Tarot: The Most Popular Decks – Part 1

As you know, choosing a deck is one of the most delicate, intimate, and enjoyable steps for anyone who wants to use tarot. You need a deck suited to your specific needs.

There are many Tarot decks and although the functioning is the same and the archetypes are always the same, the representation and symbolism is often very different from one deck to another.

Newcomers to the world of Tarot sometimes struggle to understand which deck is best suited to their needs, in order to begin their experience in cartomancy.

In this article, below, we will look at 3 of the most widely used decks ever. We reserve the right to complete the work by presenting other decks in a subsequent article.

Necessary premises on Tarot decks

Let's start by saying that cards are vehicles through which archetypes and energies from afar express themselves. Therefore, even if the graphics are different, there are no differences in strength, ability, or use.

The Tarot deck is essentially one. Different designs offer different sides of the same reality, like different points of view. But reality is the same.

This was especially necessary to say to neophytes and those who are approaching these topics with uncertainty. Since the tool is unique, it is advisable for non-experts to start with simpler decks, less difficult to interpret, and more standard.

Using a deck of this type, in fact, it will be possible to do more basic, less in-depth, but clearer readings that slowly help to develop the fortune teller's skills.

Later on, you can move on to more complex, more multifaceted decks, with more information and detail, which will provide more precise and richer readings.

In addition to purification and consecration, two operations to be carried out before using a new deck, it is important to remember that the deck of cards must be shuffled before each use.

Shuffling the deck should become a transcendental and essential act for the fortune teller. It's a good idea to mark the top of each card so you can recognize its face at a glance.

This is even more important for the so-called “Minor Arcana” since, in some decks especially, it becomes difficult to recognize the direction through the various symmetries.

As you know, each Arcanum has different meanings depending on whether it appears upright or reversed. Here too, it's important to note that there's only one Arcanum, but when laid upright, it evokes a certain set of meanings; when laid down reversed, it symbolizes the "shadow" part of that same Arcanum.

Before spreading the cards, you need to shuffle the deck seven times. Then you need to cut it and arrange the cards into two piles: the cards in the first group will tell you about the present and the current situation, while the second group will provide information on future developments.

Having made these necessary premises, let's move on to analyze the first 3 of the 8 decks we have selected based on their popularity and success among the most expert fortune tellers.

Tarot of Marseille

The Tarot of Marseilles can be considered the most widely used deck of all. It's a true benchmark for all other decks.

Their name comes from the French city that produced them for much of their history. It should be noted, however, that the origin of this deck may be, according to many studies, Lombard.

The Marseille deck is very beautiful, colorful and easy to interpret, its "symbolic endowment" is reduced compared to other decks and it is therefore, usually, the first deck of every fortune teller.

Reading is also simple because the deck is very clear: it displays the symbols in an easily legible and particularly accentuated way.

This allows the novice to immediately identify the meaning of each symbol so that he can reflect on it to obtain the most precise reading possible.

The clever use of particularly bright colors also helps create an immediate association with the four elements: water, earth, fire, and air. This characteristic also allows for a better interpretation of the Minor Arcana.

The Tarot de Marseille is therefore a particularly clear deck, easy to use, quite aesthetically pleasing and with an important history behind it: it is not for nothing that it is the most used deck ever.

Rider-Waite Tarot

The Rider-Waite Tarot, like the Marseille Tarot, is among the most popular among beginners. The reasons that drive newcomers to choose this deck or the Marseille Tarot are essentially the same.

Rider Waite cards are more popular in Nordic countries, especially in England, while Marseilles cards are more popular in the Mediterranean area.

This version of the Tarot is very different from the deck presented previously and features a greater focus on the space of the setting.

In this deck, too, colors are very important, and the designs are beautiful and well-proportioned. The clarity of reading also depends on the fact that the skillful use of colors allows the foreground figures to be "separated" from the surroundings, thus avoiding confusion with meanings and symbols.

In this deck, one gets the impression of a greater dynamism in the figures, which therefore also brings into play an interpretative factor that can provide suggestions on the movement, stasis, and significance of an event the fortune teller is investigating.

It should be noted that this peculiar characteristic is present in both the Major Arcana and the Minor Arcana and this allows for more in-depth analysis while maintaining great clarity.

Without a doubt one of the most used decks ever, highly recommended for those approaching the world of Tarot before moving on to more complex decks in interpretation.

Egyptian Tarot

Egyptian Tarot cards are truly beautiful and fascinating to look at, but they require a slightly higher level of reading than a novice can prepare.

The Major and Minor Arcana are obviously always the same, but the representations require a higher level of interpretation because they are rich in details, particulars and minutiae that refer to the culture and imagery of Ancient Egypt.

It obviously follows that some preparation is necessary before approaching this deck, but the strong point of this deck is precision.

A good fortune teller with this deck can extend its potential to very high levels since each card allows for much more detailed interpretations.