13 Best Tarot Decks for Beginners
Tarot is one of my RP Mystic’s hobbies—a one-card tarot read for yourself is such a nice way to start the day. But starting out with tarot cards can be overwhelming. How do you find the best tarot deck or a beginner’s guide to Tarot book? We’ve rounded up our favorites to help you get started!
This approachable deck, from the founder of the incredibly popular website Biddy Tarot, brings the allure and guidance of Tarot to contemporary, goal-focused readers. Everyday Tarot takes a fresh approach to the cards, giving modern soul-seekers the tools they need to access their inner wisdom and create an inspired life. This charming package, featuring beautifully illustrated cards and a magnetic closure, will appeal to tarot veterans and novices alike!
This stunning, practical miniature deck includes:
- A 78-card tarot deck, with fully-illustrated, 2.5 X 3.5-inch cards.
- An 88-page mini book, with card meanings and sample spreads.
- Magnetic closure box for easy reading on the go
This approachable guide, from the founder of the incredibly popular website Biddy Tarot, brings the allure and guidance of Tarot to contemporary, goal-focused readers through relatable exercises and an emphasis on intuition. Everyday Tarot takes a fresh approach to a timeless art, giving modern soul-seekers the tools they need to access their inner wisdom and create an inspired life, using the cards as their guide. This approach to Tarot is empowering, uplifting, powerful, and practical — instead of helping readers tell the future, this method allows each person to unlock their full potential by connecting more deeply to their own instincts.
This unique book draws on the knowledge of Brigit Esselmont, the founder of Biddy Tarot. Her distinctive approach blends Tarot with personal growth, creating an actionable wellness practice that speaks to contemporary readers. Beginning with Esselmont’s personal story of leaving behind a corporate career to pursue a more grounded, passionate life, this beautiful and useful volume explains how Tarot really works, with a focus on how we approach the cards and draw on our inner wisdom for guidance. Everyday Tarot moves through concrete areas of life (career, romantic relationships, major goals) and incorporates exercises and sample spreads, alongside a quick-start guide to reading the cards that reinforces big picture concepts and builds confidence as readers begin creating powerful and positive change.
This revised and expanded paperback edition features a new foreword by the author and a complete appendix of tarot card meanings for easy reference.
- AN INCLUSIVE, AFFIRMING DECK: Queer Tarot is a bright, bold interpretation of the tarot that offers inspiration, affirmation, and LGBTQ+ representation. Created by queer and trans artists Ashley Molesso and Chess Needham of Ash + Chess, this reimagining of the classic figures in the Major and Minor Arcana showcases a wide range of gender expressions and sexual orientations, and incorporates queer history and iconography throughout.
- DELUXE SET: This set includes 78 full-color illustrated tarot cards (3 X 5 inches), shrink wrapped in an interior travel case; a 168-page, full-color illustrated flexibind book (4 3/4 X 6 inches); and a keepsake magnetic closure box with metallic foil accents. Cards and travel case are embedded in an interior flocked tray.
- FULLY ILLUSTRATED TAROT GUIDEBOOK: The flexibind guidebook provides an illustrated introduction to the tarot, with LGBTQ+ descriptions and suggested interpretations for each card, as well as instructions for sample readings and a brief history of tarot.
- VIBRANT FULL-COLOR ART FROM ASH + CHESS: Queer Tarot features Ash + Chess’s signature colorful, risograph-style illustrations, including retro color palettes and bold, detailed figures.
- ALL CARDS BASED ON REAL, DIVERSE MODELS: Each card in Queer Tarot is based on real LGBTQ+ folx commissioned for this project by Ash + Chess. The deck celebrates a full range of races, ethnicities, gender identities, sexual orientations, sizes, and abilities.
- A PERFECT GIFT: This joyful, inclusive, and beautiful tarot deck set is an ideal gift for tarot novices, seasoned readers, queer folx of all ages, and their allies.
A complete deck of 78 tarot cards and an accompanying guidebook, gorgeously illustrated in rich, original line art that evokes the classic Rider-Waite designs, ready for you to color in, customize, and bring to life.
