✦Introduction

Tarot cards are used both for trick-taking card games and for divination, and a standard deck typically contains 78 cards.

The deck is divided into four suits — Wands, Cups, Swords, and Pentacles — and consists of 22 Major Arcana cards, each illustrated with imaginative, evocative artwork, plus 56 Minor Arcana cards made up of numbered cards from 1 to 10 in each suit and four court cards representing people.

We'll unravel how and when tarot — a deck that has been loved across the centuries — first came into being.

☾The Origins of Tarot

Playing cards with simple numeral suits — considered the forerunner of tarot — were brought to Europe from Asia Minor and the Middle East, and gradually spread among the aristocracy. The oldest surviving playing cards are said to date from the 13th century.

Tarot itself was originally created mainly for playing games. As far as the historical record can trace, the earliest known deck is the so-called "Tarot of Charles VI" from 1392, though it no longer survives.

The next oldest is the 1415 "Minchiate" deck. This, too, no longer exists in its original form, but its contents are known through later reproductions. According to the Minchiate deck, the order, names, and imagery of the cards differed in places from today's Major Arcana, which tells us that the number of cards, their sequence, names, and artwork had not yet been standardized at that time.

The oldest deck to survive to this day is the Visconti-Sforza tarot, created in northern Italy in the mid-15th century.

In an era when the vibrant culture of the Renaissance was blossoming, the upper classes of the time must have been captivated by imagery unlike anything they had seen before.

The imagery and iconography of tarot were first standardized with the "Jean Noblet" deck, published in Paris around 1650 — this can be considered the true ancestor of the Marseille tarot.

Later, in the 18th century, as the modern era was dawning, the Marseille Tarot was produced. Against the unstable backdrop of society around the time of the French Revolution, a growing trend saw tarot regarded as something mystical, and it began to be used widely for divination.

The Waite tarot — now the most popular deck in the world — was designed based on Arthur Edward Waite's interpretation of the teachings of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn.

While the Minor Arcana of the Marseille deck were simple, showing only suit symbols and numbers, the Waite tarot gave every Minor Arcana card its own illustrated scene, bringing a sense of narrative to the cards.

The Waite deck has had an enormous influence on every tarot deck created since. Even today, most of the new decks published around the world each year are based on Waite's motifs.

Remarkably, tarot has only been used for divination for a little under 200 years — and yet the motifs depicted on the cards speak to us with astonishing depth.

If tarot had remained nothing more than plain numeral cards, it may never have become the divination tool it is today.

Tarot's greatest strength may be exactly this: the chain of imagination and free association sparked by its imagery awakens emotions buried deep within us and speaks to us directly.

The images on the cards are woven through with archetypal symbols, and each card embodies the kinds of dramas and characters we're likely to encounter in life. That's precisely why tarot has continued to captivate people — evolving and transforming even amid rapid changes of the times.

✧Well-Known Tarot Decks

Tarot decks sold today can broadly be grouped into three lineages. Since the order of the cards and the imagery they show can differ between lineages, it's a good idea to decide which lineage you'd like before you buy a deck.

Visconti-Sforza

Considered the oldest surviving tarot deck, the Visconti-Sforza tarot has been handed down through the Visconti family, who rose to great prominence in medieval Italy. It's believed to have been created as a celebratory gift for occasions such as weddings or the succession of a title, and several versions exist, including the Cary-Yale and Bergamo decks.

However, because the cards have become scattered over the centuries, the complete number of cards and their exact types are not fully known.

Marseille

Derived from the Visconti-Sforza tarot, this woodblock-printed deck was produced roughly between the 16th and 18th centuries. It came to be called the "Marseille" tarot because it was especially associated with production in the French city of Marseille.

In its day it was used mainly for games, and its Minor Arcana numeral cards show only the suit symbol and the number, in a simple design. Thanks to this rustic simplicity, it's still cherished by many enthusiasts today as the "original" tarot deck.

Waite

The world's most famous deck is known as the Waite tarot. Because it was published by the British company Rider, it's also sometimes called the "Rider" deck.

In 1910, Arthur Edward Waite — a member of the secret society the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn — created it by adding his own interpretations and symbolism to earlier tarot traditions. The artwork was drawn by the female artist Pamela Colman Smith.

