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by Barbara Moore

(Article originally published in The Llewellyn Journal.)

With so many wonderful tarot decks available these days, it would be difficult to have just one. I try to imagine how it feels to be a complete novice today and be confronted with so many decks; it would be overwhelming.

I do know some people who only have one tarot deck. That is all they want, and they are fine with that. If you are one of those people, this article is not for you...however, if you do read it, you may find yourself inspired to buy another deck or two. You've been warned!

Basics
To start a collection, and really to start a solid study of tarot, I would make sure I had one each of the various editions of the following:

• Rider Waite Smith
• Thoth Tarot
• Marseilles Tarot

These are the three main traditions that are used for reading today.

To have a very complete collection, you would probably want a Visconti deck as well, since it is one of the earliest tarot decks we have, and a Minchiate Tarot (which has more cards than a tarot deck, but is a close and very interesting cousin). Also, throw in a Sola Busca deck, as that is a 15th century deck with illustrated minor cards...compare them to Pamela Coleman Smith's and you'll see some surprising similarities.

Suit Yourself
There are decks that play off either the RWS tradition or the Thoth by following their structure but adding another layer, usually by incorporating a theme. What are some of your interests outside of tarot? Fairies, Celtic studies, the environment, Paganism, a historical period, tattoos, science, Jane Austen, vampires, goth, magic, Arthurian legends, fairy tales, baseball? Yes, there are tarot decks that explore all these themes. Add a few decks that combine your personal interest with tarot.

This is a great way to learn the cards, because these decks take a subject you already know and apply it to the cards.

Something Completely New
Once you understand the structure of the tarot deck, it becomes a framework that will allow you to learn new subjects very easily. If you know tarot very well but do not know, say, science, then The Quantum Tarot can be an easy and fun way to learn.

If you want to learn more about Welsh mythology, then the Llewellyn Tarot would be a great choice. Because the myths are matched up with cards that you already know the basic meanings for, it gives you an instant connection.

Different Decks for Different Purposes
People use tarot for things other than readings, and consequently find that one deck may not work for every purpose. That is certainly the case with me. Here are some potentially different uses that might require separate decks.

• Reading for yourself
• Reading for others
• Reading at parties or psychic fair or in loud/busy places. For these situations, I find that simpler, lighter decks are easier to read. I save the darker, more complex ones for other situations. (By lighter/darker, I mean the coloring, not necessarily the themes.)
• Journaling. I actually use lots of different decks for journaling. I like ones that have more intricate art or that are non-traditional. I like my journaling to challenge and push me, so I pick decks that do that.
• Spiritual study. Of course, for this you'd want a deck that somehow reflects your spiritual beliefs. For me, the Gaian Tarot suits my needs beautifully.
• Meditation
• Magical work
• Brainstorming or Creative Inspiration. I like using tarot to help me write, particularly fiction (I also use Corrine Kenner's book, Tarot for Writers). As with journaling, I find that the more interesting, complex, and non-traditional, the better.

Different Types of Readings
Personally, I do not use different decks for different types of readings, but many of my colleagues do, so for completeness, I'm including that idea here:

• Romance
• Financial/Career
• Brainstorming
• Spiritual
• Seasonal. I like using my darker-themed decks (such as the Bohemian Gothic Tarot from Magic Realist Press) in the late fall. I prefer my lighter-themed decks, such as Shadowscapes, for spring. I have a hand-made Christmas deck of Major Arcanas that I use at holiday parties.
• Family-friendly or Child-appropriate. Certain events or reading situations call for a "non-scary" deck or one without nudity. These are not always easy to find. The Mystic Faerie Tarot has no nudity and is quite family-friendly.

To Grow
It seems that we work so hard at getting comfortable with the cards. But then, once we are, we run the danger of becoming stuck in a rut or stagnant. The most important thing to remember about tarot is that it is always evolving. The cards change, the way we use them changes. If tarot ever settled into an unchanging thing, it would lose the power to transform us.

As a tarot reader, you'll want to keep pushing yourself. You don't have to agree with every new deck or technique or idea...but approach them all with an open mind. By honestly exploring them and weighing their pros and cons, you will only strengthen your own beliefs. There is nothing bad about that.

