#31DaysOfTarot

15. What is your go-to tarot book?

The book I refer to most of I’m struggling or want a different perspective is All of Our Stories by Beth Maiden. I completed The Alternative Tarot course last year and really appreciate Beth’s point of view and general attitude towards tarot.

16. Which is your deck with the most insightful imagery?

Hmm, that’s a tricky question. I suppose Tarot of the Divine is full of insight because there is a whole story associated with each card, these stories lend themselves well for explaining readings and seeing all the sides and possible meanings to a card.

But it would be an oversight to not talk about the Universal Waite deck, there is so much detail packed into each card, from the colours and symbols to the rich scenery and characters, there is always more to see and there is always another angle to meditate on.

17. Which card do you look out for in a new deck?

I’m always curious to see how a deck handles a couple of cards. The Hanged Man is one of my favourite cards and I’m always interested to see how an artist decides to depict it, whether the character seems peaceful or distressed, how they are hanging, what they are hanging from etc. Similarly, I look for the Death card and the ten of swords, I find these give a good indication of the general attitude of the deck, how optimistic it is or if it sugar coats things.

18. How does it affect you if you don’t like a card?

I’m slightly embarrassed to admit it, but it does really affect me if I don’t like a card in a deck. I’m yet to remove a card from a deck, but I’ve been known to avoid whole decks because I don’t like one or more cards, which feels very petty.

19. Do you read reversals?

Generally, no, I won’t intentionally set my deck up to read reversals. If a card jumps out upside down or is somehow upside down as I deal them into the spread then I might consider an alternative reading but I don’t make a habit of it.

20. Have any decks made you uncomfortable?

I haven’t used any decks that make me uncomfortable but I have had some that I haven’t really connected with.

Decks that are just a straight up re-illustration of a classic deck like the RWS are a touch boring to me, especially if they have tried to make a very route-one “modernised” version.

21. What is your go-to tarot spread?

I’m a Celtic Cross person. Although I do mostly three and five card readings for clients to save on time and avoid excess detail, if I’m reading for myself or if I have my choice I’ll always fall back on the Celtic Cross.

read part two here

read part four here