I mentioned earlier that I wanted to talk about the different types of decks, specifically the more traditional ones. While I love the unusual ones--the more unusual, the better, sometimes--the one I use almost exclusively is a very traditional one, the Universal Tarot.

The first deck I bought was the Leonardo DaVinci one. I bought it because it was beautiful, but I figured out pretty early on that it wasn't any good for reading, for me, since I really didn't have any experience at all. When I went to look for a more traditional deck, I ended up buying the Radiant Rider-Waite. I opened it, and the bright colors seemed garish to me, and I took it back to the store. The next one I bought was the Universal, and it was love at first site.

The illustrator is Roberto DeAngelis; there are other tarots called Universal, but this is the one I use. It's very similar to the original Rider-Waite in symbolism, but the artwork appeals to me much more. The colors are softer than the Radiant Rider-Waite, and are more sophisticated than the original Rider-Waite. There's also one called the Universal Waite, which is different yet (cards from that deck are shown in this entry, below.

In any event, all of the ones I mention would be considered traditional, with more or less conventional imagery, making the cards easier to read.

I have a copy of the Fairy Tarot, and I did a reading with it this morning, but while the cards are beautiful, I can never remember what the suits mean. Instead of Wands, Coins, Cups and Swords, they are Acorns, Bells, Hearts, and Leaves. I suppose if I used them all the time, I would remember, but I don't. Nor do the cards carry the kind of imagery or symbolism that indicates the traditional meaning, so that makes them even harder to read.

I know that there are tarot readers who use non-traditional decks for readings, and are able to interpret them in perhaps non-traditional ways, but I'm not yet experienced enough (or intuitive enough) to do that. Maybe it will come in time, but for now, I'm very happy with the Universal. It's just different enough to please me, I think. After all, I can't be too traditional.