There are so many types of cards that one can use to divine answers and future events, but I shall concentrate on tarot here as it's one of the most common methods of divination.

Traditionally, tarot decks are not dissimilar to regular cards. Tarot cards are often split into suits - pentacles, wands, chalices, and swords - which are numbered one through ten, with the usual court cards (king, queen, knave). Tarot decks are also often divided into a Major and Minor Arcana: the minor arcana comprises the four suits, and the major arcana is a series of 'symbol' cards.

Despite this, my preferred deck is nothing like the traditional decks, as it is neither split into a major and minor arcana, nor divided into suits. This much loved and often used deck is composed solely of symbol cards. I was drawn to it on a school trip to Paris in 1995, and it has been almost uncannily accurate since then - I went back to Paris a couple of years ago and tried to visit the shop where I had bought them, but there was no trace of it.

This led to the purchase of another favoured deck, which again I was drawn to. Having been thwarted in my search for the original shop, I was walking along the Seine with a friend when I was suddenly struck by the urge to visit a shop which I had spotted on the other bank. It was a very unremarkable shop, dusty and very small, and apparently just a second hand bookshop from the outside. Inside we found a huge range of tarot decks displayed in an old cabinet. I think I was meant to own the cards that I eventually purchased.

All in all I own probably half a dozen decks, ranging from the widely known, and very popular, Rider Waite deck, to the very obscure decks which I purchased in France. Tarot has always been my preferred method of divination, and I'm always looking out for new sets which I might find to suit me - I was very disappointed when I visited Turin last year and failed to find a new deck to add to my collection, but I guess it just wasn't meant to be!

Below you can see a few pictures of the cards from my favourite decks: