Tarot cards

Been thinking maybe i should get into Tarot cards but not really sure where to start. Like how do you read them? And what types of tarot desks are there? Ive heard that there are animal desks they seem interesting to me. Anyone got any good links or books even i could have a look at?

http://www.aeclectic.net/tarot/

This site above can be useful in providing a variety of tarot decks for you to look at. Some decks have reviews by those who've tried them. 

Google learning the tarot, this usually takes you to a number of sites where information you are seeking may be found.

Thanks :)

Tarot is quite a specific deck of cards. Each deck has different imagery and choosing the imagery that resonates with you can help you to read the cards.

But there are also oracle cards, and this may be what you are thinking of when you talk of animal cards. Unlike tarot, each oracle deck is unique.

Both tarot and oracle cards tend to come with a book of meanings. Because tarot is so specific, I would recommend reading the book to get you started. But with oracle cards, if you are intuitive about the subject matter of the oracle or are able to 'see' into the images, then I would say that there is less need to learn specific meanings - they are just a tool to help you reach that decisive knowing.

Blueanchor wrote:Tarot is quite a specific deck of cards. Each deck has different imagery and choosing the imagery that resonates with you can help you to read the cards.

But there are also oracle cards, and this may be what you are thinking of when you talk of animal cards. Unlike tarot, each oracle deck is unique.

Both tarot and oracle cards tend to come with a book of meanings. Because tarot is so specific, I would recommend reading the book to get you started. But with oracle cards, if you are intuitive about the subject matter of the oracle or are able to 'see' into the images, then I would say that there is less need to learn specific meanings - they are just a tool to help you reach that decisive knowing.

Can you elaborate on what you mean by see into the images?

Auras wrote:

Blueanchor wrote:Tarot is quite a specific deck of cards. Each deck has different imagery and choosing the imagery that resonates with you can help you to read the cards.

But there are also oracle cards, and this may be what you are thinking of when you talk of animal cards. Unlike tarot, each oracle deck is unique.

Both tarot and oracle cards tend to come with a book of meanings. Because tarot is so specific, I would recommend reading the book to get you started. But with oracle cards, if you are intuitive about the subject matter of the oracle or are able to 'see' into the images, then I would say that there is less need to learn specific meanings - they are just a tool to help you reach that decisive knowing.

Can you elaborate on what you mean by see into the images?

I mean when you see psychically. I understand that the way we see pscychically occurs for people in different ways.

When I 'see' in this way, my focus may highlight a specific area of the card or the position of the card or I may intuit through a variety of senses, what that card in that specific moment means.

sounds cool :)

Blueanchor wrote:

Auras wrote:

Blueanchor wrote:Tarot is quite a specific deck of cards. Each deck has different imagery and choosing the imagery that resonates with you can help you to read the cards.

But there are also oracle cards, and this may be what you are thinking of when you talk of animal cards. Unlike tarot, each oracle deck is unique.

Both tarot and oracle cards tend to come with a book of meanings. Because tarot is so specific, I would recommend reading the book to get you started. But with oracle cards, if you are intuitive about the subject matter of the oracle or are able to 'see' into the images, then I would say that there is less need to learn specific meanings - they are just a tool to help you reach that decisive knowing.

Can you elaborate on what you mean by see into the images?

I mean when you see psychically. I understand that the way we see pscychically occurs for people in different ways.

When I 'see' in this way, my focus may highlight a specific area of the card or the position of the card or I may intuit through a variety of senses, what that card in that specific moment means.

Thank-you for describing the Tarot like that.
I would like to ask you a  question, do you have many decks or do you read tarot and if so do you nt find the same thing can happen and you enter the card?

AmarenLux wrote:Been thinking maybe i should get into Tarot cards but not really sure where to start. Like how do you read them? And what types of tarot desks are there? Ive heard that there are animal desks they seem interesting to me. Anyone got any good links or books even i could have a look at?

I would suggest that you get  a Rider Waite Smith deck as a first deck, they are among the easiest to read with a picture on every card. The deck was first printed over a hundred years ago in 1909 and nearly all modern decks are based on the traditional meanings. They are logical, clear and being the base for many other decks if you learn to read the RWS properly you will find it far easier to then pick up other decks.

Animal decks, well I would suggest an animal oracle, but it all depends on what you want to do and achieve. 

Of course anyone can just pick up a deck of cards and give a reading, but the responsibility that comes with readings is important to factor in.

Crystal wrote:

Blueanchor wrote:

Auras wrote:

Blueanchor wrote:Tarot is quite a specific deck of cards. Each deck has different imagery and choosing the imagery that resonates with you can help you to read the cards.

But there are also oracle cards, and this may be what you are thinking of when you talk of animal cards. Unlike tarot, each oracle deck is unique.

Both tarot and oracle cards tend to come with a book of meanings. Because tarot is so specific, I would recommend reading the book to get you started. But with oracle cards, if you are intuitive about the subject matter of the oracle or are able to 'see' into the images, then I would say that there is less need to learn specific meanings - they are just a tool to help you reach that decisive knowing.

Can you elaborate on what you mean by see into the images?

I mean when you see psychically. I understand that the way we see pscychically occurs for people in different ways.

When I 'see' in this way, my focus may highlight a specific area of the card or the position of the card or I may intuit through a variety of senses, what that card in that specific moment means.

