Rider-Waite vs Thoth vs Marseille: choosing a deck
Three traditions, and the choice determines how you learn more than which art you like.
4 min read · Published 17 August 2026
The short answer
Start with Rider-Waite-Smith or a close derivative. Its Minor Arcana cards are fully illustrated with scenes, which is what makes the deck learnable, and almost all modern tarot writing describes its imagery. Thoth, designed by Aleister Crowley with art by Lady Frieda Harris, is denser and assumes esoteric background. Marseille is the oldest of the three and has non-illustrated pip cards, which makes it excellent for experienced readers and very hard for beginners.
The three traditions
| Rider-Waite-Smith | Thoth | Marseille | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Published | 1909 | Painted 1938–43, published 1969 | Standardised from the 17th century |
| Minor Arcana | Fully illustrated scenes | Illustrated with esoteric symbolism | Pips — Five of Cups is five cups |
| Learning curve | Gentlest | Steep, assumes background | Steepest for beginners |
| Available literature | Enormous | Substantial but specialist | Growing, often in French |
| Best for | Everyone starting out | Readers wanting Golden Dawn depth | Readers who want to build meaning themselves |
Why the illustrated pips matter so much
This is the single most consequential difference and it is rarely explained properly.
In a Marseille deck, the Five of Cups shows five cups. That is all. To read it you must know what a Five means and what Cups mean and construct the meaning yourself.
In Rider-Waite-Smith, the Five of Cups shows a cloaked figure looking down at three spilled cups, with two still standing behind them. The card teaches you: this is about grief, and about not noticing what remains. Pamela Colman Smith illustrated all 78 cards this way in 1909, and it is the reason this deck became the standard.
For a beginner that difference is decisive. The scene does the interpretive work while you are learning, and only later do you realise you have absorbed the system.
Thoth, honestly
The Thoth deck is a genuine work of art — Lady Frieda Harris spent roughly five years painting it — and it is denser with reference than either alternative. It encodes Kabbalistic, astrological and alchemical correspondences deliberately, and the accompanying *Book of Thoth* assumes you want that.
It is not a good first deck, for two reasons. The card names differ from every guide you will read as a beginner — several Majors are renamed, and the courts are Princess, Prince, Queen, Knight. And its imagery is designed to be decoded rather than read, which is rewarding after two years and dispiriting in week one.
Crowley's reputation is a separate question from the deck's quality, and readers differ on how much it matters to them. Worth knowing before buying rather than after.
Practical things nobody mentions
- Card size. Some decks are noticeably large and genuinely difficult to shuffle if your hands are small. Check dimensions before buying online.
- Card stock. Thin cards crease; overly glossy ones stick together. This affects daily use more than you expect.
- Borders. Heavy white borders shrink the image. Borderless editions exist for many decks and are usually worth the small premium.
- The guidebook. Some decks ship with a full book, others a folded leaflet. For anything other than Rider-Waite-Smith, where the literature is everywhere, the guidebook matters.
- You are allowed to buy your own deck. The old superstition that a first deck must be gifted has no historical basis and mainly delays people getting started.
What we would actually suggest
Buy a Rider-Waite-Smith derivative whose art you like — there are hundreds, keeping Smith's compositions with different styling, and they are all readable with any standard guide. Learn on that.
Add a Marseille later if you want to sharpen your reading, because its bare pips force you to construct meaning from structure rather than recognise it from a scene. Add Thoth if the esoteric correspondences are the part you find interesting.
And before spending anything: your tarot birth card is free, calculated from your birth date, and it will tell you whether the imagery holds your attention at all.
Common questions
- Which tarot deck is best for beginners?
- Rider-Waite-Smith or a close derivative. Its Minor Arcana cards are fully illustrated with scenes rather than plain pips, which makes them far easier to learn, and almost all tarot literature describes its imagery.
- What is the difference between Rider-Waite and Thoth?
- Thoth was designed by Aleister Crowley with art by Lady Frieda Harris and encodes Kabbalistic, astrological and alchemical correspondences deliberately. It renames several Majors and uses Princess, Prince, Queen and Knight for courts, so beginner guides do not map onto it cleanly.
- Why is the Marseille deck hard for beginners?
- Its Minor Arcana are pip cards — the Five of Cups simply shows five cups, with no scene. Meaning must be constructed from the number and suit rather than read from an illustration, which requires knowing the system first.
- Does my first tarot deck have to be a gift?
- No. That superstition has no historical basis and mainly stops people from starting. Buy your own.