Decks that lack imagery on the minor arcana

[DarkSchneider]

Would you still use a deck that has very little imagery on the minor arcana (Tarot of Marseilles for example), if you were in need of practice with a tarot deck and it was all you could use? I need to buy one to replace the ones my family confiscated, but the decks available to me are: Tarot Nova, The Babylonian Tarot and the Sasha Fenton Tarot. These are the ones that are most cheaply available and readily available at my nearest bookstore. Or should I convince my parents to give me back my Rider-Waite Deck? (perhaps I can order it online to replace them without my parents knowing).

http://www.aeclectic.net/tarot/cards/sasha-fenton/
http://www.aeclectic.net/tarot/cards/nova/
http://www.aeclectic.net/tarot/cards/babylonian/

[Cybernetic_Jazz]

I have a few really neat decks like that. Including:

Babylonian Tarot (as you mentioned)
Masonic Tarot (absolutely gorgeous majors and some artistic elaboration on pips but really still pips only)
Oswald Wirth (similarly beautiful cards, IMHO a lot like the BOTA and similarly pips for minors)
Golden Dawn Temple Tarot - this one's really special because it has the golden dawn color scales for its pips (ie. sephira and atziluth/briah/yetzirah/assiah colors according to suite).

And of course they're Crowley's Thoth tarot which is pips but has similar subtle ways of showing the content per his reckoning of the tarot.

Another interesting fusion I saw recently, and I get a big laugh out imagining myself being some kind of major adept in my 50's and 60's and then being a bit of a clown by responding to people by reading for them with this deck almost as a litmus test to see if they have enough of a sense of humor to read for them:
http://www.aeclectic.net/tarot/cards/ma ... cat-tarot/

Lol, I'm not a huge cat person but TBH I'd buy that deck just for the death card - hands down the coolest 'La Mort' I've ever seen - but also I like that it has hints of the Rider Waite symbolism sort of woven through the pips while they're left at the same time being pips.


IMHO as Rosered suggested in another thread on tarot study, if you go to a place like Biddytarot.com and just take one card per day to memorize or maybe write your own shorthand in MS Excel or something like it and then just take a few months to really get to know your Pentacles or really get to know your Wands, Cups, or Swords, you'll probably be doing as well with pips as you will be with full illustrations.

That at least is just my beginner intuition but I really love the tarot, it seems like it'll most likely be the bread and butter of my own esoteric learning (particularly via BOTA), and it seems like one of those things that just keeps expanding on itself for as many years as you can spend on this planet, perhaps more if you lean toward reincarnation.

[RoseRed]

What I would choose to use really has no consequence to your own choices. If the cards speak to you and you're comfortable working with less imagery - go for it. Personally, I prefer my Rider-Waites. I've had other tarot decks but none of them speak as clearly or are as easy for me to udnerstand.

Someday, I'd like a Robin Wood deck. I don't know if I'll use them or just keep them but they're pretty.

[DarkSchneider]

What I would choose to use really has no consequence to your own choices. If the cards speak to you and you're comfortable working with less imagery - go for it. Personally, I prefer my Rider-Waites. I've had other tarot decks but none of them speak as clearly or are as easy for me to udnerstand.

Someday, I'd like a Robin Wood deck. I don't know if I'll use them or just keep them but they're pretty.

Well that's the thing-- I AM most comfortable with the RIder-Waite Deck, but it's just not going to be readily available to me in the time that I need it to try a proper reading. There's not really anyone else I can get a reading from. Our last occult supply shop closed down. so I have to settle on doing the readings with the decks I'm less comfortable with and since I'm better with clearer imagery, I'm not so sure it's a good idea.

[Desecrated]

Your parents took it from you?

Maybe you should talk to them first and solve that conflict before you try magic.

[RoseRed]

That's not a bad idea.

[DarkSchneider]

I'll explain as best to my abilities, my situation. My parents are Christians, I am not. I'm a 22 year old autistic man. As far as I know my dad is alright with me practicing magick now, thanks to some convincing, but my mom is a stubborn person. She and my cousin pushed me into a church when I was a boy when I wanted to practice magick years ago, when I was about 11-12, but aside from some conferences and rallies, I only really joined the church at 15. Imagine a weak-willed, naive, 15 year old autistic guy talking about LaVeyan Satanism to a Youth Group full of weirded out people.

ANYWAYS, I sorta caved in and gave into the church again last year, gave up all my books to my dad, and joined up again. Which explains why even though I signed up last year, I wasn't active until recently. It only lasted 3 months and I grew tired of being in the church again. Now here I am, struggling to rebuild my collection of books and establish independence. I'm aware one cannot obtain independence by doing everything their parents say, but yeah...

I'll talk my dad into giving me back my books at least if there was a place to keep them without my mom threatening to bring her pastor here, or my wretched cousin. I could at the most, get my tarot decks back.

