Everyday Tarot

Tarot has been around for centuries, and in that time, thousands of people have drawn their own interpretations of the cards. I don’t pretend that this is a comprehensive list of the most famous Tarot decks in history - just a list of 13 that come to me off the top of my head.

1. The Rider-Waite Deck
   The deck that most people are most familiar with, the Rider-Waite tarot interpretation was drawn by Pamela Colman-Smith, fondly known to her friends and Pixie, from written notes and discussions with Arthur Edward Waite. The Rider-Waite tarot is full of symbols relating to the Knights Templar, the Golden Dawn and early Gnostic Christianity.
2. Marseilles Tarot
   The Tarot de Marseilles is popularly believed to be based on French designs dating back to the 15th century - which in turn were probably based on designs from Northern Italy. The Marseilles deck was mentioned by Papus, a French occultist, in his book Tarot des bohemiens. The Marseilles imagery is strongly Christian, and includes the cards La Papesse and Le Papee - The Female Pope and The Pope - in place of the High Priestess and the Hierophant.
3. Eteilla Tarot and other Tarot decks in the Eteilla tradition were the first to claim an origin in Ancient Egypt.
4. Crowley Thoth Tarot was first published in 1969 and has remained one of the most popular Tarot decks of all time. The images drawn by Lady Freida Harris are arresting, so packed full of symbolism that they can easily overwhelm a novice reader. Frankly, I think the cards are gorgeous - but find it really difficult to read with them.
5. Visconti-Sforza Tarot is the oldest surviving Tarot deck, with 74 of the 78 cards still in existence. There have been several reproduction versions released, and the popular Scapini deck is based on them.
6. Morgan-Greer Tarot was one of my first decks. It’s drawn in the Rider-Waite tradition, but has a very different feel to it. The colors are bright, vibrant and clear, and the borderless design is striking. The cards also are a comfortable size and very easy to shuffle, making them a great deck for Tarot beginners.
7. Aquarian Tarot was published in 1970 and drawn by graphic artist David Palladini. Imagine Art Deco crashing headlong into the Rider-Waite symbolism and you have an idea of what the Aquarian Tarot is like. The colors in the deck are muted, to the point that some have called them melancholy. The cards follow the traditions of the Rider-Waite deck.
8. Motherpeace Tarot holds a very special place in Tarot history - it is both the first round deck, and the first Tarot that leans heavily toward feminist/Goddess tradition. It also is the first published Tarot that assigned each of the Minor Arcana suits to a specific cultural tradition.
9. Gendron Tarot is a Christian-influenced interpretation of Tarot in the Ride-Waite tradition.
10. Witches’ Tarot was published in 1992, and beautifully blends Pagan and Wiccan tradition in darkly vibrant, borderless cards. Absolutely beautiful deck!
11. Hanson-Roberts Tarot Deck is one of my personal favorites. The Hanson-Roberts deck is an ideal deck for public readings, with light, bright illustrations and youthful, almost cherubic figures in most of the cards.
12. Salvador Dali Tarot was drawn by - yes, the artist himself. It defies description. Back when I was collecting decks at the rate of one a week (each paycheck, yep), I eagerly awaited the publication of the Dali deck - which was completely out of my price range at $78 - back in 1985. (They were published in Spain in 1984 when Dali was 80 years old.). Today, the Dali deck goes for about $100 - still outside my price range for a deck of Tarot cards.
13. Tarot of the Old Path is a deck drawn in the Rider-Waite tradition with Pagan/Wiccan leanings. The cards are borderless and easy to shuffle - very flexible card stock - and the colors bright and light. The borderless cards are painted on a white background, and somehow the illustrations almost seem to float off the card. It’s one of my two regular reading Tarot decks.

If you liked this list, be sure to drop by Thursday 13 to see who else is participating and grab the code for yourself.

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