Favorite Tarot Decks

Ha!  You are gifted.  We are grateful and blessed to receive your gift.  

Matt, the Marseilles deck is one of the oldest. I think it's in fact the first one that was printed, all the decks before were hand-drawn. So it's been the inspiration for most decks since. I think it's great to have it, if only to get a feel for where Tarot has come from. But if anyone is seriously thinking of buying one, I'd advise to look for a cleaned-up version, one that you can clearly see what the drawings are. My one is an original, which means that, for example, on the Wheel of Fortune you can't tell very well what's around the wheel, and that's a pity.

Vestralux, I liked your story about finding the Magician and Strength. I closed my eyes and tried to find a fitting Tarot answer to that. In my mind I saw the Lovers card, Ryder-Waite, with the mountain in the middle and the two trees. But something was still missing. Then I saw another card: the World. I've always seen the four Gospels in there. There are a lot of Biblical connections in the Tarot, I'm sure. You can take the Bible as so much junk. Or as a bunch of stories, a bunch of words, even a bunch of letters. Or as an instruction manual about how somebody can find answers, if one is just willing to look for a new way. Anyway, I don't have anywhere near the talents of other people here, I know. I'm only trying to describe what I see.

I have enjoyed 'The Fairy Ring' of late, it has gorgeous graphics and some very traditional Celtic lore woven through. Beautiful and accurate readings in a not-so-linear mode.

Just made another interesting find in the Hermetic Library site. By the way, I recommend the Hermetic Library site generally for more information than you could possibly ever want to know about the Golden Dawn and everything related to it.

This deck is a very simple design, just line drawings, and it looks like it's a color-it-yourself deck. I found the symbolism really interesting.

Hello Vestralux. I think you might be able to get Le Tarot Noir, here: 

http://www.renaud-bray.com/books_product.aspx?id=1446496&def=Tarot+noir(Le)%2CTERNEL%2C+JUSTINE%2C9782858296187

It says they are in the process of re-stocking.

Bright Opal, oh my goodness, thank you! I'm so happy to see this.

And Maria, this is excellent too. Although, I may never get anything done again. (Bookmarking and hiding from myself.)

I've been reading this thread and most of it is above my head, heck all of it.  But I have a feeling, actually I know!, this is a meditation process that could be healing for me.  I have the Gilded Tarot and the Thoth. Although there is nothing wrong with it, I find the Gilded Tarot have things missing in the cards.  As for the Thoth, I just can't get into it.  So I haven't found "my" Tarot deck yet.

My faith is based on the catholic doctrine.  Meaning I may be catholic but I choose to live my faith my own way.  My faith is important to me.  So I am looking for some kind of Christian Tarot deck.  I also like a little bit of humour in everything I do.  I find it helps me stay positive, which can be challenging from time to time.  

I saw the Tarot of the Saints, but looking at a picture of Saint-Anthony of Padoue won't tell me much about what the cards are trying to tell me.  I think the Angels Tarot decks would be the same thing.   Unless you have a different opinion, if so, please tell me.   

I am comfortable with the 78 cards decks but maybe I need to look at something else.  I looked at oracles, but I don't know how to read them.  The word "Oracle" intimidates me.  It could be for lack of understanding.

I'm at the point where I've been thinking about drawing my own.  But there are several challenges with that idea, first, I can't draw a stick man to save my life, second I don't have the experience with Tarot, and the knowledge required to do that.  

So, would anyone have  suggestions for me?  Surely, there has to be a Tarot deck out there for me, with a little bit of Christian "values" and some humour.  If not, well, I'll practice drawing stick men and make my own...

Eight Ideas:

1. Have you checked out the Ryder Waite?  It is the most popular deck so it has a universal appeal. It's definitely a Christian deck, and although it's not exactly comedy, the energy is lighter than the Thoth.
2. I love and read the Osho Zen deck but it's not Christian.  It's light, not judgemental, filled with mindfulness wisdom about the mind as a source of happiness and confusion. 
3. Someone once sent me a baseball tarot deck that was pretty funny. They told me it might help me get my husband into tarot.  It didn't but we got some laughs from it.
4. I have a Rumi deck that has quotes from the Sufi 13th century poet Rumi on it. Good for getting a message from Rumi.
5. I also love the medicine cards, not Tarot, but filled with animal guides. 
6. There must be a comedy deck out there. I use to read some children's alphabet cards that I found.  Images of teddy bears and sugar plums, and helped lighten the energy. 
7. Bright Opal you might enjoy just reading a regular deck of playing cards.  The starkness of the cards forces you to read energy from them.  
8. You could make your own deck, even if you can't draw, by cutting and pasting images you like or quotes you feel are helpful. 

Bright Opal, this is my new favorite post of the week! I howled with delight and laughter inside and out! Hooray for you, your honesty and your willingness to go the stick figures route..hahaha ha? Love it and you!

My background is Catholic, as well. I've learned and believe thst the innate mysticism creates a lovely gateway for all new understandings and beliefs, but a clear structure for what does not resonate with innate core beliefs and a yearning to create a different look at the early church, the purpose of all holy books and a need to be of service to the Divine using the the sacred energies that we carry.

But yes, I am rereading Jeanne's lovely tips and I have been looking up every tarot deck anyone mentions for My own clarion call to play and learn in new ways I might not yet understand  ???

Bright Opal, I loved your post too! And I may just know a deck you'd like (I don't own it but hope to). It's called The Golden Tarot deck by Kat Black. It has beautiful gilded gold edges and the images on the card are representative of the late Middle Ages/ heart of the Renaissance. They're beautiful and lush with saintly figures in gorgeous vestments and gowns. Golden tones, crimson and ochre, muted cobalt and emerald.

The Magician card in this deck is a compassionate Christ figure or perhaps St. Francis of Assisi. He's surrounded by animals. The Empress is Mother Mary with the Christ child. If you're curious, just do a Google image search for "Golden Tarot Kat Black" and you'll see some of these. It appears to come with quite a thick little guidebook describing each of the cards, their images and symbolism, including both upright and reversed meanings.

Here's a YouTuber reviewing the deck so that you can see more of what it looks like.  https://youtu.be/l-xObjkiGbE

Jeanne's bulleted explainer is perfect. Whatever you end up choosing, all traditional Tarot is deeply symbolic of the Christ story (as well as Kabbalistic teachings! cool, right?). And it's always, always funny. Spirit laughs with us... and often at us (or probably just at me). ?At least in a compassionate Jedi master kind of way. For example, when I was young and would ask too many self-interested, yes/no type questions back-to-back (e.g., "Should I go out with this guy?" or "Will I get that job?") I tended to receive hilarious smack-downs. The cards might as well have stood up off the table and laughed in my face. I might have been drawing incredibly meaningful insights from the cards all afternoon, but the minute I asked one of those sorts of questions, the cards virtually played dead. They'd either stop making any sense to me at all. Or I'd begin drawing a single card repeatedly, such as the Eight of Swords (a figure is blindfolded and bound) or the Ten of Swords (a figure is lying face down with 10 swords impaled in his back), or even the Death card. I'd panic, interpreting these cards literally (rookie mistake), until I had put them back into the deck, shuffled, and randomly redrawn THE SAME CARD over and over many times. Finally, I'd get the message:

"Girl, you are killing us with these lame questions. The cards are not a matchmaking service! This isn't an employment office! Tarot is not fortune telling—this is for your soul's evolution."

Spirit was simultaneously having a go at my expense and teaching me a valuable lesson.

My guides were probably doing a lot of eye-rolling back then. (Still are, they're telling me.)