First, a bit of history. Tarot Cards have been around for a long time and nobody knew where they started. They existed as the Major Arcanna with pictures of scenes, similar to what we know of the Tarot today. The Minor Arcanna, however, was slightly different. The numbered cards only showed the suit that they represent, and only the court cards had pictures. Rider Waite who started the trend of showing scenes and pictures in the Numbered Cards, as a sort of memory aid. Most of the Tarot Decks today followed suite (save for a few throw back decks such as the Vision Tarot and Tarot of the Witches that reverted back to the old form), copying, in a way, Rider Waite's idea of showing scenes. This is probably one of the reasons why the Rider Waite Deck is one of the most popular decks around today, because it was the first deck of its kind.

Most Tarot guide books, which beginners need, usually use the Rider Waite Deck. Most of the guide books I have seen in the market use the Rider Waite Deck as a form of illustration in their book, while other books employ a mixture of cards from different decks. It is not surprising to note that most of the meanings in guide books today mirror Rider Waite's original interpretations. This can a problem when some artists reinterpreted the Rider Waite Deck so that the meanings of the cards no longer follow Rider Waite's meanings (for example, the Mythi Tarot, the Norse Tarot etc). Hence, searching for guide books can be a problem.

I would recommend that a beginner start out with the Rider Waite deck which comes in may different designs these days, such as:
Rider Waite Tarot Deck (original)
Rider Waite Tarot Deck (five languages)
Rider Waite Tarot Deck (giant)
Rider Waite Tarot Deck (miniture)
Golden Rider Waite Deck
Universal Waite Deck (this version was re-coloured by Hansen Roberts and looks more pleasant)
Universial Waite Deck (tiny) (this is more of a collector's item, who can shuffle a deck 1.89 by 1.45 inches?)

For those who prefer to start with something else, there are decks that are created by different authors (and artists I suppose), something like a reinterpretation of Rider Waite's cards. To my knowledge, decks that follow the Rider Waite Deck closely (and decks that I would recommend to those who are just starting out with the Tarot ) are:
Hansen Roberts Tarot Deck
Aquarian Tarot
Morgan Geer Tarot
Wonderland Tarot
Robin Wood Tarot
Unicorn Tarot

There are, of course, other decks in the market which mirror Rider Waite's but these are the more popular ones and guide books to these decks are easier to find simply because they follow a common set of meanings. Decks such as:
Tarot of Cat People
Chinese Tarot
Halloween Tarot
Londa Tarot
Tarot of Moon Garden
Crowley Thoth Deck
Art Noveau Tarot
Witches Tarot (not to be confused with the Tarot of the Witches)
may present a greater challenge as their meanings are a little non standard.

This article was rewritten by Lysander