Recommend a Tarot deck?

April 23, 2024 7:49 AM

I am interested in buying a Tarot deck. My primary purpose is is for using it in games; mostly table top role playing games and adjacent stuff, but also traditional card games or other modern uses. Things like divination/cartomancy/meditation/contemplation are of some interest but not my main use case.

I know there are zillions of themes out there. I'd lean toward something plant/nature based, but it would be nice if there were some sciencey aspects as well. Like if the "Science and Nature" category from Trivial Pursuit (genus edition) were a Tarot deck, what would that be? What would David Attenborough and Bill Nye use to play together? On another tack, maybe something very abstract, colorful, and geometrical might be good? These are just hints, I'm open to any suggestions. I'd like them to be cool and pretty and cost ... less than US$30?
Thanks!

posted by SaltySalticid to Grab Bag (15 answers total)

You want the Antique Anatomy Tarot!
posted by babelfish at 7:56 AM on April 23 [3 favorites]

Best answer: Antique Anatomy Tarot

Women of Science Tarot deck.

Abstract Futures Tarot deck.

The classic The Wild Unknown Tarot.

I'll be honest, as someone who has over 40 decks, it is not impossible, but it is hard to find good looking decks for under $30 unless there is a sale.
posted by Kitteh at 8:10 AM on April 23 [6 favorites]

Response by poster: Ok thanks! Take the $30 limit as optional, that was a guess based on the $15 set I bought in the 90s :)
posted by SaltySalticid at 8:14 AM on April 23

Botanica Tarot Set is quite beautiful and has lots of fun plants
posted by sciencegeek at 8:25 AM on April 23 [3 favorites]

I’m aware of three mushroom-themed decks.

The Fungi Arcana

The Mushroom Hunter’s Tarot

The Mushroom Tarot
posted by gauche at 8:48 AM on April 23 [1 favorite]

The Robin Wood Tarot Deck is one of my favorites, and has the "traditional" look to it with a lot of nature highlights.
posted by niteHawk at 9:33 AM on April 23 [3 favorites]

Best answer: If you're planning on playing any sort of game involving stacks of cards, make absolutely sure that the card title/value/suit is marked in a limited space at the top or corner of the card. I tried to play patience with a Rider-Waite deck and friends, it was a lousy experience
posted by phooky at 10:19 AM on April 23 [3 favorites]

Jonathan Saiz's Fountain Tarot is nicely colorful, abstract, and geometric, while still retaining the essence of each card and depicting specific imagery as needed.
posted by limeonaire at 10:39 AM on April 23 [2 favorites]

Best answer: Something to consider: The cards in a lot of tarot decks, especially more recent ones with big colorful imagery, are often too large to shuffle like a regular deck of cards. I vastly prefer to be able to do a thorough shuffle, so I make sure to look up plenty of images of the decks that I'm drawn to before buying (one tactic to check this is to do Google image searches and/or look for deck names as Instagram hashtags).
posted by limeonaire at 10:43 AM on April 23 [3 favorites]

I love The Fablemaker's Animated Tarot Deck for tabletop games. In game where a player draws a single card for their character, they spend a lot of time and attention on it, so it's cool to have interactive details on each one.
posted by Phssthpok at 6:42 PM on April 23 [1 favorite]

You might check out the Wildwood Tarot. Might be a little too "fairy tale" and not enough "Bill Nye" for you though.
posted by slidell at 7:34 PM on April 23 [1 favorite]

I hate to recommend a deck that's hasn't had a print run recently, but for future reference, perhaps The Wooden Tarot? It is nature-based, and also has imagery of bones, mushrooms, and stones that is a bit on the creepy/weird science-y side.
posted by fire, water, earth, air at 7:42 PM on April 23 [1 favorite]

Personally, I'd get on Kickstarter, as they seem to always have new tarot variations that are quite creative, just not my cup of tea, so to speak.
posted by kschang at 6:33 AM on April 24 [2 favorites]

Response by poster: Great suggestions! Even though I haven't had a deck in decades, now I want to buy a bunch... Marked best the answers that addressed issues I didn't know I should be thinking about, but all these decks are better than what I was seeing by browsing on my own. Thanks!
posted by SaltySalticid at 10:09 AM on April 24 [1 favorite]

Seconding The Wild Unknown. It's my personal favorite deck - not sciencey but definitely animal/plant based and beautiful. I use cards for readings but in a very casual/non-predictive way (more to spark conversation than anything else) and there's something about those cards that really seem to get people thinking and talking.
posted by lunasol at 1:04 PM on April 30 [1 favorite]