Decks of the Tarot: A through I

African Tarot

This description contributed by Lysander:
A rather unusual deck in both its art form and packing. The artwork of the deck looks as if it was drawn by a child, lots of bold, continuous lines and blocks of solid colour. It comes in an corrguated card board box. The images invoke a feeling that one has probably felt in childhood, a time of innocence. The images are quite obviously a reinterpretation of the Rider Waite Deck but due to the child like simplicity of the cards, some of images are not quite so forbidding or omnimous as they were in the Rider Waite.
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Tarot of the Ages

This description contributed by Lysander:
The Tarot of the Ages is a deck based on past civilisations. The Major ARcanna is derived from the culture and life of folks from Ancient Egypt. The Suit of Swords comes from the Vikings, the Suit of Cups origins from the Ancient Azetecs, the East Indians are the subjects for the suit of Coins while the Suit of Batons reflect the lives of the Africans. The artwork is realistic and beautiful. The Minor Arcanna are colour coded (the background) reflects the element that the Suit represents. The Numbered Cards show scenes rather than the suits alone. A must for those who are interested in past civilisations and cultures. The cards a nice size, well, quite similiar to the standard poker deck so should be easy for new comers to adapt to.
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The Ancestral Tarot

This description contributed by Lysander :
The Ancestral Path Tarot is a rather unique, it is almost squarish in size, different when compared with the rectangular decks that are on the market. The artwork is very well done. The pictures are all based on different cultures in the past. In the Major Arcana, this is a mixture of all different cultures but in the Minor Arcana, every suit is drawn from one culture, the Cups from the Medival Times, the Swords from Ancient Japan, the Staves from Egypt and the Pentacles (called Sacred Circles in this deck) are drawn from the Red Indians. In the Major Arcana, some changes have taken place. The Hanged Man is called the Hanged One and shows an unborn baby in a womb still and the Wheel of Fortune shows the solar system and the wheels of constellation.
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Tarot of Andrea Picini

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Angel Tarot Deck

This deck contributed by Lysander :
The Angel Tarot Deck is an unusual deck, it seems to be a mixture of the the Tarot of Marseilles, Classic Tarot and Starter Tarot. The dominant colours are yellow, brown and red, giving the deck a rather ancient or antique look, as if it was designed long ago and the colours have all faded by now into the remaining shades. Like the decks designed before the Rider Waite Deck, this minor Arcanna of this deck shows only pictures of the suits. The suit that the Minor Arcanna correspondes to in the modern day deck (ie, Cups corresponds to Hearts) is normally seen woven into the pattern of the relevant Minor Arcanna Card.
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The Ansata Tarot

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The Aquarian Tarot

This deck contributed by John Potter:
Designed by David Palladini in 1970, this deck is a modern interpretation of traditional medieval decks, though it follows the order of the Rider deck. The cards are done in a art nouveau style with subdued yet rich color and symbolism. A sequel deck, New Aquarian Tarot, was recently published, but I have only seen it once.
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Arcus Arcanum Tarot

This description contributed by Astarte :

I don't own this deck, but a friend does and she says the images really jump out at her. I highly recommend this deck for those who are interested in reading the tarot. The pictures remind me of good quality comics artwork, which makes the cards really tell a story to you.

Art Nouveau Tarot

This description contributed by Jim Marshall:
Painted in a style somewhat reminiscent of Maxfield Parrish, this deck by Matt Myers contains imagery that seems to tell a continuing story within each suit, with divinatory meanings closely following the Rider-Waite tradition. The human figures are painted realistically, with background art mimicing stained glass art.
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The Astro Tarot

This description contributed by Tim Puckett:
Russell Grant is nothing if not a happy camper. His "Astro-Tarot" deck, illustrated by Kay Smith, is an intentionally upbeat and happy version of the traditional cards. Grant is a British astrologer who combines the 22 Major Arcana with 12 zodiac cards, 12 Chinese horoscope cards, 14 planetary cards and the 4 aces from the Minor Arcana. The artwork is light, colorful and designed to really accentuate the positive in life without trivializing the negative. Each card has a person dressed in a Marti Gras type costume symbolizing either the planetary, astrological or Major Arcana themes of the card in which the person appears. The only caveat I'd have to mention is that the cards were printed in Hong Kong and the card material itself isn't up to the standard of most decks which are printed in Switzerland.

