"The Tarot Bible" by Sarah Bartlett is also a good choice in books. Each card has its own page of interpretations and there are guides to what each suits means and a few different layouts. It may not be as detailed as other books, but it's good for a handy reminder as to what each card means. Another book, which is much smaller than Bartlett's, is "A Beginner's Guide Tarot" by Kristyna Arcati. I have no idea if it's still in publication, but you can probably get a second hand copy cheap. Also, most tarot decks (at least the ones I have) come with small books that help describe the deck and how to use tarot.
I wish you the best of luck with your tarot journey!
When buying a deck, I would reccomend going with what feels right to you. The more connected you feel to it, the easier it is to establish a good connection and good results.
I like the Rider Waite deck. It is easier to see the symbolism in this deck than some of the fancier ones. For example, The Fool in the Rider Waite deck is just the fool, plain in symple, but I have seen him portrayed as a cat, a joker, etc in some of the other decks. I would not have known that they were supposed to represent The Fool when I began. Also, when you look up cards online, you will often see the Rider Waite card used as the example of the card. They may mention symbols and colors in the cards and explain their meaning, but if you have a different deck, this knowledge wont be as useful to you as it could be.
My advice is to practice with a normal card deck till you're sure you're interested. They work exactly the same except you have a bit more memorization without the pictures as a guide (a good trick is the draw a symbol on the card to help you remember without pictures).
Then once you're certain you want to start tarot reading with the pretty cards (you could stick to normal cards or make your own! They work just as well) go out to your local witchcraft store if you have one and browse the selection yourself. Pick them up, inspect them, feel them or do a quick reading if the store allows you to. The right deck will feel right and you'll be drawn to it.
As for books, I would recommend using apps or YouTube videos till you're sure. The two apps I found I enjoyed the best were Golden Thread Tarot and Labyrinthos Academy. Both made learning how to read much more entertaining, which is usually the biggest issue with learning how to read. I find people say they started but stopped out of boredom or because they didn't accurately predict the amount of memorizing that reading takes.
Of course, you can always read cards intuitively, based off the emotions you feel when you see the card. Some people find thiz easier while others harder. I recommend giving intuition a try and also learning how to read each card.
Actually, it would not be a good idea to use a normal playing card deck as a substitute to tarot, as they are actually pretty different. Although a standard playing card deck and tarot have similar origins, they have different numbers of cards;a playing card deck has 52 cards and a standard tarot deck has 78 cards. The major arcana(the section a normal playing card deck doesn't have) could arguably be the most important section(sometimes I do readings just using the major arcana for a more focused reading). The best way to start learning tarot, is using tarot cards.
Though I do agree completely on using certain credible apps to make learning tarot meanings more fun. However, giving readings should be more about your own gut feelings being given off the spread, rather than just 'textbook readings'.
SkollVarg is absolutely right about the major arcana. I forgot to mention that. As for the reading, SkollVarg is also absolutely right! SkollVarg has more experience than me and therefore their post is most likely the better answer. Take this next section with a grain of salt.
The cards and apps are a matter at first of testing to see if you actually want to continue reading. I've seen people buy all their material just to stop practicing or find they're actually not interested. Granted, these people tend to be new comers or people who just want to "jump into" magic without practice. Using cards is the cheaper alternative to buying a deck. Its what I use (two marked decks. I painted over the cards and made my own deck) because financially speaking, I can't afford to buy new equipment and had to decide what I wanted bought and what I could make. That's the main reason why I mentioned it. It's a better approach for the witch who has either parents that wouldn't buy them the cards, would rather make their own, or is just starting out.
Marking cards allow you to add cards in, which was something I should have mentioned when discussing marking cards. If you wanted a full deck, use two decks of cards and mark them. I've heard of people using only the minor arcana to read before, though I meant in this case to only use the major arcana. It's a good way to start off and figure out your interest. The minor acrana (at least in my practice, everyone is slightly different) is more of a guide and less of a supporting deck. I sometimes take out the minor arcana when reading.
Several years ago my mom bought me a deck of tarot cards that came with a book for Christmas. It's called "Easy Tarot: Learn to read the cards once and for all" written by Josephine Ellershaw, and the deck is illustrated by CiroMarchetti.
It really helped me to grasp what each card represented in detail and as a whole, so that I could give more detailed readings.
Eventually, I did buy my own tarot deck from my favorite artist that was in town for a festival, but even then, it was cool to go back and see how what the book said correlated to my new deck.
If you want to do a little extra too, what helped me a lot on the side was reading and an interest in literature in general. Mosttarot decks in their illustrations contain symbolism pertaining to masculinity, femininity, emotion, strength, and all sorts of other things. In every literature class I've been in,all of them discussed how these symbols show up in literature and everyday life as well. So now looking around, and finding things that stand out that way and when reading books, seeing where these symbols are relevant and how they affect the story, really has a new meaning.So it was interesting to get that view of context and how it all fits in.
