I finally, finally, finally, broke through whatever mental hangup was going on and got my first tarot deck. I had fully planned on getting a standard Rider deck, but as for whatever reason the celestial has been on my mind lately, I spotted a celestial tarot deck and bought it. It is complete, major and minor arcana. It doesn’t come with instructions, and the images are very much simplified compared to the Rider deck. Does anyone have any pointers on starting out with a non standard deck?
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@catherine11 check the side there should be a website for u to download the users guide. And congrats on your first deck.
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I started with a non-standard one as well, and I’m glad I did! 
I felt much more connected to the imagery of the Crystal Visions deck. That one came with a booklet, but I’ve also been supplementing with other resources. The main symbolism of each of the cards is the same with different decks, but there are subtle differences in how the creator of the deck interprets it. It can be interesting to compare. The more familiar you get wIth the identity of each card, the more you start to see when you look at the card too, through your intuition. Wishing you an enjoyable journey with your chosen tarot deck! 
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Congrats on your first deck, @catherine11! 
To this day I still do not own a copy of the standard RW deck- so I think you can probably guess what I’m going to say about non-standard decks 
. I’m strongly in the camp that working with cards that call to you (no matter what type or style they are) will always be more rewarding to the reader than trying to use a deck you feel is compulsory!
Personal meanings and interpretations come much easier- at least to me- when I’m actively interested in the art on the cards. A deck that calls to you can help reveal certain themes and areas that are most important and relevant to you at this time- so trust those personal interpretations and feelings when you look at each card! 
That’s certainly not to say that you can’t use traditional card meanings, and there are many great resources online (like the Complete Tarot Course!) you can use to reference the general energy of each card. My best advice would be to study the traditional meanings to gain confidence, but always be open to trusting your personal feelings and what comes to you (whether or not it aligns with the traditional meaning) as you bond with your deck and begin building your reading skills.
Good luck and blessed readings! 
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First, congrats on your first deck! If you are like the rest of us, it definitely won’t be your last, lol.
I am with @BryWisteria on using what calls to you. I purchased a standard RW deck and used it once. It just doesn’t click with me. My favorite is my Hush Tarot deck; it’s generally my daily deck.
I am in the process of completing Biddy Tarot’s intuitive reading course. As such, I’ve veered away from “the little white book” and go with what my gut tells me. I would check it her website to get an idea of the general meanings behind the cards but then use your own intuition to interpret them. For example, my interpretation of The Moon card is generally reversed from what most people see. But then, I also work with Selene, the Greek Moon Goddess.
Wishing you luck and fun on your tarot journey!
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Thanks everyone, I checked the side of the box and there’s no information for a guide to download, it just says instructions not included. I’m pretty sure it’s a knock off, but I finally have a deck. I definitely will be doing the tarot course here, been wanting to do it for some time, debated printing out the deck and gluing it to cardstock but never got around to it.
I haven’t done much with it yet beyond look at it and some experimental shuffling, turns out my card shuffling skills are not as good as I thought they were, had to chase some escapees.
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I am the same way! All 4 of the decks I have called to me at random times. For 3 of them, I wasn’t even consciously looking for a new deck. I came across them and they locked me into a mental bear hug!
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My first tarot deck that I actually used was not the RW deck. I do have a version of that deck that feels much better to me. It’s the Vintage RW & the images & even the backs of the cards feels so much better to me.
Much like @Amaris_Bane I am taking courses with Biddy Tarot. The initial free class for reading them intuitively was an immense help with my connections to the cards.
@BryWisteria is also correct that usually the traditional meanings are the same across each deck & how the artist interprets the images.
I don’t use guidebooks either. Actually my boxes & guidebooks are stored in a box. I think my classes are bit more involved than Amaris, but the site has a lot of free resources for the cards. I did startbwith Reading Tarot Intuitively & then went from there.
We also have: Tarot Poems by The Gifted and Talented Amethyst that go theough each card of the Major & Minor.
I read mine a little different in general using the numerology, story of the cards & suits & theough the Major Arcana, themes, symbols, colors, suits to guide me. With Minor being more like day to day situations & Major being larger life themes playing out. I also read reversals more as internalized energy of the card.
Before any of that though, I look at the cards, notice the general feelings I’m getting, phrases that come to mind, things like that about the cards.
