The 20 Best Oracle Decks for Beginners 2023

Are you looking for a new way to explore your spirituality? Oracle cards are an amazing tool that can help you find answers and discover peace in your life. There are many different types of oracle cards, however not all of them are created equally.

In this guide, we will discuss the best oracle decks for beginners available on online marketplaces and how best to use them for maximum impact. If you’re just beginning, you need to know how to get started! Let’s go!

Since the original publication of this post, I’ve used and reviewed about 45 more decks of oracle cards and can highly recommend these listed below as excellent choices for beginners.

If you’re curious (or in a hurry) here are the top ones!

✅OUR #1 PICK! Angels and Ancestors Oracle Cards

✅BEST FEMININE DECK: Work Your Light Oracle Cards

✅BEST MASCULINE DECK: Psychic Tarot Oracle

✅BEST FOR TOTAL BEGINNERS: Wisdom of the Oracle

What are Oracle Cards?

Oracle cards are a tool to help you read energy and have many different uses, from affirmations, reflections, journaling, tarot practice, and more.

They are very similar to tarot, except that tarot is much more structured and can be more intimidating because of the cards in the tarot that have negative interpretations (i.e. the Death card, the Tower card, the Ten of Swords). For this reason, many people start with oracle cards before moving on to tarot.

Many people start with a self-reflection or self-care practice by drawing one oracle card a day and journaling about it. They are great for both simple and in-depth readings, spiritual development and self-work.

Check out a bit of history about oracle cards here.

When Looking for Oracle Card Decks

Because oracle cards are something that speak to you on a spiritual and intuitive level, it’s important to listen to your gut when choosing a deck of oracle cards. Oracle cards are more subjective, unlike affirmation cards (which have affirmations on them), or tarot cards (specifically designed for divination and guidance), oracle cards can be used in a number of ways and can have many different meanings.

Keep all of these in mind when choosing an oracle deck for yourself. A great oracle deck can help you connect with your intuition and divine wisdom, inspire meaning and guidance, and help you make the best decisions for you.

Names to Know

There are a lot of lightworkers, artists, writers, and others who dedicate their lives to creating amazing products that are accessible to everyone. Here’s a list of people you will become very familiar with as your collection of oracle cards grows!

1. Doreen Virtue
2. Radleigh Valentine
3. Rebecca Campbell
4. Kyle Gray
5. Alana Fairchild
6. Denise Linn
7. Colette Baron-Reid
8. Sandra Anne Taylor
9. Lucy Cavendish

There are many others as well that come to mind when it comes to the best oracle cards out there. And just because an oracle deck is created by someone else does not mean that you cannot rely on the quality. There are tons of great artists and options out there!

Best Oracle Decks Options

Most oracle decks number of cards have between 44 cards and 78 cards (similar to tarot cards). Many also include a guidebook.

When you’re looking for the best oracle cards for yourself, make sure to take into account the size of your hands. If you have small hands (like me), you might find shuffling larger cards to be quite cumbersome.

Lastly, consider your intention. Are you hoping to pull a card every day? Or will you make this a more special ritual like a deeper tarot card reading?

There aren’t any wrong answers: only what works best for you. Listen to your inner voice and feel the energy of each deck. Listen to what speaks to you.

Most of these decks are around $20, and a few are a little more expensive.

These oracle decks are all wildly different!
Choose what speaks to you and listen to your intuition.

RELATED POST: Can You Be a Buddhist Witch?

The Best Oracle Cards for Beginners

1. ★BEST FEMININE DECK!★ Work Your Light Oracle Cards

These cards by Rebecca Campbell are great beginner cards. The designs feature pastel blues and pinks and purples (computer designed, not drawn by hand). There are different types of cards to offer different types of guidance. The guidebook makes the guidance clear and concise!

You’ll see many tarot and oracle readers on YouTube use this deck or other Rebecca Campbell decks.

However, the cardstock quality might not be what you are looking for.

I call this a feminine deck mostly because of the pinks and pastels and imagery. It has a very gentle (yet still honest and heart-centered) energy and offers lovely readings! Both the writer and artist for this deck are female.

Rebecca Campbell’s Starseed Oracle Deck is visually very similar and also has mind-blowing reviews.

