Best Tarot Decks for beginners and Tarot experts

All these beautiful tarot decks can be used for divination, but each of these decks is also a unique artifact and a wonderful piece of artwork.

Which Tarot card deck to buy in 2023?

On the web, you can find plenty of recommendations like “Top 10 Tarot Decks for Beginners”, "The 20 Tarot Decks You Can Buy Online" and “Best Tarot Decks 2023”. These are lists of popular decks, bestsellers, often combined by an incomprehensible criterion. Now I want to share my thoughts on those best decks that I personally prefer. This is a subjective choice based on my personal aesthetic preferences and the ideas I admired.

All these cards can be used for fortune-telling by both a beginner and a professional tarot reader. But each of these beautiful tarot decks is also a worthy artifact and a finished work of art. These unique decks are based on old traditions, but many represent a new vision of the Tarot.  They mix classical imagery with modern trends, combine cultural, philosophical and occult knowledge, and also add feelings and emotions.

Besides, these are just beautiful decks with positive energy.

Next to a brief description of each deck, you will find a link to a full review with photos and a link to Amazon to buy.

Smith-Waite Tarot Centennial Edition

Smith-Waite Tarot Centennial Edition

This is not a new tarot deck, but in my opinion, it is the best edition of the classic Rider-Waite deck. This beautiful deck was released to commemorate the centenary of the most popular tarot of our time. In this deck, we see the cards as they were drawn by Pamela Colman-Smith.  All this gives the impression that you are holding in your hands a truly authentic deck of Tarot cards, which is more than a hundred years old. The centennial edition pays tribute to the artist, so her name is mentioned in the title along with Arthur Waite.  It is thanks to her that we got these memorable images that have become Tarot classics.    Read more
Tarot of Mystical Moments

Tarot of Mystical Moments

Tarot of Mystical Moments was created by the talented German artist and illustrator Catrin Welz-Stein. Her arts are made in the technique of collage and are full of vivid images as if they came from dreams and fantasies. 
These cards are fabulous and mysterious. They don't reveal their meaning right away. It takes time to think about their images, the sensations they evoke, and your own feelings.    Read more
White Numen Tarot

White Numen Tarot

White Numen Tarot takes us back to the origins of religious feelings, to the image of Numen - a mysterious powerful animal that coexists with humans. This deck was created by the talented young artist Alba Ballesta González. 
Her vivid painterly style is recognizable, distinctive and modern: here are smooth clear lines, delightful color shades, characteristic facial features, and the shape of the characters' eyes.
In addition to its vivid pictorial form, the White Numen Tarot deck carries an interesting philosophical idea. Alba took the work of the Spanish philosopher Gustavo Bueno as the basis for this concept. He studied the history of the manifestation of religious feelings among ancient people of the Paleolithic era and the connection of these feelings with attitudes towards animals.   Read more
Light Seer's Tarot

Light Seer's Tarot

Light Seer's Tarot is a deck performed in a vibrant modern graphic style but based on the classic Rider-Waite Tarot. Colors, composition, visual style – everything is perfect in these cards. The characters on the cards are contemporary people with anxieties and joys that we understand. Each card has its own story that you can analyze and empathize with. 
The main concept of the deck is the opposition and interaction of light and darkness. Drawings are filled with sunlight and shadows. This chemistry should be balanced in human nature. Light Seer's Tarot exudes harmony and positivity. It is very popular and fits perfectly for beginners.    Read more
Tarot of the Divine

Tarot of the Divine

Tarot of the Divine can be called a real encyclopedia of fairy tales and magic stories. These are children's fairy tales known to everyone, and legendary heroes of the epos, and small magic stories from all parts of the globe. 
The idea of linking fairy-tale folklore and the Tarot is very interesting. These phenomena have a lot in common. Legends and fairy tales are the concentration of the wisdom of our ancestors. This is a collection of symbols and archetypes, ideas about the world, about good and evil. Each local story has its own national flavor, but many of them have common motifs and similar plots. Myths and legends are passed down from generation to generation and unite different cultures and peoples around the world.   Read more
Everyday Witch Tarot

Everyday Witch Tarot

The Everyday Witch Tarot deck is filled with humor and optimism, but it is also a great tool for every Tarot practitioner. This deck is easy to understand, especially for beginners. 
These cute and jolly cards are full of witchy stuff, like brooms, hoods, magic wands, pots of potion. And lovely cats are also there!  
The cards are very bright-colored and picturesque. Images resemble illustrations from fairy tales. You want to look at them for a long while and discover funny details on them.   Read more
The Field Tarot deck

The Field Tarot deck

The Field Tarot immediately immerses you in its space, the "field". This is a parallel reality in which Tarot images exist, but it is closely related to our feelings and events. The drawings seem simple, but each image is very accurately drawn, filled with bright textures and harmonious color combinations. It creates a sense of warmth and comfort when we look at the cards. There are no unnecessary details and such minimalism makes our imagination and intuition work.   Read more
The Wild Unknown Tarot

