How-to Guides · 10 min · 2026-07-18
The Tarot deck consists of 78 cards divided into Major Arcana (22 cards) and Minor Arcana (56 cards). Each group represents different aspects of life and the spiritual journey. Let's explore this foundational structure to gain a deeper understanding of each card.
The Tarot deck includes 78 cards divided into two main parts:
The Major Arcana tells the story of spiritual education through the journey of the Fool, from card 0 to card 21.
Level 1 - Simple Journey: View the 22 cards in order from 0 to 21, as a continuous story depicting complete development (a full cycle).
Level 2 - Comparison Journey: Arrange the cards into 2 rows (cards 1-10 and cards 11-20), then observe the relationship between the corresponding cards on the top and bottom rows to discover similarities or contrasts.
Level 3 - Three-Dimensional Journey: Arrange 21 cards into a 3 column × 7 row shape: - Column 1 (left) represents Current Consciousness (Body): what we clearly perceive - Column 2 (middle) represents Subconscious (Mind): what we feel deep inside) - Column 3 (right) represents Superconsciousness (Spirit): the invisible forces that govern
Advice: Take out the Major Arcana regularly and arrange it by 2 or 3 levels. The more you observe, the deeper your understanding will be and the greater benefit you may get from the deck.
The Minor Arcana represents specific developments in daily life, areas that people have the ability to control and influence.
The Minor Arcana includes 4 suits corresponding to the 4 elements: - Wands (Wands) - Cups (Cups) - Swords (Swords) - Coins (Pentacles/Coins)
Each suit has 14 cards: 10 numbered cards (from 1 to 10) and 4 Court cards (King, Queen, Knight, Maid).
#### Ministry of Armies (Fire)
Element: Fire | Zodiac Signs: Taurus, Leo, Sagittarius
Keywords: Action, creativity, initiative, vitality, passion, desire, intuition, energy, optimism, adventure, effort, business, exploration
People in the Military act based on intuition and instinct. They are bold and vibrant, giving the impression of impulsiveness and egoism. But there is also a tendency to "3 minutes of heat" - easy to get hot, easy to lose interest.
#### Set of Cups (Country)
Element: Water | Zodiac Signs: Cancer, Scorpio, Fish
Keywords: Love, emotions, relationships, sensitivity, thoughtfulness, harmony, sympathy, empathy, friendship, silence, discreetness, daydreaming, illusion
The people in the Cup act based on emotions and intuition. They love and care for others and value relationships. However, they easily fall into a state of self-pity and let their emotions dominate their decisions.
#### Set of Swords (Air)
Element: Wind | Zodiac Signs: Gemini, Libra, Aquarius
Keywords: Conflict, problem, thinking, mental activity, intellect, trouble, sadness, anger, negative emotions
People in the Sword suit have outstanding reasoning, accurate determination, good organization, and calmness in the face of incidents. But lacking emotions, they are often seen as cold and burdened.
#### Set of Pentacles (Earth)
Element: Earth | Zodiac Signs: Virgo, Libra, Capricorn
Keywords: Money, nature, stability, safety, health, family, heritage, daily life, work, transactions, enjoyment
People in the suit of Coins value material life, work hard, and enjoy life. However, they tend to be too greedy and stubborn.
There are 4 court figures in each set, each with different energy:
King: Mature man, positive power - Representative: Leader, person with achievements, power, status, in charge of social responsibility - Can represent: Father, elders, boss, experts, powerful roles - Can also represent the masculine (yang) side of a woman's personality
Queen: Mature woman, the gentlest negative power - Representative: People who care for, raise, like to share and take care of others - Unlike the King who focuses on worldly control, the Queen focuses on the soul and inner nature - Can represent the feminine (yin) side of the male personality
Knight: The youngest, least mature person - Representative: Immaturity, extreme characteristics of the deck - Is a person who acts independently, has ideals, is courageous, dares to take risks, and is romantic - Disadvantages: Quick-tempered, impulsive, egoistic - Associated with wind (nimble, unstable) or fire (action, dispersion) - Can also represent journey, travel
Handmaid: The child or childlike side of an adult's soul - Representative: Innocent, kind, likes to learn and explore the world, curious, open to outside information, listens sincerely - Linked to opportunity, information, learning, discovery - Linked to earth (stub) or wind (information) When several cards repeat a theme, treat the pattern as emphasis rather than certainty.
Each deck of cards has a Number 1 card, representing the beginning of specific themes: - Army 1: The beginning of action and creativity - Cup 1: The beginning of relationship and intuition - Earn 1: The beginning of intellectual activities and challenges - Coin 1: The beginning of realizing ideas into matter
All four Number 1 cards carry a new opportunity, like seeds. The person asked needs to distinguish whether it is a good seed or a bad seed.
All Number 2s have 2 forces. If combined well, creates a 1+1>2 effect. If the combination is not good, it will lead to opposition and stagnation.
All Number 3s represent preliminary results of deck characteristics. Business starts up, relationships are harmonious, work goes smoothly, or trauma begins to affect people and make them sad.
After achieving the results in Number 3, Number 4 keeps a certain steady state. However, it is easy to fall into narrowness and limitations, feeling unsatisfied.
No. 4's stability eventually came to a standstill, and in No. 5 it collapsed.
Disadvantages: Easy to go too far, making success become arrogance, gifts become charity.
Both self-reflection and effort are aimed at overcoming barriers to growth. The negative suits (Trophy, Coin) make an effort to turn inward for self-reflection. The positive suits (Quan, Sword) fight in difficult times to win. Cups and Coins face challenges that are an inevitable reality. Quan and Sword again sought to overcome overconfidence.
Cup and Kiem have difficulty because they cannot make quick decisions. Quan and Coin are again after endless actions without reaching a conclusion.
All Nines reach the fullness of the deck, but translate into loneliness.
All 10s contain a crisis of overexpression.
Read deeper
Reference source: zhihu.com — Basic knowledge of Tarot | Deck structure and basic meaning
Reading note: Check these meanings against the cards beside them before settling on one keyword.
Source: Zhihu
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