Quick Specs
- Publisher: U.S. Games Systems, Inc.
- Cards: 78 + 1 Pride Flag Rainbow card
- Artists: 45 contributors from around the globe
- Guidebook: 192-page illustrated booklet with artist bios and Parade Card Spread
- Card size: 2.75″ x 4.75″
- Structure: Rider-Waite-Smith tradition
Pride Tarot Deck: LGBTQ Representation in Every Card
The Pride Tarot is a 78-card collaborative deck published by U.S. Games Systems with contributions from 45 artists representing the LGBTQ+ community and allied practitioners from across six continents, including contributors from Russia, Italy, France, Germany, Japan, the Philippines, Guatemala, and the United States. The deck follows the Rider-Waite-Smith structure, with 22 Major Arcana and 56 Minor Arcana organized across the traditional four suits of Wands, Cups, Swords, and Pentacles. Every card in the deck was individually assigned to a different artist, making this an anthology of artistic visions unified by a single structural framework rather than a single illustrative style.
The representation in this deck is not superficial. The court cards, historically gendered as Kings, Queens, Knights, and Pages within a binary framework, are reimagined throughout the deck to reflect gender fluidity, trans identity, and same-sex partnerships. The Lovers card incorporates imagery directly from queer liberation marches. The Strength card features a dark-skinned mermaid with a crown in lesbian and Pride colors. The Emperor card, drawn from a dedicated Lesbian and Queer Major Arcana series, depicts strong feminine energy in a traditionally masculine authority role. The Death card explicitly transforms a symbol of exclusion into an LGBTQ+ flag as an act of reclamation.
LGBTQ Tarot Deck: A Working Tool for Serious Practitioners
Representation in tarot imagery matters because the unconscious reads symbolism literally. When every figure of authority in a deck presents as cisgender and heterosexual, the deck’s archetypal vocabulary excludes practitioners whose own identity and experience don’t map onto those images. The Pride Tarot addresses this directly, making it a functional tool for any queer practitioner who has found themselves translating traditional imagery rather than reading it. It is equally usable by practitioners of any identity who want their deck to reflect the actual breadth of human experience.
The included 192-page guidebook provides full card descriptions for all 78 cards, individual artist biographies, and instructions for a Parade Card Spread designed specifically for this deck. The extra Pride Flag Rainbow card can be used as a significator or as part of a six-card reading. The 2.75 by 4.75 inch card size is standard for the format and handles comfortably for both riffle and overhand shuffling. Browse my full tarot deck collection to find decks suited to different reading styles and traditions.
How to Use the Pride Tarot Deck
How to begin working with the Pride Tarot deck as a daily and reading practice tool.
- Get Acquainted Through a Card-a-Day Practice
Before full readings, spend a week drawing one card daily and reading its guidebook entry. Because 45 artists contributed, the visual language shifts card to card. This daily practice builds familiarity with the full range of deck imagery.
- Use the Parade Card Spread for Identity Readings
The included guidebook has a Parade Card Spread designed for identity, self-expression, and community questions. This spread suits readings around coming out, transitions, or affirming one's sense of self and direction within a chosen community.
- Use the Rainbow Card as a Significator
The extra Pride Flag Rainbow card serves as a significator representing the querent's whole identity. It has no reversed position or shadow meaning, making it a grounding anchor in spreads where affirmation and guidance are needed simultaneously.
The Tarot Fellow Standard
I stocked the Pride Tarot because having fifteen decks in the store and none of them reflecting queer identity was a gap worth closing. This deck earns its place not as a novelty but as a serious working tool: it follows RWS structure, which means any practitioner trained on traditional decks can pick it up without relearning a new symbolic system. The 192-page guidebook is genuinely thorough, and the multi-artist format means the imagery is more varied and often more striking than any single-artist deck at this level. Browse my tarot books and study guides if you want to deepen your reading practice alongside this deck.
Frequently Asked Questions
Pride Tarot was published by U.S. Games Systems with artwork from 45 artists worldwide, many identifying as LGBTQ+ or closely connected to the community. It includes an illustrated 192-page guidebook and was created to support LGBTQ+ youth programs.
Yes. The deck uses the Rider-Waite-Smith structure: 22 Major Arcana and 56 Minor Arcana across Wands, Cups, Swords, and Pentacles. Anyone familiar with standard RWS decks can use it immediately without learning any new symbolic system or tradition.
Court cards reflect gender fluidity and trans identity. The Lovers uses queer liberation imagery. The Emperor depicts feminine energy in authority. The Strength features Pride and lesbian colors. Each of the 78 cards was given to a different artist.
Yes. Any practitioner can use this deck. Queer practitioners gain imagery reflecting their identity directly. Practitioners of any background gain a richer symbolic vocabulary reflecting the actual breadth of human experience and relationships.
I absolutely adore this deck! I love the collaborative artwork from such a diverse group of esoteric artists This is by far my favourite lgbtq+ tarot deck at the moment! #queeringtheworld