Buying your first tarot deck

I am writing this today because I do get frustrated with some of the things said to me day by day when it comes to tarot readings. I am someone that believes one thing that is ok for one may not sit right with someone else. So the first lesson I am going to say to you is that you need do what is right for you. There are many things floating about the internet in the way of what you should do and shouldn't do when buying your cards and keeping them and using them. I have also in the past herd other readers telling clients that things have to be done in a certain special way. Again these particular ways may be right for them but you know spirit don't care how you do things as long as their message gets through and you are being respectful when you deliver your reading.

I think that some times people get bogged down with the right and wrong and it stops them from trying it out or believing that they can get some guidance for themselves.

Ok the first one is something that really gets my back up and when people say it too me I just want to walk away from them. Its something that is regularly said to me almost on a weekly basis. You cannot buy your own cards. Even writing down is making me annoyed. If your going to connect with cards then how on earth can you do that unless you like them. People do odd things such as sending out their friends and family to buy cards for them. I know people wanting to learn tarot that have felt their cards are not working for them because they have bought them. The other one is that someone cannot gel with a set of cards because they dont like them. It just frustrates me. If you want some cards get out there and buy them yourself, it makes not one jot of difference.

There are instances when cards are passed down by families and I feel yes they can be special, but your Great Aunt or Granny is not going to take offence if you cannot gel with her cards, so just dont worry about it. If you inherit cards in that way and cannot use them then put them away for a bit and take them out at a later date and try them again. I do have several sets of cards and some days I use one set, the next I really dont want to work with them so I use a different one. Dont forget they are all slightly different and while they have the same underlying message there can be a big difference when using them in a reading which is why I often get my client to pick which set they want me to use before we start the reading.

So now having got that one out of the way lets move onto which deck should you buy. There are many out there, and to be honest I am becoming quite a collector of cards and some of them have the most amazing art work and I use them privately but never would I let anyone else handle them. Again its up to you, if you want to buy one set and never use another thats fine. But if you want to buy lots of different ones and use different cards for each client then thats also fine. Its your personal choice, and I think that it just brings a bit of variety to your reading. Never feel that you have to buy a particular set of cards, they are only tools, the information comes from your intuition and from spirit, so buy the ones that you are comfortable with.

Ok next point, how to store them, lots of different information on this, keeping them in a silk cloth locked in a box on an alter surrounded by crystals etc etc etc I could go on. If you want to keep them in a draw still in the original packaging then thats up to you. Cleansing cards is needed and I cleanse them between each reading which I will talk about in a future blog. I think that its nice to have pretty carved boxes or silk bags to store things in but I also think that its personal choice. So do not get yourself worked up about where your cards are, as long as you cleanse them you will be fine, which can be done in all sorts of different ways. Smudging is probably the easiest way of doing it, and you dont have to do it all the time if you are only using the cards for yourself. Dont over think when you are starting out, I cleanse the cards quickly between each reading as I read for lots of people each day and I have a quick and easy way to cleanse them using energy healing. The easiest way if your new to this is to either leave them on your windowsill during a new moon, or buy a smudge stick and use that for a few seconds around the cards.

The other thing I want to add at this point is that if you are just learning and have never read tarot before if you buy a set of cards its much easier if you have cards that have pictures on them all rather than just the major arcana and the court cards. I will explain what I mean. Some sets have 9 coins or 7 wands as the image and while I would know straight away what that means, if you are a novice you may need to then check a book to see what the meanings are. So if you buy a set to learn with, its much easier to buy some that have pictures on each and that way you can throw the little book that comes with the cards away and just use your intuition.

I am a big believer in not having a book sat next to you while you are learning. Have some key words written down for each card and that will help when you are practising. If you get bogged down with knowing each card off by heart from which ever book you are learning from then it will be difficult for you. If you have a key word in mind and trust your intuition and spirit to provide the information its much better than keep looking in a book.

So bringing this blog to an end, the only rule when buying tarot cards is that there are no rules. Just make sure that you get a good deal and dont pay over the top for them. I'm off for now, I hope that this has been of use to you.

Suzi xxx xxx x xxx xxx