AI tarot decks: how to spot handmade art, and why it matters
The conversation around AI tarot decks has grown louder over the past year. On one side stands a growing group of makers and collectors who celebrate hand painted and hand drawn decks, gathering under hashtags like #HumanArtTarot and #NoAITarot. On the other side, decks keep appearing that were made wholly or partly with AI. Between the two lies a wide grey area, and it is that grey area that makes it hard to know what you are really looking at.
You may recognise the feeling. You find a deck online that speaks to you at once, you study the cards a few times, and then somewhere in the small print you read that AI played a part. Or you never find out at all, because the maker says nothing about it. That quiet uncertainty, about something you may soon hold in your hands every day, is exactly what this piece is about. Not to pass judgement, but to help you make a clear choice for yourself.
What does ‘made with AI’ actually mean?
Look a little closer and made with AI turns out to mean very different things. At one end are decks where nearly every image was generated by a computer, based on a few lines of text that someone typed in. At the other end are artists who paint or draw everything by hand and who lean on AI at most for a small task in the background, such as testing a colour combination. Between those extremes lies a whole range of possibilities.
A maker might sketch the foundation by hand and let software tidy up the finish. Another builds a card from generated pieces and then paints over them. A third uses the technology only for the layout of the guidebook. So when someone says a deck contains AI, you still know very little. The question that truly matters is not whether technology was used, but where and how much. Only then can you judge a deck on what it really is.
Why many people deliberately choose handmade decks
For part of the tarot world the answer is simple: they want to hold the work of a human being. And that is a perfectly understandable preference. Behind a handmade deck there is often someone who studied the symbolism of the cards for years, who chose a certain colour, a glance, a posture on purpose. Every card carries an intention, and you feel that intention again the moment you lay the cards out.
Something personal plays a part too. For many people a deck is not a picture on the wall but a tool they pick up again and again. Those who feel a bond with the maker read differently. You know there is a person on the other side who was trying to convey something, and that awareness often gives a reading more depth. For these readers the hand of the artist is not a detail but the very reason they choose one deck over another. Think of the independent makers in our stories on indie tarot decks, or an artist deck like the Blood Moon Tarot by Sam Guay, where you can see the maker’s hand in every card.
Does AI in a tarot deck make it worth less?
And yet it is too easy to say handmade good, AI bad. There are decks in which AI played a role and that look beautiful, with owners who are delighted with them. A tool does not decide the value of the result on its own. What makes a deck good is whether it suits you, whether the images tell you something and whether you enjoy working with it. That can happen just as well with a deck that used technology as with one painted entirely by hand.
Where it does grate, it grates for two reasons. The first is the way some AI was trained: on the work of makers who never gave permission and were never paid for it. That is a real concern, and artists are right to draw attention to it. The second may weigh even more heavily for you as a buyer, because it grates above all when AI is kept quiet. The problem is not the technology itself, but the silence around it.
The problem is not the technology itself, but the silence around it.
What it really comes down to: transparency
This brings us to the heart of it. The point is not really the contrast between handmade and AI, but something far simpler: are you allowed to know how your deck was made? Even large players have come unstuck here. When a well known international card publisher turned out to have used AI in promotional images without saying so, attentive fans spotted it at once, and the company had to take back its earlier words in public. It shows how sensitive this is, and how much people want to know where they stand.
When you know how a deck came about, you can choose on the basis of facts rather than an assumption. One person does not mind that technology was used, as long as it is clear. Another wants the work of a human being and nothing else. Both of those choices are fine, but they can only be made honestly when the information is on the table. Transparency takes nothing away from anyone. It gives you the room to choose what suits you.
How to choose a tarot deck that fits you
If you want to be sure where you stand, it starts with the maker’s own description. Do they tell you how the deck was made? Is an artist named? Is there anything about the process, or does that stay strikingly vague? A maker who is proud of the craft will usually be glad to talk about it. Silence on that point need not mean anything is wrong, but it is a reason to ask further or look a little harder before you order.
Ask yourself, too, what weighs more heavily for you. Is it mainly the feeling that a person stands behind every card? Then look for decks where the artist and the process are clearly in view. Do you care most that the images speak to you and that you read comfortably with them? Then the technology may play a smaller part in your decision. There is no right or wrong answer, only the answer that is true for you. Either way, buy from a source you trust, so you never end up with a counterfeit deck.
Where tarot.nl stands
At tarot.nl we try to be as honest about this as we can. If we know a deck was made with AI, we simply say so. If we are not certain, we make no assumption about it, because guessing would only mislead you. We would rather be open about what we do know and honest about what we do not, than offer a false certainty that does not hold. That way you stay at the wheel.
We believe you as a buyer have the right to a complete, honest choice, and that the real maker deserves the credit that belongs to them. Whether you deliberately go for handmade work or do not mind that technology is involved, you deserve to make that choice with the facts in hand. That is what we stand for, card by card and deck by deck.
Want to take your time? Read our beginner’s guide to choosing a tarot deck and discover which deck fits you.
