Everyone told me to get Rider-Waite as my first deck, but honestly? It felt like reading a textbook. Ended up with Modern Witch Tarot instead, exact same symbolism, but the contemporary imagery actually made sense to me. Like, seeing the Queen of Pentacles as a businesswoman with her laptop clicked way faster than trying to decode medieval symbols.
Now I tell newbies to pick whatever art style speaks to them, as long as it follows RWS structure.
The “best tarot deck for beginners” is the one you’ll actuallyuse. My friend started with Wild Unknown (supposedly “too abstract” for beginners) and reads circles around me now.
What was your first deck and did you stick with it?
Deepen Your Tarot Practice Beyond the Cards
Finding meaningful tarot discussions and authentic guidance can be surprisingly difficult. Discover a space where your questions are welcomed and your intuitive growth is celebrated: Start Your Journey
There are absolutely no rules to this. None that you should really worry about at least. Some decks are definitely easier to get into, but I’ll say (as I’m sure plenty of others will) that you should go with the deck that suits you the most.
Your best bet would be to look at these lists and see which one speaks to you.
You get the deck (of course), a pouch and a booklet, but the cards themselves also have the basic meanings (including the reversed, which is really helpful for beginners).
People tend to stick with their first deck when they let their intuition guide them. Last week during the waxing crescent, I watched three new folks in a shop drawn to different styles, yet all seemed more excited than those specifically looking for RWS.
The Radiant Wise Spirit is my go-to recommendation now. It maintains the traditional structure but with a bit more flexibility. The new moon might be making people more open to trusting their gut rather than following the ‘rules.’ Your pick of the Modern Witch deck illustrates this perfectly-when the imagery connects, learning just flows.
I started with a tarot app. Kinda surprised nobody’s brought up digital decks yet for beginners. You don’t have to spend anything and can practice as much as you want. Plus, you get to try out a bunch of different decks before you buy actual cards.
My first deck was a $6 fake RWS from amazon. The cardstock was super thin, and the colors were all wrong, but whatever, I used it for years, and it read fine. I buy nicer decks now, but that cheap one got me started.
Also check library book sales - got a perfect Thoth deck for literally $3. and if you’re really broke, some publishers put free pdfs online you can print
Been reading about tarot history - turns out they were just playing cards in medieval Europe before all the divination stuff. Makes me think we overthink deck choices way too much.
Like, these were literally just for games back then.
Rider Waite is pretty much the standard deck everyone starts with.
Makes sense since basically every book uses those images. When I started, I just pulled a card each day with my coffee. Didn’t spend long on it, maybe 5 minutes tops. But it helped me learn the cards without feeling like homework. The nice thing is there’s so much info out there on this deck.
If you don’t get a card, just google it and you’ll find a million different takes.
When I first saw pre-1910 tarot decks, I couldn’t believe how basic they were. The 9 of Cups? Just nine cup symbols on a card. That’s it.
RWS was smart though, they made every card into a scene with characters and environments. You get something to connect with instead of just counting objects. Makes sense why Modern Witch worked for you. Same with Wild Unknown, it still tells a story even without literal people on the cards.
In Italy, they mostly use the Tarot of Marseille for readings, which makes sense since that’s where tarot cards started. The Marseille deck is pretty different from the RWS decks most people learn on.
It’s based on the older traditions and can give you a better sense of tarot’s actual history.
Many beginners start with non-RWS decks that they’re drawn to visually. Then they often pick up RWS later after they’re comfortable with the basics. It’s a decent learning path since you’re not struggling with imagery that doesn’t resonate.
Wildwood Tarot comes up a lot as a first deck for people who don’t vibe with RWS. Modern Witch is a solid choice. The contemporary imagery helps with understanding the card meanings.
The deck that works best is the one that feels natural to you.
I’ve tried bringing different ones to gatherings and some just click better. for beginners, rider waite smith makes sense, most learning materials use it so there’s lots of resources. I bring mine to events sometimes since the imagery is familiar to people. that said, if you’re drawn to something else, go with that. seen plenty of good readings done with unusual decks in all kinds of settings
I wonder if we’re overthinking the whole RWS structure requirement, some of my most important readings came from oracle decks that threw traditional symbolism out the window entirely, forcing me to develop intuition without the safety net of established meanings.
Non-traditional decks can actually accelerate intuitive development precisely because you can’t fall back on memorized interpretations. Maybe the absolute beginner’s advantage is starting fresh without any preconceived symbol systems, then coming to RWS later with already-developed intuitive muscles?
All the tarot resources basically use the same references to that classic imagery. So even if you’re using a deck like Modern Witch or Wild Unknown, you can still follow most guidebooks since they’re all built on that same foundation.
Honestly, picking your first deck is pretty personal.
Everyone says to start with Rider-Waite, and yeah, there are some nice versions of it. But if another deck grabs your attention, just get that one instead.
You need to actually like looking at the cards or you won’t want to practice. That needs said more often.
I’ve seen people struggle with ‘beginner-friendly’ decks they didn’t connect with, then take off once they found something that clicked. You’ll probably buy more decks later anyway, most of us do.
I went through the same thing, starting with a pretty indie deck and kept getting confused by conflicting interpretations online. RWS clicked for me once I realized the symbols stay consistent across different resources.
Makes learning much easier when everyone’s working from the same imagery. These days I collect artistic decks for myself but tell beginners to start with something RWS-based.
But when you’re starting out, having a deck that matches what’s in the books really helps. I learned this the hard way. My first deck was this gorgeous abstract thing, and I spent more time trying to figure out how it connected to what I was studying than actually learning tarot.
RWS-based decks just make sense for beginners since that’s what 90% of resources reference.
So I got this deck with modern imagery and ended up using it in a way I didn’t expect at all. Instead of doing regular spreads, I’ve been pulling cards specifically to help with my painting.
I lay them out based on colors and patterns, then use those arrangements as inspiration for my artwork. It has evolved into a distinct practice from tarot reading. Been thinking about making specific spreads just for this creative process, though I’m not sure if that defeats the purpose of keeping it spontaneous.