To feed your own growth, every once in a while spend time with a deck that is outside of your comfort zone.

One that is sure to push some kind of button on every reader, no matter how forward-thinking, is the Tarot of the Silicon Dawn. Emily Carding's Transparent Tarot is another that is really unusual with the potential to shake up your world.

Other ideas:

• Decks about subjects that make you uncomfortable or that you think are silly (what can you learn from, say, the Gummi Bear Tarot?)
• Round decks
• Decks that follow no recognizable tradition

Oracle Decks
Many tarot purists do not care for oracle decks. Oracle decks are any sort of divination deck that does not follow the structure of a tarot deck. Oracle decks may have some sort of internal structure or none at all. They can be whatever they want! And this really bugs some people.

However, oracle decks can play a role in the life of a tarot lover. Get an oracle with a similar theme or art as your usual tarot deck and add a position in your spread for a "secret message from the Universe." Pull the card for that position from the oracle deck.

Find an oracle that you like and use it to end a session with a client, having them pull a card as a final message.

Use an oracle deck for an inspirational message of the day.

Lenormand Decks
Lenormand decks are really coming into vogue now. Some readers are frustrated because their clients want mundane, clear readings about their everyday lives. Tarot readers sometimes find that tarot is not well suited for such readings, or at least they are having trouble using them in that way. Lenormand cards, however, are made for those sorts of readings.

I am currently studying Lenormand cards. I hope to create a process whereby I can begin with the Lenormand deck and answer mundane questions in a mundane way. Then we can move on to the tarot cards and add depth, understanding, and power to the reading, and consequently to the client's life.

Maybe you should try that, too, and in a few months we can compare notes!

Article originally published in The Llewellyn Journal. Copyright Llewellyn Worldwide, 2011. All rights reserved.

I have always believed that we choose our lives before we come to earth in order to learn what we need to learn. It's one of the ways I make sense of seemingly pointless acts of violence against people, and how I can understand why some people experience such hardship during their lifetimes. What I can't understand is why or how animals would choose to live on earth and be so cruelly treated at times. Do you believe that animals make the choice to incarnate as we do? What are your spiritual beliefs about the role of animals here on earth and in the afterlife? Thanks for your insights into this subject.

Mary

Dreamchaser:

As you may know, I am a huge believer in the wisdom and power of animals both on the physical plane and in spiritual realms. At times, I learn from animals more easily than I learn from other humans.

Each animal has a specific trait that we can learn and adopt by observing and studying the animal itself. We do not have to have an actual live animal in our presence to learn from that animal, however - we can also read about the animal in books or on the internet.

Animals are also here on earth to just be our companions. To learn about loyalty and unconditional love, for example, someone could adopt a stray dog. Befriending a dog is probably the best way on earth to learn about those particular traits.

To learn about planning and providing for the future, one can watch a squirrel. Observe, for example, how the squirrel puts his stash in all kinds of different places - he does not just put it in one place. My Daddy always told me that the way to wealth was through diversification of income, which is something the squirrel seems to understand instinctively.

Animals also provide us with food and clothing at times. I think this is where most of your question comes into play. I too have often wondered why some animals are born just to be killed in order to provide for our needs.

Every soul has a unique path and lessons that need learning. Each soul will pick its own best way to learn a particular lesson, then it will plan an incarnation by finding a family, location, time, etc., that will best suit its needs.

Animals usually have very short life spans compared to humans. It seems to me that by incarnating as an animal, one might be able to very quickly learn some lessons or repay some karma. (I personally think that every animal chosen as a pet by a kid is here for a big lesson, as they will be sorely neglected.)

I believe there are times that certain animals choose to be with certain people. I am sure that my little black cat chose my son. He happened to see her being born through a window, and they have been fast friends ever since. I am sure her soul chose to come into that little black cat body.

I also feel humans and animals often both learn from each other, so they can have mutually beneficial relationships. Other times I think animals will come to us in service, or purely as teachers.

When I channel people who have passed over, I often see them with a favorite pet. The pet is still in the same form it had when it was last alive in the physical, at least as I am shown it.

So I do believe that animal souls choose to come here just like human souls do, according to a divine, natural order.

I wish you many amazing animal encounters.

