Quick Specs
- Brand: U.S. Games Systems
- Count: 80 blank cards
- Size: 2.75 x 4.75 inches (standard tarot size)
- Back Design: Patterned plaid, similar to Rider-Waite style
- Surface: Water-based varnish compatible with markers, pens, colored pencils, and paint
- Best For: Artists and practitioners creating custom tarot or oracle decks
Why Make Your Own Deck
Creating a personal tarot deck is one of the most direct ways to deepen your relationship with the cards. When you draw each image yourself, you encode your own symbolism, color associations, and intuitive meanings into the deck before you ever do a reading. The result is a tool that speaks your visual language rather than requiring you to learn someone else’s system first.
U.S. Games Systems produces these 80 blank cards at standard tarot dimensions with rounded corners and a water-based playing card varnish. The surface accepts markers, pens, colored pencils, acrylics, and watercolors without significant bleed or warping. The patterned back design reads like a traditional Rider-Waite-style back, so the finished deck looks professional during readings.
What You Can Create
A standard tarot deck has 78 cards, so 80 gives you 2 extras for mistakes or an additional card of your own design. You can also build a 44-card oracle deck, use them as affirmation cards, flash cards, or a personal divination system that doesn’t follow any traditional structure. The patterned back keeps things looking finished without requiring you to design a reverse side as well.
How to Use Blank Tarot Cards
Three steps from blank cards to a finished personal deck.
- Plan Your Deck Layout
Decide on your card structure: 78-card tarot, a shorter oracle format, or something personal. Sketch thumbnail layouts before drawing on the cards so you know what imagery goes on each one before committing with ink or paint.
- Draw Your Cards
Work from lightest to darkest: pencil sketch first, then ink, then color. Sharpies and alcohol markers work for bold lines. Colored pencils give fine detail. Let each card dry fully before stacking to avoid smudging during the process.
- Seal and Shuffle
Once cards are complete and dry, apply a light sealer spray for extra protection if desired. Store the finished deck in a cloth bag or box to protect edges, and do a few practice shuffles to break the deck in before your first reading.
The Tarot Fellow Standard
I carry these because U.S. Games makes them at the right weight, the right size, and with a surface that works with the art supplies most practitioners already own. The patterned back is a thoughtful touch that saves you from designing a back side as well as 78 fronts. If you want to pair them with an existing deck for reference, explore my tarot and oracle card selection.
Frequently Asked Questions
Sharpie markers, alcohol brush markers, and ballpoint pens all work well on the varnished surface. Colored pencils require a few passes to build color. Watercolor and acrylic paint markers also adhere cleanly. Avoid oil-based paints.
A standard tarot deck has 78 cards, so 80 gives you 2 spares for mistakes. For a shorter oracle or affirmation card set, the count works for formats of 44 to 78 cards with room to adjust your system as you design and create each one.
The cards measure 2.75 by 4.75 inches, the standard tarot size matching most commercial decks including Rider-Waite. Rounded corners give them the same professional feel as a printed deck when shuffling and handling during readings.
Yes. Oracle decks have no fixed card count or structure, so 80 blank cards give complete flexibility. You can build a themed affirmation deck, a nature-based divination set, or any personal card system outside the 78-card tarot format.
They definitely worked for me . I made my own deck and they are very durable and bendy. Flexibility: Is amazing , they actually stay strong after flexing and bending them. Material: The material is top tier.
It’s exactly what you’re hoping for if you’re looking for blank tarot cards! Could be a little thicker but they’re nice, and you get a few extra just in case.
Will buying again!
I never received it.
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