Mystic Info - Psychic Tarot - The Major Arcana
The Major Arcana
The familiar 78-card deck is structured into two distinct sets. The first is called the Major Arcana consisting of 22 cards without suits typically referred to as "trumps". The second called Minor Arcana consists of 56 cards divided into four suits. The cards in each suit are numbered 2 through 10 with four "face" cards and an Ace (not dissimilar from the structure of playing cards).
Arcana is the plural of the Latin word arcanum, meaning "hidden truth" or "secret knowledge". Alternate names are the Minor Trumps and Major Trumps, or simply the Minors and the Trumps. The traditional Italian suits are Swords, Batons, Spheres and Cups, although in modern decks Batons are commonly called Wands or Staves, and Spheres are often Pentacles, Coins or Discs.
The earliest decks bore unnamed and unnumbered pictures on the Majors (probably because a great many of the people using them at the time were illiterate), and the order of cards is not standardised. However, one of the most common set of names and numbers is as follows:
- 0 - The Fool
- I - The Magician
- II - The High Priestess (or The Popess)
- III - The Empress
- IV - The Emperor
- V - The Hierophant (or The Pope)
- VI - The Lovers
- VII - The Chariot
- VIII - Strength
- IX - The Hermit
- X - The Wheel of Fortune
- XI - Justice
- XII - The Hanged Man
- XIII - Death
- XIV - Temperance
- XV - The Devil
- XVI - The Tower (of Babel)
- XVII - The Star
- XVIII - The Moon
- XIX - The Sun
- XX - Judgment
- XXI - The World
The images on the Major Arcana in esoteric decks are often very heavy with symbolism; in more occult decks, there is far more to the illustration than a mere depiction of the card title. The Major Arcana are usually regarded as relating to matters of higher purpose or deep significance.
