Tarot for Beginners - Choosing a Deck

Are you new to tarot?  Are you a beginner? You're in the right place!  Start here! Hi I'm Gwen and this is Hummingbird Tarot.  What's the first thing you need as a beginner? You need a deck!  It's okay to buy your own deck.  You don't have to be given your first tarot deck. I bought my first one many years ago!  The biggest rule to remember with tarot is that there are no rules!  If you talk to a hundred tarot readers, you'll get a hundred different ways of doing things. 

Everybody has their own way of doing things and all the advice that you'll see here online, it's just advice.  Just like in life, you need to pick what works for you and leave the rest of it. If it doesn't resonate, don't worry about it!  Just move on to something that does.

Step One - Research:  There are many places you can research decks further.

I suggest that you start with an online search and look for “tarot decks for beginners” and watch some videos.  I've recorded one myself that you can access by clicking here.  Most YouTube videos with deck recommendations aren't going to show you the entire deck.  You'll want to write down the decks that look interesting to you and search for “tarot deck reviews.”  A lot of the review videos will show you all the cards in the deck and there's some terminology that they may use in the deck review videos that beginners might not understand.  

Characteristics to keep in mind when you're researching:

-Decks that have a lot of picture detail may be easier to read as there's a lot of information on the card to pull from.  

-Some decks also have descriptions on the cards themselves.  

-Make sure that the art is something that you love.  Some decks are a little darker. Some decks are fun and silly.  Some are serious.   

-RWS, which stands for “Rider-Waite-Smith,” is the most widely used version of tarot cards that are out there.  They have the original art from the early 1900’s or something similar. A lot more information exists about RWS so you're going to be able to spend less money as it’s more widely available. Follow this link here to see a RWS deck. 

-Some decks come with a book as a set. The book can help with card meanings.

Step Two - Decide what type of deck to buy:

Mass-market decks - are typically the ones that you'll be able to find easily on Amazon or in chain bookstores.  This type of deck can be found for lower prices.

“Indie” decks - are printed independently and they're not typically widely available and have a limited number of decks printed.  They are typically a little bit more expensive but there are some really fantastic indie decks out there. Kickstarter is one website that offers independent decks for sale under “tarot.”

Out of Print - You’ll also hear talk about decks that are out of print and that just means that's an older deck and you can't find it easily in bookstores.  Some harder to find decks may be available on eBay.  

If it's harder to find, it's going to be more expensive.  If your price range allows, go for those indie decks or out of print decks.  If it doesn't, you can just look for the mass-market decks that are widely available.  

Step Three - Narrow Your Search - I would suggest once you've done your research and watched review videos, narrow your choices down to two or three decks.  Then, if you're buying it online, you can go and look for the pricing for those two to three decks and choose something that's in your price range.  Some decks are more expensive than others. You can find decks as inexpensive as $10. If you're buying an indie or out-of-print deck, you might be paying over $100 for one deck.   

Some of you will be reading intuitively.  That's just going off of what the card is telling you and your feelings and what you think the cards mean.  You have a lot more flexibility and you can choose whatever decks you like. Again there are no rules here.  

Step Four - Decide where you want to buy your deck:

Buying online.  Earlier I mentioned some sites online to buy decks.  They include Amazon, eBay and Kickstarter.

You’ll find at some metaphysical shops, they have a selection of decks that are open, that you can flip through. I don't have any like that in my area but I do know people that have been able to find their decks that way.  If you do have a metaphysical shop close to you, go check it out.

Some of the larger bookstore chains do also have tarot decks for sale.  I recently bought a brand new deck in Barnes & Noble and opened it before leaving the store.  I wasn’t a fan when I got a closer look and they let me exchange it right then and there for another deck, one I loved!

These are my recommendations but you need to do what feels right for you. Don't pick a deck because you feel like you should pick it or because it’s what everyone recommends.  You want to make sure that the deck that you choose is one that you're really excited about and then when it comes, it's going to be fun! It's going to be a fun process for you to get to know that deck and learn how to use it.  

I'll have a future post about traditional meanings versus reading intuitively and how all that works.  I hope this was helpful to you. Feel free to comment below. Do you have a burning question about tarot?  Comment below and I'll use your comments to make a future recording. Thanks for stopping by!