Balbi Tarot

This description contributed by Matt B. Birkenhead:
I have a spanish tarot deck, which I was given by a friend. They were designed by a dude called Balbi. They are bright yet simplistic cartoonish design which I found to be an ideal starter deck. The explanations make the sense very easily and can be used most effectively if the querent is a bit thick!

Tarot of Baseball

This description contributed by Lysander:
The Baseball Tarot. A departure from the traditional Tarot, this deck incorporates baseball into the deck, as implied by the name. For all the Major Arcana cards, the cards original title is written at the top and below is a new title, pretaining to the person in the card. For example, for card 0, the Fool is written on the top while the picture shows a youth (in baseball costume of course) holding a bat (like the way the fool holds his stick to which a bundle is normally tied) and below, the title is The Rookie. Then, there is the Star but instead of showing a lady pouring water into a stream, it shows a baseball player surrounded by reporters and the title is The Star Player. Of course, the traditional seven stars shine over head. The Minor Arcana suits have changed to become Bats, Balls, Gloves and Caps. An interesting deck for lovers of the Tarot and of Baseball.
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Builders of the Adytum Tarot

This description is provided by Zephyr:
"The Builders of the Adytum Tarot deck was designed by Paul Foster Case. It is sold uncolored, leaving the painting up to the student. In the words of the Builders of the Adytum, 'When you color your own cards, they take on the character of your own personality. They are inseparably linked with you. The attention you must give impresses their patterns upon the cells of your brain -- builds the details of the design into your consciousness. And making the Tarot Keys a part of yourself is one of the most practical secrets of esoteric psychology. It is the necessary foundation for all advanced tarot practice.' A catalog of the Builders of the Adytum wherein the uncolored keys may be found is located at the bota web site.
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The Cary-Yale Visconti Tarot

This description contributed by Lysander :
The Cary Vale Visconti Tarocchi Deck is a very old deck. It is unique for it consists of 86 cards altogether, 22 Major Arcana Cards and 67 Minor Arcana Cards. The reason for the increase is because there are male and female versions of the court cards, bring the total number of cards for every suit to 16. Out of the 86, 19 cards have been created to replace the original missing 19. The dominant colours in this deck, it would seem, to be brown and gold. Unusual for old decks, this deck has very little white, most of the space is coloured. This deck is quite beautiful and would be interesting to collect.
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Tarot for Cats

This description contributed by Kipling:
It's a book/deck set, 22 Major Arcana cards, and it's geared towards cats (vs. having cats doing people things, if you know what I mean). Like, is it a good day to stay in and wash, or should I go torment the dog? It's not as goofy as it sounds, the author did quite a bit of research on the Tarot and if I say so myself the art's pretty nice.
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Cat People Tarot

This description contributed by Astarte :

Designed by Karen Kuykendall. This deck is definitely geared for people with an affinity for felines; it has some beautifully mysterious artwork. A friend of mine observed that to read these cards, you must look at the expressions on the cats' faces, not on the humans'. It comes with a very interesting description by Kuykendall of the "world" of the Cat People. I've also been told it is a good deck for dream interpretation.
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The Celtic Tarot

This description contributed by Lysander:
The Celtic Tarot is one of those decks that, at a glance, the viewer would know is radically different from other decks in terms of the art work. There are no curves used in the deck; everything is absolutely angular, even the joints; the curves of the faces of the characters are all sharp. The only curves seen are those of the coins; that is to say, the coins in the Minor Arcana are the only curves. For the rest of the deck, curves are curiously absent. This deck gives the viewer the impression that all the characters bear stern expressions and can take a little getting used to.

