5 Tarot Decks for Nerds

These tarot decks were carefully selected for my fellow nerds who are loyal members of their fandoms. These decks are for those who know what their favorite characters mean to them and happily surrender to their particular aesthetics. When you find the one you KNOW you need to have, just get it. You can get these decks on Amazon, but MagickPlanet will give you a discount on new decks and the opportunity to pay for the deck in smaller payments with afterpay.

1. The DC Tarot Deck and Guidebook

The DC Tarot Deck (November 2022) and guidebook by author Casey Gilly and illustrator 17th & Oak is an awesome homage to the DCU heroes and villains. Doesn’t it make sense that Superman is the Sun, that Harley Quinn is The Fool, and Raven is The High Priestess? The DC Tarot does the DCU justice (pun intended) whether you need it for your own divinatory reasons or want it for your DC merch collection!

Magick Planet: $24.50 or 4 interest-free payments of $6.13 with afterpay.

New Decks on Amazon new decks: $25.19 to $21.15

2. Fallout: The Official Tarot Deck and Guidebook

The Fallout Tarot (October 2022) by Tori Schaffer and illustrator Ronnie Senteno captured the aesthetic of our favorite dystopian hellscape. In Fallout 4, we survived by mastering V.A.T.S., building strong alliances, and pissing off a lot Deathclaws. While you shuffle the deck, you'll recall the friends and enemies you made along the way: Vault Boy is The Magician, John Hancock is The Emperor, and surprise, surprise, Nick Valentine is Justice. Along with the accurate associations of the characters and their arcana, Senteno gave the borders of each card a worn down texture to complement the franchise's apocalyptic setting.

Magick Planet: $24.30 or 4 interest-free payments of $6.08 on afterpay.

New Decks on Amazon: $25.19-$18.67

3. The Lord of the Rings Tarot and Guide

The Lord of the Rings has inspired many adaptations and now we have a tarot deck and guide. Created by Casey Gilly and award-winning illustrator Tomás Hijo, The Lord of the Rings Tarot (September 2022) has a medieval art style that magnifies the impact of the most memorable scenes in the story. The major arcana, court cards, and suits are appropriately assigned and will ring true (I'm sorry) to the fans: Galadriel is The High Priestess, Gollum is the Hanged Man, Éowyn is the Queen of Swords, and you already know who The Magician and The Fool are, right?

Some critics say that this deck and other decks illustrated by Hijo are PIP decks, or tarot decks that have the 1-10 suits displaying more simplicity, like playing cards while the major arcana and court cards have more detail (not to say that decks with more simplistic illustrations lack significance during divination, but there is less symbolism to reference during readings). If PIP decks don’t bother you and you love Hijo’s medieval art style, I highly recommend The Labyrinth Tarot and Tarot del Toro.

Magick Planet: $24.30 or 4 interest-free payments of $6.08 with afterpay.

New Decks on Amazon: $23.24-$16.55

4. Stranger Things Tarot and Guidebook

You and I are some of the 1 billion views Netflix's Stranger Things had earned over the years. I bought The Stranger Things Tarot (September 2022) from Magick Planet and was thrilled to see references from all four seasons. The Major Arcana are simply perfect. Of course Hopper is The Emperor and Eleven is The High Priestess, and a waffle is The Wheel of Fortune! Argyle, Robin, Erica, and Murray have rose as some of our new favorites and their energy is matched well with the major and minor arcana. This deck reminded me of characters I completely forgot about, which made me appreciate the attention to detail author Casey Gilly and illustrator Sándor Szalay applied to this deck. The only disappointment? No Eddie.

Magick Planet: $24.60 or 4 interest-free payments of $6.15 on afterpay

New decks on Amazon: $25.97 to $22.39

5. Game of Thrones Tarot Deck and Guidebook

George R.R. Martin's A Game of Thrones series left the fandom wanting for so long until the release of the House of the Dragon series. Assuming you're waiting for the next season like me, you can add the Game of Thrones Tarot Deck and Guidebook (March 2018) by Liz Dean and artist Craig Cross to your merch. Who better represents Temperance than Samwell Turly and Lady Brienne of Tarth as Strength? The thought put into each character's arcana associations resonates through the beautiful illustrations that parallel the traditional Rider-Waite deck; however, some critics weren't happy with the repetition of the main characters in the major and minor arcana. The author's intention may have been to show how the main players in the series could be associated with several arcana based on their character arc, so if you're interested in interpreting those intentions, this deck is highly recommended.

If the Targaryens are still on your mind, an Illustrated History of the Targaryen Dynasty is a must buy.

New decks on Amazon: $24.95 to $17.85

Barnes and Noble: $24.95

Thanks for Reading!

I'm happy to recommend the best tarot to my fellow nerds who simply need extra merch of high quality and to my fellow diviners who are looking for fun pop-culture decks. Leave a tip if you enjoyed the read! Subscribe so I can discover new tarot decks for you (I promise I'm way more obsessed than you are when it comes to discovering new, old, and forgotten tarot decks) or if you like to read about horror tropes and writing, angsty poetry, occultism, and fiction writing advice.

On Magick Planet, you can get 5% off using the coupon code: KLeliel. That's where I bought the Stranger Things tarot, but there is so much more than tarot on the website.

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