An Overview of the Tarot Deck and Layout

Many articles about the history of Tarot, comparisons of various Tarot decks and systems, and how to do readings have already been written. This is not one of them. Instead, this is about the basics of a Tarot deck and the positions of the cards during a reading.

The Deck
Tarot decks are comprised of 78 cards: 22 Major Arcana and 56 Minor Arcana. At this point, you're probably wondering what the heck Arcana is. It's an ancient word that means hidden treasure. In this case, the hidden treasure relates to the higher knowledge an wisdom held within the symbols depicted on the cards.

The Major Arcana cards pack the biggest wallop. The entire section of Major Arcana cards represent the journey of your soul and during the reading will reveal what challenges or lessons you are currently working on.

The Minor Arcana cards reflect what is going on in your life at the time of the reading. Unlike the Major Arcana, the Minor Arcana is further divided into four suits, which relate to the four elements of fire (energy), air (thought), water (emotions), and earth (physical). They are numbered as follows: Ace, 2 through 10, Jack, Knight, Queen, and King. The last four are called the Court Cards, or "people" cards. They traditionally represent various types of people who come into our lives and with whom we are interacting.

The numbers on both the Major and Minor Arcana have important meanings, which can be understood more deeply with some research into numerology. The Major Arcana is divided into three sections of seven cards each. These sections relate to the ascension of our spiritual path from the physical to the emotional to the spiritual. Three sections of seven cards equals 21 cards. Yet there's 22 cards in the Major Arcana. The Fool card is numbered 0, and in most decks is placed at the beginning, representing the commencement of the journey.

The placement of each card has meaning, as well. Each position represents a different area in your life, such as your recent past, your hopes and fears, or someone who is involved in your life and relevant to the issue of the reading. There are many types of layouts for Tarot readings from the very simple one card yes-no reading to those that use almost the entire deck.

The Tarot is closely related to the Kabbalah, Astrology, and Numerology. If you are curious about the Tarot and would like to learn more about it, you will gain more dimensions of knowledge if you research these other related metaphysical sciences.

Contact me for more information or to schedule an appointment for your reading.

Kathy Wilson
4514 155th St. NW, Gig Harbor, WA 98332
Phone: 253.853.4033
Fax: 253.853.4034
Email: Kathy@warrior-priestess.com