The conversation around AI tarot decks has grown louder over the past year. On one side stands a growing group of makers and collectors who celebrate hand painted and hand drawn decks, gathering under hashtags like #HumanArtTarot and #NoAITarot. On the other side, decks keep appearing that were made wholly or partly with AI. Between the two lies a wide grey area, and it is that grey area that makes it hard to know what you are really looking at.
You may recognise the feeling. You find a deck online that speaks to you at once, you study the cards a few times, and then somewhere in the small print you read that AI played a part. Or you never find out at all, because the maker says nothing about it. That quiet uncertainty, about something you may soon hold in your hands every day, is exactly what this piece is about. Not to pass judgement, but to help you make a clear choice for yourself.
What does ‘made with AI’ actually mean?
Look a little closer and made with AI turns out to mean very different things. At one end are decks where nearly every image was generated by a computer, based on a few lines of text that someone typed in. At the other end are artists who paint or draw everything by hand and who lean on AI at most for a small task in the background, such as testing a colour combination. Between those extremes lies a whole range of possibilities.
A maker might sketch the foundation by hand and let software tidy up the finish. Another builds a card from generated pieces and then paints over them. A third uses the technology only for the layout of the guidebook. So when someone says a deck contains AI, you still know very little. The question that truly matters is not whether technology was used, but where and how much. Only then can you judge a deck on what it really is.
Why many people deliberately choose handmade decks
For part of the tarot world the answer is simple: they want to hold the work of a human being. And that is a perfectly understandable preference. Behind a handmade deck there is often someone who studied the symbolism of the cards for years, who chose a certain colour, a glance, a posture on purpose. Every card carries an intention, and you feel that intention again the moment you lay the cards out.
Something personal plays a part too. For many people a deck is not a picture on the wall but a tool they pick up again and again. Those who feel a bond with the maker read differently. You know there is a person on the other side who was trying to convey something, and that awareness often gives a reading more depth. For these readers the hand of the artist is not a detail but the very reason they choose one deck over another. Think of the independent makers in our stories on indie tarot decks, or an artist deck like the Blood Moon Tarot by Sam Guay, where you can see the maker’s hand in every card.
Does AI in a tarot deck make it worth less?
And yet it is too easy to say handmade good, AI bad. There are decks in which AI played a role and that look beautiful, with owners who are delighted with them. A tool does not decide the value of the result on its own. What makes a deck good is whether it suits you, whether the images tell you something and whether you enjoy working with it. That can happen just as well with a deck that used technology as with one painted entirely by hand.
Where it does grate, it grates for two reasons. The first is the way some AI was trained: on the work of makers who never gave permission and were never paid for it. That is a real concern, and artists are right to draw attention to it. The second may weigh even more heavily for you as a buyer, because it grates above all when AI is kept quiet. The problem is not the technology itself, but the silence around it.
The problem is not the technology itself, but the silence around it.
What it really comes down to: transparency
This brings us to the heart of it. The point is not really the contrast between handmade and AI, but something far simpler: are you allowed to know how your deck was made? Even large players have come unstuck here. When a well known international card publisher turned out to have used AI in promotional images without saying so, attentive fans spotted it at once, and the company had to take back its earlier words in public. It shows how sensitive this is, and how much people want to know where they stand.
When you know how a deck came about, you can choose on the basis of facts rather than an assumption. One person does not mind that technology was used, as long as it is clear. Another wants the work of a human being and nothing else. Both of those choices are fine, but they can only be made honestly when the information is on the table. Transparency takes nothing away from anyone. It gives you the room to choose what suits you.
How to choose a tarot deck that fits you
If you want to be sure where you stand, it starts with the maker’s own description. Do they tell you how the deck was made? Is an artist named? Is there anything about the process, or does that stay strikingly vague? A maker who is proud of the craft will usually be glad to talk about it. Silence on that point need not mean anything is wrong, but it is a reason to ask further or look a little harder before you order.
Ask yourself, too, what weighs more heavily for you. Is it mainly the feeling that a person stands behind every card? Then look for decks where the artist and the process are clearly in view. Do you care most that the images speak to you and that you read comfortably with them? Then the technology may play a smaller part in your decision. There is no right or wrong answer, only the answer that is true for you. Either way, buy from a source you trust, so you never end up with a counterfeit deck.
Where tarot.nl stands
At tarot.nl we try to be as honest about this as we can. If we know a deck was made with AI, we simply say so. If we are not certain, we make no assumption about it, because guessing would only mislead you. We would rather be open about what we do know and honest about what we do not, than offer a false certainty that does not hold. That way you stay at the wheel.
We believe you as a buyer have the right to a complete, honest choice, and that the real maker deserves the credit that belongs to them. Whether you deliberately go for handmade work or do not mind that technology is involved, you deserve to make that choice with the facts in hand. That is what we stand for, card by card and deck by deck.
Want to take your time? Read our beginner’s guide to choosing a tarot deck and discover which deck fits you.