FAQ#3—Where can I get a Tarot deck?

Where can't you get one?

But what exactly is it you want to get and why? Just a deck of cards? An experience? Something new and pretty to point to on the mantle as it sits gathering dust? The thing is people often reverse the buying process, or rather they tend to do what they've been trained to do by watching commercials on television—they purchase first, purely on the basis of a questionable emotional appeal and their own ignorant response to the appeal, and evaluate (that is, suffer for it) later. So, I ask you what it is you want, because you may think you already know the answer to that question, yet you don't even know enough about Tarot to know where to get one! Let's face it, you're hoping I explain to you how to recognize one of those Tarot critters should you happen (purely by chance) to run across one of them out in the retail wilds. And you're probably not so sure whether you should shoot it, eat it, or flee in horror from it. The latter proves often to be the best response by the way.

My point is, if you don't know what Tarot is about BEFORE you purchase a deck, how can you make a knowledgeable buying decision about which deck (and books) to purchase?

Well, the Tarot industry (those fine people who brought you the Sniper Tarot) also realized a long time ago that you were going to have this problem, and since they don't yet regularly advertise their products and services on television (especially since Miss Cleo got nailed by the feds), they've come up with a different marketing strategy, one which serves the special needs and prejudices of indiscriminate buyers such as yourself. They tell you the following, amazing, method for making a choice of a Tarot—"Choose whichever deck appeals to you." WOW! That's easy, huh? You don't have to THINK about anything, just wait for some Tarot somewhere to "appeal" to you. But, what if you're not a farm animal, and your brain kicks in and pesters you with—"What do they mean by 'appeal' to me?"—then you'll probably mess the whole thing up by trying to rationalize what is clearly intended to be a thoughtless process, where you just buy whatever APPEALS to you, doofus! Of course, the industry also realizes there will be people who will want to argue with them about this, so they've refined the answer in various ways:

"Choose the deck which speaks to you". Choose the deck which works for you." "Choose the deck whose symbolism provides you a feeling of the closest cultural identification so you won't have to struggle with strange Euro-symbolism (i.e., Tarot symbolism)". "Choose the deck whose pictures (or "theme") match other special interests you have (so that you won't be bothered in any way in learning about the special interests of Tarot.)"

All those recommendations are of course about how to avoid making an informed and intelligent choice about a Tarot deck. That way you never ask the question I asked you above—"But what exactly is it you want to get and why?" Because if your answer is simply that you want a Tarot deck, and yet you don't know what a Tarot deck is, then the industry's response is to say it doesn't matter what you don't know—just buy anything they sell that has the word "Tarot" written on it and which, at some point in your search, you feel good about in some way.

Many people have of course done this, and some of them no doubt were perfectly satisfied with their choice, and though they ended up with some limited-purpose dumb-down deck, whose symbolism is about as interesting as that found on a package of soap, they nevertheless FEEL as if they got their money's worth. Do they know anything more about Tarot as a result of possessing this affirming pile of cardboard? No, of course not. Do they feel better about feeling and ignorantly affirming their ignorance? Yes, and they'll honestly believe that by this they know just as much about Tarot as people who take a more challenging approach to making the buying decision. Of course, in the industry's view of things, they're ONLY interested in selling as many decks of cards and as many books claiming to explain the decks of cards as they possibly can. So they aren't going to say to anyone—"Tarot is not for you."—indeed, even though they know Tarot isn't for everyone, and not even for many of THEM!, they will lie to you and tell you it's just a matter of matching the person to the deck, and they continue to make more and more decks all the time so that this process is likely to yield more promising results (for sales totals).

But for you, the discerning buyer of Tarot, the person who is still reading this thing this far into it, what can you do to increase your chances to make a first, successful, purchase of Tarot? Simply—learn about Tarot. And THINK about what it is you really want to get from it. The second part, the thinking about your reasons, should really be your first job—if you don't know why you want a Tarot deck, or you've only got a vague feeling about what it's supposed to do for you, then you're just setting yourself up for being disappointed and very confused. As for the first part however—LEARNING about Tarot—you're doing that by reading this Tarot FAQ. Good for you! You can also read this Tarot deck buyer's guide I've created, and will soon be expanding (a tarotbook buyer's guide should follow pretty soon). You can start with the premise that emotional appeals are fine IF merely feeling good about how you feel is your main objective in acquiring a Tarot deck. If your main objective is however to do something else with Tarot—even play a game with it, which many people still do to the exclusion of ANY metaphysical application of the cards—then you also need to learn and think about what you're trying to do, about what Tarot really is, and what it isn't, and what decks seem to match these thoughts (as well as feelings) you have about your interests and objectives to LEARN and not merely affirm.

Anyway, those are things you ought to consider, but you want to know where. OK, your best bet these days is the Internet, and good news, it looks like you're already there. Of course you can find Tarot cards in most large bookstores, and certainly in almost any new-age store. But online your choices are much more varied and often less expensive.

