Hi Ive always been fascinate by Tarot cards and even thought about buying a pack for myself a couple of times.  What I want to know is how do I know if I can read tarot like so many people on here?

yes, you can read the tarot like everyone here!      don't worry about how others read if you passion is to read you will read and if your passion is strong enough the better you will be.  

unless you mean i don't have the ability to see into the future or something along those lines...    i wouldn't worry about that either.  your not going to see the future you going to be reading the cards as they fall.  

as you may or may not know Gem offers a free Tarot class and by taking that course all your worries will fall to the waste.  will be shocked how easy it really is!  

Thanks George

Jenny buy your deck and off you go  If you want any tips on which deck, George and I are definately Rider Waite fans, so go for one of these decks, The Original Rider Waite, The Universal Waite or perhaps the Golden Waite or Radiant Waite. Have a look at all the decks you can and choose one you like

I second Gem's opinion on your first choice of deck.
Go for the Rider Waite deck. Am a fan of that too myself and it is a good place to start.

Surely the deck chosen matters little if the meanings art eternally the same? I know people that use normal card decks for Major Arcana, and people that only ever use Dragon decks. I've noticed little difference 'twixt the validity of the two, and it seems to myself at least that 'tis merely a matter of personal perception. I used a deck based around a few varying futharks for a while ere it became saturated in a puddle, but I've found Golden Dawn decks to suit me particularly well, maybe due to my teenage fascination with Thelema...either way, I've found no problems using whatever deck unless the imagery is non-congruent with my aesthetic, and even that is likely to be psychosomatic!