Tarot Decks for Beginners

A first deck has one job: it has to agree with whatever you read next. These are the tarot decks for beginners we would hand a friend — all of them 78-card sets built on the 1909 illustrations, all of them with a printed guidebook covering the upright and reversed meaning of every card, $34.99 to $59.99. You can read on the first evening without buying a book first.

The one thing that matters, and the three that do not

Matters: the illustrations. Almost every tarot book, course and free meaning page in English describes the 1909 pictures, in which all 78 cards — including the numbered suit cards — carry a full painted scene. Buy a deck based on them and the Three of Swords you are looking at is the Three of Swords the guide is describing. Buy an art deck that reinvents the suits and half of what you read will not fit the card in your hand. That is the single most common reason a first deck gets abandoned.

Does not matter nearly as much as people think: whether the deck was a gift (it does not need to be — we answered that at length in do you have to be gifted a tarot deck); whether it is “cleansed” before first use; and the price above about $35.00. A $34.99 deck with the right pictures will teach you more than a $90.00 art deck with the wrong ones.

What to do in the first week

1. Read the guidebook’s entry for one card a day, in order, starting at The Fool. Twenty-two days gets you the Major Arcana.
2. Pull one card each morning and write one sentence about it before you look it up. Compare afterwards. This is the whole method.
3. Find your own two cards with the tarot birth card calculator — it is the fastest way to make the Major Arcana feel like yours rather than a list.
4. When you want a second opinion on a card, our free guide to all 78 card meanings covers upright and reversed, and how to read tarot cards walks through a first three-card spread.

The decks

Gold Rainbow Foil Tarot Cards — 1909 Classic Art

The 1909 Pamela Colman Smith illustrations with gold rainbow foil on the linework, under anti-scratch lamination. Almost every tarot book and beginner course in English is written around these pictures, so whatever you read about a card describes the card in your hand. For a first deck this is the one we recommend most often. $34.99 for the deck and its printed guidebook; up to $59.99 for the set with the box, the reading cloth and the velvet bag.

Borderless Vintage Tarot Cards — Light Edition, 1909 Classic Art

The 1909 artwork printed without white borders, so the image runs to the edge of the card, on eco-linen-textured stock. The closest thing we make to looking at the original plates. $34.99 for the deck and its printed guidebook; up to $59.99 for the set with the box, the reading cloth and the velvet bag.

Holographic Crystal Foil Tarot Cards — 1909 Classic Art

A full diffraction layer across the whole card face, so colour moves across the spread as you lean over it. The strongest visual effect we print, over the 1909 illustrations. $34.99 for the deck and its printed guidebook; up to $59.99 for the set with the box, the reading cloth and the velvet bag.

Moon Magic Tarot Cards

A muted palette on eco-linen stock, no shine at all. Built for slow readings — the deck our own readers reach for when the question is heavy. $34.99 for the deck and its printed guidebook; up to $59.99 for the set with the box, the reading cloth and the velvet bag.

Pink Moon Tarot Cards Plastic lamination

Plastic-laminated with a pink pearl finish — as durable as any deck we make and far gentler in tone. The one most often bought as a first deck. $34.99 for the deck and its printed guidebook; up to $59.99 for the set with the box, the reading cloth and the velvet bag.

Decks with the meanings printed on the cards

There is a shortcut that removes the booklet entirely: a deck that prints the card’s name, its core meaning, four upright keywords, four reversed keywords and a question to ask — on the card itself. We make two, and they are stocked for Europe and the UK rather than the United States: the German learning deck with meanings on every card and the French learning deck. An English edition does not exist yet; if that is what you came for, the printed guidebook in every box above is the nearest thing we have today.

What is in every box

Every deck on this page is a full 78-card tarot deck — 22 Major Arcana and four suits of 14 — printed by us, not resold. Every order includes a printed guidebook with the upright and reversed meaning of all 78 cards, so you can read on the first evening without buying a book first. The larger options add a rigid card box, a cotton reading cloth, a velvet bag, or all three; the option list on each deck's own page shows exactly what each one contains before you pay.

Shipping and returns

• Shipping inside the United States is free on orders over $59. Below that it is $4.90, shown at checkout before you pay.
• US orders ship from our Florida and Pennsylvania warehouses; most arrive in 5 to 7 business days.
• 14 days to return a deck, counted from the day it reaches you. Return shipping is paid by you unless the deck is faulty or we sent the wrong one.
• Full terms: shipping policy and refund policy.

Frequently asked questions

What is the best tarot deck for a complete beginner?

A 78-card deck using the 1909 illustrations, with a printed guidebook. On this page that is the Gold Rainbow Foil or the Borderless Vintage Light Edition, both from $34.99. Anything you read next will describe the cards you are holding.

Do I need a book as well?

No. Every option in every box here includes a printed guidebook with upright and reversed meanings for all 78 cards. Our free online card meanings guide covers the same ground if you prefer to read on a phone.

Is it true you should be given your first deck?

No. It is a 20th-century superstition, not a rule of the tradition, and buying your own deck is how most readers start. The history is in this article.

How many cards should a beginner deck have?

78 — twenty-two Major Arcana and four suits of fourteen. Smaller decks and oracle decks are different instruments with no shared meanings, so a beginner guide will not match them.

Which is better for a beginner: plastic or card stock?

Card stock feels better and is fine on a table at home. Plastic-laminated survives being carried, spilled on and handled by other people. If the deck will live in a bag, take a laminated one from plastic tarot cards.

Can I get a beginner deck as a gift set?

Yes — the Beginner Set and Gift Set options on each deck add the rigid box, the cotton reading cloth and the velvet bag, $49.99 to $59.99. Free US shipping starts at $59.