but also you'll reach for certain decks for certain purposes. I am still a novice...but doing this has helped me a lot. I also consult the Tarot Bible and aeclectic.net/tarot for help with meanings, along with shaing online with my Tarot group. Blessings to you!
Forgot to leave you my URL:
maidenelf.typepad.com
:) Nette
There's something with you and tarot though or you wouldn't keep trying with it. Like runes aren't my thing but I just use them on occassion and learn a little more but don't get into them as much as tarot. Seeing cards in person and being able to see all the cards is often difficult too. The deck that you've found looks great though and I am sure it will work with you.
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