Tarot: The Most Popular Decks – Part 2

We continue below with our presentation of the most popular tarot decks used by fortune tellers to investigate the past, present, and future.

In the previous article we were able to introduce the general topic, with the necessary premises, and then analyse and introduce the first three decks: the Marseille Tarot, the Rider Waite deck and the Egyptian Tarot.

As we've already mentioned, the Tarot de Marseille and the Rider Waite deck are undoubtedly the best choices for those new to this world. Their ease of reading makes life easier for beginners in card reading.

The Egyptian Tarot already presents greater interpretative difficulties and requires more refined preparation, but it allows for a more precise and detailed reading.

Below we will present the other most popular decks, some of which are not used for divination, which are particularly appreciated for some of their unique characteristics that we will now present to you.

The Visconti Tarot

This deck is undoubtedly one of the most fascinating ever, in fact it is what is considered the first deck known from a historical point of view.

According to some studies, all other decks derive from this one, which served as a model. The original of this deck was hand-painted, the colors are expertly used, and the illustrations are among the most beautiful ever created.

Its classic taste is probably the most refined in existence, even if its use for interpretation does not differ much from that of the Marseillais, even if it is to be considered a more complex deck.

This deck, in fact, hosts many details in each card and therefore makes the interpretation rather complex and could lead, especially to neophytes, to errors of interpretation.

The Visconti Tarot isn't as complex as the Egyptian Tarot, but it's not as simple as the Marseilles or Rider-Waite Tarot either. They're midway between the two, and for this reason, they're not recommended for beginners.

The Mantegna Tarot

Let's start by saying that these cards are not the work of the great master Andrea Mantegna, but of an artist inspired by him. It dates back to the fifteenth century and is considered difficult to interpret.

One of the most obvious peculiarities of this deck is that it does not use colors and this, combined with the fact that they are cards full of symbols, makes interpretation more difficult.

The representations in some cards are very different from the more widespread Tarot tradition, and some Major Arcana are missing, which means that it is used much less than the Visconti and, above all, the Marseilles and Rider Waite decks.

There are theories that this deck was intended for educational purposes and not for gaming, much less divination. It is currently sought after more as a collector's item than for actual use.

The Golden Dawn Tarot

The magical order of the Golden Dawn, or in full “Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn”, is certainly one of the congregations that has attracted the most attention since its birth in the nineteenth century.

This esoteric order, which aimed to study the occult arts, developed a Tarot deck rich in esoteric and magical symbols.

The illustrations are therefore very detailed and refined, so much so that this type of card is used by very advanced card readers. It is obviously not recommended for beginners.

The Golden Dawn Tarot is famous for being among the most difficult decks to interpret because it requires profound knowledge of many esoteric disciplines.

Crowley's Tarot

Aleister Crowley was also one of the major exponents of the Golden Dawn from which he later distanced himself. He was an esotericist, fortune teller and expert in occultism.

This deck of cards is quite recent, having been created by the English magician in the 1950s, and is particularly rich in symbols and difficult to interpret.

From an aesthetic point of view, it is a beautiful deck and the illustrations have some peculiarities that can also be misleading given that, in some cards, it departs significantly from tradition.

It must be said, however, that in the hands of an expert fortune teller, who is well versed in esoteric symbolism, this tool proves to be extremely effective and precise.

Wirth's Universal Tarot

The Wirth Tarot, which takes its name from the fortune teller who created it, is undoubtedly the deck that most distances itself from the more “canonical” decks.

First of all, the illustrations are very different from the classical ones, both in terms of the figures and the symbolic heritage.

Not to mention that there are only 22 cards: in fact, Wirth's deck only takes into consideration the Major Arcana and this, instead of making it easier, makes the interpretation complex.

The Wirth deck is absolutely not recommended for beginners as it requires great interpretative skills to do without the Minor Arcana and to become familiar with different symbols and figures.

The Este Tarot (or Renaissance Tarot)

This particular deck, also known as the “Tarot of Charles VI”, is not actually used for fortune telling but is highly sought after by collectors for its particularly elegant paintings that show off a lot of gold.

The original deck is kept at the National Library of Paris , just as if it were a work of art. It is not used in divination, mainly because it only has 17 cards.

The Florentine Tarot (or Florentine Minchiate)

Another deck not used for cartomancy, but of some historical and artistic importance, the Florentine Tarot is very different from the traditional ones.

Even in this case, in addition to missing some cards compared to the Major Arcana, there are some extra cards such as “Fire”, “Earth”, “Water”, “Air”.

It must be said that this deck is aesthetically very beautiful and recalls Renaissance art, however it is believed that these cards were used as playing cards even in ancient times and that they were never used for fortune telling.