woo, Tarot
I did Tarot readings semi-professionally for a while, as in I charged nominal amounts of money for readings so I could have lunch money, so I have Opinions about Tarot decks, lol.
woo, Tarot
@green what are your opinions?
woo, Tarot
@starkatt hmmm...
* doing Tarot readings for money is completely ethical. removing "scary" cards (Death, the Tower, 9 & 10 of Swords) to do paid readings is unethical, which is how the phone Tarot readers operate (which I know because I applied to one and they told me that and I said "UM NO").
* a deck is just a tool. giving it special treatment--wrapping in silk, only handling it certain ways, etc--can be useful, but isn't necessary.
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* different decks have different personalities. I'm a fan of trying many decks until you find one you like and can work with.
* in my experience, doing a Tarot reading isn't "magical"--it's using randomized cues to tell a story, and relate it to the questioner's life in meaningful ways. that said, I suspect--occasional, if not regular, magical interference in the "randomization." there may be magic in determining what cards are drawn, but the reading is all storytelling.
woo, Tarot
* anybody who tries to tell you "you must do X or the Tarot magic won't work" is probably trying to sell you something, make you feel less confident about doing readings, or make themselves feel more important. I made a "training wheels" deck by *literally taping* the booklet explanations of cards to the cards of a Rider-Waite deck, which is how I learned them well enough to do it professionally without constantly consulting the guidebook. XD
woo, Tarot
@starkatt hee! I don't think they're *controversial* opinions. but I have associated with people who do the whole "IF YOU BUY A DECK YOURSELF IT WON'T WORK RIGHT IT HAS TO BE A GIFT ALSO STORE IT IN A WOOD BOX WRAPPED IN SILK OR THE MAGIC LEAKS OUT ALSO ONLY DEAL FROM YOUR RIGHT HAND AND PICK UP FROM YOUR LEFT ALSO SOMETHING ABOUT SALT" schtick, but somehow despite all their rules-lawyering they never got *better* results from readings than I did. ;)
woo, Tarot
@green I feel the same about all of these :)