How to make a tarot deck? Tips for creating yours!

If you, like me, are enchanted by the variety of tarot decks on the market, you’ve certainly wanted to make one your way. In addition to being unique, it’s a great way to understand the meanings of the cards if you’re a beginner and to create a special connection with the deck.

But where to start? I always had this desire, but I had my doubts about how to make a tarot deck.

To help you on this adventure that really feels like the Fool’s journey, I’ve separated all the tips I received from friends – and some I learned along the way.

Why make your own tarot cards?

Tarot is a self-knowledge tool that also works as a divinatory method. It, along with our intuition, helps us to clarify problems and situations in our lives.

But this is only possible if we can read your messages. Even if you know how to read the tarot, there may be times when you lose affinity with the deck, or even come across cards that you don’t identify with. With your own deck, that doesn’t happen!

But that’s just one of the advantages of making your own tarot deck. There are several reasons – and incentives – to get started:

• Learn better the meaning of the cards;
• Having a deck you have 100% affinity with;
• Exercise your creativity;
• Being able to make a tarot with your favorite themes, be they series, mythological beings, angels, whatever you want!

In fact, choosing the theme is essential when making your own tarot. Is ready? Grab a pen and paper and let’s get started!

How to make a tarot deck step by step

Set the size of the cards

It’s better to set the size before you start drawing and then have to redo everything, right? Think about whether you want to stick with the traditional size, whether you want smaller cards (easier to shuffle) or larger ones (to see the drawing better).

choose a theme

Do you want to make an orishas tarot? Egyptian? From penguins? With a specific style, like minimalist? Is it meant to be a more relaxed or serious deck? Choose the one you have the most affinity for and leave a note. It will be very important when making the cards!

You can look up references on Pinterest and, if you want something a little more different, crowdfunding sites like Kickstarter and Indiegogo always have new and super creative tarots to look at.

Set deck intent

You may want a special deck to read to yourself, to look at love or spiritual matters. Write it down and keep it carefully.

When consecrating your new deck, you can reinforce this intention even more, mentally repeating how it will be used: for direct answers, for self-knowledge or even advice.

choose the tools

You don’t need to know how to draw to make your own tarot. You can use photos, make collages, play with symbols or even innovate and do cross-stitch or embroidery. Just be careful with image rights if you are going to use other people’s photos and copyright of characters, brands and the like.

Here you can also choose whether to do everything by hand and paste it on thicker paper (more affordable) or to have it printed at a print shop (more expensive).

Study the meaning of the cards

If you are not yet familiar with the meaning of tarot cards, you can take a course or even read books on the subject. Make notes for later reference.

But it’s no use copying excerpts from the book: write in your own words. Your entire deck will be a new interpretation of the tarot, so start by writing down what you understand from each card.

Write down your experience with each arcana

An interesting way to learn the meanings of the arcana is to write down personal experiences that remind you of the card. For example, when did you ever jump headfirst into something like the Fool? What was it like when your life took a turn for the Wheel of Fortune?

If you don’t have any situation that reminds you of the letter, it’s also worth writing down a scene from a movie or something that a friend or family member has gone through.

Choose where to start

I’ve seen people say it’s best to start with the minor arcana, while others say they started with the major arcana. Personally I chose to do the major arcana first, which is only 22, and then to do the 56 minor arcana.

Put your hands in the dough

Now that you know how to make a tarot deck, you just need to get started. There are a lot of cards and it takes creativity to make 78 (or 22, if you’re just doing the major arcana) different cards, so whenever you have an idea, write it down!

4 extra tips on how to make your own tarot

Want to make your tarot flawless?

If you are an artist, designer, want to market your tarot or simply want to make it the way you always dreamed of, these tips will ensure that the images are beautiful and that you don’t have to redo the cards.

1. Make the artwork bigger than the letter

If you’re going to draw or even if you’re going to use editing programs like Photoshop, remember to make the art bigger than the letter. Twice the size is more than enough!

So you can insert more details and, if you need to adapt something, the image will not lose quality. You can even turn the drawing into a comic later!

2. Beware of image quality

Will you work with digital? Use images with a minimum of 300 dpi. This way you guarantee that nothing will be pixelated or blurred.

3. Make a draft beforehand

If you’re not going to be working with photos and collages, make a sketch of each of the cards before you start drawing and painting. It may take a little longer, but you may come up with better ideas for the cards after some testing.

4. Write down what you wanted to convey with each letter

Most tarot decks come with a book that tells the meaning of each card, so why not do the same for your deck? Say what inspired you and tell the story of that letter to whoever is reading it.

Mythological tarot is a great inspiration: it narrates episodes of characters from Greek mythology for each arcane, like the God Hermes in the Magician card.

I hope these tips on how to make a tarot deck have helped you and inspired you to make your own.

A self-made tarot is a very special and unique tool: it is a piece of your creativity and intuition manifested in cards, which will surely make your readings clearer and more accurate!

These tips on how to make your own tarot were written by Vanessa Barros, artist, designer and tarot enthusiast.