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Greetings, Sisters, and welcome to my inaugural column. I am delighted to be doing this for the education and inspiration of all the wonderful womyn out there. I will be using the Daughter’s of the Moon Tarot for my column work, since I want to stick to womyn-positive imagery. For this first column, though, I want to do a column about choosing a deck.

Back in the day, when I first got into tarot, there was only one deck available to me, the venerable Rider-Waite. So my first deck was that one and I used it for ten years exclusively. It wasn’t until 1990, when I went to college and moved to a large city with a vibrant Pagan community that I first encountered other decks. I was like a kid in a candy store on my first trip to book store that offered many books by Pagan authors as well as a whole shelf of tarot decks.

This place had sample cards from each deck available to handle and look at, and that was very helpful. Otherwise I am sure I would still be there figuring out which deck I wanted.

When getting started it is important to find a deck that resonates with you. The best way to do so is to be able to handle at least a couple cards and look at their imagery. Before you go to a shop to look at the decks, call and ask if they have sample cards available, most of the good ones I have encountered, including the chain stores like Barnes and Noble and Borders, do have them. If you don’t feel comfortable making such a call, you can do a day of just wandering various shops looking at their tarot card selections and seeing if they do offer samples. This is not a bad way to spend a day, so do what feels comfortable for you. I recommend doing your shopping for your first deck (and honestly for any subsequent decks, since this is a process each time) on a day when you don’t have a lot of other things to do. Have a light and healthy breakfast so your energy is clear and uncluttered. It will help you feel the cards’ energy while handling them. I personally prefer to abstain from animal flesh for at least 24 hours prior to shopping for any magickal tool, and this includes tarot cards. It leaves my energy more open to the energy of the tools I wish to handle and helps me find ones compatible with me.

When you get to the shop, relax and handle each card individually. Look at the imagery and open yourself to it. Hold the card in your hand and get the feel of it. Many decks come in similar shapes and sizes, but sometimes you find one that is different. A good deck feels comfortable in your hand. Some decks come in multiple sizes, like the Motherpeace Tarot. While most decks are rectangular in shape, regardless of size, the womon-positive decks like the Motherpeace and Daughters of the Moon are round, and you may prefer one shape to the other, so consider that as a factor, because cards you don’t handle easily, you will not use regardless of how much you like their imagery. Something will just strike you as right when you find a deck that is good for you. It might be that an image speaks to you; it might be that the energy of the deck just feels good to you, somehow you will know. Don’t be discouraged if you don’t find the right deck