One reason this deck became so popular is that, for the first time, all 56 Minor Arcana cards — previously represented only by numbers — were given illustrations expressing each card's divinatory meaning.

The vividly depicted range of human emotion in its artwork gives us richer, more flexible imagination, which is why this deck continues to be beloved as one that has profoundly shaped every tarot created since.

Other Notable Decks

Besides the Visconti-Sforza, Marseille, and Waite decks, other well-known tarots include the Etteilla deck and the Thoth Tarot.

The Etteilla deck was created by the 18th-century French fortune teller Jean-Baptiste Alliette, based on the popular "Egyptian origin theory" of tarot that was circulating at the time. Working from the idea that "tarot is not merely a game deck but a mystical book packed with the wisdom of ancient Egypt," he incorporated his own esoteric interpretations. This is where the trend of viewing tarot as something mystical began to grow, leading to its increasing use in divination.

The Thoth Tarot was created by Aleister Crowley — like Waite, a member of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, and often called the greatest magician of the 20th century. His vision was brought to life in illustrations by the artist Frieda Harris.

With its distinctive colors and brushwork, the Thoth deck still has many devoted fans today, and quite a few professional readers use it.

Both of these decks differ significantly from the Waite tarot in composition, card names, and order, so they may take some time to learn — but if you feel drawn to their imagery, they're well worth trying.

☀What Do the Symbols on the Major Arcana Mean?

Before you start reading tarot, the first thing you need to understand is: what exactly do the images on the cards represent? Start by taking a good, long look at the Major Arcana.

There are cards that depict people, like The Fool, The Magician, The Lovers, and The Hermit; cards that represent figures of authority, like The Empress, The Emperor, and The Hierophant; cards representing celestial bodies, like The Star, The Moon, and The Sun; and cards that represent abstract concepts, like Strength, Justice, and Temperance.

At first glance these might seem to have nothing in common, but together the 22 Major Arcana cards represent a single, unified world. Each card is an essential "pillar" that makes up that world — like a chapter in a story. What matters most isn't the imagery or the card's name itself, but the underlying concept each card points to.

A concept is abstract by nature, so it can't be captured in a single word. If you tried to explain each concept in writing, you'd end up with enough text to fill an entire book. That's where "symbols" come in: they give a concept the form of an image.

Symbols are everywhere in our daily lives. For instance, we associate the color red with passion or energy, sense expansiveness in the number 8, or find stability in the shape of a square.

What's depicted on every single Major Arcana card is exactly this kind of symbol.

The Waite tarot in particular packs its artwork with fine symbolic details that evoke specific ideas. On The Magician card, for example, four tools are laid out on a table — a wand, a coin, a sword, and a cup. In Western tradition these represent the four elements that make up all things: fire, earth, air, and water — and together they signify the creation of something (1) out of nothing (0).

Learning to read the symbols in tarot one by one — grasping their core meaning and developing the ability to apply them flexibly — is the true first step toward mastering tarot reading.

✦About the Major Arcana

Of the 78 tarot cards in a full deck, the 22 cards known as the Major Arcana are the ones used most often. In English they're called the "Major Arcana."

There are reading styles that use only the Major Arcana, and its imagery is so often used as a motif elsewhere that many people already recognize the cards even before learning tarot.

The story that begins with 0, The Fool, reaches its completion at 21, The World. And once complete, the journey begins again from a new "0" at a higher stage. The Major Arcana expresses this spiral-like process of growth as a series of "chapters," which makes it especially well suited to reading the broad flow of one's fortune.

Each card's number also carries its own numerological meaning, which is significant in its own right. Since this can help you understand each card's meaning, let's walk through what each number represents.

Here is the story of the 22 cards, laid out like a table of contents:

0	An everyman, or a self before birth. Think of The Fool as the one who is about to walk the whole story from 1 through 21.
1	"Now, let's begin."
2	"Now, let's think it through."
3	"First, let's receive."
4	"Let's map out our ambitions concretely."
5	"Rules matter too — be considerate of others."
6	"Cherish our connections with others."
7	"Once the goal is set, move forward."
8	"Master yourself and overcome."
9	"Pause here, look back, and turn inward."

