My next deck(s)

[Pam]

I decided to start with the Rider-Waite deck, because of the ability to use the book that John Edward recommends by Eden Gray, and other general teaching books on tarot. But as I use this deck and become more familiar with the traditional or more widely accepted interpretations of the cards, I'm getting a bit frustrated with the artist's depiction of the scenes. They seem to lack detail and depth. They're just don't "draw you in" to the scene.

I saw the "Universal Rider-Waite" deck when I was in the store, and I think that it's going to be my next deck. It's the same Rider-Waite images originally painted by Pamela Colman Smith, but with much more detail and depth added. Take a look at this side-by-side comparison: (the scans don't do them justice)

http://www.johnedwardtalk.org/images/queenofswordsuniv.jpghttp://www.johnedwardtalk.org/images/queenofswordstrad.jpg

If you know of other decks based on the Rider-Waite that are more pleasing to the eye, please share! :)

[OtherSideTemp]

Pam.

It's so funny you're getting into the tarot right now, because so am I. It's something I never really bothered with or had much interest in until a little over 2 months ago, when I went for my own private tarot reading. I learned a lot about myself, and the tarot during my reading, and since then, I've been anxious to learn more about it. The Rider-Waite deck is the one I love the most. There's just something about the drawings that captivate me and make me feel good.

Now, I don't have the Universal deck, just the standard Rider-Waite, but I have to say, the drawings on mine look nothing like the one you displayed. Somehow, they look just as detailed as the Universal scan you displayed. The font down at the bottom is also different than mine. I'm not good at telling the difference between decks of such similarity, but I'll read you what the box says. "Rider-Waite Tarot Deck: The original and only authorized edition of the famous 78 card Tarot deck designed by Pamela Colman Smith" presented by US Games Systems.

I hope the Universal deck appeals to you more. The colors in Pamela Smith's drawings are so detailed, and include so many archetypes and symbols. I confess, I'm also reading "The Complete Idiot's Guide to Tarot" to aid me along!

Temp

[Pam]

Wow! I also recently purchased "The Complete Idiot's Guide to Tarot" and I really like it! I was going to make a post about the book too....Synchronicity! :thumbsup: I like the way the book is laid out, and the fact that the card descriptions seem to work off the same information as the Eden Gray book, but then builds on it in more descriptive language.

I have several other books too that I'm using all at the same time. My husband just smiles at me, as I drag 4-5 books, along with my notebook with the cards taped inside, and my pen, and my silk wrapped cards all over the house with me. Up the stairs, down the stairs, out to the porch, and a book or two to the pool while we take turns watching Zach play in the tot pool.

To see a comparison of several "Rider- Waite" decks check this page at learntarot.com:

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

Click on the cards for larger images, and see if you can tell me which deck you have. I don't know the difference between the "Rider Waite" and the "Original Rider Waite".

[OtherSideTemp]

Great minds think alike, Pam! :)

Personally, I love the Idiot's Gude book because it explains things in a clear, down-to-earth way, and when it comes to tarot, I need things to be as clear as possible! I'm starting chapter seven right now, where they start explaining the Major Arcana in detail Hopefully, that will help me along. I've already done several of the suggested exercises, which give good advice. They say if you're just starting out, don;t worry about what any book's interpretation has to say. Rather, spend time looking at the cards and decide how you feel about them. That's something I'm working on right now.

I looked at your scans above, and the scans on the link you posted, and I would have to say I have the standard Rider-Waite deck, not the Universal. I hope you find what works best for you. I can see that some Waite decks are more detailed than others so I'll have to look into that... Now, back to The Idiot's Guide.. let's see if I'm improved since yesterday! By the way, the authors recommend keeping a tarot journal. I might take it up. Have you given that any thought?

Temp

[Pam]

I've taken John's advice, and bought one of those bound, black and white notebooks. I bought a second deck and scotch taped one card to each page - the major arcana first, then the minor arcana in the order of most books, wands, cups, swords, pentacles, in number order (even though the IG to Tarot lists the court cards first, then the number cards, I understand why they separate them out) and I have hand written my notes on each card, in that book. I've also photocopied some reference stuff out of other books, and taped those in to pages in the rear. For example, some references to numerology, color symbols, general Rider-Wait symbology, astrological references and other miscelleneous "cheat cheats" :)

I've started keeping a journal of "Questions and Answers" on an old lap top that I have, in MS-Word. I've been shuffling while asking real questions about real situations in my past and my current life, and logging the card(s) I turn up, and my interpretation. I've done a few Celtic Cross spreads, and I've logged them all too.

I get what I feel are real, honest answers that confirm what I already feel about the situation, and offer additional insight, in just the same vien that I'm asking. For example, when I ask questions about material things, I get pentacle cards. When I ask about old relationships that were quite passionate or stormy in emotion, I get cup cards in answer. Usually a word or more will speak directly to the question I have asked. I would have said "uncanny" a few months ago, but now it seems perfectly natural :) I feel that this method is better for me to learn with, because I can relate to each card in a very personal way. Before when I tried to learn them in some inpersonal methodical order, I would become overwhelmed by the number of cards, symbols, reversed, etc. to learn. I'm learning about 5 or 6 new cards a day using this method.

Anyway, I'm glad I have this journal, so that as I gain more meaning for each card, I can go back and look at the times the card has come up, to see if it adds more depth to the answer. For me, the act of writing something down commits it to memory, and I rarely have go back to what I've written, once I learn a card.