The Chinese Tarot

This description contributed by Lysander:
The Chinese Tarot Deck is an interesting Deck for all the characters are either Chinese characters in History or Chinese Deities. There have been slight changes, the World becomes the Universe, Judgement is replaced by Confuscious, The Hanged man is replaced by the Hanging Ghost. The colours are brillant and bright, pleasing to the eyes. The titles of the Cards are written on the picture itself in Chinese. It would be useful if one actually understood these words because the English Translations are not always accurate. Knowledge of Chinese myth might prove useful to unfold the deeper meanings of this deck, for example, in the Universe, the Goddess of Mercy is portrayed and the meaning is shifted slightly while in the Devil shows two characters which have the heads of a horse and the head of a bull. The meanings of the cards, because of these deities, change and if one knew the legend behind, would be able to grasp the full meaning.
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The Tarot Classic

This description contributed by Lysander :
One of the really classical Tarot Decks, the Tarot Classic is based on wood cuts made by Claude Burdel in 1851. The pictures are simple, as one would expect of old decks, but the original meaning of the Tarot Cards is much preserved in this deck (that is to say, certain new decks reinterpreted certain cards). As one would expect of old decks, few colours are used in this deck, giving it a rather simplistic look. A good deck for a reader who likes to focus on the cards and not get distracted by the pictures.
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The Tarot of Cloisters

This description contributed by Lysander :
The Tarot of the Cloisters is created by Michelle Leavitt. Inspired by 13th century stained glass windows, the cards are illustrated in such a manner that the pictures look like stain glass as well. One of the few decks that are round in the market, the cards have a strange characteristic; the stain glass effect is achieved by superimposing a spider web like pattern over the picture itself and the centre of this 'web' is always in the geomatrical centre (or quite near) of the circle. The Minor Arcana shows pictures with scenes, an interesting and beautiful deck.
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Connolly Tarot

This description contributed by Gillan:
This deck was created by Tarot writer Eileen Connolly. It is based on the Rider-Waite version, but is executed in brighter, more vibrant colors. There is no credited inspiration for the artwork (ie Celtic, Norse, etc.) but it is very pleasing to look at. A few cards have been changed in the Major Arcana, for instance, Death has become Transfor- mation. The cards are also available in small edition, (about 1x3 inches) but I don't recommend them since they are harder to shuffle and the guide book is less descriptive. The Connolly is a good beginner's deck overall, but it doesn't lend itself to deeper interpretation.
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The Cosmic Tarot

This description contributed by Lysander :
The Cosmic Tarot is quite ordinary in size, the same as that of a normal Tarot Deck (like the Rider-Waite Deck). The characters look rather unreal due to the colouring; the skin of the figures, for example, are coloured a pale yellow,. All the colours appear rather faded, maybe the entire scene look rather unreal. The characters wear modern clothing in some cards. This deck can be slightly frightening to those who do not know the cards well, for example, the nine of swords potrays a person stabbed by flying swords, bleeding and screaming in agony.
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The Crowley Thoth Deck

This description was provided by Brian Fohl.
"The Thoth deck, designed by the prominent English occultist Aleister Crowley, was painted by Lady Frieda Harris. Crowley put all of his magickal and Kabalistic talent into the design of this extraordinary deck. Crowley died in 1947 and the deck remained unpublished until 1969. The artwork of this deck is very dark, rich, and beautiful, based on the Golden Dawn deck."
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Dali Universal Tarot Deck

This description contributed by Lysander:
This deck is created by Salvador Dali and is more of a collector's item than anything else. The cards are based on 78 painted collages. They have a surreal, misty like quality to them. Much of the original meanings of the Cards are preserved though the way they are presented have changed somewhat. This deck has fully gilded edges, which is I feel its more of a collector's item than to be used as a regular tarot deck.
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Daughters of the Moon Tarot

This description contributed by Renee Williams-Reeb:
Contains much Feminist artwork;a round deck like the Motherpeace. Useful to reconnect to the feminine forces of the unconscious.

Dragon Tarot

This description contributed by Lysander:
The Dragon Tarot shows a dragon on every card. (In the case of the Death Card, the skeleton of a dragon is shown). This deck was designed by the artists who created the Wyvern Game. The dragons are portrayed with majesty and power and the art work is great. For the Major Arcana, the dominant colour seems to be blue or black. For the Minor Arcana, each suite is colour coded so that the colour of the suite reminds the reader which element the suit represents. For reasons unknown, the landscape in every card is always bleak and desloate, the trees have no leaves, for example.
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The Egyptian Tarot

This description is contributed by John Carter:
The "Ancient Egyptian Tarot" is by British artist Clive Barrett, who did the Norse tarot pack previously. The "Ancient Egyptian Tarot" depicts beautiful images which correspond with the resurrection cycle of Osiris. The colours on this deck are vibrant, the images clear, the symbolism profound. This deck is like a synthesis of the Waite and Crowley decks for the modern reader. My clients love it, and it carries my highest recommendation.

