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The only problem I have now is that my research leads me to the conclusion that the act of divination, aside from being a snapshot of the future possibilities branching out from the current moment, can also lead to some of those possibilities becoming self-fulfilling prophecies :-)

The line between divination and enchantment can get very blurry indeed...
"The world is made of many pages
And every page contains a world
We flicker through them in the daytime
But in the night become unfurled."

Very true,Moth.I agree and I believe this is a large part of why people ask for readings.
At least it's been so in my own experience.

I view reading for others as part cold reading,part empathy and part headology.It can be a while before I get to the root of why they are asking the cards and what the heart of the matter is.I often found tea and sympathy was a big part of the experience for them;and for me.

I find that the seeker most often wants to know when a particular course of action will be the best one,in the view of the cards/reader and what the reader says should be avoided or ruled out ;and that is the magickal part,in the interpretation of the possibilities and the seeker being guided towards the most probable/desirable outcome.

I rarely read for people whose lives were going well.

Moth- It is true that you can force your out come after a reading, but you can also answer questions about the present that are already unchangable.
the seaker- I tryed working with runes for a while but it seemed like the tarot was much more detailed, do you think that is only because I was new at the runes or do you think the runes take a lot more interpretaion by the user.... I find If you are tuned you can get the same outcome from anything, buy as a tool I felt the tarot was more able to be detailed.

You can also answer questions about the past.This can be helpful in understanding the present:how you got to here,which is again helpful in deciding on the future.

The Runes are perhaps not as visually stimulating as Tarot,at least for the beginner?

I like to play with them.I draw up wheels: a circle with three concentric rings.divide into 8 [45deg]segments and there you have 24 individual sections in the circle.

Then I put in the runes.Elder Aett,round the outer ring,clockwise from north and so on.

I use brightly coloured felts for the runes.I see the rune in my head,hold it there and think for a moment about what it means to me and then I grab a pen and mark it in.

Oh Look,the runes have directional affectations now too... [geek2]

Think about how direction and colour associate with the rune itself and what it is said to favour/describe traditonally and then compare with yours.

Runes are more than a divination tool,just as is with Tarot.It can take a while to get them under your skin sufficiently.
If it helps try thinking of them each as an individual personality or an archetype,Runespirits,if you will.Singing or speaking the runes[Galdr]] helps to familiarise them also and can help with focusing the mind before working with them,whether ritually or in divination.

SchemeliaC wrote:the seaker- I tryed working with runes for a while but it seemed like the tarot was much more detailed, do you think that is only because I was new at the runes or do you think the runes take a lot more interpretaion by the user.... I find If you are tuned you can get the same outcome from anything, buy as a tool I felt the tarot was more able to be detailed.

Well, in answer to your question: what Nahemah said... [wink2]

Nahemah wrote:The Runes are perhaps not as visually stimulating as Tarot,at least for the beginner?

I dunno... Honestly, I've always had trouble with the Tarot. I find the cards kind of distracting --Ooooh, shiny!-- in a sensory overload kind of way, and I think that this is precisely the reason the Runes work better for me.
I rarely if ever use them for prophecy [looking ahead]. Instead I tend to rely on them more for counsel regarding decisions that need to be made in the Now, to gain a clearer understanding about how I wound up where I was after a particular string of events, and to hopefully get a reasonable glimpse of the forces at play in my life at a given time.

As to interpretation: Hel, I was given my first set of Runes by a girlfriend back in '81, and I still have to look shit up. But I swear, in spite of my Pot-head's memory issues, the Runes are bang on every time. [cool2]

edit: P.S.> It just occurred to me in regard to the "gifting" question and my comments on the Tarot v. Rune thing above:
I purchased both my decks. My Rune sets were both gifts...
*cue eerie theramin music...* [eek]

I learned Tarot using the Marseille deck.It's probably the least visually stimulating deck there is,lol.
I relied a lot on the numbers and the elemental attributions for interpretation.Astrology that relates to the cards helped a fair bit also,I must admit.

I don't use my cards much these days.I got overkill from doing too many readings for others. [crazy]

Runes can be read numerically,which Aett the rune is from and which position it holds in that Aett as well as overall,in the 24.[I use the Elder Futhark.] There are sub divisions within this also that are more specific depending on circumstance and intent.

It can be helpful in understanding also if you think of the Runes as being descriptive of a 'cosmic day'.24 little hours,macrocosmic in the greater sense.A life journey,if you will,or in the smaller sense,as an individual journey.[I have a diagram somewhere that shows how that works.]

Another way of 'seeing' them,is as three sets of aett;with each representing one of the three realms: land, sea and sky and/or the upper,middle and lower planes.

I found immersion really helpful and interesting.I work from trance states and the imagery I associate with each rune comes from my mind's eye and more than a little apophenia related gnosis.
Entheogens assist this process for me,more than a little,too. [wink]

Sorry for the tangent.

I bought my own cards.I 've heard of the 'gifting' notion ,but I would still be waiting now,if I waited for someone else to give me them. [rolleyes]



Do carry on...

This is great stuff, folks! And Nahemah; I am now convinced that a Glaswegian magician may be one of the most sensible people in the world

And Nahemah; I am now convinced that a Glaswegian magician may be one of the most sensible people in the world

Can I keep this ... I can haz endorsement?


[blush]
Seriously,thanks.