The Whole Tarot course also has the traditional meanings across the tarot cards to help you too.
Now I have multiple decks that I use as I am called to… currently it’s my Light Seers Tarot. I had been using Murder of Crows tarot for about a month. Each deck has their own imagery & symbols present. Along with their own energies.
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The Light Seers Tarot is my favorite deck!!! I call the cards my lovelies lol!
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They just have a great energy for me. They always make me feel good regardless of what they are telling me 
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Hmm… this is interesting. All decks usually come with instructions and a user’s guide. If not, that’s a huge red flag 
that the deck is actually a counterfeit. This is especially true since the deck is sold with an accompanying booklet.
Celestial Tarot is both a handbook of the heavens and an oracular guide to the inner life. The twenty-two cards of the Major Arcana are represented by the twelve zodiacal constellations and ten planets. Each minor suit represents one of the four astrological elements. The accompanying booklet introduces the greater mysteries with a chart of astrological and elemental correspondences. The descriptions of the cards explore the mythological archetypes represented in the major and minor arcana, brought to life by the exquisite artwork of Kay Steventon. Source
I would suggest returning your deck and getting a refund, and then purchasing the deck from a trusted source that has the booklet with it. I know you can also learn tarot through different sources, such as the Spells8 tarot course, but it may be a bit more difficult since the Celestial deck has different imagery and correspondences in the artwork.
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Jumpers! I will keep these out and still pull my spread. I see them as messages that my guides want me to know that may not necessarily be related the to question at hand. I will admit, sometimes it’s just poor coordination on my part (if several fall at the same time), but if it’s a single card than it’s definitely meant to come out. I’ve had times where several will jump out and I notice the top card, put them back in, and then that top card pops out again. I’m “ok, ok, I get it” to my guides, lol.
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That’s good to know, I hadn’t thought of that.
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I’m pretty much the same as @Amaris_Bane; if it’s a single card 
(I also call them Jumpers! 
) I take that card as something I need to know or be aware of for the day, sometimes it aligns with the draw I’m doing. Other times, I’m like, “Huh… so going to need to pay attention to that…”
If it’s several cards, I put them back in the deck, but if there’s another Jumper & it was one of those cards… I will keep that out. My hands don’t always agree with what I am trying to do or want them to do So unless the next Jumper was one of the several, I put them somewhere back into the deck & continue shuffling.
I shuffle & draw a bit differently than others I think too. I usually will do hand-over-hand, casino style (splitting the deck & making the bridge so they fall into each other) & repeat the pattern. Every once in a while… (kind of the last few days), I will do hand-over-hand, casino twice, and then hand-over-hand or a combination of both of them twice or twice then once then twice then back to once each. I know a little different (possibly slightly confusing 
), but it’s usually what it feels like I need to do while shuffling.
Once I feel ready to draw, I take off the top 3 cards, put them somewhere random in the deck & then draw my cards.
I will be doing a Full Moon 
spread today. I do my tarot spreads a little differently too. I look at the questions for each card & write down what I feel is the answer intuitively. Then do my shuffle & draws. I look at how the card drawn aligns with what I wrote & go from there. 
Sometimes they are well aligned other times I look at the 2 and see what the differences & similarities are & trust that my guides are like… “Actually… you need to recognize or pay attention to this too Or instead.” It depends on the question & the feeling I get when looking at them together. 
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I have always wanted a Tarot deck, but there was no way my parents were gonna buy me one when I was a kid, so I made my own! I drew pictures on cards and little snippets of a definition on them… I felt so cool! lol No clue what happened to that cute little tarot, but I knew I’d get a “real one” later in life. There are sooooooo many out there to chose from that I was / am overwhelmed. I saw a video online somewhere from a person who made a “trash tarot” with pictures from everyday objects as inspiration for the major arcana and pictures of the four suits for the minor! I thought that was a great way to really connect to my personal deck and I did just that. I’ve used sources from a few different places for definitions and added some of my own info about what cards relate to the zodiac, planets, chakra, etc. It’s been super accurate (sometimes annoyingly so lol) when I’ve read for myself and others.
Just throwing that idea out there!!
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I think that’s a great idea! It’s also a wonderful way to create your own oracle deck using objects around you with personal correspondence.
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