Marseille vs. Rider-Waite vs. Thoth Tarot Decks
By Selena (Atelier Tarot) ·
Most tarot decks come from three traditions: Marseille, Rider-Waite, and Thoth. Compare their history and art, and find the best deck for beginners.
Search for tarot cards in a bookshop or online and you will find hundreds of decks, each with its own art and name. It’s hard to know where to start. But most decks are built on one of three major traditions, and knowing them makes choosing much easier.
1. The Marseille tarot (Tarot de Marseille)
A traditional deck established in 17th–18th century France, recognizable by simple, woodcut-style lines and primary colors like red, blue, and yellow.
- Features: The Major Arcana are illustrated, but the Minor Arcana number cards (pip cards) show only arranged suit symbols, like playing cards.
- Reading style: Focuses on combinations of number and suit and on numerology rather than pictures.
- Best for: People interested in tarot history and tradition, or in studying intuition and number symbolism deeply.
2. The Rider-Waite tarot (Rider-Waite-Smith)
Published in England in 1909, designed by occultist A. E. Waite and illustrated by artist Pamela Colman Smith. Named after its publisher, Rider, it is today’s most widely used standard deck.
- Features: Every card, including all 56 Minor Arcana, shows an illustrated scene. The Three of Swords, for example, shows a heart pierced by three swords under a rainy sky—you can almost guess the meaning at a glance.
- Reading style: You can read intuitively from the figures’ expressions, the colors, and the symbols in the background.
- Best for: Beginners. Most guidebooks and websites explain cards using this deck.
The interpretations in our tarot card dictionary also follow the Rider-Waite symbolic tradition.
3. The Thoth tarot
Conceived by the occultist Aleister Crowley and painted by artist Frieda Harris in the 1940s, it was officially published in 1969, after Crowley’s death.
- Features: Abstract, intense artwork packed with astrology, Kabbalah, and alchemy. Some cards have different names—Strength becomes “Lust,” and Temperance becomes “Art.”
- Reading style: Requires some study of its symbolic system.
- Best for: Readers who already know the basics and want to explore a deeper world of symbolism.
Side by side
| Marseille | Rider-Waite | Thoth | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Era | 17th–18th century | 1909 | created in the 1940s |
| Minor card art | arranged symbols | illustrated scenes | symbolic, abstract art |
| Difficulty | medium | easy | hard |
| Best for | tradition and numerology | beginners | advanced study |
Choosing your first deck
- Pick art you love. You will study more happily with a deck you want to keep looking at.
- For beginners, a deck that follows the Rider-Waite structure connects easily to guidebooks. Many modern illustrated decks are based on it.
- Card size and paper feel matter too. If your hands are small, a mini deck is a good choice.
Selena says: Whatever the deck, it is your heart that reads the cards. Spend time getting to know one deck first. Drawing one card a day with our daily tarot is great practice.