2. ★OUR TOP PICK!★ Angels and Ancestors Oracle Cards

The imagery of this deck is stunning. With lots of dark colors, diverse characters, and excellent meanings and interpretations, the Angels and Ancestors deck is a great choice for oracle beginners or advanced readers. This deck has excellent reviews.

Created by Kyle Gray and illustrated by artist Lily Moses. You may notice that Kyle Gray creates some decks that are almost exclusively people-based (rather than concepts). There are a few concepts in this one, like “Drum” and “Guardian Angel.” His Angel deck (another popular one) is people-based as well. This can be beneficial when you’re looking to do a reading to highlight certain traits that you have or need to have in order to be closest to your highest self.

I love this deck to get messages from my ancestors and spirit guides. (I have spirit guides who are Indigenous American and Bronze Age Scottish, as well as Middle Eastern guides.)

3.★BEST FOR BEGINNERS!★ Wisdom of the Oracle

Colette Baron-Reid is one of the top Oracle deck creators and for good reason. Her knowledge of the tarot, runes, I-Ching, and other sources of spiritual inspiration is unparalleled. This is actually the deck that she uses for teaching.

She says that this deck helps to highlight the universality of human struggles. It helps connect you to others as well as to what is going on around you. It it not overly feminine or masculine, which makes it a fantastic, universal beginner deck.

I like using this deck as a primary deck in a reading and I find that it replaces a traditional tarot deck in the situations when I find I prefer an oracle deck or don’t want the confines of a traditional tarot.

Her Spirit Animal Oracle deck has more reviews than this deck, but I find this one to be a more well-rounded deck.

I’ve also just reviewed her new Dream Weaver’s Oracle, which I absolutely love!

4. ★BEST MASCULINE DECK!★The Psychic Tarot Oracle Cards

Although this is based on the tarot, it is not truly a tarot deck and definitely fits more within the oracle deck realm. An incredibly popular, versatile, and widely used deck, the Psychic Tarot Oracle is great for any kind of reading or energy work.

One of the things that I love about this deck is the inclusion of topics and ideas that are merely implied in the Rider Waite Tarot. Topics like: fertility, envy, sacrifice, and the chakras. I’ve found that my readings with this deck offer me new and accurate perspectives on the issues that myself and my clients are working through.

I call this a masculine deck mostly because it feels very direct and organized, energetically, and the artwork is not “feminine” in that it does not include pinks, pastels, florals, etc. The writer and artist are both male.

One of my favorite general oracle decks! My readings are SPOT-ON (albeit practical and direct) with this deck.

Check out my full review of the Psychic Tarot here.

5. Native Spirit Oracle Cards

Any of Denise Linn’s oracle cards are well worth while, but these are my favorite. With nature images and connections to our natural world, Native Spirit lends itself toward those on a spiritual or earth-based journey.

Denise Linn is Indigenous American, and this deck is a wonderful trove of her knowledge of Native American practices. Animals, symbols, and nature scenes are throughout this deck. My personal favorite card is Owl Medicine!

Also consider the Sacred Destiny Oracle by Denise Linn, another one of her most popular products.

6. Energy Oracle Cards

The Energy Oracle cards by Sandra Anne Taylor are a stunning and powerful choice! Sandra Anne Taylor is the sister of Sharon Anne Klingler (they worked on the Akashic Tarot together) and the artist of this deck is Jena Della Grottaglia.

The art is colorful and bright and is in a similar yet toned-down style from older decks like those by Radleigh Valentine and Doreen Virtue (see Angel deck below).

7. Wild Unknown Animal Spirit Card Deck

An illustrated deck that looks very much like tarot, the Wild Animal Spirit cards help you with self-discovery through animal archetypes (in five different elements: Earth, Air, Fire, Water, and Spirit) and their personalities, traits, and meanings. These are consistently easy to interpret!

These are part of a series, including the Wild Unknown Tarot Cards and the Wild Unknown Archetypes Cards. I adore the Wild Unknown Tarot deck, and these Animal Spirit cards are no different!

The artwork style is a pen sketch style in black and white with color/rainbow highlights. It’s a very different style from most tarot and oracle decks. The biggest concern about this deck is the cardstock quality.

Check out my review of the Wild Unknown Tarot.

8. Moonology Oracle Cards

Moonology cards are immensely popular! You’ll see tarot readers all over YouTube do readings with these cards, including one of my favorite readers on YouTube.

