Tarot Deck Selection Guide
Tarot decks can be used for a
variety of purposes:
1.
Prediction
2.
Inspiration
3.
Psychological
exploration
4.
Decision
making
5.
Discussion
6.
Your
own personal reasons.
You can use the Tarot for all of these reasons, but it helps to identify how your deck will be used for the majority of your readings. If you are an artist or
writer you might use the Tarot to spark new ideas or to develop your
perspective of a character or project.
If you have a family you might use the Tarot to understand your
relationships with your children or spouse. Understanding why and how you will use your Tarot deck goes
a long way to ensuring you find the right deck for yourself and that you will
actually use it!
Next we need to examine your previous
experience with the Tarot:
1.
None,
I am a beginner!
2.
People
have read for me before
3.
I’ve
read for myself and/or others on occasion
4.
I
read Tarot regularly
5.
I
have my deck committed to memory!
6.
The
universe is a Tarot deck…
If the universe is your Tarot deck
then you’ve reached this page accidentally. That is if you still believe in accidents. For the rest of the experience
levels there are a variety of decks waiting for you to crack them open and
explore.
If you are new to the Tarot
then I strongly suggest starting out with a deck in our Get Started!
category. Beginner decks tend to
contain more resources like manuals and guides and are designed to make your
first few readings as informative as possible. Our 'Color Your Own' Tarot deck will help you further your awareness of Tarot symbolism I also suggest using the Tarot card learning resources on
this site, which are located in the ‘Services’ menu. There are plenty of ideas for everyone.
If you’ve had your cards read
by others on occasion I suggest trying to find the deck most often used for
your readings. You may not
completely understand the symbolism but you are already acquainted with the
imagery on some level so it will be easier for you to develop a rapport with
that deck. Later on you might
migrate away from that deck towards another you feel a more personalized
connection with. Don’t worry though;
your experience with the Tarot will carry over to any deck you choose.
Have you read for yourself and
your friends from time to time?
Its time then to find a deck with a bit more depth! Take a look at our artistic tarot card
selections, our Thoth styles, and browse through our main Tarot card section
for decks that you might relate to.
Let’s consider the elemental
Tarot card design themes:
1.
Cultural
2.
Lifestyles
3.
Archetypes
4.
Brands
Cultural design themes include
references to African, Japanese, Celtic, and other traditional mythic images or
customs. Lifestyle design themes
refer to the imagery of specific sub-cultures.
They are decks drawn using imagery inspired by Pagan, Witch, GLBT,
and other communities. Do you like cats,
dragons, vampires, or other creatures (real or not)? Those are lifestyle decks. If you like cats you probably own a cat (I own four) and
that cat in some way defines your lifestyle. Archetypal decks refer to decks like the Thoth, the
Rider-Waite, and any deck with the word ‘Universal’ in the title. Although every Tarot deck is a
collection of collective Ideas, these decks were written for the sole purpose
of opening our eyes to a wide range of symbolism. Brand-based designs include decks based on themes or trends
from pop-culture. These decks
eventually make great collectors items and always make great gifts if you’d
like to introduce someone to the Tarot in a fun sort of way. Tarot decks aren’t puzzle pieces;
sometimes they don’t fit nicely into the four elemental design themes. Erotic decks, for example, may be
considered archetypal, or cultural depending on how you approach them. A deck can be anything you perceive it
to be!
Those of you who have a higher
experience level with the Tarot might be feeling left out, but you already know
what kind of deck you want, it just hasn’t found you just yet. Sometimes it helps to go back to the
reasons mentioned above about why we first started learning the Tarot so we can
find a deck that suits that purpose.
Having a variety of decks at your disposal makes our readings even more
enjoyable- ‘Let’s see what the Golden Botticelli Tarot has to say today…’ Having a deck at our disposal that
feels right is a real treat. Maybe its time to create your own Tarot cards. You can use our blank Tarot decks and create a truly personalized set.
If you’ve read this far: good
job. I’d like get to the point
where All Tarot Products has 1,000 new and collectible tarot decks. That’s a lot of decks to wade through
if you don’t know what you’re looking for. Once you have a general idea (or specific idea) of the deck
you want, go ahead and type your idea into Quick Search located to the left of
this page. Click advanced search
to search inside the descriptions of our Tarot decks for a particular theme or
style. Don't forget to checkout our oracle card selections. You can also contact me by
using the contact us link above and below or by sending an email to customerservice@alltarotproducts.com. Let me know if we don’t have the deck
you want or if you can’t decide.
-Acephale,
All Tarot Products
