Becasue there are so many different decks out there I thought I would spend sometime talking about some of the varrius different decks, I will start in dicussing decks that I acutally own.
The Herbal Tarot is the newest deck I have come acorss, and it quite intrigues me. So far I rather enjoy it, and thought I would say some words about this deck.
The Herbal Tarot combines the symbolic healing properties of herbs with the tarot. The deck was drawn by artist Candice Cantin under the direction of herbalist Michael Tierra. According to the creators, "the Herbal Tarot is a tool for studying the psycho-physical energy of herbs. It follows the general assignments of the Rider-Waite deck, but each card is assigned an individual medicinal herb based upon intuition, astrological and energetic values." For example, ginseng is assigned to the Fool and Chamomile to the Ace of Swords. The familiar name of the herb is written at the top of each card and the tarot name at the bottom.
It is is especially useful for health questions; the properties of the herbs on the cards which show up (or the herbs themselves) usually will tell you what you need in terms of a health issue. Variations to the standard cards include replacing The Hanged Man with the Suspended Person; the Wheel of Fortune with the Medicine Wheel; and The Devil with Pan.