Tips on Choosing a New Tarot or Oracle Deck

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Are looking for your first (or fiftieth) tarot deck? Here’s a list of things I like to consider when I'm in the market for a new deck to add to my collection:

  1. Is it modern and diverse?
    • There are a number of new decks out there that feature bigger bodies, LGBTQIA+ relationships, people of color, people with disabilities, and other diverse people who did not have any representation in older decks (such as the traditional RWS). A few tarot decks that I own, which are easily accessible and fit this criteria are: the Modern Love Tarot, the Luna Sol Tarot, the Modern Witch Tarot, the Light Seer’s Tarot, and the Star Spinner Tarot. A couple oracle decks that I would recommend are: the Awakened Soul Oracle, the Goddess Oracle, and the Season of the Witch: Yule Oracle. I buy a ton of decks because I do flip through videos on my YouTube channel. If I don’t love them, they can be rehomed to someone else who will. But when I look at decks I want to keep in my collection to use for my personal readings and for client readings, this is something that usually makes or breaks a deck for me (though there are exceptions - I'm looking at you Mists of Avalon Oracle).
  2. Are the pips illustrated?
    • I will be so excited about a new deck that I've purchased and then I flip through them and the pip cards (Ace through 10) have no scenes on them. They are often just four cups or nine swords. It is SO disappointing. If I am using a deck, I want the imagery to speak to me. I want it to nudge my intuition and help guide me to what the reading has to covey to the querent. I have tried desperately to connect with decks that don’t have illustrated pips and they usually get one or two uses and end up on a shelf they rarely ever leave. A couple of these decks are the Disney Villains Tarot, the Labyrinth Tarot, and the Movie Tarot. I love love LOVE the idea of them, the guidebooks are wonderful, and the Major Arcana hits it out of the park. Then I pull a six of pentacles and just see six coins on the card. Though the basic meaning can still be relevant, I feel zero spark from my intuition. I keep the decks because I love some of the cards and the themes, but they almost never get used for personal or client readings.
  3. Am I drawn to the art style?
    • My tastes are very varied. I love digital collage decks like the Akashic Starchild Tarot and the Magick of You Oracle. I love beautiful painted cards like the Modern Love Tarot. I love the weird style of the Deviant Moon Tarot. I love pretty, fluffy decks like the Crystal Unicorn Tarot. I don’t really have a “type” when it comes to art style, but I know what I don’t like. Many times, it is the color palette that does it in for me. I like a lot of cool toned cards, not harsh yellows or reds (looking at you, traditional RWS). I only have one deck that really goes against that and it’s the Morgan-Greer Tarot in a Tin. I have it because of how similar it is to the traditional RWS, and because of it’s small size, but I don’t honestly find myself reaching for it too often and I know it is because of the colors. I try to make it a point to review flip throughs of decks I plan to purchase (if I’m not pre-ordering them), which helps me to decide if a deck will be worth purchasing or not. 
  4. Is there a guidebook or can one be purchased for the deck?
    • I have so many great decks that don’t have guidebooks and it is so unfortunate. I hate when you don’t have the opportunity to understand what the creator was thinking when they designed the deck. Having a guidebook is so invaluable to connecting with the cards. Sometimes you are able to purchase it separately (like with the Deviant Moon Tarot), and in those cases I highly suggest you do. Having insight into the creator’s idea of each card can help you understand nuances behind certain symbols or choices they made. I think this goes double for oracle decks because they do not have a specific system or meaning for each card like tarot cards do.
  5. Does size matter?
    • I have rather large hands, so a bigger deck isn’t harder for me to work with, but I don’t really like smaller decks. I like the cards to be large so the artwork has detail and I am able to clearly pull meanings from the cards. Smaller decks often fall flat for me in that regard. The standard tarot deck size (or even a bit larger) works well for me. I do have a few more “pocket sized” decks, but I just don’t reach for them as often as I do the larger decks in my collection.

Bonus: Quality Matters — If you are buying one tarot or oracle deck and plan to use it on a regular basis, it is important to make sure that you have sturdy card stock that will stand up to a consistent practice. You can watch videos where they discuss the quality of the card stock (I mention this in all of my videos), so that you aren’t surprised when you get them home and unbox them for yourself.

What items are important to you when you consider purchasing a new deck? Leave me a comment below to let me know.

💜 Charis

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