"How do I choose the right deck for me?"
Jan replies:
I usually advise a beginner to choose a deck which sticks fairly close to the traditional designs. Whilst many of the more modern decks are very beautiful, some have moved quite a long way away from the original designs, and are therefor not as easy to glean information from as more traditional decks. I have also usually advised learners to steer clear of decks which only have stark symbolism on the Minor Arcana card designs - you can only get so much out of three crossed swords, can't you?
The Ryder Waite remains, to my mind, the single most accessible learning deck. Whilst the designs are fairly simple, they stick closely to the original symbols which assist interpretation. The Minor cards all have pictures on them which can be used to stimulate your imagination and help you to enter into the inner meanings of a given card by studying it.
If you're looking for a modern version of the Ryder Waite, you could do worse than take a look at the Morgan Greer deck. This one sticks closely to original principles, but is perhaps a little more artistically pleasing.
You can always progress to a more complex deck once you have a working knowledge of the Tarot, and already hold certain of the interpretative qualities of each card in your mind.
Above all, when choosing your first deck, rely on your own 'feel' for the cards. Give yourself the opportunity to look at different designs - whilst a collection of Tarot decks is very nice to have, you wouldn't like to build it up with your early 'mistakes' now would you??
Loadsalove
Jan
