Some questions regarding Tarot

I was in my local book store today and was looking through the new age section and decided to pick up a deck (surprisingly they had runes too) And was curious if all the decks were basically the same. The one I was drawn to and purchased is called The Golden Tarot. Its says its inspired by the earliest deck Visconti-Sforza and has the imagery of the Rider Waite deck.

Do all these decks have the same cards and same meanings?
Also if your new to reading would you advise using just the major cards first or jump right in and get to know all the cards major & minor?

I think I read in the EA’s downloadable book BALG that after reading the meanings 3 times you should be able to remember well he must have a kick ass memory and I have smoked weed for over 18 years so… I have a feeling its going to take a lot more time to memorize 78 cards with a whole page of info for the description. Also what kind of spreads do you like and do you do different spreads based on your inquiry?

That deck has called you for a reason :wink: Yes learn all the cards together in one go, it might take you a couple of hours but its not as hard as you might expect. There are some differences between different decks but a quick wikipedia search for your current deck will reveal those differences.

In answer to your other question: no, not all decks are the same.

The two main traditional types are the Rider-Waite-style and the Thoth-style. There are subtle differences between the two styles. Most other “Tarot” decks are variants of these two - usually only the art will differ. A deck will usually say what Tarot it is based on, or that it is it’s own new thing.

There are a lot of different decks out there though. There’s another thread with some good links and discussion on Tarot decks somewhere in here.

i have had my deck for over a year and i still dont know all of the cards definitions by memory. THE MAJORITY but not all of them. i guess it IS the weed…LOL

and that is because some of the pictures have nothing to do with the definition in the booklet or at least at first glance the card could look negative but the definition is positive in the book.

my deck is raider inspired, but all of the characters are african, with african gods and ancient heroes of africa which resonated with me because im of african decent. also i dont do fancy spreads. the way i spread them is more discreet. i do a horizontal row a 5 and another row of 5 under. i keep it simple. and you dont even wanna know how i shuffle them! lol

[quote=“redcircle, post:3, topic:763”]In answer to your other question: no, not all decks are the same.

The two main traditional types are the Rider-Waite-style and the Thoth-style. There are subtle differences between the two styles. Most other “Tarot” decks are variants of these two - usually only the art will differ. A deck will usually say what Tarot it is based on, or that it is it’s own new thing.

There are a lot of different decks out there though. There’s another thread with some good links and discussion on Tarot decks somewhere in here.[/quote]

Is the Thoth deck related to Aleistar crowley ?? I think I seen a book called Thoth and it said his name and showed pictures of ancient Egypt pictures, while at the same store. Also yes on the box it says the meanings (I think) Are from the earliest deck Visconti Sforza from Italy I think and the art is from the Rider Waite deck. And they had a shit load of dif decks steam punk all kinds It made it quite difficult, so I tried the pick the one which seemed the most rounded and old.
Thanks a lot for the fast reply’s and informative answers. I’m going to skim the divination section for that thread your talking about.

That’s what I thought, I’m the type of guy if I only used the Major cards at first then once I learned them and could use them efficiently then I would not want to relearn all the minor ones lol. Patience is a skill that is taking me quite some time to master. Having two young boys, however is definitely helping me with that problem.

Yea, Thoth is Crowley’s deck.

I think that the best decks are the Thoth deck and the traditional deck of Golden Dawn. I am not a tarot expert but I think that the cards must be viewed as an illustrated story.
It is true that the meanings of the cards don’t have much to do with the names they are given but that’s the beauty of it. Each card has its own part of the story to tell.
There are many reasons behind the illustrations of each card, everything there has a meaning. If you can understand this I think it will be easier for you to memorize the meanings of the cards. Actully I think that it’s always better if you can “connect” with each card.
Find books which will give you the details behind each card and not just the obvious (or not so obvious :stuck_out_tongue: ) meaning…

I have a question regarding use of tarot. So I have a deck and have done the painfull process of committing the meaning of the cards to memory (per the recommendation of E.A.'s ebook). I will say that when I actually use the deck that I recall the meanings better than when I just sit down and go card by card attempting recall the meaning of each one.
Anyways my question is as follows: It seems that when I do a reading and such to divine an answer, the questions that I pose doesn’t seem to fit the answer. For example, I did a reading and asked the question of “Will my co-worker get a job promotion that he seeks?” The reading did reveal details about the situation but not whether or not he’ll receive the position. Is the question ill-conceived? How should have I phrased the question? I have a feeling that I should have stated the question differently though I’m not sure how. Should have I said “What are the circumstances surround my co-workers job situation?”

