Re: Bardon and Tarot

["Alan Cook" <fish_studios@...>]

Dear Rawn,

>> While coloring your own deck is not *necessary*, it is a VERY 
good practice and is, I think, really the very best way to learn and 
to develop a personal relationship with the Major Arcana images. 
[The BOTA deck's minor arcana are very plain.] You can purchase the 
BOTA deck in normal deck size or the Major Arcana alone in large 
size. I've even seen the normal size deck in occult shops but you 
can always order either one from BOTA directly. <<
>> I HIGHLY recommend the BOTA's Tarot course. It was written by 
Paul Case and is an excellent place to begin. It does mean joining 
BOTA and paying $$$ for their lessons. If I remember correctly, 
there is a short series of lessons that preceeds the Tarot course, 
but they're pretty good too. I didn't care at all for the lessons 
written by Ann Davies that followed the Tarot course, so at that 
point I cancelled my membership. :) <<

Unfortunately there are not many occult shops in WV ;) But I can 
get a Waite deck, they carry them at Spencer Gifts. I believe that 
may be the best at this time, as this semester has pretty much 
drained all of the extra cash that I had :) So I'll have to save up 
for the BOTA courses, as I would very much like to study them and 
gain a deep insight into the Tarot.

>> I'd recommend sticking with just one instead of mixing. Bardon's 
images are very relevant to his works but don't really provide an 
inroad to study of the entire Tarot Major Arcana. With the study of 
Tarot, I think a continuity of symbolism is important. <<

I was fairly certain that was the case, and the continuity aspect 
was my main concern. Don't want to start out on the wrong foot :)

As always you've been very helpful, thanks for the input.

All Will Go Well,
--Alan