Finally caved and bought those anime tarot cards everyone’s posting about. Thought it would be too cutesy (and I don’t normally like that) but… the High Priestess as a magical girl actually works… somehow. It makes the mystical feminine energy more accessible. The Death card with the cherry blossom transformation scene stands out harder than any skeleton ever did.
Three readings in, and these bright colors and expressive faces are pulling stuff out of me that my serious medieval decks never touched. Makes me wonder if we’ve been gatekeeping ourselves with all the “proper” tarot aesthetics. Anyone else surprised by how well anime tarot cards actually read? What decks do you like?
I wonder if decks like this might make the Tarot more accesible for some people, maybe younger people?
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I was literally just reading the tarot card rules thread and % I think sometimes people take the cards too seriously.
We should respect the Tarot, but that doesn’t mean we have to hold traditional artwork in some kind of reverence for no particular reason. I have a couple of anime-themed decks personally.
Mystal Manga
Traditional deck but with a general manga theme. Some are fairly obvious what they’re loosely based on, but you don’t need to know any of the shows or anything, and the box has a guidebook which is pretty standard.
The customization thing with anime decks is interesting. It’s kind of like how gaming lets you change skins and stuff, you’re not stuck with just one look. Having characters with actual expressions and modern situations makes the cards feel less like some old artifact you have to treat super carefully. When you find a deck that works for you, the whole practice feels more personal instead of like you’re just borrowing something from the past.
I’ve been using this deck for a few weeks now and I’m really into it. The artwork caught my eye first, there’s so much detail in each card. Every time I go through them I notice something new. It reminds me of my go-to deck in how the symbols just make sense without having to think too hard about them. The card quality is good too, they shuffle nicely.
Hold on. The Death card = getting isekai’d into a new character arc? Never thought about it that way.
I’ve been hoarding Death cards from different decks (yeah I’m that person) and you’re telling me I’ve just been collecting fancy transformation tickets this whole time?
So I tried reading with my anime deck at the coffee shop yesterday and this older guy asked if I was playing Yu-Gi-Oh. I wanted to crawl under the table.
After I explained it was tarot, he got pretty interested though. Said the anime style made it seem less scary than regular tarot cards. He saw my gothic Deviant Moon deck in my bag and was like ‘yeah that one’s too much for me.’ Now he wants a reading next week. Guess the anime cards worked out after all.
During our youth group series, I decided to bring both my traditional tarot deck and my anime one. The teenagers weren’t really interested in the medieval cards, but the anime deck caught their attention.
One girl saw the Tower card, it showed a failed magical transformation, and said it reminded her of her friend group breaking up last year. First time she’d ever related to that particular card. Guess different art styles work for different people.
There’s nothing wrong with making the Tarot fun and more accessible. That chibi one should be on the unique decks list.
Love how they made The Fool a student with a backpack. Though ngl I stared at that cat familiar for like 10 minutes wondering if it was meant to be the dog from the original card or if they just went full anime with it.
So I’ve been experimenting with using both anime and traditional decks together.
I usually start with basic spreads like the Celtic Cross, but the anime imagery tends to push me toward more story-based readings. The visual style helps with younger querents. They recognize the characters and it makes them more comfortable opening up during sessions. Been working pretty well so far.
The expressive anime art style actually helps me deliver challenging messages more ethically, those bright, hopeful character designs soften difficult truths while the transformation themes remind querents of their own power to change, making readings feel more empowering than fatalistic.
I’ve been looking at anime tarot decks lately and the court cards are pretty different from standard decks. Instead of the usual Knights, Queens, and Kings, they use anime character types. Like the Queen of Swords being a tsundere character, or King of Cups as the protective big brother type. Kind of makes them easier to remember than traditional court cards where they all blur together.
My cousin’s 16 and I thought she’d like learning tarot.
My regular Rider-Waite deck didn’t work at all, though, she said it looked like something from a museum. I remembered I had an anime deck somewhere and figured… why not?
The difference was immediate. Right away. She looked at the Three of Cups and started talking about her friend group. The Star card made sense to her because it reminded her of Sailor Moon or something. She borrowed the deck and now her whole friend group is into it.
They sit around at lunc,h interpreting cards for each other. Kind of funny how the art style made such a difference.
I used to stress about not knowing all the traditional card meanings when I started with an anime deck but if you resonate with the artwork it actually seems to make it easier.
The imagery spoke to me in ways the old-school symbolism never did. My readings became more natural when I stopped forcing myself to see what wasn’t there for me.
That’s funny! It can be so annoying trying to find full card images online. Every listing seems to only show the box or sometimes the Fool and Death if we’re lucky.
As I’m still collecting, I get picky about seeing the whole deck beforehand. You never know if the Minor Arcana will be stunning, but the Majors might not be to my taste. I’ve realized that loving one card like the High Priestess doesn’t guarantee I’ll feel the same about the Three of Cups.
So, I used an anime deck with a friend who didn’t really know much about anime. It was interesting because the images didn’t seem to stick with them, and the reading felt kind of off.
Made me wonder if anime decks have different effects depending on how used to the style someone is. How does visual familiarity affect the connection in a reading, in your opinion?
Having multiple deck styles brings out different things in readings and I like these for heavy emotional themes.
I started collecting themed decks a while back and each one gave me new perspectives. The anime aesthetic might look unserious to traditionalists, but I think that playful vibe helps break through mental blocks.
We get so careful and formal with our tools sometimes. Some of my best insights came when I wasn’t trying to force anything mystical, just letting the images communicate in whatever way made sense at the time.
In Japan, anime is a big part of the culture, so using an anime tarot deck feels right with the country’s unique blend of fantasy and spirituality.
It’s like modern pop culture meeting ancient wisdom. In other places where anime isn’t as common, these decks might be seen more as quirky novelty items rather than serious tools for divination. The cultural context really shapes how they’re received, just like how your rising sign affects how people see your sun sign’s energy.
% I think sometimes people take the cards too seriously.