As of February 17, 2003, googlesearch for "Tarot" and "deck" yielded 49,300 results. Needless to say, a few too many to "experience" all on your own. So, here I've prepared a chart of various retail sources for Tarot decks (and tarotbooks), and their pros and cons. Some of these are included because they're large, well-known, and you probably already have an account with them. However, some of the providers on this list are unknown outside the relatively limited marketplace of Tarot, and yet they'll be much more focused on supplying Tarot deck buyers exactly what they need. Of course being focused on this doesn't always mean they'll be able to deliver, especially at the price you'll want (the lowest). But if you can't find a deck (which appeals to you or which you've just got to have) any other place, it's good to know about these specialty shops.

Finally, and while this may not be relevant to most of you, who are wanting Tarot for some kind of non-gaming application, but Tarot is still played as a card game in much of the world. Interest in occult Tarot has probably increased interest in Tarot games, as people have sought to identify metaphysical patterns in the nature of Tarot game play. Such interests are seen as loony and at least a waste of the time of the pure Tarot game enthusiasts, who see the occultization of Tarot as a decidedly sad development. You can learn much more about Tarot as a game, and really a set of games, at John McLeod's pagat.com (be sure and tell him I sent you), and you can learn a lot about how early occultists sought to metaphysicalize the game of Tarot in my book, Rhapsodies of the Bizarre.

Source	PRO'S	CON'S
Amazon.com	They're big, they're reliable, they're usually cheaper than the other guys, and you probably already shop with them. So you don't have to fill out some new account stuff with somebody else to get the Tarots you want. And yes, I'm an associate site of theirs, so I'm inclined to say good things about them. However...	...I don't mind also pointing out Amazon's shortcomings, one of which is that, while they offer a very good selection of Tarots (and books), they certainly don't carry anything like a comprehensive selection. For that you need to go to a specialty supplier. For beginners however, Amazon should be fine most of the time.
United States Games Systems	USGS, which is Stuart Kaplan's Tarot publishing company, has done more than any other supplier to put Tarot not merely on the map, but on all kinds of maps. Kaplan publishes all kinds of Tarots, one of which will be sure to appeal to you.	USGS, which is Stuart Kaplan's Tarot publishing company, has done more than any other supplier to put Tarot not merely on the map, but on all kinds of maps. Kaplan publishes all kinds of Tarots, one of which will be sure to appeal to you.
AGM/ Tarotworld.com	AGM, recently acquired by the Belgian cartiers, Carta Mundi, publishes about 200 Tarots. These are decks with more aesthetic appeal than most US-produced pomo decks, and for example they are the publishers of the superior version of the Thoth deck, the "blue" version, as opposed to the inferior "green" one published by USGS.	AGM/Tarotworld.com often have great prices on decks, but by the time you add shipping (to the US anyway) it's about the same as Amazon.com and other discounters. The decks they sell are often attractive and of a better quality than many other sites, but there aren't very many to choose from. Of course that can be seen as a good thing too.
Llewellyn	Llewellyn is almost as responsible as USGS for fomenting the popularity of Tarot in the United States.	Llewellyn's approach to magick and Tarot, basically turning them into trades that can be taught in textbooks (written by supposed experts) has inspired a lot of people to think they know something about Tarot—when they don't. Llewellyn does sell a line of its own Tarots, of inferior quality generally.
Tarot Garden	Tarot Garden is one of the most interesting Tarot sites on the web. It's definitely a good place to learn about the seemingly endless variety of Tarots that have been made, while not getting puked out at the endless diversity of themes dumped on us by the USGS tarotmills. Tarot deck collectors will definitely want to check out this site, but TG sells all kinds of decks to all kinds of customers.	This site is up and coming, and so is not complete and in some ways is a little frustrating because one can see what it CAN become, given more time and care by the site owners. TG is often a little more expensive than the discounters, especially on mainstream decks which can be gotten from a number of sources. Where TG excels is in providing a one-stop index of many hard-to-find (and get) decks.
Bookpeople	I've included this relatively unknown regional bookstore because it's the place (actually the place was in its former incarnation as Grok Books) where I purchased most of my first Tarots and occult books, and many others since. Bookpeople is the largest bookstore in Texas, and has an online ordering system available.	No surprise, they're not the cheapest choice available, though they can acquire just about anything you'd like. Anyway, if you're in Austin, give them a visit.
Walmart	You might be surprised to see this name listed as a source for Tarots, but Walmart even sells Thoth decks! (is Sam spinning in his grave or what?) Walmart is often cheaper than all other sources, however you have to really look to see if this is the case and then determine whether saving a few pennies on a few decks is worth the time to get an account here just for Tarot.	Buying from Walmart is of course almost as bad as buying direct from USGS, in terms of paying homage and booty to the Devil. However, in the final analysis, the Devil owns ALL the stores so what's the difference? Well, sometimes the difference is simply whether you're willing to support a company that is also supplying you other Tarot content or services, or you want to make Walmart even more money.

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