Color Your Own Tarot Cards

Why color your own tarot cards? Certainly, there are literally hundreds of decks available, already in full color- why go through the trouble? Simply put, it is by far the most effective way to become familiar with the complex symbolism of the Tarot deck. Carefully coloring your own cards will allow you to see every detail, helping to develop the intuitive insight that is necessary to fully realize the potential of your cards.

The deck you create will be unique, unlike any other- it will have your personal stamp on it. This feature includes all instructions for printing and coloring your own set of Tarot cards, including two sets of black and white card graphics.

Choose between the 1910 Coleman-Waite or the beautiful deck based on the Vacchetta tarot of 1893.* Both decks have been updated and modified for easier coloring. *Note: Our cards have been modified from the originals.  Please do not copy, except for personal use.  Do not post uncolored tarot images online-please link to this article instead.

Printer

Strong card stock compatible with your printer (or, printed pages can be copied onto card stock at any print/copy shop)

Colored pencils (I prefer Prismacolor), markers, or Watercolors

Craft sealer (spray; useful if you plan to use your cards frequently)  Alternately, you can laminate your cards.

Optional: Corner cutter (available at most craft stores; it creates a rounded edge on paper)

Metallic gel pens in Gold, Silver, and Bronze/copper

Fun: glitter; die cut confetti scraps of mylar (for water or metal) decorative papers or wrapping paper

Step one Save the pictures on the following pages to your hard drive. Open in any graphic editing program or even Word. Pictures look very large, but print standard tarot card size. If printing from windows, the margins may need to be adjusted so the pictures will fit the page. I suggest printing a test page to spot any potential problems before beginning. If you plan to use paint or markers, test your paper for compatibility before you print. Note: Printing directly from your browser may have unattractive results!

When the printing is finished, use sharp scissors or a paper cutter to carefully trim the cards. If you prefer a rounded edge, make sure to leave a border around the card (to prevent lopping part of the picture of with the corner cutter) If you’d like a paper backing on your cards, use spray adhesive to apply decorative paper (use a sturdy or coated paper for this task) to the back of each card, and trim to fit. Alternatively, you can decorate the backs with rubber stamps, or even use patterned card stock to print on.

Step two The fun part! Using your colored pencils, or whatever medium you’ve chosen, begin decorating your cards. If you like, you can layer colors, enhance colored pencil with water colors, or add glitter, foil, metallic leaf, or decorative paper. After each card is finished (and dry), coat several times with sealer, spraying lightly and allowing each card to dry completely between coats.

If you like, you can skip the sealer, and have your cards laminated, or you can laminate them yourself with self-stick acetate. (available at office supply and mass market retail stores) Of course if you prefer, you can use Photoshop, Paint, or any other image-editing program to digitally color your cards.

Step three Scan or photograph your favorite cards and share them. We will choose our favorites to be featured on the site sometime in the future.

Vacchetta Deck: Cards, page one Cards, page two Cards, page three Cards, page four Cards, page five Cards, page six Cards, page seven Cards, page eight Cards, page nine Cards, page ten Cards, page eleven Cards, page twelve Cards, page thirteen	Coleman-Waite Deck: Cards, page one Cards, page two Cards, page three Cards, page four Cards, page five Cards, page six Cards, page seven Cards, page eight Cards, page nine Cards, page ten Cards, page eleven Cards, page twelve Cards, page thirteen Cards, page fourteen Cards, page fifteen Cards, page sixteen Cards, page seventeen Cards, page eighteen Cards, page ninteen Cards, page twenty