HOW MANY CARDS ARE IN A TAROT DECK?
A standard tarot deck has 78 cards: 22 Major Arcana and 56 Minor Arcana. The Minor Arcana divides into four suits — Wands, Cups, Swords and Pentacles — with 14 cards each: Ace through Ten, plus four court cards (Page, Knight, Queen, King).
How many Major Arcana cards are there?
Twenty-two, numbered 0 to 21 — from the Fool to the World. These are the deck’s named archetypes (Death, the Lovers, the Tower) and they carry the big themes: beginnings, endings, transformation. When several majors appear in one reading, the question usually touches something long-term.
How many cards are in each suit?
Fourteen. Every suit follows the same ladder:
- ✦Ace — the seed of the suit’s energy
- ✦Two through Ten — the story arc, from choice to completion
- ✦Page, Knight, Queen, King — four court cards, often read as people or maturity stages
Do all tarot decks have 78 cards?
The three big traditions — Rider–Waite–Smith, Tarot de Marseille and Thoth — all use 78. Some modern indie decks add a few extra cards or trim the courts, but if you buy a deck described as “tarot,” 78 is the safe assumption. Oracle decks are a different thing entirely: they can have any number of cards and no fixed structure.
Why 78?
History, not numerology. Fifteenth-century Italian card games used a 56-card pack (four suits of 14), and tarocchi added a fifth set of 22 illustrated trump cards on top — 56 + 22 = 78. The divinatory meanings came centuries later; the structure was a card game first.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many cards are in a tarot deck?
A standard tarot deck has 78 cards: 22 Major Arcana plus 56 Minor Arcana (four suits of 14). That count covers the Rider–Waite–Smith, Tarot de Marseille and Thoth traditions.
How many Minor Arcana cards are there?
Fifty-six. The Minor Arcana splits into four suits — Wands, Cups, Swords and Pentacles — with 14 cards each: Ace through Ten, plus Page, Knight, Queen and King.
Do all tarot decks have 78 cards?
Most do. Traditional tarot decks use 78 cards, but some modern indie decks add extras or trim court cards, and oracle decks can have any number of cards at all. If a deck is sold as tarot, 78 is the safe assumption.