@starkatt

* 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.

@starkatt

* 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

@starkatt um... that's all I can think of at the moment, heh. <3

@green I feel the same about all of these :)

@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. ;)

@green @starkatt My quick evaluation for books on Tarot is to look up its definitions of The Tower, the 9 of Swords, and the 10 of Swords. If they are not willing to acknowledge the scary and/or stabby bits, the book is too fluffy