Beginner-Friendly Tarot Decks and What Makes Them Easy to Read
"Beginner-friendly" gets used loosely. Sometimes it means the artwork is pretty. Sometimes it means the box says so. Neither tells you whether you will be able to read with the deck next week.
Here are the criteria that actually predict it, followed by six decks from our range that meet them - with the honest limitations of each, because every deck trades something away.
What makes a deck easy to read
Fully illustrated minor arcana
Fifty-six of the 78 cards are minor arcana. If those cards show only repeated suit symbols - five cups in a row, eight swords in a pattern - you have nothing to read until you have memorised the meanings. If they show a scene with figures and a situation, you can describe what you see and be most of the way there.
This single feature separates decks you can learn on from decks you learn then use.
Symbolism that matches the books
Almost every tarot book, video and app in English is written against Rider-Waite imagery. A deck that follows those conventions lets you use all of it. A deck that reinvents them cuts you off from most of it until you know enough to translate.
A guidebook you can actually learn from
Most decks ship with a folded leaflet: a few keywords per card. That is a reference, not a teacher. A deck packaged with a real book, or bought alongside one, removes the most common beginner stall - looking at a card, feeling nothing, and having nowhere to go.
Cards you can handle
Standard tarot cards are around 7 x 12 cm, which is a lot bigger than playing cards, and 78 of them make a thick stack. If your hands are small or shuffling is uncomfortable, that matters more than any design decision.
Six decks that meet the criteria
Rider-Waite Tarot
The Rider-Waite Tarot is the deck the rest of this list is measured against. Pamela Colman Smith's 1909 illustrations gave the minor arcana full scenes for the first time, and the visual language she created is the one modern tarot still speaks. Cards are 7 x 12.1 cm.
Why it works: total compatibility with every book, course and app you will ever open.
Limitation: the art is over a century old and reads as flat or cold to some people. If you dislike it, you will not use it, and a deck you avoid teaches you nothing.
Easy Tarot (deck and book)
Easy Tarot pairs Josephine Ellershaw's teaching book with Ciro Marchetti's richly coloured digital artwork, structured to follow Rider-Waite conventions closely.
Why it works: the book is the real product here. It teaches reading rather than listing keywords, which is exactly the gap most beginners fall into.
Limitation: the set is bulkier than a deck alone, so it lives at home rather than in a bag.
Robin Wood Tarot
The Robin Wood Tarot keeps Rider-Waite structure but redraws it with warm colour, natural landscapes and expressive faces.
Why it works: the most common complaint about Rider-Waite is that it feels cold. This deck answers that complaint without breaking compatibility.
Limitation: a handful of cards depart from Rider-Waite convention, so occasionally a book description will not quite match the image in front of you.
Your First Tarot Reading Kit
The Your First Tarot Reading Kit bundles a deck with the supporting pieces most people end up buying separately in their first month.
Why it works: one decision instead of five, and nothing missing on day one. It is also the easiest thing on this list to give as a gift.
Limitation: a bundle only saves money if you wanted each piece. Check the contents against what you already own.
Celestial Tarot
Celestial Tarot by Kay Steventon and Brian Clark maps the tarot onto astrology and the Greek myths behind the constellations. Cards are 7 x 12.1 cm.
Why it works: if you already think in signs and planets, the correspondences give you a second route into every card - you are not starting from nothing.
Limitation: if you do not know astrology, that second route is closed and the deck is simply harder than a plain Rider-Waite clone.
Giant Rider-Waite Tarot
The Giant Rider-Waite is the same artwork at roughly 10.2 x 16.5 cm per card.
Why it works: beginners are constantly told to describe what they see. This deck makes that dramatically easier, and it is the most accessible option for anyone with low vision.
Limitation: you cannot shuffle it comfortably in the hands and you will not carry it anywhere. It is a table deck.
Quick recommendation table
| Deck | Guidebook | Best for | Main trade-off |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rider-Waite | Leaflet | Learning from books | Dated artwork |
| Easy Tarot | Full book | Learning from scratch | Bulky set |
| Robin Wood | Leaflet | Warmer art, same system | A few non-standard cards |
| Your First Tarot Reading Kit | Included | One-purchase start, gifts | May duplicate what you own |
| Celestial Tarot | Booklet | Readers who know astrology | Harder without it |
| Giant Rider-Waite | Leaflet | Table study, visibility | Not portable or hand-shuffled |
Decks to come back to later
The Crowley Thoth Tarot, the Hermetic Tarot and Notoria: Tarot in Light are all excellent decks and all poor first decks. Thoth and Hermetic assume you want to study a complete esoteric system; Notoria replaces narrative scenes with light and geometry. Buy them second, when you have something to compare them against.
Frequently asked questions
How long until I can read?
A useful three-card reading within a week is realistic if you pull a card daily and write one line about it. Fluency across all 78 takes months. The daily habit matters more than the deck.
Do I need a book if my deck has a leaflet?
Not strictly - there are good free resources - but a leaflet alone leaves most beginners stuck. Either buy a deck-and-book set or pick up a book alongside your deck.
Is it bad to start with a deck I just find beautiful?
No, as long as the minor arcana are fully illustrated. Enthusiasm is worth more than theoretical suitability, because the deck you enjoy is the deck you practise with.
Should I buy two decks at once?
Better not to. Learning one deck well builds the vocabulary that makes every later deck easier. Two at once tends to mean neither gets used properly.
Where to start
If you like the classic artwork, buy the Rider-Waite Tarot. If you do not, buy Easy Tarot. Then read how to choose your first tarot deck for the full set of criteria, and browse the tarot deck range to compare artwork.