[OtherSideTemp]

All very good ideas, Pam. Just as with anything else, practice makes perfect, so during some time off I have this summer, I plan to practice like there's no tomorrow! That includes keeping a journal/log of all the readings I do. Once I become comfortable with my deck and have really studied the archetypes in them and got a basic feel for what they mean, I'm sure I'll get better.

For extra practice, I read somewhere that it's good to do spreads on current events. For example, if you see a big story on the news, do a quick spread on the situation, and then see how closely the outcome you saw is to the one that actually happens.

I'm out to look for an old notebook and give it some life as my Tarot journal...

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[ScubaCat]

For extra practice, I read somewhere that it's good to do spreads on current events. For example, if you see a big story on the news, do a quick spread on the situation, and then see how closely the outcome you saw is to the one that actually happens.Temp

Could you please expound on the idea of doing a spread for a news story? Do you just pull a few cards or is it like the Celtic cross where the location of the card in the spread gives it a special meaning? I need more ideas of ways to work with the cards other than reading for myself. Since I don't think its helpful to read for yourself every day, I don't get as much practice as I would like. I don't have any like minded people to use as guinea pigs, so I could use some more ideas.

Pam, I would appreciate it if you would give a fictitious example of your "Questions and Answers" idea. It would help me understand what you are doing.

Any ideas for ways to do mini readings to learn more cards would be very welcomed!

[OtherSideTemp]

Could you please expound on the idea of doing a spread for a news story? Do you just pull a few cards or is it like the Celtic cross where the location of the card in the spread gives it a special meaning?

I believe I read this in The Complete Idiot's Guide to Tarot. Both the authors also teach divination classes, and one of the ways they said they have students practice reading the tarot is using current events. I don't think it matters so much what spread you use, as I assume the cards will always reveal themselves in the way they're supposed to depending on the spread. Personally, I do the Celtic Cross spread in this situation because I know each card holds a specific meaning in each position, but pulling a few cards could also work.

[Pam]

Could you please expound on the idea of doing a spread for a news story? Do you just pull a few cards or is it like the Celtic cross where the location of the card in the spread gives it a special meaning? I need more ideas of ways to work with the cards other than reading for myself. Since I don't think its helpful to read for yourself every day, I don't get as much practice as I would like. I don't have any like minded people to use as guinea pigs, so I could use some more ideas.

Pam, I would appreciate it if you would give a fictitious example of your "Questions and Answers" idea. It would help me understand what you are doing.

Any ideas for ways to do mini readings to learn more cards would be very welcomed!I'm starting very slowly with my readings. I pull either 1 or 3 cards. I've only done two celtic cross's since I started, because I get overwhelmed easily ;)

For example, I asked "Will President Bush be re-elected this November?" I shuffled, cut and pulled one card. It was the 6 of wands, and this is my interpretation, based on my own feelings about the card, and culled from several different books:

6 wands

Lord of victory, victory over strife; good news, pleasure gained through labor; success through industry, advancement in the arts and sciences. Friends are helpful, important news coming. Triumph.




There you have it, my prediction is that Bush will be re-elected, but not easily. I feel the card spoke directly to my question. There will either be a victory or not. The card pulled wasn't about old loves, or finances, it was directly about Triumph.

I also asked questions such as "Will there be a terrorist attack on the continental US in 2004"? I got the 3 of cups which I interpreted as:

3 cups

success, abundance, good luck, fortune, victory, happy issue of an undertaking, hospitality, pleasure, celebration, good harvest



My prediction is "no".

Now here's an interesting thing. I asked the same question about 2005, while I shuffled as I usually do, 5 times, and on the third time, I turned half the deck around before shuffling. I cut 3 times and pulled a card. I got the same exact card again! So, my prediction is "no" again, thankfully, for 2005.

I asked the same question again, for 2006, while shuffling and cutting the exact same way. This time, I got The Hanged Man Reversed. My interpretation:

Hanged man reversed

Arrogance, preoccupation with ego; resistance to spirtual forces, absorption in pshycial matters. Wasted effort, false prophecy. Humiliation. Exposure. Revelation.

That tells me that the answer may be "yes", possibly due to letting our gaurd down and letting our national ego tell us that we're safe when we're not. Maybe false intelligence also. But we're going to have a huge "aha" (revelation) in 2006, with regard to terrorism on our soul. We'd better look at the spiritual side of this issue, if we want to use our free will to stop terrorism.

Others may interpret these card meanings much differently than I have; that's ok, I'm the one who pulled them!

That's an example of how I did "current events" or only used 1 card to get an answer. I recently (after about a month of doing 1 card readings) expanded to 3 card readings to get a larger picture. I hope this helps!

[VTFlowerGirl]

Oh I just love this thread! Don'tcha know I have a tarot deck I purchased way way back a dozen years ago before I even started dowsing. I still pull them out occasionally but I'm pretty stuck on the rods and pendulum now - it's just so fascinating and easy to interpret. However, I used to be right into this. I did the whole celtic cross thing too, but now that you've explained the one card method, I really like that.

So what did I almost buy this weekend at the Dowser's book store? Another pack of tarot cards! With animal figures on them. Oh it looked so cool, but I had already picked up two books - one of them being "Finding God in the Garden".

I'll let you know how the book is very soon. I'm still in the garden of Eden! I think I'm going to go back and get that animal tarot deck though. That was too cool. There's a gathering of dowser's coming up in August and I want to have them then and see if I can ferret out any "experts" up here.

Please keep us posted on your progress and other predictions. Very interesting.

[ScubaCat]

Thanks Pam for your examples. I did try something similar but the card I pulled didn't seem to have any relationship to the question I asked. Maybe I just wasn't tuned in properly before I started. I'll keep trying.