Numbers 0 through 9 make up the stage of personal refinement. From 10 onward, we enter the stage of integrating the self with the universe.

10	"Understand the laws of the universe."
11	"Make your judgment."
12	"Value a spirit of service."
13	"What is no longer needed comes to an end."
14	"Develop the ability to adapt."
15	"Understand that we all have instincts."
16	"Purification happens whenever it's needed."
17	"Hold on to hope."
18	"Some things remain unseen."
19	"Receive the fruits of your effort."
20	"Integrate everything and awaken."
21	"Oneness with the universe — completion."

⧗About the Minor Arcana

The remaining 56 cards, apart from the 22 Major Arcana, make up the Minor Arcana. In English they're called the "Minor Arcana." The Minor Arcana is divided into four suits — Wands, Pentacles, Swords, and Cups — and each suit consists of numeral cards from 1 to 10, plus four court cards: The Page, Knight, Queen, and King.

Does this structure remind you of anything?

That's right — playing cards. Wands correspond to Clubs, Pentacles to Diamonds, Swords to Spades, and Cups to Hearts.

And the four suits correspond to the four classical elements that make up all things: Fire, Earth, Air, and Water.

Wands: Ruled by the Element of Fire

Depicted as a club or wooden staff, the Wand is likely the oldest tool our ancestors ever held. It was used to make fire, to build shelters and supports, and, at times, as a weapon for hunting and fighting — a tool that protected and sustained life.

For this reason, the Wand rules the element of Fire and symbolizes primal power. It is said to represent life energy, creativity, passion, and willpower.

Fire, itself a symbol of life force, was not simply present in nature waiting to be found — discovering it was a great first step toward human civilization, a discovery that changed the course of history. At the same time, because the Wand represents the creative act of bringing something into being out of nothing, it also carries the meaning of challenge.

Pentacles: Ruled by the Element of Earth

Depicted as a coin, the Pentacle was created as a tool for representing the value of things. It's easy to associate it directly with money, but because of its underlying meaning of "measuring value," it also represents anything that can be measured in relative worth — such as ability, experience, and love.

The value of currency and material goods fluctuates, but because the Pentacle symbolizes the element of Earth, it also carries meanings of abundance, permanence, stability, constancy, and prosperity.

In ancient times, currency was often made from resources abundant in the natural world — stone, salt, gold, silver, copper, and the like. Perhaps the Pentacle rules the element of Earth not simply because it means wealth, but because these valuable things born of the earth symbolize a more fundamental kind of abundance.

Swords: Ruled by the Element of Air

The Sword is a tool that humanity invented through ingenuity in the course of civilization. Unlike the Wand, which is essentially a natural material used as-is, the Sword embodies human progress and wisdom, and it rules the element of Air.

It carries the meaning of refining raw natural materials, and symbolizes human intellect, language, technology, and culture.

If the idea behind Fire is "creating something from nothing," the idea behind Air is refining and integrating what already exists. And just as we speak of news "traveling on the wind," Air also carries meanings related to communication.

Cups: Ruled by the Element of Water

The Cup has been used since ancient times, in rituals and as a vessel for eating and drinking. The liquid filling a cup represents human emotion — joy, anger, sorrow, and unconditional love — a heart overflowing with feeling. For this reason, the Cup represents emotional connection, mutual support, and deep bonds in romance, relationships, and family.

At the same time, this water also represents love poured down from the heavens. The sense of being loved by heaven is, in turn, connected to loving oneself.

Where the Pentacle, ruling Earth, emphasizes socially recognized marriage, what is passed down to descendants, and carrying on the family line, the Cup, ruling Water, emphasizes emotional connection instead. Imagination and mystical experience also fall within what the Cup represents.

⚖Numeral Cards and Court Cards

Each suit of the Minor Arcana consists of 14 cards: 10 numeral cards and 4 court cards depicting people.

The numeral cards run from the Ace through 10. The court cards depict four figures — The Page, Knight, Queen, and King — and are also known as the "royal cards."