I have numerous decks but my go to deck is The Dragon Tarot. It does not sugar coat anything and tells me things whether I want to hear it or not.
http://www.azuregreen.net/images/DDRAGON0TA.JPG

My first deck was the Royal Tarot but now I primarily use my Marseilles deck. Whilst they may not be the most visually exciting cards, they work well for me!
I was also given the Zombie Tarot (!) as a fun present for my birthday last year, I've never done a reading with them and not sure I will, but I do enjoy the imagery!

I use this one: http://www.amazon.com/Tarot-Complete-Ru ... 0762413824

I originally bought it because a) it was a lot cheaper than any of the others I found, and b) it was the only one I could hide in my pocket until I got home. [rofl] It's the one I used to 'learn' the Major Arcana, and it's served me well on the few occasions that I actually attempt a divination.

The illustrations are very simple, which actually works for me because it keeps my focus mostly on the actual subject of the card (e.g. The Emperor) rather than background elements (of which there are none). The cards themselves are very thick and durable, and they're easy to shuffle since they aren't gigantic.

I'm thinking of getting either the RWS or the Marseilles tarot though.

the thoth deck is my favorite because of the nice images and the name changes which make sense to me. i also have the rider waithe deck. but i cant do readings yet. cant seem to read anything into it. any tips how to get started? ive read that some people just dont have the talent for it and cant learn it. what do you think about that?

I don't use them for divination, but I like the Hermetic deck the best of them all. The black and white ones that Mathers drew up.

I have always used the Celestial deck. I associate my Tarot draws very much with astrological & planetary influences.

The more you look at them, the more symbolisms jump into your view & aid with reading them as they correspond to the rest of the cards in the spread.

Case wrote:Hi guys,

Which Tarot deck do you prefer to use? I myself find the Deviant Moon to be my most favourite, as it gives me the best readings, plus I feel very deeply moved by the amazing art and depth of character in the cards. Ive owned a huge number of decks over the years, but the Deviant Moon deck has really struck a chord and I cant see myself giving it away any time soon...

mine would be steam punk tarot cards beautiful as ever very 20s-30s themed with a bit of dark fantasy to it =)

I don't really divine (would be fascinated to learn though) but currently using the tarot to lock-pick my own brain and see what kinds of ageless wisdom or dust bunnies fall out.

Have Universal Waite, Thoth, CC Zain Egyptian, Oswald Wirth (gold/lithography), the French 'Masonic' deck, and have a Babylonian Tarot coming by mail right now.

I've noticed recently that I've really fallen in a big way for the Oswald Wirth on the symbolic quality and the high contrast (the gold backing deletes the background and makes the foreground really stand out, the lithography makes the foreground even more eye-popping). I just wish I could cut, paste, and rearrange the Hebrew characters to Golden Dawn specs - it's perfect otherwise!

I have gotten comfortable with the Rider Waite deck. I have a standard sized deck and a miniature set that fits in a candy tin and gets carried around in my shirt pocket so I can practice if I find myself with some downtime. I am not very skilled but so I need as much practice as I can get. I do appreciate the designs of deck like the Thoth or Deviant Moon but the simplicity of the RW just feels right for me. I also like that there seems to be a lot of information out there regarding the Rider Waite and it is often helpful.

15 years ago I found the Rider Waite Tarot in the local book store. this was the beginning of my "occult career".
Now, I prefer the Akron Tarot.

ShubNiggurath wrote:15 years ago I found the Rider Waite Tarot in the local book store. this was the beginning of my "occult career".
Now, I prefer the Akron Tarot.

Wow, I can see why you like it.

There's a fairly new deck by Godfrey Dowson called the Hermetic Deck. The downsides is that it is black and white, but I love the alchemical and astrological symbolism most cards have.

I've started investing time on studying and reading Tarot cards for some time now but I'm still beginning anyways. My first and only tarot deck is the Fantastical Creatures.
Can't lie, it was a little intimidating at first but I got comfortable with the symbolism each mythical creature (and the card itself) has to offer.

I live in a town where there isn't really any occult stores, or places to buy any occult supplies, so my first tarot deck was one I begged my parents to buy me from Chapters. It was an Animal Druid set, and to be honest, I was much to young to understand what I was supposed to be doing( I was 13-14 at the time, so i had NO idea what was going on). I just kept reading the meanings of each card over and over again, and practicing the spreads.

When I got older I brought them to university, and everything sort of came together. However, the cards didn't really feel right. Somehow, I found a set of Rider-Waite cards in a new age store in a nearly abandoned strip mall, and they've been my favourites ever since.

My fav is Tarot of Marseilles, use Visconti-Sforza tarot deck and Waith's designed. [gz]

I'm currently using my first and only Tarot deck, the Rider-Waite, which I like because of its delicate blend of Catholic symbology and things a bit more Pagan/mystic (you know, Hierophant and High Priestess, not Pope and Papess). Thanks for all the types of decks you posted; I'll check some out!

But I'm fascinated by the Salavador Dali Tarot deck! He made it, I believe, for his wife. Of course, this is "El Mago:"



Thoughts? I love mixing art, philosophy, and mysticism; I'm worried, however, that these cards might present some problems to a beginner.

I prefer Marseille deck.

Has anyone seen the Sharman-Caselli deck? This is the first deck I bought; it is fabulous for the beginner, and I am very attached to it. It's closely based on the Rider-Waite deck, but the illustrations are more colourful. I freaking LOVE Temperance in this deck.

^That's the one I have!

alejandrocerv wrote:^That's the one I have!

..................................Let's be friends. [grin]