Journal

August 23, 2020

Why the Rider-Waite-Smith tarot deck? Some time ago, I was surfing the internet searching for different tarot decks. I hadn’t chosen any particular system. I was only looking for a deck that would appeal to me.

The Thoth tarot deck is one of those. However, it appears that I shouldn’t work with it, at least not at this point. I cannot recall exactly the first time, but three times I was denied to get the deck. The second time was when I had purchased the deck from a local online bookstore. After a couple of days, they canceled the purchase and refunded me the money saying the deck wasn’t available.

The third time was when I saw someone on Facebook Marketplace selling the deck. Since my attempt to get the Thoth deck failed already two times, I thought let’s cast lots and ask if I should buy this deck. The answer was no. This was the third no, and I felt I shouldn’t any longer try to get the Thoth tarot deck. Maybe it is not the one I should start with, or it isn’t meant for me.

They say the Rider-Waite-Smith (RWS) system is the easiest to learn. It is the most well-known, and there are many books available teaching how to use this deck. The internet is full of information on the RWS system. So, at least it seems to be the easiest to begin with. Now that I’m taking a closer look at the RWS cards intending to learn their meanings in-depth, I begin to see how many details these cards contain. The realistic artwork of the RWS deck certainly helps to get to the bottom of the cards’ meaning.

I think I will get into other systems, too, at some point. I have a copy of Crowley’s Book of Thoth in German that I read a few months ago. Crowley’s take on the tarot is interesting. But for now, for me, it is the Rider-Waite-Smith system to take a deep dive into. And as you know, there is the lizard in the King of Wands card. 🦎♥️ And did you see the snail in the Nine of Pentacles card?