- A comprehensive, classic deck and guidebook: The 78 cards in this deck feature the Major and Minor Arcana in beautiful, simple black line art reminiscent of the classic Rider–Waite tarot deck illustrations, and the guidebook includes the meanings of each card and information on how to pull and read cards and spreads.
- Complete set: This set includes 78 colorable illustrated cards (3 x 5 inches), shrink wrapped and housed in a card box; a 112-page paperback guidebook with colorable spot illustrations (3 x 5 inches); a full-color folded poster insert of suggested color palettes (6 x 10 inches); and a keepsake magnetic closure box (3-1/2 x 5-3/8 inches).
- Ideal format for coloring: The cards are printed on thick, uncoated paper stock ideal for coloring with pencils, watercolor, pens, markers, or your medium of choice, and the guidebook contains information on coloring basics for beginners.
- Includes a primer on color magic: Many magical practitioners believe in the magical properties and intentions of different parts of the color spectrum, and the guidebook includes information on these meanings to guide the user’s color choices.
A note on packaging: In order to help honor our planet and reduce waste, we have only shrink wrapped the interior tarot cards, rather than the keepsake box. Please feel confident that your product is not defective or used, but rather represents a step we are taking to protect our collective home. When you open your deck, you will find that the actual cards inside the box are shrink wrapped for protection and to ensure first use by the buyer.
This adaptation of Nikki Van De Car’s The Junior Tarot Reader’s Handbook includes a 78-card deck showcasing Uta Krogmann’s gorgeous artwork, in which she took special care to keep imagery inclusive so that any reader can see themselves reflected. The 96-page companion booklet teaches readers a variety of ways to do readings, interpret the cards, and use the deck to help navigate difficult situations (with friends, at home, or at school), all while offering a better understanding of the power we have over our own lives/decisions. See what the cards have in store for you!
From Nikki Van De Car, author of The Junior Witch’s Handbook and The Junior Astrologer’s Handbook, this third book in the Junior Handbook series teaches young readers how to use tarot to get answers to questions about life, friendships, family, school, and more. The book offers a step-by-step guide to everything from how to choose a deck to how to do a reading and includes detailed explanations of what each card in a tarot deck represents and how to apply these meanings to your own life. Maybe you need to focus more at school or examine how you’ve been treating your friends. Perhaps you simply need more love and support from family. Whatever the need, whatever the question, let the cards be a source of wisdom in how to handle anything that comes your way. With beautiful illustrations from Uta Krogmann, this is an empowering guide of self-discovery. Whether reading on your own or with friends, The Junior Tarot Reader’s Handbook is the perfect guide for budding mystics.
Evoking imagery of avocados, student loans, side hustles, and other symbols of the millennial condition, this complete deck of 78 tarot cards and accompanying guidebook are a playful yet powerful tool for millennial mystics and those who love them.
- Anything but basic: The 78 cards in this deck feature the Major and Minor Arcana in bold, darkly dreamy artwork that evokes the Rider–Waite tarot deck illustrations, updated for the chronically online generation. Each card and suit has been reimagined as an archetype of life for 80s and 90s kids, from The Millennial (The Fool) and Student Loans (Death) to Vibes (Wands) and Feels (Cups).
- Comprehensive af: The enclosed guidebook includes a detailed breakdown on using your tarot deck, as well as the TL;DR meanings (upright and reversed), imagery, and interpretations of each card.
- Hella deluxe: This deck includes 78 illustrated cards (3 x 5 inches), shrink wrapped and housed in a card box; a 152-page illustrated paperback book (3 x 5 inches); and a keepsake magnetic closure box (3-1/2 x 5-3/8 inches).
- No need for imposter syndrome: This deck is perfect for both tarot beginners and experienced readers, as it provides a deeper understanding of the cards while maintaining the traditional meanings.
- Inclusive and accessible: The imagery in the cards showcases LGBTQIA+, racial, body size, and disability diversity, reflecting the beauty and breadth of the Millennial generation.
A note on art creation: The tarot card images in this deck were developed in collaboration between artist and technology. They were created in part by generative AI.
