Skip to content

Is The Everyday Tarot Deck Good For Beginners?

    You have seen the modern and stylish Everyday Tarot Mini Deck and can’t wait to get your hands on a deck. But are the scaled-down images an excellent choice for a beginner or not? And most importantly, will you be able to use the Rider-Waite information when you decode the cards?

    35% think the Everyday Tarot deck by Birgit Esselmont is a great option for a beginner. 15% answered they did not believe it was a great option. The Everyday Tarot deck follows the Rider-Waite system but has a restricted color palette and cutback imagery. This might cause problems for a beginner.

    Buying tarot decks is something special. As you connect to the cards on a deep level, you want to choose a pretty and easy deck to use. Tarot is complex as it is, right? Let’s hear what the tarot community says about the Everyday Tarot Mini deck.

    EVERYDAY TAROT MINI TAROT DECK

    The Everyday Tarot Mini deck was created by Birgit Esselmont and illustrated by illustrations by Eleanor Groschin. The tarot deck is stylish and modern with a scaled-back look and was made in 2018. The purple and gold colors are very feminine and feel upscale.

    The gold edges on the card make it a beautiful deck to look at, and it enhances any reading area. The deck has gorgeous gold sparkles on the edges. It feels very regal. 

    The Everyday Tarot Mini deck follows the Rider-Waite system. The deck has 78 cards and mimics the Rider-Waite cards. The size of the cards is a bit smaller than regular tarot cards and very easy to hand. They are easy to shuffle and handle. I love the feel of them in my hands. 

    When the deck was new, it was harder to shuffle due to the golden edge stuck together. The card quality is very high but slightly slippery when mixing; it improves with time.

    I show my (beloved) Everyday Tarot Mini deck in the video below. Take a look at the packaging, booklet, all the cards included in the deck, and how the limited color scheme looks in a three-card spread. As always, when I create videos, things happen. I’m sorry if the cards are slightly low in the frame during the flip-through. At least you can see all the cards and how they look and feel. 

    It was hard to get the beautiful colors to show in the pictures. The color is a rich deep purple, not as blue as in some pictures.

    IS THE EVERYDAY TAROT MINI DECK AN EXCELLENT CHOICE FOR A BEGINNER?

    As the images are significantly scaled back, they can be harder to read as a beginner. But on the other side, the most important details are still there (if you compare the images with the original Rider-Waite deck). The illustrator has done a great job highlighting the key features of the cards. 

    The price is very affordable as well. The price ranges between 8-15 USD. It’s a great gift with a booklet and basic instructions. 

    The color scheme is minimal: purple, white, and gold. This makes it a bit harder to read as a beginner. You lose the color cues found in the original Rider-Waite deck. It is hard to create a story or mood of the spread when all the colors are the same. But, of course, it is also the charm with the deck overall. It gives it a modern and stylish look.

    The original Rider is very detailed and gives the reader clues on what the card means. The cards are packed with symbols and colors. You also see the facial expressions of the people in the cards. You can’t see the facial expressions in the Everyday Tarot deck. The faces are all in profile, which is not the case in the original Rider-Waite deck. 

    Depending on the type of readings you want to do, the Everyday Tarot deck might be an excellent match for a beginner. If you are doing introspect readings for self-discovery and growth – yes! If you are going to do traditional tarot readings, aka fortune-telling, it might be more challenging. The lack of details forces you to know the card’s meanings by heart. You don’t get as many clues in the images as in an original Rider-Waite deck.

    The great thing is that you find the card meanings on Brigit Esselmont’s site Biddytarot.com. The deck is featured as images, and you get a thorough description of the card. 

    As always, with tarot, the pros of a deck might be a con for some. We all have different tastes and reading styles. 

    Below is a link to the Everyday Tarot deck on Amazon (affiliate link).

    EVERYDAY TAROT

    PROS

    • Affordable price.
    • High-quality card stock.
    • Great booklet and basic info on how to do a reading.
    • Follow the Rider-Waite system
    • Great card meaning guide on Biddy Tarot.

    IS THE EVERYDAY TAROT MINI DECK A RIDER-WAITE DECK?

    Yes, the Everyday Tarot Mini deck is a version of the Rider-Waite tarot deck. You can use Rider-Waite reference books when using the Everyday Tarot. The cards mimic the Rider-Waite deck and have all 78 cards. You also get two additional cards with information on easy spreads and how to conduct a reading.

    With this said, it’s a deck suitable for anyone familiar with or who wants to learn the Rider-Waite system. 

    The cards in the Everyday Tarot deck are minimal, though, compared with the original imagery of the Rider-Waite. If you want to take a closer look at how the cards look, please look at my video above.

    WANT TO LEARN MORE?

    Is a Rider-Waite style of tarot deck great for beginners?

    IS THE EVERYDAY TAROT MINI DECK A RIDER-WAITE DECK?

    35% SAY THE EVERYDAY TAROT MINI DECK IS EXCELLENT FOR BEGINNERS

    As opinions about tarot decks often are subjective, I asked the tarot community what they thought of the Everyday Tarot deck. I wanted to know if they thought it was a great tarot deck for beginners or not. I posted the question in a subreddit for tarot decks

    35% answered that the Everyday Tarot deck was an excellent option for beginners. 37% said they didn’t know. They didn’t have any experience with the deck or were unsure overall. 15% answered the deck was not suitable for beginners. 13% responded that it might be a great fit. 

    The result from the poll surprised me a little as I felt the deck might be a bit hard for a beginner that has not yet learned the card’s meanings. The sparse prompts might make it harder to understand. But, as always, it could be the opposite as well. Beginners that easily get overwhelmed might benefit from a minimal deck. I also thought the restricted color scheme might make them hard to read side by side. 

    I love the Everyday Tarot deck for readings focused on self-development and growth. I use them for career-related readings as well. I seldom use them in my psychic readings for some reason. I have no idea why. I guess that the limited colors are restricting me somehow.

    You find a screengrab and a table with the results below.

    35% SAY THE EVERYDAY TAROT MINI DECK IS EXCELLENT FOR BEGINNERS
    AnswerNumber%
    Yes, it’s a great option for a beginner1835%
    No, it’s not a great option for a beginner815%
    Maybe713%
    I have no idea1937%

    IN SUMMARY

    35% think the Everyday Tarot deck by Birgit Esselmont and Eleanor Groschin is an excellent option for beginners. 15% think it’s not a great deck just starting.

    The Everyday Tarot is very affordable, and the cardstock is high quality. I love this deck and use it in my mindfulness practice and introspect readings. The downside, in my opinion, is that the limited color scheme might make the cards more challenging to read in a context if you are a beginner. It is easier to have color ques as in the original Rider-Waite decks. But this is also the charm with the deck—the modern and stylish look. 

    When it comes to tarot, you have to choose decks with your intuition and heart. If you love the deck, you will gain great insights. 

    Sandra Törnroth

    Intuitive multi-modal tarot reader with a love for crystals and everything esoteric

    TAROT TREASURE COVE

    Snatch the tools a professional tarot reader is using

    THE DEFINITIONS IN THIS ARTICLE ARE BASED ON THE RIDER WAITE DECK AND SYSTEM.

    Recent Post