A little while ago, sometime late month, I posted a picture on Instagram and Facebook showing where I store all my tarot and oracle decks. Did you miss it? Here it is…
Guys, I mean business. :smiley:
I have been collecting decks for over two decades…and despite the over 100 decks I have now I gave away a huge box of them last year. But these are the keepers and the new ones since then.
So I got a lot of questions, especially on Facebook, about what is my favorite deck. The thing is, I don’t have just one.
I mean look at this!! How could you have just one favor ire with all those decks?!
So what I did was put together a list of my Top 10 decks, but then I realized that many of them were actually in my recent run down of luxe tarot decks. You can check that post out here and find a few of my all time favorites:
The Wild Unknown
The Bonefire Tarot
The Bohemian Gothic Tarot
The Dreaming Way Tarot
So I have 5 other decks that I love that I’m going to share in no particular order.
My {other} Top 5 Fave Decks
The Radiant Waite
I love having a Rider Waite deck to read with on hand all the time. When I read for some of my clients they want to traditional tarot experience which means reading with a Rider Waite deck. I still have my first Rider Waite deck my grandmother bought me when I was 10 but I don’t use anymore, mainly because I’m not a fan of the harshness of the art. This is also way so many “Rider Waite clones” exist. They all use nearly identical art but shift it slightly. In the cause of the Radiant Waite the art is made brighter and the lines softened. Overall the deck is just more inviting to use.
The Gaian Tarot
Back in 2011 I purchased the 4×6 limited edition version of the deck that Joanna Powell Colbert published. This was before Llewellyn mass produced it. Joanna had already published a set of the major arcana cards but this time she put out the whole 78 card deck and I had to have it. It’s a beautiful deck, rooted in earth and elemental energy, and it’s one of the most magical and spiritual decks I’ve ever used. When I know I want calming but honest readings for myself or a client I know this deck will deliver.
The Llewellyn Tarot
I’m a big fan of Celtic and Welsh mythology and this deck does a beautiful job of pulling together the stories of the Welsh myths with tarot wisdom in a fun and truly beautiful way. I was mainly drawn to the art when I decided to get the deck, but after taking time to begin connecting to the cards I found myself called to go deeper with them and learn about the myths, including revisiting the ones I was familiar with, so I could read with these cards on a whole other level. The art really pulls you in if you’re an intuitive reader…just layers of messages for days in these cards. I haven’t used them much in the last few years but they will always have a very special place in my heart.
The DruidCraft Tarot
I fell in love with this deck when I saw it online and was quickly sucked into it when I received my own deck. It’s another deck full of Celtic beauty but rather than focusing on mythology it connects more with the elements and nature as well as sticking pretty close to the Rider Waite images and vibe. One reason I love this deck is that the cards are 4×6 which makes them great for meditation and magical work too. This is another deck with lots of layers to the images and lots to look at and think about when you’re in there.
The Legacy of the Divine
This was the second deck I had from Ciro Marchetti and it’s my favorite out of all the time. The art is digital, which I know not everyone loves, but the colors and depth to the images is so wonderful. I had seen the High Priestess card for this deck on a website and instantly knew I was going to fall in love. One of the things I most like about this deck is the heavy use of symbolism as it steps away from but not totally out of the ballpark from the Rider Waite imagery. It definitely creates room for you to dive in and find your own meanings but does so in a way that makes you think a bit.
What are some of your favorite decks?
These were just my fave tarot decks…you all know I love to work with oracle cards too! So some day soon I’ll do a run down of some of my favorite oracle cards. :+1:
Don’t forget…get on Periscope to hang out for free readings every weekday!
I’ve been reading Tarot for people for the last 12 years, and I only have 3 decks 😀
Hi Jess,
What deck do you recommend for always raising ones vibration?
Sometimes I can’t handle the ominous undertones of the archetypal decks. Sometimes I need to hear how I can transcend my humanity with cosmic Truth.
Make sense?
My favorite deck is the Mythic Tarot with book by Liz Greene.
Amazing book has rich language rooted in archetypal understanding that encourages self-reflection, personal responsibility and growth.
Thanks for the great post!
Hi Angelle,
Its funny to me {just personally} that your fave is the Mythic Tarot but you find other decks kind of ominous. I actually can’t stand the Mythic Tarot and gave mine away. I found the very Roman army/Christian/Inquisition feel of most of the cards unnerving. That just goes to show you it’s all about personal preference, taste, and association with the images. I love the Rider Waite for instance but I know tons of people hate it because they find it too dark. I guess that’s why we have so many decks out in the world. 🙂
If you’re looking for a sort of lighter tarot deck, Colette Baron-Reid just released on called The Good Tarot that I feel would do this well. I also think the Gaian Tarot and the The Luminia Tarot are good, lighter decks, so to speak. The thing is that the messages remain the same even though the cards may look differently. That’s just tarot. You may want to consider adding in oracle or angel cards to your work if you don’t use them already. I feel like for people that find the heaviness of the tarot a bit too much, oracle cards are a better option for most of their readings. It’s still good to have that tarot deck handy, but you may find that oracle cards just feel better for you.