- Unique, inclusive bilingual deck in English and Spanish: This tarot deck takes the traditional tarot elements (Major and Minor Arcana) and interprets it through the lens of the natural world, inspired by the landscape of the border between two countries. Filled with references to the animals that roam the landscape, the cool desert tones, and the spirit and traditions of borderlands, this is an enchanting take on traditional tarot, exploring “in between” physical and spiritual spaces.
- Deluxe Set: This set includes 78 full-color illustrated tarot cards (3 X 5 inches), shrink wrapped in an interior travel case; a 208-page, full-color illustrated flexibind book (4 3/4 X 6 inches); and a keepsake magnetic closure box.
- Fully illustrated guidebook: The flexibind guidebook provides an illustrated introduction to the tarot deck, uses, and a breakdown of elements, with descriptions of each card and suggested interpretations, as well as instructions and diagrams for sample readings. When the reader flips and reverses the guidebook, they will find the Spanish version of the text.
- Beautiful, full-color art: The Borderlands Tarot/Tarot de Tierras Fronterizas features inspiring and magical hand-painted and drawn art, filled with bright colors and unique illustrations of the natural world.
- A perfect gift: A perfect gift for the mystical and nature lover
Let your guiding spirits and ancestral figures come through with this stunningly illustrated tarot deck and guidebook. Black Tarot is the tarot deck you’ve been missing, complete with 78 tarot cards featuring all Black representations of classic tarot figures and iconography (The Sun, The Moon, Judgement, etc.). An accompanying illustrated guidebook with information on each card including traits, descriptions, action steps, flower, element, chakra, affirmations, and more. Throughout, find lessons on how the moon’s cycle and the element of water influence your life, your readings, and your connections with the divine.
- DELUXE SET: This set includes 78 full-color illustrated tarot cards (3 X 5 inches), shrink wrapped in an interior travel case; a 144-page, full-color illustrated flexibind book (4 3/4 X 6 inches); and a keepsake magnetic closure box with a flocked tray and metallic highlights on the box and cards.
- FULLY ILLUSTRATED TAROT GUIDEBOOK: A 144-page full-color guidebook explaining how to best use the cards is included.
- ORIGINAL ILLUSTRATIONS: Each card features stunning art created exclusively for this tarot deck and guidebook.
- A celebration of anime food and its meaning. Anime Food Tarot is a bright, mouth-watering interpretation of the tarot that reimagines the classic figures in the Major and Minor Arcana as iconic foods and staple Japanese dishes that appear in anime. Find inspiration in the iconic dishes that form the Major Arcana like The Fool’s Pickled Plum Onigiri (Fruits Basket) or The World’s Ramen (Naruto) and let the themed Minor Arcana suits sate your curiosity and offer guidance with dishes like yakatori, ramune, curry rice, cup noodles, and more.
- Deluxe set: This set includes 78 full-color illustrated cards (3 x 5 inches); an 88-page, full-color illustrated paperback book (3 x 5 inches); and a keepsake magnetic closure box.
- Fully Illustrated tarot guidebook: This set includes a full-color illustrated companion book to the tarot deck, providing anime references as well as context and meaning for each delicious card.
- The perfect gift: This joyful, beautiful tarot deck set is an ideal gift for anime foodies and fans, as well as tarot readers of all skills.
There is something innately spiritual and magical about the theater, from its stories and artists to the magic that happens on stage. Emily McGill, a spiritual practitioner, tarot card reader, and former Broadway publicist captures this inexplicable energy and has now cast Broadway characters, icons, and performers in traditional tarot roles, knowing that these characters and their stories will reveal something deeper, beyond traditional interpretations of the tarot. These figures have just been waiting to be cast in this deck, like Maria & Tony from West Side Story as “The Lovers” and Jean Valjean from Les Miserables as the “Justice” card. In the guidebook, McGill offers an interpretation and reading of each card, filled with references to the characters and plays themselves.