Regardless of whether you know astrology, this deck offers great guidance and has some different concepts that other decks don’t include. I don’t find this deck to be overly masculine or feminine, despite the connection to grandmother moon.

The cardstock is nice and thick (sometimes to the point of being difficult to shuffle). But I prefer thicker cards and it feels very high quality and durable.

I like using this deck as a supplemental deck where I’m using a tarot or oracle deck as the primary deck. This one helps to highlight and compliment many concepts in the tarot with a different perspective.

If you’re interested in this deck, read my full Moonology review here.

9. Sacred Geometry Activation Oracle Deck

There are many excellent oracle decks out there that use sacred geometry and this one is my favorite. This Sacred Geometry deck is also excellent if you’re a beginner to sacred geometry.

One of the things that I love about this deck (and what makes it an excellent choice for beginners), is that there are a few sentences explanation on each card. It makes it a lot easier to interpret since you don’t need to get the guidebook out for every card you pull!

Another great use for these cards is using whatever card you’ve pulled to serve as an activation for crystals or other objects on your altar to imbue the spirit of the card into your object!

10. Angel Answers Oracle Deck

This is a reissue of the classic oracle card deck by Doreen Virtue and Radleigh Valentine, with only Radleigh as the sole author. (Doreen has converted to Fundemental Christianity and has since withdrawn her name from all new age products.)

This is another great beginner oracle deck from a classic era of oracle. Radleigh has a soft and gentle, yet intense energy and his energy really comes out in his oracle cards.

However, one of the main complaints of this deck (and others by Doreen Virtue and Radleigh Valentine) is that it is not diverse enough. Are angels only white? Most certainly not.

11. Queen of the Moon Oracle Deck

If you’re a beginner to oracle cards, a general yet feminine deck like this one is great to start with! This deck is another great selection for a wild woman or witch, or anyone interested in the moon and your shadow self.

Queen of the Moon Oracle is also a great choice for shadow work, with cards like Fear, Boundaries, Nourishment, and Extremes. Incredibly interesting deck to work with, due mostly to the fact that this one is no BS. It offers it to you straight and blunt!

One of my favorite decks.

12. Sacred Rebel Oracle Cards

Alana Fairchild is an author and lightworker, and many of her oracle decks and other works focus on just one person or deity, including Kali, Kuan Yin, or Isis. But these Sacred Rebel Oracle cards are more widely used and more geared toward general use, thus making them great beginner cards.

As a wild woman, the idea of “sacred rebels” really speaks to me. This is a highly feminine deck, and the illustrations on the cards are all of women: baby, child, maiden, mother, crone. If you are sensitive to nudity, this is not the deck for you.

RELATED POST: Wild Kuan Yin Oracle Deck Review

13. Oracle of Shadows and Light

Lucy Cavendish is a renowned witch, and that is reflected in all her works. She has many styles of oracle cards, each one powerful and unique in its own right, but this Oracle of Shadows and Light Deck is just outstanding.

If you’re looking for a darker deck, this one might be for you. While it might not be the best choice for your very first beginning oracle deck, it’s a great one to stretch your intuition. The cards offer phrases like “Violet Angel” and “Witch at the End of the World,” this deck might take some getting used to!

RELATED POSTS:
20 Best Affirmation Cards for Everyone
20 Best Tarot Card Sets for Novice to Advanced

14. Sacred Self Care Oracle Deck

On any list of best oracle decks for beginners, this is one that keeps popping up: for good reason! These cards are whimsical and touching, and can help you focus on how to best serve your body, mind, and spirit (which is what we’re all about at Wild Simple Joy).

This is a great way to work self-care rituals into your daily life and can help to nourish your body and spirit.

15. Believe in Your Own Magic Oracle Deck

When choosing from this best oracle cards list, consider one thing above all else: yourself. Perfect for self-care, this deck will guide you to loving yourself and finding validation in the world around you everywhere!

I use this deck as another supplemental deck to draw from, especially in readings for clients and friends that are women and have leaking energy.

I love the inclusiveness of this deck. The cards are huge, almost like mini pieces of artwork.

RELATED POST: 40 Affirmations to Find Love and Romance

16. Seasons of the Witch: Yule Oracle

I absolutely adore the idea of a deck of cards specific to a certain season or holiday. This second deck of cards in the series is based on the Wiccan/pagan holiday Yule. The artwork is divine.

