Top 5 Tarot Decks for Beginners — cute, clear, and easy to start

Supervised by Usatoko WHITE
Professional fortune teller & spiritual advisor

Nyanta

This is my first time with tarot, and I have no idea which deck to pick...

Nekosuke

For beginners, the trick is choosing a deck that's both adorable and easy to understand — that's how you end up using it for years. Today I'll introduce five carefully chosen decks from Luna Factory!

This article is an independent review. It features Luna Factory's own original decks alongside products available on Amazon, with links to each product page for easy comparison.

✦Introduction

"I want to start reading tarot, but how do I choose my very first deck?" — that's the question working fortune teller and tarot card maker Luna Factory is here to answer. With 78 cards in a full deck, and artwork and guidebook quality varying enormously from brand to brand, picking the wrong first deck can mean the imagery just doesn't click with you, or the instructions are too difficult to follow — and plenty of beginners give up because of it.

That's why this article rounds up five tarot decks we can genuinely recommend to beginners, hand-picked from Luna Factory's own original lineup. Every single one comes with a Japanese-language guidebook, cute illustrations, and a comfortable card size — the three qualities that let a beginner start "without hesitation, with enjoyment, and keep going."

☆How to Choose a Tarot Deck

1. Choose a deck based on the "Rider-Waite" system

Tarot artwork varies widely, but beginners are best served by a deck based on the "Rider-Waite" system, the world standard. Most guidebooks, fortune-telling websites, and YouTube tutorials are written with the Rider-Waite deck as their reference point, so once you learn this system, you'll be able to smoothly understand explanations from other sources later on. Most of Luna Factory's decks follow the Rider-Waite system, so you can choose with confidence.

2. Choose artwork that makes your heart skip a beat

Tarot is a tool for "conversing with the cards." Since it's a companion you'll be handling every day, the key to sticking with it is choosing artwork that lifts your mood every time you see it. Adorable animals, dreamy fantasy worlds, gentle color palettes — whatever you instinctively feel "I love this!" about is your destined first deck.

3. Choose one that comes with a Japanese-language guidebook

Many imported tarot decks only include instructions in English. Beginners should always choose a deck with a Japanese-language guidebook. Every Luna Factory deck comes with a Japanese guidebook supervised by a professional fortune teller, covering the meaning of each individual card, reading methods, and example spreads in careful detail — so you can start reading the very day it arrives.

4. Choose a size that's comfortable to hold

Oversized cards are hard to shuffle and can be tricky for beginners to handle. Luna Factory's decks are designed to fit comfortably in Japanese hands, making shuffling, cutting, and laying out spreads smooth and easy.

5. Choose a trustworthy, authentic deck

Secondhand or unofficial-channel purchases carry the risk of mismatched colors or a missing guidebook. Always buy from an official shop. Luna Factory decks can be purchased directly from the official shop, with a full authenticity guarantee.

♡The 5 Tarot Decks We Genuinely Recommend for Beginners

1. Original Tarot Card Beginner Set

When in doubt, pick this one — a "fully-equipped" set with everything a beginner needs

"What do I actually need to get started with tarot?" — this Luna Factory complete beginner package answers that question in one shot. It bundles the tarot deck itself, a Japanese guidebook, and a tarot cloth together, so you can start reading in earnest the moment it arrives.

The cards feature gentle, approachable colors, and the guidebook — supervised by a professional fortune teller — thoroughly covers the meaning of each card, step-by-step reading procedures, and example spreads. With zero time spent wondering "what do I need to gather first?", you can dive straight into the world of tarot with confidence.

2. Beginner's Tarot Luna's Bear Edition

A gentle bear guides you through this deck made just for beginners

True to its name, this is a tarot deck designed specifically for beginners. Luna Factory's "Bear" character appears across all 78 cards, translating tricky card meanings into the bear's soft expressions and poses that you can grasp visually at a glance.

It stays faithful to the Rider-Waite system while expressing traditional symbolism through a "world of bears," so beginners can intuitively pick up on meanings just by looking at the art. It also comes with a Japanese guidebook, letting you learn from both "the meaning of the card" and "the story told in the artwork."

3. Beginner's Tarot Dreaming Cat Edition

A must for cat lovers! A gentle tarot guided by dreamy, wandering cats

The beginner edition of Luna Factory's hugely popular "Dreaming Cat" series. Fantastical, dreamlike cats appear on all 78 cards, creating a world that's soothing just to look at.

For this beginner edition, the artwork has been reworked to be simpler and to follow the Rider-Waite system more closely, balancing "cuteness" with "ease of learning." It comes with a Japanese guidebook, so you can gradually pick up each card's meaning while enjoying the artwork. At ¥4,480, it's also the most accessible price point in this lineup, which is a nice bonus.

4. The Cute Rabbit Tarot (Rider-Waite-based, with beginner-friendly Japanese booklet)

Rabbits lead the way — learn the Rider-Waite system through cuteness

A hidden gem from Luna Factory that guides you through the world of tarot via the story unfolding among a cast of rabbits. Because it follows the Rider-Waite system, you learn the traditional meanings exactly as they are — but since every figure and scene has been reimagined as rabbits, even the scarier cards (Death, the Tower, and so on) come across as soft and approachable.

It's packed with thoughtful touches that dissolve the "fear of negative cards" that trips up so many beginners, letting you keep enjoying readings without hesitation. The included Japanese booklet lets you deepen your understanding of each card's meaning as you follow the story in the artwork.

5. Pomeranian Mochi Tarot (beginner-friendly, with Japanese guidebook)

Wrapped in fluffy Pomeranians — the ultimate comfort tarot

A "fluffy, mochi-like Pomeranian" transformed entirely into a tarot deck — one of Luna Factory's decks that has taken off overwhelmingly on social media. An expressive Pomeranian named "Mochi" appears on all 78 cards, following the traditional Rider-Waite compositions while expressing a fluffy, adorable world all its own.

It comes with a Japanese guidebook aimed at beginners, offering gentle explanations that cover not just "the meaning of the card" but also "the message Mochi is conveying." It's a one-of-a-kind deck that warms your heart through the act of reading.

☾The Meanings of the Major Arcana

Once you've found a deck you love, the next step is learning what the cards actually mean. The 22 cards of the Major Arcana — the most important cards in the deck — are covered one by one in detail on our Major Arcana guide page. Bookmark it as your companion whenever you get stuck during a reading.

✧Summary

When choosing your very first deck as a beginner, what matters most are these five points: "based on the Rider-Waite system," "artwork that makes your heart flutter," "comes with a Japanese guidebook," "a comfortable size to hold," and "genuine, authorized stock." Every Luna Factory deck satisfies all five conditions, so whichever one you choose, you should feel "this is fun!" and "I want to keep going!"

If you're still torn, starting with the Original Tarot Card Beginner Set is the safest bet — a "fully-equipped" package right down to the cloth, so your tarot journey can begin the very day it arrives. Find your adorable companion, and enjoy bringing a little more magic into your everyday life.

Nekosuke

Did you find a deck you love? Tarot is "a mirror that reflects you." Go color your everyday life alongside your favorite deck!

Reviewed by

Usatoko WHITE

Professional fortune teller specialising in tarot, oracle and Lenormand reading. Usatoko supervises every divination guide at Luna Factory to keep them accurate and beginner-friendly.

Written by the Luna Factory Editorial Team