I don’t ask yes/no questions with tarot, there isn’t a yes or no card. There are certain spreads for yes no questions but I have never found them all that accurate. In the question you sited I would ask “What events will present themselves in my friends career.” or " What events will take place in insert time frame at my friends job?", or “How does friends boss view your friend?”, “What aspects/qualities are helping holding back my friend at work”.

Ya, I kinda figured that ‘yes/no’ questions were kinda irrelavent though I wasn’t exactly sure how to approach the situation. Thanks for the insite! I will say that when I do find the "YES"card in the tarot, I’ll let you know. LoL!

Just wanted to say that I went and did another reading of my co-workers job situation with the re-phrased question format that you suggested and it turned out a MUCH BETTER. Better in the sense that the answer wasn’t as convoluted as before. I guess it just goes to show that its all in ‘how’ you as the question!

[url=http://www.tarotforum.net/showthread.php?t=65565]http://www.tarotforum.net/showthread.php?t=65565[/url]

Here is a nice list of questions for tarot, most are pretty good and can be changed up rather nicely.

[quote=“TheWanderingFool, post:13, topic:763”][url=http://www.tarotforum.net/showthread.php?t=65565]http://www.tarotforum.net/showthread.php?t=65565[/url]

Here is a nice list of questions for tarot, most are pretty good and can be changed up rather nicely.[/quote]

Awesome info!! Thanks. I’m gonna look over these to get a general idea on how or what I should be asking.

Years ago, I opted for the Rider-Waite since I considered it a ‘no-nonsense’ deck that is obviously not intended to look pretty for marketing purposes.

My question is, what implications or considerations are associated with working through EA’s course while using the Waite instead of Thoth? The reason I ask: There are some obvious differences between the decks beyond mere artwork. Sequencing of the Major Arcana differs based on EA’s presentation. Now, to me, this seems quite significant. Do their meanings likewise differ in regard to the stages of mastery? Additionally, the Minor Arcana seems very different in some cases - elements associated with wands and swords are swapped, and I think some of the meanings are different. Perhaps I am getting caught up in details as I am a detail-oriented person, but based on this, it seems a little confusing, perhaps challenging to take hold of the Tarot section of EA course while using Waite or Waite-based. Any input here?

I did purchase the Thoth deck for the sake of simplifying this whole matter, and awaiting it’s arrival… Should be here Monday. But I’m still curious.

I think I’ve found a general answer to my own question, here:
[url=http://www.tarotforum.net/showthread.php?t=8371]http://www.tarotforum.net/showthread.php?t=8371[/url]

The Thoth deck is more appealing to me these days, since I don’t subscribe to the Christian theme portrayed in much of the Waite sequence and artwork. So… I’m eager for it’s arrival.

The fundamental meanings of the cards are basically the same, but there are obviously discrepancies between some of the symbology.

I find the following site a good one for comparing some decks:
[url=http://supertarot.co.uk/meaning/tarotcardmeanings.htm]http://supertarot.co.uk/meaning/tarotcardmeanings.htm[/url]

He has some good videos on his youtube channel too. I use both the Waite and Thoth decks. Personally, I think the Waite deck is easier to read in terms of symbology for a beginner. As an example, watch this video about the Fool symbology for the Thoth deck:
[url=http://supertarot.co.uk/major-arcana/fool.htm]http://supertarot.co.uk/major-arcana/fool.htm[/url]

In addition, the Thoth tarot has some more overt Kabbalistic and astrological symbology, if you choose to go that deep into it.

Thank you, Bitterroot. This looks like a good resource.

Hey guys, I’m “upping” this thread with a question. When you read the Tarot for someone or yourself regarding a future outcome… is that outcome written in stone? Can we change it in some way?
For a few years I’ve believed in the Tarot as a way to know the future if we don’t do anything about it, but we can change it if we take the necessary steps.

It is not written in stone. Look at it as where they are headed under current conditions. For example, of you see financial hardship, perhaps they can take measures by saving more or smarter investments to avoid having trouble.