[RoseRed]

It's difficult to be an adult living at home. It just is - especially when one or both of the parents are religious.

I hope the talk goes well with your Dad.

[Ramscha]

Well, from what you tell this isn't really a healthy soil for building up intensive magick practice. A weak willed person living at home bended by its parents isn't exactly grounded. But without beeing grounded don't even think of trying to escape into some fantastic magick world. It is the other way round: Get your shit together and your two feets on the ground however you see fit. Then, and only then when you are standing tall for who you are and if you stand stable, then you have the soil for the way you wish to grow.

Ramscha

[Nahemah]

As an adult living at home you should have some private space to yourself and have your own things to yourself,if you wish to.

I've had three of my kids return for a while as adults [not together/at once though,lol...that would be very,very crowded ] and I gave them my bedroom for the duration of their stay.
This meant they had to do any and all cleaning of the room and do their own laundry and such,as I wasn't going to enter unless necessary or invited,so they could have somewhere for alone time and a bit of peace to themselves if and when they needed it.[I'm a night owl and I have a futon/bedcouch thingy in my sitting room,so it wasn't a hassle for me either.]


Perhaps you could negotiate on the privacy issue,in return for doing chores/extra chores or by makingsome other contributory efforts to the household in return?

[DarkSchneider]

That can possibly be arranged but my mom doesn't even listen to me when I put up a very visible "do not disturb" sign on my door for when I need privacy-- she barges in anyways. Maybe I should install a simple lock. Eh... anyways, I'll talk to them about my privacy. I'm working on getting a job right now, I'll start paying rent as soon as I start having an income. I cut the grass and I'm learning to do other chores too. Thank you for the advice, Nahema.

[Cybernetic_Jazz]

I'll explain as best to my abilities, my situation. My parents are Christians, I am not. I'm a 22 year old autistic man.

I'm in a quasi-similar position. Have a job at least right now and am trying to get my career on its feet but am 34, single, and living at home. Get along with my parents great, my dad is a little more religious than my mom but both are very even-keel people who want to see me happy. The other thing I have in common is that I've got somewhat of the same neurological choke-collar on my ability to really thrive in the sense that being HFA/PDD-NOS puts a lot more risks to my livelihood in front of me, closes a lot of doors in terms of the variety of work that I can do well, and it also puts me in the odd position where its very difficult to trust employers - ie. some train, some absolutely don't, and with PDD-NOS I can't trust my instincts when the procedures are built by people who think nothing like me thus I practically need to write my own job manual in notes at the beginning of any new place of work.

My extended family is considerably more religiously conservative and I wouldn't talk to them about what I'm doing. There's a bit of moral mythology that circulates in that area, my dad is seen a bit like the extended family patriarch (most of my relatives even within ten years of him are nieces and nephews and he's the last of a particular generation) and by extension that effect sort of blows my way as his son albeit it's touchy and there've been a lot of times where I've had to remind myself that it has limited mileage. A few times relatives have asked my dad why I don't go to church he's mentioned that I'm seeking, that he and my mom are confident that they raised me well and that I'll find my own way. I think eventually it's going to come out - either by way of the internet or one of my parents slipping in conversation and mentioning my membership - and I don't know how that'll go, either they'll see enough integrity in me to trust that I know what I'm doing (and to an extent their view of me in that direction is somewhat my own effort and doing) or they may have a moment where it's either have intervention and get me back in check or sort of put me out of the group. I really prefer the former just because it would be both sad and useless for them to take a hard line on my spiritual path, particularly when most of what they're doing when we all get together is having beer and wine, watching local sports, and playing cards - it's not as if the topic of religion comes up particularly often.

DarkSchneider - I really hope the best for you and, if I were to give any suggestions, just do as much as you can in your homelife to exercise independence and level-headed responsibility. The more of an adult you are, regardless of whether your autism keeps you from working or being fully financially independent, the less room people tend to find to criticize (not to add that living responsibility is another exercise of willpower, balancing, and another thing that contributes positively toward spiritual development whether RHP, LHP, or anything between, above, below, left, or right of that continuum).

[DarkSchneider]

Cybernetic_Jazz, I appreciate your post and what you were willing to share with us. It's encouraging to know there are others in a similar position. I will keep working harder to establish my independence and a more determined work ethic, whether I live with my parents or not, I will do my best.

[RoseRed]

I will do my best.

That's all that any of us can do. Sometimes, our best may not seem like it's good enough but that's all that anyone can really ask of us.

[DarkSchneider]

Update: I've picked up an Oracle Deck called the "Fallen Angel Oracle Cards", as Oracle cards have recently caught my attention at a friend's house (not the same deck but a different Goddess themed one). I have to admit, I am enjoying this deck and the accompanying book sofar. I've done two readings for myself and I found it helpful. I've yet to see if it works well with me, but I feel encouraged after using them.