Egyptian Tarot (another deck)

This description contributed by Mary Jo Bosanko:
This deck has no colors but a dark yellow (wich is the color of the cards), and brown (which is the color of the drawings or pictures). I like this deck because it is very simple and plain. These cards were by Comte Saint-Germain.
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Egyptian Tarots (not to be confused with the two decks mentioned before this one)

This description contributed by Lysander:
The artwork of thie deck looks authentically Egyptian. All the cards have black borders. The picture is always framed in a piece of papyrus, giving the reader a feeling that he or she is actually handling the old papyrus pieces. Egyptian symbology is also incorporated into the deck.
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The Enchanted Tarot

description contributed by John Burik:
Amy Zerner has created the Enchanted Tarot deck in her unique collage-are style, with hardbound text by her husband, Monte Farber. The deck/book set strives, according to Farber, to get the intent of the cards without 'the garish, violent pictures that frighten many away.' Besides the great artwork, the text takes a novel approach the presenting each card in three sections. The Dream presents an interpretation of the card as a metaphor; the Awakening provides a more rational-mind explanation; and, finally, the Enchantment is a ritual to further solidify each card's meaning. The book begins with some historical background of the tarot cards, and closes with some ideas on spreads and readings. More info is available in Zerner/Farber.
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Experimental Tarot

This description contributed by Lysander:
The Experimental Tarot is a 78 card deck Samvado Gunnar Kossatz for mediatation and divination contemporary in style and rich with symbology. A wide range of symbols are used and pictures in the cards range from ancient myths (such as a picture of the Buddha) to modern day costumes and devices (couples in ball room costumes and aeroplanes). The cards also have astrological and cosmic symbols. The keywords and titles are in English and German.
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The Gareth Knight Tarot

This description contributed by Astarte:

Designed by Sander Littel, a Dutch artist, this deck was created under the suervision of Gareth Knight. One of the characteristic features of this deck is that is uses princes and princesses rather that knights and pages. The kings are also depicted on horeseback, which is what the knights of other decks are usually seen on.
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Tarot of Gems and Crystals

This description contributed by Lysander:
The Tarot of Gems and Crystals is an unusual deck. It shows the photograph of a crystal, mineral or metal on every card. Tarot readers who love gems and crystals would like this deck. The photographs are of high quality and well taken. A must for those interested in gems and their meanings!
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Gendron Tarot

This description contributed by Lysander:
This is an interesting deck, the artwork is unusual and beautiful. Some of the pictures are so well drawn that they seem almost real and some of the pictures, I have a funny feeling, a real pictures with some modifications. The Major Arcanna is almost certainly hand drawn and some cards from the Minor Arcanna are probably real photographs for it looks far too real to be painted or drawn. This deck has 78 cards within and is created by Melanie Gendron and is inspired by the Scared Faminine. A deck worth collecting for it is unusual and beautiful.
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Gilgamesh Tarot

This description contributed by Astarte:

Designed by T Byron G, this deck is based on Egyptian, Sumerian, and Bohemian themes. It is based on Gilgamesh, who, according to T Byron G, established the city of Ur and brought literacy to the Sumerian people. The deck has some very interesting artwork, and more about the deck and its artwork can be viewed at the T Byron G Gilgamesh Tarot page.

The Goddess Tarot

This description contributed by Sandra Kirchner :

The Goddess Tarot is a 78-card deck based on Goddesses from around the world. The pictures are very soft watercolors. The major arcana cards each show a Goddess, for example, Athena for Justice and Lakshmi as Fortune. Each of the minor arcana suits is also associated with a Goddess: cups/Venus, staves (wands)/Freya, swords/Isis, pentacles/Lakshmi. All in all, a very beautiful deck.
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The Tarot of the Golden Dawn

This description contributed by Astarte :

This particular Tarot deck is from the Order of the Golden Dawn, a secret occult society whose date of conception I am unfamiliar with (but I promise to find out!). The cards are very esoteric, to me at least. I think it is a very attractive deck, but I haven't met anyone yet who uses it.
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The New Golden Dawn Ritual Tarot

