I've had the Deck for a long time but am not particularly knowledgable as to how to best use them. Just wondering if anyone can point me to a website, book or maybe a little insight of their own as to how I can best utilise these http://www.deviantmoon.com/wordpress/ I am very much into Jungian Psychology (Ego, Shadow, Self). I'm not really all that great on interpreting them, now it does come with a small instruction booklet so I have an idea. I guess seeing an example of these being utilised would be nice, what one might be able to glimpse about oneself using them. Exactly what mindset a person needs to be in to properly benefit from tarot. Any help on understanding symbolism and the like would also be greatly appreciated.

Gorgeous deck!

Whether you are "true believer" in cartomancy or not, the element of randomness and the ancient archetypes portrayed just make tarot cards great fun.

Many people recommend you sleep with your deck under your pillow at first and carry them with you for a period of time to help them attune to your energy. If you believe in that kind of hippie stuff.

Getting started with the tarot it is a good idea to just familiarize yourself with the generic definitions of the cards. These are long standing archetypes with quite well established meanings and it is very helpful to understand what energy each carries.

Likewise each deck is unique, using its own imagery and associations, so always be sure and study well the little booklet included with the deck to gain a better grasp of the intentions of the author and the unique symbolism they have chosen to include.

Once you have a good idea of the historical archetypes and unique symbolism in your deck, the real art of the tarot begins. There are an infinite number of ways to work with the cards beyond simply pulling a card of the day or laying a spread and practicing some good old fashioned gypsy fortune telling. Imo, the real work and magic of the tarot is in working directly with the archetypical energies within a meditation/ceremonial context.

I wish you much joy and growth as you begin the fools journey.

Thanks for the Reply, but anyways you say they are best for a meditation/ceremonial context how might I do that? Do I just pick a card at random and sit with it or what lol. What sort of things do you gleam from "cartomancy"?

Starting with a single card is perfect. The card of the day method is very useful, draw a card every morning to just kind of glimpse the prevailing energy of the day. Look up the definition online and in the booklet and take some time to meditate with the card, explore it mentally and intuitively. This is useful in learning the tarot, and giving a good focus to create a meditation practice, win-win. It can be fun to come back at the end of the day and see how the card may (or may not) have applied to your experience of your day and explore it within meditation given your new perspective.

As far as ceremony, the way that is approached by each person will be unique, from a simple card focused meditation as above to an elaborate ritual. I will outline my process when I really go all out to illustrate.

First I will take a shower and smudge myself and my working space with something like sage or palo santo setting intention for purification and protection, I am particularly fond of copal.

In front of my reserved altar space I lay out my cards before me and meditate till I find a place of stillness within myself. From that space I draw the cards. The spread I use varies for different reasons and seasons, there are infinite possibilities, but to be honest I tend to mostly use pretty traditional spreads like the celtic cross or the simple 3 card situation/obstacle/advice.

I interpret the cards in the standard intellectual way, I may break out the books and cross reference definitions, take notes and the like. Then I go back within to sit with the cards and allow my intuition to tell me what it means.

Often I incorporate medicine work at this point, usually only very light doses as meditation aide. I am particularly fond of using the diviners sage for divining work. This ceremony is particularly well suited for approaching that ally.

I usually throw rune stones and sometimes even I-ching as well, I also do a lot of journaling, these ceremonies can go on for quite some time. When I am satisfied I have done the work I needed to do and gleaned the insights I needed I put everything up and clear the space, then usually go to bed lol.