The art in this deck is from none other than famous artist and Broadway legend Al Hirschfeld. His instantly recognizable black and white work is a staple not only in the Broadway scene but all over the world. The images, provided by the Al Hirschfeld Foundation, help cement this deck as the ultimate tarot deck for Broadway and theater lovers.
This set includes:
- Deluxe tarot package. Includes 78 cards (3 X 5 inches), guidebook (4 3/4 X 6 inches, 120 pages), inner card box, and magnetic closure keepsake outer box.
- Fully illustrated guidebook. The guidebook includes images of each card, alongside card descriptions and suggested interpretations, as well as sample card spreads to guide your practice.
- Official Al Hirschfeld art and foundation support. The guidebook, cards, and box all contain art by Al Hirschfeld, officially provided by the Al Hirschfeld foundation for purposes of this deck.
Art, myth, and storytelling have guided spiritual exploration throughout history, and the intersection of technology and spirituality unveils captivating connections between ancient wisdom and contemporary innovation. In this singular tarot deck, author Jennifer Sodini and artist Yoshino delve deep into this intersection, revealing to readers that the common artery through which this wisdom flows is the human imagination—that vast inner landscape of infinite creative potential that is always in dialogue with time and space. Through the thoughtfully designed cards and accessibly written guidebook, The Artist Decoded Tarot has been designed to tap into that conversational reservoir and reveal the artist within each of us, while creating a bridge toward higher Worlds, by fusing the symbolic language of the Tarot and the artistic medium of synthography—or generative AI prompting—paired with digital collage.
Tarot practitioners and novices alike will find a new approach to the cards—one that explores the codes of texts from mystical traditions like Kabbalah, alongside individual artistic prompts tailored to the message of each of the Major and Minor Arcana.
This set includes:
- Deluxe tarot package. Includes 78 cards (3 X 5 inches), full-color guidebook (4 3/4 X 6 inches, 192 pages), inner card box, and magnetic closure keepsake outer box.
- Fully illustrated guidebook. The full-color guidebook includes images of each card, alongside card descriptions and tailored prompts, as well as sample card spreads to guide your practice.
- Foreword by Mitch Horowitz. The guidebook includes an illuminating and contextualizing foreword from PEN award-winning author and thinker Mitch Horowitz.
A note on art creation: The tarot card images in this deck were developed in collaboration between artist and technology. They were created in part by generative AI.
- An inclusive, subversive deck: Trickster’s Journey reimagines the tarot by exploring its themes through the lens of Eastern mysticism, folklore, and spirituality. By renaming the Fool card to Trickster (a character based on the legendary Monkey King in Journey to the West) this archetype of the sojourner takes on new meaning—and new agency—as a seeker of truth and self-discovery. Created by fine artist Jia Sung, this fresh take on the classic figures in the Major and Minor Arcana uses symbols from Buddhism and ancient Chinese history to enliven this age-old divination practice once more.
- Deluxe set: This set includes 78 full-color illustrated tarot cards (3 X 5 inches), shrink wrapped in an interior travel case; a 184-page, full-color illustrated flexibind book (4 3/4 X 6 inches); and a keepsake magnetic closure box. Cards and travel case are embedded in an interior flocked tray.
- Fully illustrated tarot guidebook: The flexibind guidebook provides an illustrated introduction to the tarot, with descriptions of each card and suggested interpretations, as well as instructions for sample readings and a brief history of tarot. Sidebars throughout explain the cultural significance behind certain card renditions and offer additional mystical insight.
- Beautiful, full-color art from Jia Sung: Trickster’s Journey features the artist’s signature watercolor style, a modern homage to the understated yet radical beauty of traditional Chinese painting.
- A perfect gift: This arresting, inclusive, and beautiful tarot deck set is an ideal gift for tarot novices, seasoned readers, and everyone in-between.
A note on packaging: In order to help honor our planet and reduce waste, we have only shrink wrapped the interior tarot cards, rather than the keepsake box. Please feel confident that your product is not defective or used, but rather represents a step we are taking to protect our collective home. When you open your deck, you will find that the actual cards inside the box are shrink wrapped for protection and to ensure first use by the buyer.