*****

Astrea:

I don't believe animals share our level of conscious awareness, even though some seem to THINK they do. Ink, my black witch's cat, maintains that she not only knew where she would live and the people she would be with, but she planned all of this with me before either of us incarnated. We have an extraordinary bond; it does feel like we've been together many times.

Mars, my huge orange Tabby, thinks this is a wild, goofball idea that only humans could think up. "What would I have to learn?" he asked. "I know EVERYTHING! I know there is a rat I'm going to get one of these days when it cools off upstairs. I know what time breakfast is served. I can find the litter box when I feel like using it instead of the wall or your shoes. I was able to survive being abandoned, and wound up here in my own private palace. Why would I need more than the nine lives I have right here?"

When I asked Cody, my friend's horse, he said, "What you have me? Apple? Carrot? Nothing? Go 'way then." Since Cody wasn't interested in talking about your question, I'm thinking he is a one-timer. The other horses weren't interested in talking about it, either. (I find horses aren't big talkers - at least, not to me.)

As for dogs, I don't have one at the moment, and the two next door were busy when I asked them. Daisy, (a Labrador retriever) had a brand new set of wicker furniture to tear up and eat. "Incarnations? Aren't those the flowers I ate last week? Oh, those were Crosanthimumums! I'm too busy to talk to you now, come back after I eat that chair."

Madison, aka Mad Dog, was too busy barking at me to listen intelligently to ANY question. Madison is alone a lot, so when she gets any attention at all, she's usually too excited for deep conversation.

My friend Sue's dog, Max, was an exceptional individual. He promised her he would return in another body so that they could complete this life journey together. That was almost eight years ago, and he hasn't reappeared yet. Either he's happy in Heaven and waiting for her there, or he's as picky as he was in life, and can't find a puppy about to be born that he feels is "good enough" for his spirit.

My big Great Dane wasn't much for talk, but he was deeply emotional. I look for him in the eyes of every puppy I meet. Nothing yet. But I know from him that just like every human is unique, so is every animal.

Comet, the Inscrutable and Mighty Gray One, says that dogs incarnate one time to love us, so we have to enjoy them while they are here. Once we cross over, we're reunited with all our loved ones, including pets. They wait for us, and there is such great joy when we see each other again that all sadness is driven from us forever.

Astrea:

Many times in life we hear, "You will always have what you NEED, but not necessarily what you WANT." Your spirit must have needed to experience the feeling of leaving your human body, and the suggestion in the next chapter of Sylvia Brown's book was all it took to get you there.

Even though you hadn't read it yet, your SOUL recognized the title of that chapter as something it had been seeking, and your soul, knowing that you had that reference to read after your experience, got with it and out you went!

While I don't usually recommend her books, Sylvia Brown has a wide reaching and powerful effect on lots of people. A Gemini like you would be able to relate easily to her writing and put it to good use. Synchronicity - you gotta love it!

I like your description of "getting caught." That's exactly what it feels like, isn't it? One minute you're free and hovering above the room, and the next minute, ZAP! back down into your corporeal form you go!

As a little kid, I loved that "feeling of return." With practice, most of the time we can control that event, but sometimes, when our physical ears hear a distracting noise or something else occurs to knock us back into reality, back we go. With practice you will be able to control your return better.

I find it interesting that you were visiting your mother-in-law and not someone in your own genetic family. Evidently, you and your husband got married for reasons that are even deeper than love. His family's interest in "psychic stuff" will nurture your children in such matters and help them to grow into their own abilities.

You'll never have to be concerned that when your daughter visits them, she'll be discouraged from exploring her own psychic life and power. My parents encouraged me to develop my psychic senses in a time when it wasn't nice to even discuss such things in public. Heck, it's STILL not considered a great topic at the dinner table in some families!

Your kids will get to talk about it ALL and ask questions and read and study. This is going to give them such an edge in life! Talk with your husband about how you want to present this to your kiddos, so that you are united in your approach and ready to tell them their experiences are all natural and okay.

A word or two of warning: Geminis often have difficulty staying grounded in REAL LIFE. Don't get so strung out on your ASTRAL life that you neglect what you're doing here on Earth.

You are at the beginning of a long journey to learn where your power really lies. Try to be patient with this process and take your time.