So, you have selected your first Tarot deck. Congratulations! Now you can jump right and read from it, right? Not necessarily. You would not try to bake an Italian Crème cake when you have not mastered making a simple sheet cake. The groundwork must be done first before the true creative genius can arise.

How do you lay the groundwork and establish the fundamentals with a new Tarot deck? You do this with the New Deck Interview spread. All Tarot decks are not equal; some are more festive, and some are more serious. It is a good idea to know what your Tarot deck can help you to discover and how you can help it to best assist you.

Here are the interview questions. You can arrange the spread however you want. Left to right, ascending order, descending order, in a spiral, or a circle; it does not matter. What matters is intent and focus.

1. Tell me about yourself. What is your most important characteristic?
2. What are your strengths as a deck?
3. What are your limits as a deck?
4. What do you bring to the table—what are you here to teach me?
5. How can I best learn from and collaborate with you?
6. What is one thing you want to ask of me?
7. What do you expect me to bring to the table—what can I teach you?
8. What do you enjoy?
9. What is the potential outcome of our working relationship?

It is important to know what your new Tarot deck can give you and what you are expected to give it. New Deck Interviews are not required, but they are recommended very highly. Your new Tarot deck will help you, but you have to be willing to help it also. Conducting this interview will help you understand your Tarot deck and will help your deck understand you. It will establish a very important working relationship for years to come!