What next?

If you’re looking to add a specific writing deck to your collection, look for two things:

1. A complementary theme

2. Art you like

The first deck I got specially for my writing was the Thoth deck. It’s deeply symbolic heavy with esoteric symbols, and his has a rather dark and serious vibe to it which comes, for me, from its creator, the infamous occultist, Alistaire Crowley. At the time I wrote darker fantasy, and it was a great match.

Now I write lighter fantasy blending romantic and some mystery elements over a variety of fantasy subgenres including contemporary fantasy, high cozy fantasy, and paranormal romance. There’s a lot of witches, a lot of goddess power. I rarely use the Thoth deck any more.

For most of my contemporary work, I use the Witches Tarot by Ellen Dugan and the Gilded Tarot by Ciro Marchetti, both modern decks, with vibrant colors and rich contemporary art styles. The Witches tarot suits particularly well for obvious reasons.

When my imagination ventures into the more mystical or mythical stories, I dabble with the Llewelyn deck, ancient welsh myths from Anna-Marie Ferguson, the same artist who created my beloved Legend deck. For medieval flavored inspiration, I use The Golden Tarot: The Visconti-Sforza Deck by Mary Packard.

At the time of writing, I’m dabbling with a Davide Corsi’s Ghost Tarot because there’s a ghost draft in the works.

I was recently gifted the Motherpeace deck by Karen Vogel and Vicki Noble. This unusual and highly stylized deck (the cards are round!) is drenched in feminine energy and goddess archetypes. I use it for finding deeper layers in my complicated women characters, and have also found it a beautiful addition to my personal readings (as a complicated woman character myself!)

These decks are thematic matches to the vibes I’m intentionally creating in my work.

You aren’t limited to tarot for this, remember. You might also consider oracle cards.

I really want to get a dragon deck, and there are many around, but I haven’t found one with art I really love yet. So for my dragon stories, I use an oracle deck – the Dragonfae Oracle by Lucy Cavendish.

If you’re writing fantasy, you might stick to a deck with these themes. There’s dark fantasy, plenty of Goth vibes, vampire tarot, and the list goes on.

For the lighter vibes of fantasy, you might look to one of the many fairy decks, or fairy tales. 

Do you write contemporary stories set in the real world?

You can get all kinds of decks to suit just about any theme of life. Knitting decks, parenting decks, housework, vehicles, alcohol, ferrets, cats, computer programing… And it goes on.

You might consider directly matching different elements from your stories to multiple decks, especially if you’re writing in a hybrid niche genre like vampire knitting, or paranormal pets for example. 

If you use multiple decks for the same stories, stick with using one deck per spread.

Like so much of tarot reading, the deck you choose for your writing all comes down to what feels good and right to you. 

Shop around for a deck that matches your art taste and your story themes.

Then spend some time examining the cards, thinking about your stories, but not asking anything of the deck yet, just enjoying the art and exploring the symbolisms at play.

This process in itself can be an excellent brainstorming session, so get ready to make notes.

When you’re ready to set the cards to work, start using some specific tarot spreads for writers and let the real creative explorations begin.

The post How to Choose A Tarot Deck – A Guide for Writers appeared first on Tarot Writers.

Do you need to memorize the card meanings?

Can you consult the books and other explanatory resources during a reading?

There’s something mystical about a tarot reader who picks up a deck, lays out an elaborate spread and interprets the meanings of the cards guided only by their memory and intuition.

I certainly enjoy doing these intuitive readings, but for over twenty-five years of reading tarot, I still consult the deck books and traditional meanings for the cards at almost every read.

And you can too, if that’s how you want to do it.

Reading the Cards by Memory and Intuition

Developing your own meanings and significances based on your intuition and interpretations of the art work of the cards is a beautiful way to let the cards lead your ideas. This is the foundation of intuitive reading. 

Often, readers who operate with this method are also using the traditional meanings of the cards (these days mostly derived from the RWS deck) they have committed to memory.

Reading With A Guide Book or Other Resource

Despite what many a tarot resource will tell you, there is absolutely nothing wrong with consulting the deck companion books, or a website like the wonderful Biddy Tarot by Brigit Esselmont, as you’re reading any spread.

By the way, I totally recommend Brigit’s book The Ultimate Guide to Tarot Card Meanings. Her interpretations of the cards blend traditional meanings with a contemporary, usually optimistic worldview that supports both the light and the dark sides of life.

While intuitive, off the cuff reading brings a beautiful personal meaning to a spread, using the traditional meanings gives your reading a grounding in the ancient lore of tarot, layering on significances you might never have otherwise thought of.

Plus, many decks give new meanings to cards by working with all kinds of different visual symbolism, so different decks will give differently nuanced readings. For example, a reading from the Thoth deck will take on an entirely different significance than a reading from the super cute Catittude deck, even if equivalent cards are drawn.

The Right Way to Read Tarot?

There is no right or wrong way to read tarot.

If you’re just starting out with tarot, I recommend reading from the traditional meanings of your deck guide and the classic RWS interpretations first. If that’s how you feel like working.

Many readers insist on memorizing the cards and their reversals. That’s 156 meanings. You don’t need to memorize anything, but if this is the way you want to read, then go for it. If you decide to learn the meanings off by heart, the manner in which you embark on that study is up to you. I know of one reader who spent a whole week focusing on each card, and swears by her practice. Others do a card a day. Some start with 0 The Fool and move numerically through the deck, others go for the images they’re drawn to first. If you’re inclined to these kinds of methodical commitments, enjoy your journey.

There is absolutely nothing stopping you from enjoying a lifelong practice of tarot, working with intuitive readings and still consult the books as you read.

 As you go along and familiarize yourself with the decks, certain cards will take on their personal relevances to you, and those meanings will stick in your head first. Especially if the same cards keep on cropping up spread after spread. It happens – it’s one of those things that makes tarot really seems like magic.

Just start.

Lay your cards out in traditional spreads, consult with books or websites to find these, or make up your own. And then perform your reading by consulting the books. If your memory and intuition take over, great! You’ve found your method. 

Just like writing processes, the paths to a rewarding tarot reading are innumerable and will change from person to person. They’re all allowed, correct, and valuable. And just like writing processes, your tarot methods might change as you change, evolve as you evolve.

Just remember, there is no right way and you’ll never do it wrong.

The post The Right Way to Read Tarot – Consult the Books or Learn From Memory? appeared first on Tarot Writers.