I am new to this forum, so I apologize if this question has already been answered before!  I use other tarot decks, but I have some people who have a preference for certain tarot decks for their readings.  Is it considered "kosher" to add a more modern "spin" to my interpretations of the cards, or should I limit my interpretations to the ones that often accompany the deck?  Thanks ahead of time for the consideration!

I have always been told to read the cards as you feel they should be read.  If you interpret them in a different way than the accompaning book, then read it the way YOU see it.  You are the reader, and the read is supposed to come through you.  The book is just a reference guide   Hope that helps

This is purely a personal opinion, but I like to find out what the creator of the deck is trying to convey to me and so a little study into what it is they are saying often helps my interpretations greatly.  

Just about all modern decks are more or less clones of the Rider Waite, and the best advice I could give anyone, who is interested in modern as opposed to Marsellie type decks, is to study and understand the symbolism of the Rider Waite then reading most modern clones will be simple. Most readers expand of what the traditional meanings are, and I read using my knowledge and intuition.

The books are just guides, but knowing what the creator of that deck is trying to say in his symbolism is a great bonus.

Whether this has been any help to you or not, only you can decided.

~ Bella ~

When you have spent a few years reading, you will probably have a notebook where you write down those meanings that you find strikingly good for a certain card. I have done so, and keep refining my list of card meanings as I learn more about them. My meanings come from the myriad books on Tarot I have read through the years (specially those I had on loan) and also from those meanings that come spontaneously to mind when reading intuitively for different people. Each card seems to adapt beautifully to each situation once you have the hang of intuitive reading.

I think that books help a lot when you still have not learnt your deck by heart (by that I mean that if someone says "7 of Cups", you can instantly see the card image in your mind without looking for it in the deck). Once you have, meanings come to you for each card together with the image of it, even new meanings associated to the particular reading you may be doing.

Once you have reached that stage, you will probably ignore all books, since it gets tedious searching for meanings, specially when reading for others. But it is still useful to go back to them and keep adding to them once in a while, because I find I tend to assign certain meanings strongly to a card and forget others that might apply on less frequent situations. So browsing through them with the deck at hand, or simply doing a reading for myself looking up each meaning can be sometimes quite refreshing. I dislike getting stuck with certain meanings.

In case you are interested, Gem runs a course on intuitive Tarot reading that is easy to follow, free and fun. Many of us have taken it and it is usually running in the Mystic Academy forum, if you would like to take a look.

Nice meeting you!  

well, it is modern times so meanings change to the life around us.  so i would say the meaning of the cards' meanings upgrade with the change in life.
and never limit your self to interpretations in a your book. feeling the meaning and it become you.

i like the ideal of using books as reference when reading.  i seem to get more indept everytime i read a book on meanings and stuff!

ttyl