Anatomy of a Tarot Deck

A traditional tarot deck consists of 78 cards. The 78 cards are subdivided into the Major Arcana, which consists of 22 fully illustrated cards that are numbered Key 0 to Key 21, and the Minor Arcana, which consists of 56 (pip) numbered and court cards. Some tarot deck versions do not contain illustrations on the pip cards; they look similar to the deck of playing cards we use today for games like poker: Ace through Ten. The court cards of the tarot are the Page, Knight, Queen, and King, though there may be different names for the court cards, such as Princess, Prince, etc. The Minor Arcana are divided into four suits, generally named Wands (Clubs), Cups (Hearts), Swords (Spades), and Pentacles (Diamonds). Like the court cards, other names may be used depending on the tarot deck.

The Major Arcana represent universal archetypal forces that govern life. When Major Arcana cards dominate a reading, it suggests that great natural forces are at play. The Minor Arcana represent the many facets of the human condition. Within the Minor Arcana, the four suits generally correspond to the following: