An interesting and often highly important part of your overall lifestyle in the Craft is learning the art of divination. Seeking influences that are yet to come can aid you in directing your energies towards a more positive future and can warn of hidden dangers that may be set to ambush you. While there are many systems available for divining the future, Tarot Cards have proven to be both highly effective and aesthetically pleasing. The first step after making the decision to add this occult tool to your arsenal of Craft items is to find which of the many decks available will speak most personally to you.

Since their release in 1910, the Rider-Waite Tarot Deck, created by Arthur Edward Waite with its inspired illustrations by the artist Pamela Colman Smith, has become the standard by which most other modern tarot decks are based. The illustrations are vibrant and easily recognizable. Coupled with the text by A.E. Waite, who first studied the occult as a member of the Order of the Golden Dawn, the explained meanings of the cards cover a vast array of the realities of life. While it is designed in a more general fashion to cover major influences, it is still an excellent learning deck for the beginner.

If the traditional imagery and symbolism of the Rider-Waite deck does not touch you on a personal level you may browse through many others. Since color is an important aspect of life, determine if you feel most drawn to the bright primary colors or if a softer pastel coloring effect pleases you more. There are decks that take on a dark baroque effect in their artwork as well. The deck you choose should have a special appeal to you. It is to become a gateway for you to develop an inner communication within yourself through the energy and symbolism of your deck.

Tarot Card decks come in more shapes and sizes than the standard rectangle. While a deck similar in size to a standard playing card deck will be easier to manipulate in your hands, there are advantages to other variations. A smaller deck will be easier to carry with you wherever you go. A larger deck is more appropriate to propping the cards up as a focus for meditation. Whichever deck you choose, it should shuffle easily in your hands. If one shape or size is awkward and hard to handle you will find using it more difficult.

Tarot Card decks are made with many themes and it should not be difficult to find one that calls to your inner spirit. You can choose between historical motifs, cultural symbolism, animals, plants, mythologies and pantheons. Even if you are planning on doing fortune telling sessions for others, it is critical that your deck has a special meaning to you so your psyche can relate to the energies that flow through the cards and into the readings you perform.

The Tarot Card deck you choose should be easy for you to learn and understand. The symbolism in the artwork should be able to help you quickly grasp the concepts being shown. If you cannot find quick intuitions about the cards as you view them, that deck will probably not work well for you. If you seem drawn to several decks but cannot make a final decision on which one to acquire, sit quietly and meditate on them. Use a pendulum or other method to see if your subconscious can aid you in choosing the deck that you will ultimately become a part of yourself and your life.

The final choice will help determine your own path in life. Once acquired, you should always keep your Tarot Cards near you whether awake or asleep. This closeness helps form an etheric and psychical bond between you and your deck. As you learn them, they will in turn learn you. With the right deck you will find it becomes more of a partnership as this magical divination tool becomes an extension of your very being.

As well as writing and researching on the paranormal and occult phenomena that intersect our reality, Douglas Mefford can also be found helping spread literature to the world at Bell, Book & Candle Publications or hanging out at his bungalow in Greenwoods Village.

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