Tarot (and Oracle) Deck Creators

There is absolutely no doubt about the humungous explosion of Tarot and Oracle card decks over the past 30 years or so. Yes, there was definitely a growing interest in the cards ever since A.E. Waite and Pamela Coleman Smith first introduced the RWS deck in 1909, but since the Dawning of the Age of Aquarius and the burgeoning New Age ethic, the exponential growth of decks available is absolutely insane! Being fair, the majority of decks produced nowadays tend to be one-off affairs developed by an artist or occultist or just an avid fan or fan group of some modern fantasy or novel series or television show, some of which are really good - I even have a few in my collection! But a large section of today’s activities are aimed at producing decks that can fill multiple roles - divination, meditation, self-awareness and wellness, and so on.

Of course, no one can deny that the initial draw towards Tarot stems from its esoteric and occult roots, and these are the aspects that send (maybe brief) shivers down the spine when delving into a deck’s provenance. So the most useful decks are those that combine both the understanding of that esoteric background of Tarot with artwork that reflects the meme of the cards. Over the past few years a number of artists have grown up who stand out from the masses as producers of amazing artwork that takes both the esoteric and the vision to the next level. Below is a list of my favourite modern Tarot creators. Each link will take you to a page where I introduce the artist’s work and provide my impressions of their marvellous achievements - because, believe me, pulling 78 visions together is an achievement in itself, and certainly something worthy of respect and admiration!

Crossovers…

As I mentioned on the People page, there are some Creators who more accurately belong on the Researchers section because, while they have produced one or more Tarot decks, their main focus is on the collection and dissemination of Occult and Esoteric knowledge, either about Tarot itself or, more usually, across the entire expanse of the Esoteric and Arcane world! In my other life, we would call them Contributors to the Body Of Knowledge - so, at 5.45 PM, EST on July 17, 2025,  I’ve coined the term #OcBoK for them and that - or The Occult Body of Knowledge! I start the list below, and will continue to expand it as I myself work through the OcBoK and discover more worthies for your edification!

Benebell Wen

Donald Tyson

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Ciro Marchetti

Creator of over 10 Tarot, Oracle, Lenormand, Kipper and other decks, Ciro Marchetti is one of the most popular, and perhaps the greatest of modern day Tarot artists, with over 1.5 MILLION of his decks in circulation across the globe.