Congratulations!
You bought a deck, and new to the Tarots, and don't know where to start. You go online and start looking for cheat sheets of individual Tarot card meanings. All of the sudden, you are reading and you are a "making up" a meaning based on your actual life experience...STOP RIGHT THERE. Do not read the Tarots based on a single work from the list of meanings each card has. Tarot reading is much more complex that a list of potential words associated per card. Let me repeat the word you missed, POTENTIAL.
As soon as you open your deck, introduce yourself and ask questions to the deck about the deck itself. Like a stranger getting to know a new friend, start to talk. Some questions that would be a good start:
- Who's the advisor?
- How they give advise to the reader?
- What does the advisor look like?
- What was their past life like? (Aye, you don't know how they lived or died.)
- Where would they like to be put away after a reading?
- Do they like to use a specific time or place to be read?
Just as no two souls are alike, no two home are alike, no two birds are alike, so are the tarot cards.
We can clone all the sheep in the world, just because they look the same, doesn't mean they are the same. The experience is different. Their entity is already different. So are the cards! I have owned several decks and if anything I have learned, each deck reads different. They feel different and they have its own personality. They look the same from the outside, but are different in the inside. A deck of cards are copied over and over, but they are always different.
This is likely due to a combination of factors, including:
- The artist's intention: The artist's energy and vision can be infused into the deck during its creation.
- The materials used: The type of paper, ink, and other materials used can affect the deck's energy.
- The deck's history: A deck that has been used by many people over time may absorb the energy of its previous owners.
It's important to find a deck that resonates with you personally. This can take some time and experimentation, but it's worth the effort to find a deck that feels like a true partner in your tarot journey.
I had a deck with a sense of humor, while another deck was serious. I had one deck that was brutal and harsh, dark. I had decks that were males and had decks that were females. Don't be fool to think that decks will read the same. Just because you read somewhere what the meaning should be...it's not always true.
Some like to be read cartoonish, others like to be read by the book, while others like to be read positively and some, with brutal honesty that no matter how many times you shift the deck, reading turns for the worst. Sometimes they don't like you, other times you are BFFs. To be honest, I had to get rid of a deck of cards because it was just too wrong, too evil, too destructive. Giving the wrong advise and the wrong answer. Extremely spiteful personality.
I currently have a friendly, sweet, brutal and cuts thru the bullshit, but honest. Does not read what it's supposed to be meant. It talks different. Very sharp, brutal and Swift - Queen of Swords.
One thing is certain, if you obtained a deck for curiosity, you're in for a ride. If all of the sudden, you lose your job, your new business goes sour, your relationships ends, unable to find a long-life partner, money leaves the bank in the same way it came in, friendships ends, accidents left and right, family fights, then you need a psychic to help you find an exit door to the deck you befriended. Yeah, we don't "own" a deck, we "befriend" a deck. Many of us have been doing this for decades, and this can lead into a loneliness or misleads if not careful. We become successful because we "listened" to advise given and not abuse the power of the deck / spiritual association.