This description contributed by Lysander:
The New Golden Dawn Ritual Tarot is published in 1991 by Llewellyn Publications and is created by Sandra Tabatha Cicero. The colours used are vibrant and brillant; the cards are surronded by a frame, neither very elaborate (like that of the Crowley Thoth Deck) nor simple. For the Major Arcana Cards, the Cards' Title is written below and the Cards' Number is written on Top. It is the same for the Court Cards. For the Numbered Minor Arcana Cards, the Title is written on the top and a keyword is written on the bottom (for example, the 10 of Wands, the word is oppression). It bears some sembalance to the Crowley Thoth Deck, especially the card the Hanged Man but it the pictures are clearer and there are not so many lines. A unique feature of this deck is there are two Temperence Cards, bringing the total of the Major Arcana to 23. For the numbered Minor Arcana Cards, there are no pictures, save for the suits and some added illustrations. For example, the 10 of Swords, 5 blue coloured hands are seen holding two swords in each. This does not always help in the interpretation of the cards. The art is abstract (though less abstract than the Crowely Thoth Deck) and abstract art lovers would love it. It might appear somewhat frightening to the uninitated. The instruction booklet contains numerous references to the Tree of Life (Sephiroth) and as well as the 8 (excluding Earth) planets and 12 constellations but no knowledge of astrology is required to understand it.

The Haindl Tarot

This description contributed by Lysander :
The Haindl Tarot is created by Hermann Haindl and draws upon the lengends of many lands and cultures. For example, the King of Wands is the Hindu deity Brahma and is titled the Father of Wands in the East. This deck has a distinctive style; some, or most, of the scenes in the cards seem to have a misty fog or something similar enshourding the scene, making the cards, from a distance, look as if it were random, confused patches of shades. On each card are astrological signs and some have Runes drawn on them.
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The Halloween Tarot

This description contributed by Lysander :
The Halloween Tarot is a light hearted interpratation of the Tarot. All the faces of the cards have at least one the following creatures, a cat, a ghost, a bat or a pumpkin. The dominant colours are pumpkin red (a lot of pumpkins!), green for the ghosts and other eerie creatures and black for the dark night sky. The characters (when they are not ghosts) have pale faces, the style used is bold and clear. The traditional suits have been replaced by Pumpkins, Imps, Ghosts and Bats. A must for Halloween Lovers!
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The Hanson-Roberts Tarot

This description contributed by Carol Thatcher Hall:
It was drawn by Mary Hanson-Roberts (oddly enough! :) and it is a beautifully gentle deck. She used colored pencils in drawing the keys, which gives them their soft, gentle quality. One major difference in the pictures themselves is that the people are more "close-up" and there is less background.
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The Herbal Tarot

This description contributed by Astarte :

This deck is just what it says -- every card has a particular herb for the main picture. I have hear conflicting reports on this deck; some say it is hard to read because the herbal pictures don't really give you a sense of the meaning. I am sure, though, that if you are really in tune to herbalism, you would understand the deck.
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The Hudes Tarot

This description contributed by Lysander :
The Hudes Tarot is created by Susan Hudes. It is an unusual deck forit incorporates star charts into the background of several cards. It is supposedly inspired by medival symbolism and artistry. The artwork is certainly unusual, it is a mixture of water colours and something else. The foreground (person or subject of the card) is in watercolour but sometimes,the background is different, either more real than the foreground or less real. An unusual form of artwork. The Queens and Kings in the Minor Arcana all have star charts for their backgrounds. Several of the Major Arcana cards have charts as well. The pictures, although real, has a surreal quality to it due to the water colours the creator used.
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The Ibis Tarot

This description contributed by Lysander :
A beautiful Tarot Deck with good art work, this is one of the few decks that draw upon ancient Egypt as a setting. The cards are a reinterpretation of the original Tarot Cards. The pictures are colourful and vibrant. This deck is created by Josef Machynka and the cards are a reinterpretation of the designs published in the book Practical Astrology by Comte C. de Saint-Germain.
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Decks of the Tarot: J through R
Decks of the Tarot: S through Z