White Oak Grove CUUPS

Q: What is the difference between the tarot cards with numbers, and the cards named for people?

A: There are generally 78 cards in a tarot deck; and I say generally because some decks are only the Major Arcana or sometimes liberal with a few additional cards. The tarot deck is broken down into Major and Minor Arcana. There are 22 Major Arcana cards (usually numbered 0-21) and 56 Minor Arcana cards which are spread over 4 different suits Ace through 10, and Page, Knight, Queen, and King. The most common used are Staves (or Wands), Cups, Swords, Coins (or Pentacles).

Think of the Major Arcana as major happenings, milestones, events, and energy that one can use or call upon. The Minor Arcana can be viewed as smaller (daily) happenings, details, or events. The Minor lends insight into the steps needed to reach goals or changes that need to be made.

You can do a tarot reading with just the Major Arcana, but most will not do one with only the Minor Arcana. The Major helps to clue you into the large events that may be supported by the Minor.