About the Numeral Cards

Ace

Among the numeral cards, the Ace holds a special place. If we think of the Major Arcana as representing the heavens and the Minor Arcana as representing the earthly realm, the Ace stands between the two, carrying the essence of the heavens down to the earth. As such, it expresses the character of each suit's element in its purest, most primal form.

The 2 Through 10 Cards

The cards from 2 through 10 trace the path of how the power shown in the Ace comes to be expressed in the real world.

Court Cards

Page

In medieval Europe, a page was a boy — typically from around age seven or eight into his teens — who served in a knight's household or a castle.

In an actual reading, the Page can represent a young person or someone junior to you, and can also be interpreted symbolically as immaturity, versatility, childishness, a learner, or potential yet to be realized. Among the four elements, the Page carries the role of Earth.

Knight

A knight was a title given, primarily in the medieval period, to a warrior who fought on horseback — essentially the active, working force serving under the authority of a king or queen. Even today, we might use a similar image, as in the phrase "corporate warrior," to describe someone who takes practical, hands-on action.

In a reading, the Knight can represent a young man, a man of equal standing, or an active male figure, and can also be read symbolically as activeness, change, or the more masculine side of a woman's nature. Among the four elements, the Knight carries the role of Air.

Queen

The Queen generally denotes a rank equivalent to that of a king. Today the word "queen" is often used as a metaphor for a top authority or highly skilled person in a given field, and also to describe someone full of pride and grace.

In a reading, the Queen can represent an influential, older, or higher-standing figure, and can also be read symbolically as authority, deep affection, compassion, self-respect, or success in business. Among the four elements, the Queen carries the role of Water.

King

A king represents the foremost figure within a given tribe or group. Today the word is used in phrases like "triple crown king" or "king of beasts," carrying the sense of being the top authority in a particular field.

In an actual reading, the King represents an influential, older, higher-standing male figure, and can be read symbolically as authority, fatherhood, masculinity, leadership, or success in business. Among the four elements, the King carries the role of Fire.

While the Major Arcana express symbolic archetypes, the Minor Arcana depict concrete, everyday events. Looking at the Waite deck, for instance, the Minor Arcana cards show scenes of ordinary human life.

Because of this, the meanings of these cards are, compared to the Major Arcana, full of very human emotion — joy, anger, sorrow, and delight — and they let you read more into the practical, everyday side of a situation.

There are a lot of Minor Arcana cards to learn, but reading with the full 78-card deck allows for much deeper insight, and when you're asking about a specific, everyday problem, these cards can guide you to a precise answer — so it's well worth mastering them.

♡How to Choose the Right Tarot Deck for You

There are countless tarot decks on the market today. Beyond those based on the Waite or Marseille tradition, you'll find decks with bold, original compositions reflecting an artist's unique vision, decks featuring cute characters, decks with lushly aesthetic gothic illustrations, and decks that blend in elements of feng shui, astrology, and other divination systems.

With so many options, beginners may feel unsure which one to buy. But there's no need to overthink it.

The most important thing when choosing a tarot deck is simply how much inspiration you personally draw from its imagery — focus on that, and you can't go wrong.

For example, look at a Sun card and ask yourself whether you can form your own personal image of what "the Sun" means to you. If nothing comes to mind and it just doesn't click, try a different deck's version — and choose the one that does spark an image or feeling for you.

Most tarot textbooks say beginners should start with the Waite deck, but if it doesn't spark your imagination, it's perfectly fine to use a different deck whose artwork you prefer instead.

Many decks have their card images available online, so it's worth researching them beforehand.

There will also be times when you love a deck's artwork but find it doesn't spark much imagination once you actually use it — but that's simply a matter of fate. The deck that's truly right for you will find its way to you when the time is right, so there's no need to rush. In the meantime, it's perfectly fine to simply enjoy a deck as a decorative piece or a collector's item!

Beginner-friendly sets containing only the 22 Major Arcana cards are also sold, but for the sake of your future practice, it's best to buy the full 78-card deck if you can.

When you want to read about more specific, detailed matters, having the Minor Arcana on hand lets you draw on a far richer variety of interpretations.

✧Summary

We explored the history and origins of tarot cards to help you build a deeper understanding of their meanings. We hope you found it useful.