Brigid Bishop on Tarot Decks and Cartomancy
(Intro)
I have been collecting Tarot Decks since I was eight years old, much longer than I would like to admit!
You can find decks that are based in every culture in the world, Native American, Celtic, Anglo Saxon, Chinese, Japanese, Hungarian, Italian, Nordic, Egyptian, African, the list goes on and on and on. There are also decks that are not “specifically” Tarot Cards, but are used for spiritual growth just the same, an example would be the Cartouche, an ancient Egyptian deck of symbols that is quite powerful and, in relation to the Tarot, which contains 78 cards in most instances, only contains 25 cards.
I enjoy using the Cartouche for spiritual and magical workings, but do not provide Cartouche readings over the phone, as they are not understood by the general public as well as the Tarot is.
I am going to begin a series on different decks, this being the first installment, whereby I will introduce you to the different energies of the decks and perhaps help you to expand your knowledge.
When you are shopping for a new Tarot Deck try to get a feel for the energies of that deck, does the artwork appeal to you? Do you feel a sense of well-being when you are browsing over the text associated with it? Is there a cultural appeal to the deck that makes you feel connected to it?
These are all positive signs that you will tune in well with the deck.
I have literally thousands of decks, some I work with, some I have just “to have”. There are decks that I find more in tune to relationship readings, some are more spiritual in nature, some cause me discomfort when I use them and I have them just to understand them even if I don’t connect with them.
Finding a good deck to work with on a personal level is like allowing the deck to choose you. You know when it’s right when you hold it in your hands.
For the novice, I recommend using a traditional archetypical deck like the Rider Waite Tarot or the Universal Waite Tarot as the symbolism will give you a strong foundation that you can use to transfer to your interpretation of future decks.
The Thoth Tarot is a bit confusing for the novice, but the intermediate student can well adjust to the differences in the hierarchy of the cards. I like to use the Thoth for my own personal spiritual work. I also enjoy using the Cartouche for more mystical work and I enjoy The Sacred Path Cards, which are Native American in cultural reference, but very insightful.
For past life readings I enjoy using the Phoenix deck. A lot of insights and soul mate issues can be resolved with this powerful Native American Deck.
For my own personal relationship issues I prefer to use the Enchanted Tarot as the imagery on the cards is neither intimidating nor harsh in any way. This is a also a good choice when providing public readings when your clientele will have little or no knowledge of the Tarot as the images on more traditional decks can be intimidating to those who have no basic knowledge of the cards.
As we progress I will highlight different decks and my preferred uses for them, and I hope that my reviews will help you gain more insight into cartomancy and perhaps help to expand your enjoyment of the art.