By Vixen Feyfire
I would recommend The Inner Child Cards (Isha & Mark Lerner) & The Whimsical Tarot (Dorothy Morrison & Mary Hanson Roberts - sadly OOP, but can be had online), both on the basis that they use very familiar characters from fairy tales...easy to learn & work with for the inexperienced, when you already have a good (or at least passing) understanding of many of the characters. I was delighted when I got the Inner Child Cards - vivid colors, vibrant images...my only complaint is that they are physically a little large. I'm also a fan of the Hanson Roberts Deck - softer & more muted, but a better size for smaller hands - & a mini-deck has been published, which I love!
Something the boys (& some of the girls) who are put off by "pretty fairy tale" images might enjoy is the Phantasmagoric Theater Deck. I gave a set of these to my Pagan-interested sixteen-year-old cousin last Yule, & it was perfect. It reminded me of a bizarre mix of Nightmare Before Christmas & South Park, in the artwork style (someone else said it reminded them of the Rugrats) - but the images are solid & it reads very well...so well that I had to get a deck for myself, as well!
My goddaughter just aged out of that range - & for her seventeenth birthday I gave her Ellen Cannon Reed's The Witches Tarot, because that's the "grown-up deck" she has always wanted. I'm leery of recommending decks with nudity for younger folks - not because they might have issues, but because that is an instant red flag for the other Pagan-concerned adults in their world, & a conflict not needed by the younger set nor their respective adults is the one that ensues when Joey's best friend Jimmy's parents object to the fact that their son is exposed to images of nudity.
The Tarot of the Magical Forest features odd-but-appealing characters of sheep, rabbits, frogs, mice, etc. taking the roles of the standard tarot figures. Quirky, but it seems very child & teen-friendly. There's also a deck out there that's out of print that I would love to have called the Children Tarot - it looks like the pictures drawn by your six-year-old & hung on the refrigerator...non-threatening, & very enjoyable, from the images I have seen of it.
One of my recommendations would be to investigate any decks you would be considering on aeclectic.net or wicce.com - in either place, you will find images & reviews of many decks that might offer a good idea of whether this is the one to pursue. Wicce (of the second website) has also created a deck called the Pagan Tarot, which would be good for a young adult who is being raised in a Pagan household, as she wraps the mundane & the magickal aspects of day-to-day living into her deck. If you have any questions regarding a deck, I have also found her to be extremely helpful when contacted for information.
I would also advise choosing a deck that has fully-illustrated minor cards - some only use suit symboks as pip cards, & I think this can be a little off-putting for new readers. Visual imagery helps a lot when you are first stepping into the tarot world, & pictures make that far more accessible & enjoyable for most.
All of the decks referenced here are available through Amazon...although the OOP ones tend to run high in cost, & might be better sought in odd places. (Smaller online sellers or occult shops with dusty shelves...)
Hope some of this helps, & best of luck in seeking the one that works!
Brightest Blessings,
'v'xn~
I would recommend The Inner Child Cards (Isha & Mark Lerner) & The Whimsical Tarot (Dorothy Morrison & Mary Hanson Roberts - sadly OOP, but can be had online), both on the basis that they use very familiar characters from fairy tales...easy to learn & work with for the inexperienced, when you already have a good (or at least passing) understanding of many of the characters. I was delighted when I got the Inner Child Cards - vivid colors, vibrant images...my only complaint is that they are physically a little large. I'm also a fan of the Hanson Roberts Deck - softer & more muted, but a better size for smaller hands - & a mini-deck has been published, which I love!Something the boys (& some of the girls) who are put off by "pretty fairy tale" images might enjoy is the Phantasmagoric Theater Deck. I gave a set of these to my Pagan-interested sixteen-year-old cousin last Yule, & it was perfect. It reminded me of a bizarre mix of Nightmare Before Christmas & South Park, in the artwork style (someone else said it reminded them of the Rugrats) - but the images are solid & it reads very well...so well that I had to get a deck for myself, as well!
My goddaughter just aged out of that range - & for her seventeenth birthday I gave her Ellen Cannon Reed's The Witches Tarot, because that's the "grown-up deck" she has always wanted. I'm leery of recommending decks with nudity for younger folks - not because they might have issues, but because that is an instant red flag for the other Pagan-concerned adults in their world, & a conflict not needed by the younger set nor their respective adults is the one that ensues when Joey's best friend Jimmy's parents object to the fact that their son is exposed to images of nudity.
The Tarot of the Magical Forest features odd-but-appealing characters of sheep, rabbits, frogs, mice, etc. taking the roles of the standard tarot figures. Quirky, but it seems very child & teen-friendly. There's also a deck out there that's out of print that I would love to have called the Children Tarot - it looks like the pictures drawn by your six-year-old & hung on the refrigerator...non-threatening, & very enjoyable, from the images I have seen of it.
One of my recommendations would be to investigate any decks you would be considering on aeclectic.net or wicce.com - in either place, you will find images & reviews of many decks that might offer a good idea of whether this is the one to pursue. Wicce (of the second website) has also created a deck called the Pagan Tarot, which would be good for a young adult who is being raised in a Pagan household, as she wraps the mundane & the magickal aspects of day-to-day living into her deck. If you have any questions regarding a deck, I have also found her to be extremely helpful when contacted for information.
I would also advise choosing a deck that has fully-illustrated minor cards - some only use suit symboks as pip cards, & I think this can be a little off-putting for new readers. Visual imagery helps a lot when you are first stepping into the tarot world, & pictures make that far more accessible & enjoyable for most.
All of the decks referenced here are available through Amazon...although the OOP ones tend to run high in cost, & might be better sought in odd places. (Smaller online sellers or occult shops with dusty shelves...
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