This is one of four decks. Here are the other decks:

• Seasons of the Witch: Samhain
• Seasons of the Witch: Beltane
• Seasons of the Witch: Mabon

What I love about this series is that these decks are designed for a particular time of year. You will find witchy artwork to reflect pagan traditions and natural, earth-based events that occur in whichever season is in focus.

17. The Awakened Soul Oracle Card Deck

Hopeful and diverse, these Awakened Soul Oracle cards are a great addition to your best oracle decks (and best tarot decks) collection. The illustrations are beautiful and the meanings are clear.

The Awakened Soul is a more general oracle card deck with concepts like “cleanse,” “meditate,” “family,” and “adventure.” But the artwork is inclusive and modern, showing scenes from modern-day life.

The cards are quite large, but it previous versions were even larger! So these are large enough to use as artwork, but not so large that small hands can’t handle them.

This deck is one of the most expensive decks in this list, so make sure you budget for it!

18. African Goddess Rising Oracle Deck

What amazing artwork and imagery on these cards! It is bold and colorful, with goddesses, spirits, queens, and ancestors that hail from Africa and throughout the diaspora. Stunning reviews on Amazon!

The biggest complaint in reviews is that the goddesses chosen on these cards may not be historically represented.

Personally, as a white woman who was raised in a racist world, I don’t have the same knowledge of gods and goddesses from Asia and Africa (even Native American spirituality) as I do of Christianity. This deck helps to broaden my mind, and helps me understand a wider life experience.

19. Fin De Siecle Kipper Fortune Telling Deck

Although this is definitely not the deck you want to begin with, this fortune telling deck can be excellent in addition to or completely separate from tarot cards to help you read energies in the present and help to read your future.

Sandra Anne Klingler (author of the Akashic Tarot and sister to Sandra Anne Taylor) says that reading the future gets a bad rap, but when you do this, you’re seeing the potential outcomes of where a situation could go from here. (To learn more from Sandra Anne Klingler, you should check out Hay House’s Certified Tarot Reader Course.)

This deck is created by Ciro Marchetti, Italian oracle and tarot card creator and the author of the Gilded Tarot.

20. A Yogic Path Oracle

This one makes the list of best oracle decks for beginners but only if you’re not a beginner to yoga! This deck uses primarily Indian influences, from yoga, to Ayurveda, to chakras, and even Hindu deities. When you need more Dharma (teaching/principles) in your life, this deck is a beautiful way to guide yourself.

With cards like Kundalini, Kriya (action), Ahimsa (nonviolence), and deities and teachers like Lakshmi, Buddha, and Ganesh, these cards are sure to help you bring inner peace and breath to your heart and mind.

PLUS: The Best Oracle Decks for Beginners on Etsy

I love finding unique oracle decks done by artists on Etsy. Here are my 3 favorites!

1. Synchronicity Oracle Deck

What beautiful colors on this best oracle card deck! Created by artist Cathy Nichols and produced by small publication, these cards are whimsical and fun, with lots of options. She has created seasons cards to help with seasonal readings and adds dice for randomness.

These are artsy and fun. They’re also perfect for small hands!

(Cost is a little more expensive.)

2. La Muci Design Oracle Deck

Something about these cards call to me. They are simple and visually striking, and look a bit like the traditional Rider-Waite tarot cards. They have excellent reviews and designed to be used in conjunction with a tarot deck or alone, while using your intuition to decide the card’s meaning for you.

The cards are reasonably priced, but as they ship from Slovenia, shipping cost is a little high!

3. Illuminated Earth Oracle Deck

This best oracle cards deck has incredible artwork by Claire Mack. Seriously, I am BLOWN AWAY by this deck of oracle cards and how beautiful and eerie the artwork is. It feels both natural and supernatural at the same time.

Again, because of the size of these cards, they make it easier for small hands to shuffle.

Cost is a little more expensive.

More Best Oracle Decks to Check Out via My Reviews:
Clairvoyant Oracle Review
Wild Kuan Yin Oracle Deck by Alana Fairchild Review
Shaman’s Oracle Deck Review
Affirmations for the Everyday Goddess Review
Wild Woman Oracle Deck Review

The 20 Best Oracle Decks for Beginners 2023