Tarot

Tarot : Tar-oh or Ta-roh

I put the pronunciation in there, because being from the south and having dyslexia, if there is a 't' at the end I assume there is a 't' sound at the end of the word.  Many of my friends knew how to pronounce it but they thought I was making a joke, or didn't want to correct me.  Thankfully, Willow did eventually correct me. I deeply enjoy tarot.  

Tarot: Learning

One thing I found that helped me learn the tarot was, when I found a good book on it, I wrote out brief synopsis of the card meanings.  I got a decorative notebook and added tabs to it; I wrote out the brief card meanings for all the cards divided.  Then the reverse card meanings.  After that I have tabs for different types of spreads that I find very useful.  Maybe it's just the way I learn, but the act of writing the meanings out a few times helps, and it's good to have the quick easy reference to flip through when doing a reading.  The descriptions you find in books are good, but it's easier to remember once you put it into your own words.  

Tarot: Getting The Cards  

I heard and read a lot of lore about the proper way to get your first deck of tarot cards.  I had heard they have to be a gift, they have to come from someone who practices tarot, they had to come from a member of the opposite sex, that it's best to get them from a lover.  I don't know if all these are true or not, but mine seem to work just fine.  The way I got my set was, my husband knew I wanted a set and he had always heard that you have to get them as a gift but he didn't want to pick a deck I wouldn't like.  So I selected 3 sets that I like off the website http://www.aeclectic.net/tarot/ and added them to my wish-list.  He picked which one to buy me.  

 My first deck, that I use for general readings, was Legacy of the Divine Tarot by Ciro Marchetti.  

I bought my own second set that I use only for relationship readings.  It's the Fenestra Tarot by Chatriya Hemharnvibul  Chatriya. 

I chose and bought this set myself, it seems to work just fine too.

I don't know if you actually need separate sets for different purposes, at any rate I love tarot decks and may end up collecting many sets (but I'll never buy a set I don't intend to use, I'm not big on wasting things).

Tarot: Design

I am in the (slow) process of designing my own set of tarot cards.  It's a fun project and Adrian, a friend of mine, knows some sites you can pay to print your cards for you.  When I get the site info from him I will add it here. 

Check the Tarot section of the links page for some sites on tarot cards and spreads to use.
If you know any good links or tarot book suggestions, feel free to add them.