Okay, so I wanted to get into this whole tarot reading thing, and I gotta say, the Golden Art Nouveau Tarot deck just caught my eye. I mean, it’s gorgeous, right? All those gold accents and the classic art style, it just screamed “pick me!” So, I did. I grabbed the deck and the little guidebook that came with it.
First off, I realized I didn’t know jack about tarot. Like, nothing. I started flipping through the cards, and they were pretty, but I had no clue what they meant. The guidebook was there, but it felt a bit overwhelming at first. It talks about each card, but you know, it’s a lot to take in when you’re starting from zero.

Then, I remembered something I saw online about the Rider-Waite-Smith deck, or RWS, being the go-to for newbies. People said the pictures on those cards are super straightforward. I didn’t have that deck, but I figured, “Hey, maybe the basics are the same?” So, I started looking up stuff about the RWS deck, just to get a feel for the general vibe of tarot reading.
I spent a few days just browsing, you know, random websites and forums. I was basically trying to soak up any info I could find. I learned that there are 78 cards in a deck, split into major and minor arcana. Sounds fancy, huh? But it’s just categories, really. The major arcana are the big-deal cards, like “The Fool” or “The Lovers,” and the minor arcana are more about everyday stuff, like your cups, wands, swords, and those pentacle things.
After getting a bit more comfortable with the idea of tarot, I went back to my Golden Art Nouveau deck. This time, the guidebook made a little more sense. I started with the major arcana, just reading through the descriptions and looking at the pictures. I tried to connect the meanings in the book with the images on the cards, you know, like how “The Magician” is all about manifestation and using your resources, and the picture shows this guy with all these tools laid out in front of him.
- Flipping through cards: I started by just looking at the pictures, getting a feel for the deck.
- Reading the guidebook: Tried to understand the meanings, but it was a bit much at first.
- Researching online: Looked up the RWS deck to get a handle on the basics.
- Learning about card types: Major and minor arcana, what’s the deal?
- Connecting images and meanings: Trying to match the guidebook descriptions with the art on the cards.
It’s still a work in progress, I won’t lie. I’m not out here doing readings for people or anything. But I feel like I’m starting to get it. It’s like learning a new language, a visual one. You gotta practice, look things up, and just keep at it. Maybe someday I’ll feel confident enough to do a reading for a friend, but for now, I’m just enjoying the process of learning and exploring this beautiful deck. I even found a website selling a book about tarot for beginners at a nice price but decided to explore more to avoid spending unwisely. You know, baby steps.
My Progress on Tarot
To sum up, I have done the following things:
- Bought the Golden Art Nouveau Tarot deck.
- Felt overwhelmed.
- Did some online research.
- Started to understand the cards better.
- Still learning!