Most Beautiful Tarot Decks

There are many elements to consider when choosing a tarot deck for personal use. Among other issues, the deck should be a comfortable size for you to handle, its philosophy should be a good fit with your own worldview, and it should come with supplemental materials that fully explain the deck's symbolism and history. But what about the artwork? I firmly believe that you should choose a deck whose imagery and colors you consider beautiful. You will get more frequent use from a deck with images that are visually appealing to you.

The following are my picks for the five most visually beautiful tarot decks. I chose these from among hundreds of commercially available decks. If you are interested in comparing sample cards for yourself, please see the Resources section at the end of this article for a list of websites that show sample cards from various tarot decks.

My personal favorite tarot deck is the Haindl Tarot (by Hermann Haindl, published by US Games). This deck makes reference to the mythology of ancient and native cultures as well as the cycles of nature. The imagery tends to be somewhat somber or dark, and bubbles tend to be a recurring symbol throughout the deck. The court cards show the influence of multiple cultures; for example, the Son of Wands in this deck is represented by Krishna. I am particularly fond of the artwork featured on the Sun, Moon, and Death cards in this deck.

A close second among my favorites is the Golden Tarot (by Kat Black, published by US Games). This deck uses collaged images from the medieval and early Renaissance periods. Although I am generally not drawn to decks that feature the human figure on every card, the Golden Tarot is an exception because of the delicacy and expressiveness of the figures. The collage work is seamless and expertly done. My favorite card is The Magician, which features a gentle-looking male figure surrounded by various animals, reminiscent of Saint Francis. These cards are gold-edged, and many of the cards have a soft golden color incorporated into some feature of the image.

My third choice is another nontraditional deck. The Tarot Mystique, or Mystical Tarot (by Alexander Mourouzi, published in a limited edition but still available online), uses somewhat abstract imagery with a distinct artistic style. Human figures are present in many cards, but very often there is no distinct gender or facial expression, making the figures more universal and open to interpretation. The deck features strong saturated colors that lend power to the imagery. My favorite card in the Tarot Mystique deck is one of the few that do feature a distinctive human face. The Hermit shows a wizened male figure, holding a torch aloft with one hand and brandishing a staff in the other. The lighting of the image is striking, with an eerie glow to the hermit's face because of the torchlight. The hermit's lined face, long white hair and beard, and bony weathered hands show the inherent wisdom of age and experience, true to the hermit archetype. Note: the Tarot Mystique consists of 22 major arcana cards only, so it is not a full traditional 78-card deck.

Fourth place in the Most Beautiful category goes to the Feng Shui Tarot (by Peter and Eileen Connolly, published by US Games). This deck features Chinese iconography with generally untraditional symbolism. Nontraditional symbolism and titles are used in this deck; for example, the Death card is called Transition. The suits are based on the Four Celestial Animals: Black Tortoise, Red Phoenix, White Tiger, and Green Dragon.

Finally, I can't discuss beautiful tarot imagery without including the William Blake Tarot of the Creative Imagination (by Ed Buryn, published by HarperCollins). This deck uses collage images of reproductions of the work of William Blake. It is a full deck of 78 cards.

Honorable mentions go to two decks which are not actually tarot, but oracle decks-meaning that they are not based on the traditional Tarot structure of 78 cards (56 minor arcana and 22 major arcana) but are still intended for divination. The Oracle of the Dreamtime (by Donni Hakanson, published by Body, Mind & Spirit) contains 45 small round cards featuring Australian Aboriginal art. The Shaman Wisdom Deck (published by US Games) is a 65-card oracle deck featuring natural elements such as moons, stones, animals, and directions. Both of these oracle decks are beautifully illustrated and would make a good deck for anyone who is open to using non-Tarot divination deck.