How many cards are in a Tarot Deck? Know how the arcana is divided

Each year, over 100 new Tarot decks are released worldwide. There are versions of old decks, artistic creations from known decks or completely different oracles. In this guide, you will learn how many cards there are in a Tarot. Also the differences between the arcana and the main decks available.

To begin with, it is important to point out that all Tarot cards have both positive and negative meanings. No arcana is totally good or totally bad. The cards are ambivalent, they have two values, which are opposites.

How many cards there are in a Tarot Deck?

The Tarot is a set of 78 cards divided into:

• 22 Major Arcana – Cards 1 to 21 + “The Fool“, which is a card with no number.
• 56 Minor Arcana – divided into four suits: Clubs, Cups, Swords and Diamonds.
• 40 numbered cards of each suit – From 1 (Ace) to 10.
• 4 Court Cards of each suit – Page (or Princess), Knight (Prince), Queen and King.

This is the traditional structure. Since the Middle Age, decks have been marketed with this specific number of cards.

Over time, with Tarot\’s massive dissemination as a prediction tool, several courses have been created.

Many Tarot courses and teachers do not establish exactly how many cards there are in Tarot. This often happens because they only teach about the 22 Major Arcana.

In this way, the 56 Minor Arcana are not considered, as if the nomenclature (minor) diminishes their importance.

However, to define an oracle as Tarot, it must necessarily have 78 cards – not one more or less.

The most popular types of Tarot

The first Tarot decks known date back to the 14th century, when production was quite simple. That\’s because it was only from the Renaissance period that technology allowed the printing of cards with some colors.

In the 19th century, with the advancement of printing processes, old decks new versions were developed, published and popularized. New artists, new impressions and new interpretation possibilities opened the doors of the publishing market.

According to esoteric literature, these are the four most important and most used Tarot decks:

Tarot de Marseille

Known all over the world, the Tarot de Marseille is one of the oldest decks. It is still widely used today.

Although there are no documents confirming its existence before the 14th century, it is likely that the Tarot of Marseille\’s birthplace is northern Italy.

It was taken to the south of France in the 14th century, where it began to be copied and marketed as a playful tool.

The images of the Tarot de Marseille cards bring medieval figures, therefore its colors are primary, due to the graphic resources of the time.

As it is a classic, structural and conceptual deck, most Tarot decks released since the 18th century have Marseille as a reference. Tarot Personare (try it here) is a version of the traditional Marseilles..

Rider-Waite Tarot

The best-selling Tarot in the whole planet was conceived by the English occultist Arthur Edward Waite and executed by Pamela Colman Smith, a prolific English writer and illustrator.

The complete deck was published in 1910, the same year as her book, “The Pictorial Key to the Tarot”, was published by “Rider & Son” in London.

Among all the modifications that its creators made to the traditional structure (such as changing the number of arcana 8, “Justice” and 11, “Strength”), the major practical effect of this deck is in the 40 illustrations of the numbered Minor Arcana.

In the traditional decks, where you see only three cups in the arcane “Three of Cups”, in Waite\’s Tarot we see a celebration image of three maidens toasting with their chalices.

Thoth Tarot

The English writer and magician Aleister Crowley is one of the most controversial personalities in the esoteric universe. He created by himself a Tarot called Thoth.

Between 1938 and 1943, Crowley joined forces with artist Frieda Harris to create the 78 cards in his Tarot deck.

Thoth Tarot is also the title of a book published in 1944 that contained descriptions and correspondences of the arcana with Astrology, poems and hymns related to each of the cards and some suggestions for use.

The deck is attributed to Thoth, Egyptian god of writing and knowledge, who is said to have left a book with all his knowledge. Although many esoterics still believe that this book is the Tarot origins, historical researches rule out this hypothesis.

The redesign made by Crowley and executed by Harris impresses Tarot collectors and readers around the world for its associations between traditional images and mythological figures (such as, for example, “The Priestess”, who is represented as the Roman goddess Diana, protector of the virgins and the great lady of the hunt).

In Thoth Tarot, the arcana nomenclatures underwent some considerable changes. The most striking is the exchange of Pages for Princesses, Knights for Princes and Kings for Knights.

In addition to the aesthetic changes that Crowley and Harris successfully undertook, the Minor Arcana, with the exception of the four Aces, were given titles according to their respective oracular attributes. Examples: The “Two of Cups” is called \”Love\”, and the “Five of Spades” is called “Defeat”.

Mythological Tarot

The Mythological Tarot was developed by the American astrologer Liz Greene in partnership with the tarot reader Juliette Sharman-Burke. It was designed by the plastic artist Tricia Newell.

Since its launch in 1986, the Mythological Tarot has also been one of the most translated and sold cards in the world.

By adapting medieval images to different characters and passages from Greek mythology, it spreads the misleading idea that this is the “easiest” Tarot to learn.

What are the differences between the types of Tarot?

Despite the rich symbolism and innovations of these different types of Tarot decks (which equally deserve long and arduous study) there are little changes in a reading and predictions. This is because, in essence, these four Tarot decks preserve the traditional structure of the Marseille pattern.

Both Waite and Crowley, in their own ways, were faithful to the classic attributes of the cards. Therefore, what really matters is the use of a certain deck.

The only condition, as we have already seen, is that a Tarot deck is in fact a Tarot only if it has 22 Major Arcana cards and 56 Minor Arcana cards.

Which type of Tarot is the best?

The Tarot’s constant developments must be seen as a technological advance, an artistic advent and also an editorial opportunity. Hence, the possibilities for creation based on the traditional structure are endless.

However, it is hard to resist the most varied themes and styles. Since some decks offer stronger colors and pleasant lines comparing to other types of Tarot.

Regardless of the sophistication deck’s images, the truth is that every Tarot works with great success. This happens if there is a long and deep study of its symbols and true respect for its images.

Always, it is prudent to choose a professional who follows the traditional structure, as is the case with the Tarot used in Personare. The best Tarot will always depend on who interprets it.