Can You Make Tarot Cards at Home? How-To + Rules
How to make your own tarot deck at home: DIY artwork, structure rules, printing options and mistakes to avoid.
The structure you must keep
78 cards: 22 Majors; suits of Wands, Cups, Swords, Pentacles numbered Ace to Ten plus Page, Knight, Queen, King. Deviate from that and tarot readers will struggle to use your deck as a deck.
Three routes, three budgets
Cheap: print public-domain Rider–Waite–Smith scans on cardstock and trim — legal, since the 1909 art is public domain. Mid: design originals in Krita/Canva and use a print-on-demand service. Prestige: hand-paint a one-of-a-kind deck — a long, honest creative ritual.
Beginner mistakes
Mismatched suit colour-language, minors over-illustrated until the symbol vanishes, art that isn't vertically symmetric (breaks reversals), and printing at poker-card size when tarot runs wider. Start with the Majors if testing artwork ideas.
Put it to the test
Reading this is nice; pulling the cards is nicer. 3 free readings here every day.