Card Deck

Tarot – The Arcana Cards

The Major Arcana cards total 22 (Twenty-Two) in number. They begin with a card numbered 0 (Zero) and end with a card numbered 21 (Twenty-One).

The order of the cards in the Major Arcana has gone through several changes during the course of their history. Initially, the card numbered 0 (Zero) and called ‘The Fool’ was placed after card number 20 (Twenty) titled ‘Judgement’ and right before card number 21 (Twenty-One) titled ‘The World’. However, many modern Tarot card readers and students place the card numbered 0 (Zero) right at the beginning.

A change brought about by A.E. Waite was about the placement of the cards titled ‘Strength’ and ‘Justice’. Before the Rider-Waite-Smith deck was published, the card numbered 8 (Eight) was titled ‘Justice’ and the card numbered 11 (Eleven) was titled ‘Strength’. In his deck, he interchanged these cards, naming ‘Strength’ as card number 8 (Eight) and ‘Justice’ as card number 11 (Eleven). Many decks today follow this system, while there are some decks which still follow the earlier system.

It is often said that the Major Arcana carry more weight in a reading. The reason is that they symbolize many deep truths and spiritual lessons. The Major Arcana of a Tarot card deck also contain several archetypal representations which we deal with in every aspect of our life. The Major Arcana cards are important because they contain several aspects of symbolism which are linked to various myths. The noted Swiss psychologist Carl Jung also studied the Tarot cards and linked the different images of the Major Arcana to various symbolic archetypes that are found in our lives. For example, the card number 3 (Three) titled ‘The Empress’ is a perfect representation of the ‘Mother’ archetype. Similarly, the card number 9 (Nine) titled ‘The Hermit’ is a clear depiction of the ‘Wise Old Man’ or ‘Sage’ archetype.

It is said that images connect us with our inner selves. The images of these cards are thus very important because they contain several spiritual aspects. They contain important lessons for all of us, and help us connect with our higher selves in a very straightforward manner.

It is also said that the path to enlightenment has been shown in the cards of the Major Arcana.

There are a total of 56 (Fifty-Six) Minor Arcana cards in a Tarot card deck. These cards are essentially divided into 40 (Forty) ‘Pip’ cards and 16 (Sixteen) Court Cards. These cards can also be divided into 4 (Four) Suits: Wands, Cups, Swords and Pentacles.

The ‘Pip’ cards of a Tarot card deck talk about the various aspects of everyday life on several fronts. They cover all kinds of events and scenarios from work, relationships, thoughts and emotions. Life in general is reflected in the imagery of these Minor Arcana cards.

The Rider-Waite-Smith deck of Tarot cards was fairly unique in the depiction of the Minor Arcana cards compared to the decks that were in use before. The difference was simple and yet groundbreaking. The ‘Pip’ cards had images of people going through several events and actions. The cards before that only used to contain the suit symbol depicted in an elaborate design. For example, the 8 of Pentacles card would typically contain 8 Pentacle images arranged in a stylistic fashion. However, in the Rider-Waite-Smith card, the image is of a young man sitting on a bench hammering out each of these 8 Pentacle discs and putting them up for display.

This radical change revolutionised the manner in which these Minor Arcana cards were interpreted. Different people react differently to the images presented before them. A simple elaborate stylistic arrangement of the suit symbols could probably not evoke different types of interpretations. But the images and drawings presented in these Minor Arcana cards helped create numerous interpretations and bring about a quiet, but very creative method of looking at the meanings of these cards.

Even today, there are many Tarot decks available in the market that tend to follow the tradition set by the Rider-Waite-Smith deck. A note for the curious though: decks following the older tradition are also available.

The Minor Arcana cards thus have served to open many doors for imagination and intuition with their use of imagery. They have helped people learn how to react to images in an innovative manner. This is why every Tarot card reader has a distinct interpretation of each card, which creates a lot of diversity and lets the imagination run free.

However, that does not mean that traditional interpretations are ignored completely. They too, carry a lot of significance because of their association with the different symbolic aspects explored in the Minor Arcana.

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Wink Martindale – Deck of Cards (1959)

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