Can You Buy Your Own Tarot Deck? (Yes. Here's Where the Myth Came From)

Q: Is it okay to buy a secondhand tarot deck?

Yes. Count the cards (78, plus any extras the publisher included), look for creases and warping, and enjoy it.

Written by the Toe Bean Tarot team Sep 21, 2026 · 3 min read We built a full tarot curriculum: 98 guided lesson sections, spaced repetition, and two original 78-card decks.

Can you buy your own tarot deck? Yes. There's no tradition behind the idea that a deck has to be given to you, and nearly every reader you'll meet bought their own. If you've been waiting for someone to gift you one, you can stop waiting today.

The Six of Pentacles from the Toe Bean Waite deck, a black cat handing out coins with a set of scales, a card about gifts, and you can still buy your own tarot deck. — Six of Pentacles, Ace of Pentacles: a gift is lovely. A purchase is also lovely.

The Ace of Pentacles from the Toe Bean Waite deck, a cat paw offering a single gold coin from a cloud. — Six of Pentacles, Ace of Pentacles: a gift is lovely. A purchase is also lovely.

Where the "must be gifted" rule came from

Nobody knows for sure, and that's the tell. There's no historical source for it. For its first 300 years tarot was a card game, and nobody was handed a game deck by rule. The gift idea seems to have spread through fortune-telling circles in the 20th century, when decks were harder to find and often passed from one reader to the next, and then it got repeated on forums and in videos until it sounded old. It's folklore, and folklore is fine, but it isn't a rule.

What the myth gets right

A deck that means something to you gets used more, and the deck that gets used is the one that teaches you. A gift from someone who knows you does that. So does spending a week choosing your own deck carefully. The thing that matters is the attention, not the receipt.

Other rules you can ignore (or keep, if you like them)

"Never let anyone touch your cards." Touch is fine. Many readers have the person they're reading for shuffle the deck. Clean hands are the only requirement.
"Wrap them in silk." A nice habit and completely optional. How to store tarot cards has the practical version.
"Cleanse a new deck before you use it." Optional, and pleasant if you like ritual. See how to cleanse tarot cards.
"Don't read for yourself." Reading for yourself is how most people learn. Here's how to do it honestly.
"Your first deck must be Rider-Waite." It's the best starting point, not a law. The reasons are in the best tarot deck for beginners.

So what should you buy?

A deck based on the Rider-Waite-Smith pattern, with a scene on every card, in art you'll want to look at daily. Count the cards when it arrives (78, plus any extras), look through them in order, and run the deck interview spread. Everything else about owning one is in the tarot deck guide.

And if the deck you want lives in an app rather than a box, that's allowed too. The Toe Bean Tarot app comes with three decks, and nobody had to gift them to you (Android only). Digital tarot vs a physical deck weighs the two honestly.

Quick answers

Is it bad luck to buy your own tarot deck?

No. There's no tradition behind the idea, and most readers buy their own.

Can someone give me a used tarot deck?

Yes. Check that all 78 cards are there, and cleanse it if you'd like a fresh start.

Is it okay to buy a secondhand tarot deck?

Yes. Count the cards, look for creases and warping, and enjoy it.