The Wild Unknown Tarot

The main symbolism of the Wild Unknown Tarot is the world of nature. Visit in your imagination its mysterious corners where centuries-old trees grow, wild animals live, birds make nests, snakes crawl and butterflies flutter.
The illustrations are almost monochrome: the main part of each image is made in black and white, but there are special color accents on the cards, indicating what you should pay special attention to.
This deck will become a reliable friend for those who feel a connection with the animal world, who see themselves as part of nature and want to touch the mysteries of the universe.    Read more
Universal Waite Tarot

Universal Waite Tarot

You like the traditional Rider-Waite deck, but its colors seem too dark or out of date? Then you should get acquainted with the Universal Waite Tarot deck - it features classic images of the Rider-Waite Tarot in more contemporary vibrant colors and with a variety of shades.  
In the 1990s, artist Mary Hanson-Roberts painstakingly and carefully recolored the traditional cards created by Pamela Colman Smith. Mary used colored pencils in her work. This technique made it possible to achieve a handmade effect, adding bright colors to the cards, while preserving the authenticity and spirit of the classic deck.
Universal Waite Tarot is published by the U.S. Games Systems. There are versions of the deck in standard size, pocket edition and in a wonderful iron tin.   Read more
Morgan-Greer Tarot Deck

Morgan-Greer Tarot Deck

The Morgan-Greer Tarot deck combines the classic Rider-Waite system with a new visual style. The first thing which makes an impression is the colors – not too bright, but very saturated. Magical color combinations. The main focus is put on the characters, not on the scenery. When the faces are as close as possible, the details take the back seat. Looking at the cards we feel the emotional closeness to these characters. Lacking borders magnify the effect.   Read more
Modern Witch Tarot

Modern Witch Tarot

If you consider yourself as a modern witch then this deck is a real must-have for you! It is a mix of classic Tarot images with elements and symbols of the world around.
Cards are drawn in a simple but in a bright style. They resemble comics or illustrations in a fashion magazine. 
Modern Witch Tarot is a deck for active women seeking to use their own inner strength and intuition.
This deck has made a breakthrough in the development of indie Tarot decks. It showed that Tarot can be bold and modern.   Read more
Cosmic Tarot Deck

Cosmic Tarot Deck

Cosmic Tarot is an extraordinary beautiful tarot deck that will definitely impress everyone. Detailed drawings on the cards are the first thing that grabs the eye. The images are made with ink, fine lines and painted with delicate colors.
All Arcana contain original drawings with a plenty of tiny details that are interesting to understand. Norbert Lösche has mixed modern stuff, retro style and orientalism. With this eclecticism, you can feel the style of the 80s - the time when the deck was created.   Read more
Alchemical Tarot by Robert M. Place

Alchemical Tarot by Robert M. Place

Medieval alchemy had a great influence on the development of not only many occult movements but also a number of modern scientific and philosophical disciplines. The connection between alchemy and Tarot symbolism was traced earlier. But the first person who clearly connected the symbolic images of alchemy with the Tarot Arcana was a famous American artist and Tarot researcher Robert M. Place. 
The drawings on this Tarot deck are made in the style of alchemical engravings of the XVII century. I really love this visual style. I think this is how a classic Tarot deck should look like.   Read more
Wildwood Tarot Deck

Wildwood Tarot Deck

A central theme of the Wildwood Tarot is the interconnection of humans with the wild, with animals, and with the calendar cycle. Each card in this deck is a stunning picture filled with herbal scents, rustle of leaves, and field breeze.
Philosophy of the deck is based on the Wheel of the Year symbol, on ancient traditions, and legends of forest spirits.
The deck has its own interpretation system, although structurally it is close to the Rider-Waite deck. It may not be easy to work with these cards, and you may need time to learn. But it's worth it. Many owners of this Tarot deck note its strong spiritual energy. It reads perfectly and creates a warm positive atmosphere.   Read more

I am delighted with the current flourishing of the Tarot. Earlier it used to be knowledge for the chosen. Individuals who created their own decks or changed something in the Tarot theory could be counted on one hand. The Marseilles Tarot and the Rider-Waite Tarot have been almost single options for years. But today we have a wide choice of cards. Sometimes the choice is too difficult. Now almost everyone can draw their own deck :) In recent decades a lot of really beautiful Tarot card decks have appeared. Creating their own versions, the authors link the classical structure and archetypes of the Tarot with their worldview.

Tarot has ceased to be a dogma with imposed visual images. As a result, each of us can choose the best and unique Tarot deck that matches his/her character, temperament, worldview, and visual preferences.

To be continued...