Thank-you for describing the Tarot like that.
I would like to ask you a  question, do you have many decks or do you read tarot and if so do you nt find the same thing can happen and you enter the card?

I have just the one tarot deck and a variety of oracle cards. I find with tarot that I connect with the major arcana in this way as I relate to the characters and images. But I find that suits and the meaning of the suits distracts me from doing so well with the minor arcana.

A lot of people feel the same - the minors confuse and are nt instinctive - there are quite a few Major only decks created though :)

Crystal wrote:A lot of people feel the same - the minors confuse and are nt instinctive - there are quite a few Major only decks created though :)

I wonder if they were once a stand alone set. Do you know much about the history and where the minor arcana came from?

Well  I believe that the 22 Majors were the messages of the Ancient Ones, indicating how to develop and acheive enlightenment, from mind to tablet, the minors came later and were everyday messages of life lessons. Sadly not many people use the Tarot to learn and develop themselves it is so often just used to give readings and predictions and that really isn't it's best use.

Well you'll be pleased to know that I tend to use cards for self-development purposes. That's not to say that I never read for others, but it is relatively rare.

I'd look at many different decks some shops will let you look through them, you might feel 'drawn' to a specific set. I'd agree with the other that rider wait is a good place to start too.

Hello

There are so many variations out there to choose from.  Some are very traditional Tarot where there is that date back some 500 years in their origins, in this one has to remember how much times have changed in those years with the world around us.  Some feel that the images on them have dated or become dated over time. 

There are decks that are more "oracle" than tarot but have the foundations of tarot with them.  They include the main arcana cards but add at times things like stone or chakra cards to the mix.  Oracle cards often have an image and a message right on the card.  They also come with a guide book with more information in it.  I personally rarely use the Guide Book, as that is the views of the author and not that of one's own intuition of the question asked.

Animal or totem cards often have a message on them as do angel cards that can be used for a "Message of the Day" reading. 

When one starts out its best to see what calls to you in a store.  We are told not to judge a book by its cover, but often I have found you can judge a deck by its box.  They are a form of energy like a crystal so they will call to you.  You might find your drawn to a deck that you never would have considered from the images.  Too you might get a deck and get it home to find later that its not what you really wanted so you go in search again. 

You have to ask if you want to learn the more traditional path of tarot, if yes, then there are "Easy" Tarot decks to get. From here do not focus on trying to learn everything about each card, look for the "Key Words" for each card and from there open your own intuition for the meaning behind what your asking.  Remember its practice and patients and its easier to read for someone and understand what they want to know than it is for yourself.  In self readings your already knowing what you want the answer to be on some level 

I like decks like "The Answer is Simple" for learning intuition reading. The images are vivid and if you leave the Guide Book in the box (as I find it a bit EGO ) in its nature you can see the answer often does refect the question you ask.

Lymm

Crystal wrote:Well  I believe that the 22 Majors were the messages of the Ancient Ones, indicating how to develop and acheive enlightenment, from mind to tablet, the minors came later and were everyday messages of life lessons. Sadly not many people use the Tarot to learn and develop themselves it is so often just used to give readings and predictions and that really isn't it's best use.

The 22 Majors come from an Italian card game similar to Trumps devised around the 1500s, in Italy it was call Il Tarrochi and is still playec in some regions today. In France it was Les Triumphes and is still a popular card game.
It was made popular as a form of Divination by Jean-Baptiste Alliete in the 1700's (later known as the occultist, Eteilla)
No connection has been found between Tarot and 'ancient' cultures/ beings.

You will also find that the majority of readers do use Tarot as a self reflection/personal development tool and only the minority use them for fortune telling. Both Rachel Pollack and Mary K Greer published personal development with tarot books in the 1980's. Crowley's Thoth deck (a very introspective/personal development deck) was published in 1969.

55_Degrees wrote:

Crystal wrote:Well  I believe that the 22 Majors were the messages of the Ancient Ones, indicating how to develop and acheive enlightenment, from mind to tablet, the minors came later and were everyday messages of life lessons. Sadly not many people use the Tarot to learn and develop themselves it is so often just used to give readings and predictions and that really isn't it's best use.

The 22 Majors come from an Italian card game similar to Trumps devised around the 1500s, in Italy it was call Il Tarrochi and is still playec in some regions today. In France it was Les Triumphes and is still a popular card game.
It was made popular as a form of Divination by Jean-Baptiste Alliete in the 1700's (later known as the occultist, Eteilla)
No connection has been found between Tarot and 'ancient' cultures/ beings.

You will also find that the majority of readers do use Tarot as a self reflection/personal development tool and only the minority use them for fortune telling. Both Rachel Pollack and Mary K Greer published personal development with tarot books in the 1980's. Crowley's Thoth deck (a very introspective/personal development deck) was published in 1969.

The first part I trust your expertise...

The 2nd I wholeheartedly agree! I don't do fortune telling readings. If people come to me with that I decline. Not my thing. I am all about helping and inspiring others to get empowered and no matter what I do, this just come up :) And I like it that way!
So I don't do "Does he still love me?" or "Will he come back to me" type of readings either. I always figure if he does and would you'd know. 

Come to think of it, I think the enormous amount of new oracle cards being published might also have to do with people seeking personal growth and development.