Tarot Decks
While there are thousands of tarot decks available today, three historical decks form the foundation of modern tarot practice.
Rider-Waite-Smith
1909 · A.E. Waite & Pamela Colman Smith
The most iconic and widely used tarot deck in the English-speaking world. Its richly illustrated pip cards (Minor Arcana) set a new standard for tarot imagery and made the deck accessible for intuitive reading.
Virtually all modern tarot decks draw inspiration from the Rider-Waite-Smith imagery. Its scenes and symbols have become the universal visual language of tarot.
Thoth Tarot
1969 · Aleister Crowley & Lady Frieda Harris
A deeply esoteric deck infused with Crowley's knowledge of Kabbalah, astrology, and ceremonial magic. The paintings are visually striking and loaded with occult symbolism.
Considered one of the most intellectually complex tarot decks ever created. Favored by practitioners who want deep astrological and Kabbalistic correspondences.
Tarot de Marseille
c. 1700s · Traditional (various publishers)
One of the oldest standardized tarot patterns, originating in southern France. The Minor Arcana are unillustrated pip cards (like playing cards), while the Major Arcana feature bold, woodcut-style imagery.
The ancestral deck from which most modern tarot traditions descend. Essential for understanding tarot's historical roots and the tradition of reading with unillustrated pips.