Simply Tarot started, in a different form, many years ago. Our first site was called The Tarot House, then it became Patricia House and now we have created the Simply Tarot website as our purpose and aims have developed.
My name is Patricia House. I am possibly the only person in the world who is not very fond of the Rider-Waite-Smith tarot deck (gasps all round!). I could never quite bond with it and I found it a bit dour. With a bit of encouragement from others, I thought I would try to develop a deck of my own, addressing what I would like to see in a tarot deck. I spent a lot of the following year creating the paintings you can see on this site. I painted them in acrylics, an interesting and quick-drying medium, that I had never used before. It was an incredible project for me and a lot of work (and love) went into it. I then self-published the deck and set about introducing it to people all over the world. I feel very privileged that all the feedback has been wonderful so far.
A rather bumpy road of selling the deck then ensued, where we learned a lot about business (sometimes a little too late!) and what we should have done differently with the deck but you live and learn, as they say. Then, a little further down the road we were contacted by someone who had subsequently Trade Marked the words ‘tarot’ and ‘house’, so we were not able to continue using that name, though they have allowed us to continue to sell our stock of The Tarot House Deck (make note that this version of the deck will be a limited edition!). The last few years I have done all the selling via my own name until it became clear that we needed to pull everything under one simple brand – Simply Tarot.
There are so many different decks to suit each taste witches, vampires, cat, Steampunk and I have a few, but I now only use my own deck – The Tarot House Deck – it has become part of me and I am pretty proud of it.
Of course, a tarot deck must really appeal if you are going to bond with it and I promise I won’t be offended if our deck doesn’t ‘do it for’ you, but you can take a look at all the images and the meanings here on the site so you can decide whether, or not, it does. This site is not just about the deck, though, it’s about tarot and its amazing abilities. It’s about bringing tarot into the light as an honest guidance tool, in the hands of those who respect Tarot and respect those people who want good and honest readings, so we do have a page on our ethics which you might like to take a look at. We are not fond of Charlatans and the damage they can do.
Whether we are new to tarot or with a wealth of experience behind us, we are always on a learning curve, so I am happy to give, as well as accept, help – there are many different threads to the tapestry of Tarot and it’s great to find out a little more each day. I sincerely hope you enjoy this site and it is lovely to have you on board!
Patricia
