How Many Tarot Cards Are There? The 78-Card Deck Explained

A standard tarot deck contains 78 cards, each a doorway to insight and self-reflection. But for a beginner, that number can feel overwhelming, and the intricate system behind it can seem like a mystery.

Understanding the answer to how many tarot cards are there is just the first step. The real magic happens when you learn how those 78 cards are organized into two distinct parts: the Major and Minor Arcana. This structure is the foundation that makes tarot reading possible, turning a simple deck of cards into a powerful tool for guidance.

This guide will break down the complete 78-card tarot deck, explaining the roles of the Major and Minor Arcana and the four suits that make up the story of our lives. Let’s explore the anatomy of a tarot deck so you can begin your journey with confidence.

The Standard Tarot Deck: 78 Cards

To answer the question directly: how many tarot cards are there in a standard deck? The answer is 78. This number is consistent across the vast majority of traditional and modern tarot decks, from the classic Rider-Waite-Smith to contemporary artistic interpretations. A 78 card tarot deck is the established format for a complete system of divination.

This collection of 78 cards is not random; it is divided into two distinct and meaningful sections:

• The Major Arcana: 22 cards representing major life events and spiritual lessons.
• The Minor Arcana: 56 cards detailing the day-to-day situations, challenges, and joys of life.

Understanding this fundamental two-part structure is the first step in learning how the tarot tells its stories. This division is key to understanding the tarot's narrative structure, starting with the powerful Major Arcana.

The Major Arcana: Life’s Karmic Lessons

The Major Arcana consists of 22 trump cards that form the core of the tarot deck. These cards are unsuited and stand apart from the rest of the deck because they represent significant life events, karmic lessons, and major archetypal themes that influence your personal journey. When a Major Arcana card appears in a reading, it signals that you are dealing with a powerful, long-term energy or a pivotal moment of transformation.

These 22 cards follow a narrative progression known as "The Fool's Journey," which begins with card 0, The Fool (representing innocence and new beginnings), and culminates with card 21, The World (representing completion and integration). Other key cards like The Magician, The High Priestess, and The Lovers mark stages of empowerment and choice, while cards like Death, The Tower, and The Devil signify profound change, upheaval, and confrontation with our shadow selves. Each card marks a profound stage of spiritual and personal development, providing a "big picture" perspective on your life path.

These broad, life-altering themes provide the overarching story, but true understanding requires zooming in on the specifics of our daily lives. While the Major Arcana paints the broad strokes of our life's journey, the Minor Arcana fills in the details of our everyday experiences.

The Minor Arcana: The Details of Daily Life

The Minor Arcana contains the remaining 56 cards of the deck. If the Major Arcana represents the "why" of your life, the Minor Arcana represents the "how" and "what." These cards reflect the practical, everyday situations, actions, and emotions that make up our lives. They offer insight into more immediate concerns and provide actionable advice for navigating current circumstances.

The Minor Arcana is structured similarly to a modern deck of playing cards. It is divided into four suits, with each suit containing 14 cards: ten numbered cards (Ace through Ten) and four Court Cards (Page, Knight, Queen, and King).

The Suit of Wands

The Wands are associated with the element of Fire. This suit represents passion, creativity, ambition, and willpower. Cards in the Suit of Wands often speak to your career, personal projects, and the primal energy that drives you to take action and pursue your goals. They can signify the spark of a new idea, the determination to see a project through, or the drive behind your professional aspirations.

The Suit of Cups

The Cups are associated with the element of Water. This suit governs the realm of emotions, relationships, intuition, and love. When Cups cards appear, they often point to matters of the heart, your connections with others, and your inner emotional state. This can relate to new romance, deep friendships, family dynamics, or even your relationship with your own creativity and intuition.

The Suit of Swords

The Swords are associated with the element of Air. This suit represents the mind, intellect, thoughts, and challenges. Swords cards often highlight conflict, truth, difficult decisions, and the power of communication. They speak to the mental clarity—or confusion—surrounding a situation and can represent moments of breakthrough insight, difficult conversations, or the need to set firm boundaries.

The Suit of Pentacles

The Pentacles (sometimes called Coins or Disks) are associated with the element of Earth. This suit relates to the material world, including finances, work, health, and property. Pentacles cards address your relationship with your physical reality, career manifestation, and the value you place on tangible security. They often appear when dealing with job opportunities, investments, home life, and physical well-being.

With a clear understanding of the standard 78-card structure, it can be confusing when you encounter a deck with a different number of cards.

Why Do Some Divination Decks Have a Different Number of Cards?

It is a common point of confusion for beginners to find a deck with more or fewer than 78 cards. So, is a tarot deck supposed to have 78 cards? Yes, a traditional tarot deck is. The variation you see almost always comes down to two key distinctions: the difference between tarot and oracle decks, and the inclusion of bonus cards in special editions.

Tarot Decks vs. Oracle Decks

The most frequent reason for a different card count is that you may be looking at an oracle deck, not a tarot deck. While both are used for divination, their structures are fundamentally different.

• A standard tarot deck has a fixed system: 78 cards, broken down into 22 Major Arcana and 56 Minor Arcana across four specific suits. This consistent structure allows for a universal language and system of interpretation that applies to any traditional tarot deck, which is why it's the foundation used in any professional reading.
• An oracle deck has no fixed structure. The number of cards, the themes, and the system are entirely unique to the deck's creator. An oracle deck might have 36, 44, 52, or any other number of cards. They are designed to offer more direct, thematic guidance and do not follow the archetypal journey of the tarot.

Special Edition Tarot Decks with Bonus Cards

Occasionally, a modern tarot creator will include one or two extra cards in their deck. These are often artistic additions, such as an alternate version of a Major Arcana card like The Lovers or a unique card that fits the deck's theme. These bonus cards are not part of the traditional tarot system. While they can be incorporated into readings as a personal "wild card," the core deck is still designed to be read and understood based on the foundational 78 card tarot deck structure.

Conclusion

The 78-card structure of a standard tarot deck is not arbitrary; it is a comprehensive system designed to mirror the full spectrum of the human experience. By separating the 22 Major Arcana—representing life’s profound karmic lessons—from the 56 Minor Arcana detailing our daily challenges and triumphs, the tarot provides a balanced and nuanced framework for introspection.

Understanding this division is the key to unlocking the narrative power of any traditional deck, allowing you to distinguish its structured archetypes from the more freeform guidance of oracle decks. While special editions may include bonus cards, the foundational 78-card system remains the universal standard for telling a coherent story.

Looking ahead, mastering this structure is the first step toward transforming a simple deck of cards into a dynamic tool for self-discovery. The real journey isn’t just about knowing how many cards there are, but about learning to read the intricate story they tell together. For those ready to start interpreting these messages, a free tarot card reading online can be an excellent first step. The question is no longer what the cards mean, but what they empower you to understand about your own path.