Another thing I discovered is that each major card is associated with the following year. This year for me would be the Hermit, which was also, I might add, my soul card. Next year will be card number 10, the wheel of fortune and so on, working through the deck in order, one card a year. This begs the question, does it take 22 years to complete each cycle of our lives? 0 – 22 finding out who we are and what path we want to take in life. 22 – 44 we are on another cycle, work, family etc – another learning curve and so on.

I wouldn’t say one is strictly better than the other (though one could argue that some symbolic decks are more “pure” tarot while storytelling decks are more like problem-solving flashcards); both certainly have their place, depending on what the reader hopes to gain from them. As with any study as radically subjective as tarot, it really all comes down to what works best for the individual’s particular needs.

Other cards I would call difficult are the Moon, Judgement, the Queen of Swords, the Nine of Swords, and all the Sevens. The best explanation I’ve found for the problem of the Sevens is the Qabalistic one (low and unbalanced on the Tree of Life), but the Qabalistic approach to tarot is something I’m really just getting into and don’t feel nearly qualified enough yet to expound upon.

I’m thinking of doing a whole series on “scary” cards, such as The Devil, Death, Three of Swords, etc. Are there any other cards you think of as “scary”? I’d be curious what cards other people fear.