Guide

Best Tarot Decks for Beginners: What to Actually Look For

Best tarot deck for beginners searches usually return a list ranked by whoever wrote it, with no real explanation of why one deck is actually easier to learn on than another. There are three specific, checkable traits that make that difference, and once you know them, picking a first deck stops being a guess.

What actually makes a deck beginner-friendly

Three things matter more than art style or price: every one of the 78 cards shows an illustrated scene rather than just repeated symbols, a companion guidebook or app comes with it, and the card stock is a size and finish comfortable to shuffle with your own hands. A gorgeous deck that fails all three will still be harder to learn on than a plain one that has them.

Scenic imagery on every card, not just the 22 Major Arcana
A guidebook, booklet or companion app included
Card size and stock you can actually shuffle comfortably

Why illustrated minor arcana cards matter so much

Before 1909, almost every tarot deck left the 40 minor arcana cards as plain repeated symbols, the same way a regular playing-card deck shows "7 of Hearts" as seven hearts and nothing else. The Rider-Waite-Smith deck was the first widely published deck to illustrate every single minor arcana card with its own small scene. That single change is why it became the reference point for how tarot is taught, and why almost every modern "beginner" deck, whatever its art style, still keeps a scene on every card rather than reverting to plain pips.

Well-known decks that keep that structure

The original Rider-Waite-Smith deck itself is still one of the most straightforward starting points, since its symbolism is the one most books, apps and other decks are written to match. Decks like the Wild Unknown Tarot and Light Seer's Tarot keep the same one-scene-per-card structure with different, more contemporary art, so meanings learned from any RWS-based source still transfer directly. Modern Witch Tarot does the same with modern figures replacing the traditional ones, while keeping each card's scene recognisable.

Decks worth waiting on as a first deck

Pip-only decks such as Thoth-style or Marseille-style tarot drop the illustrated minor arcana scenes and go back to repeated symbols with numerology and astrology layered on top. They are not lesser decks, and many experienced readers prefer them, but they ask you to memorize meanings from a table rather than read a picture, which is a harder starting point. They tend to work better as a deliberate second deck, once the standard 78-card structure already feels familiar.

Once you actually have a deck

Reading a scene-based deck is mostly about noticing what is different from the "standard" version of that card: which way a figure faces, what they are holding, whether the sky is clear or stormy. A three-card spread is the easiest place to start applying that. This site has a full guide to doing exactly that, and to reading the spreads themselves.

Frequently asked questions

Do I need the "correct" or traditional deck to start?

No. Any deck that keeps a scene on every card, not just the Major Arcana, will teach you the same underlying system — the Rider-Waite-Smith deck is simply the most widely referenced one, so books and guides match it most directly.

Is a physical deck better than a tarot app for learning?

Physically shuffling and laying out cards is traditionally recommended for beginners because it forces a real pause and a real choice, which most apps automate away — though an app is a reasonable way to try the system out before buying a physical deck.

How many cards should I learn first?

Most guides suggest starting with the 22 Major Arcana, since they cover the biggest, most recognisable themes, then adding the four minor arcana suits once those feel familiar.

Does deck size or card stock actually matter?

Yes for a beginner specifically — a deck too large or too stiff to shuffle comfortably in your own hands gets used less often, and consistent practice matters more early on than any single feature of the deck.

Astrology, tarot, numerology and related practices are offered for reflection and entertainment and are not medical, legal or financial advice.