Tarot Decks 

Older Tarot Decks:

This first known deck had the standard four suits of ten numbered cards, with kings as the sole court card, and only 16 Trumps. Trionfi decks, (15th-century playing cards), of 70 cards only, were noted as 'still in use' as late as 1457 CE. (Opinions are that the early Trionfi decks had five suits of fourteen cards. The Trumps and the fool were considered a fifth suit with defined trump function). The later standard, four suits of 14 plus 22 Trumps, took time to develop. No corroborating evidence for the final standard 78-card format exists until the Boiardo Tarocchi poem and the Sola Busca Tarocchi appeared in 1491 CE.

The oldest surviving tarot cards are three early to mid 15th century sets, all made for members of the Visconti family. The oldest of these existing tarot decks was perhaps painted by Bonifacio Bembo to celebrate a wedding joining the Visconti and Sforza families of Milan. This "Visconti-Sforza" deck, which has been widely reproduced, combines the suits of swords, batons, coins and cups and the court cards King, Queen, Knight and Page with Trumps that reflect conventional iconography of the time to a significant degree.

Older decks such as the Visconti-Sforza and Tarot de Marseilles are less detailed than more modern decks. A Marseilles type deck is usually distinguished by having repetitive motifs on the pip cards as opposed to full scenes found on Rider-Waite style decks. 

• Rider-Waite Deck
  
  This is the Rider-Waite Deck page. It provides a brief overview, deck characteristics, and illustrations of the individual Tarot cards.
• Tarot of Marseilles Deck
  
  This is the Tarot de Marseilles Deck page. It provides a brief overview, deck characteristics, and illustrations of the individual Tarot cards.

Modern Tarot Decks:

The modern, 78-card tarot deck has two distinct parts:

• The Major Arcana a.k.a. Greater Arcana, Greater Secrets, Trump Major - consists of 21 cards without suits, plus a 22nd card, The Fool, which is often given the value of (0), zero. They are:
• • The Fool
  • The Magician
  • The High Priestess
  • The Empress
  • The Emperor
  • The Hierophant
  • The Lovers
  • The Chariot
  • Strength
  • The Hermit
  • Wheel of Fortune
  • Justice
  • The Hanged Man
  • Death
  • Temperance
  • The Devil
  • The Tower
  • The Star
  • The Moon
  • The Sun
  • Judgement
  • The World

• The Minor Arcana a.k.a. Minor Arcana, Lesser Arcana, Lesser Secrets - consists of 56 cards (sometimes referred to as pips), divided into four suits of 14 cards each. Ten numbered cards and four court cards. The court cards in each of the four Tarot suits are the:
• • Page
  • Knight
  • Queen
  • King

• The traditional Italian tarot suits are:
• • swords
  • batons (often called wands, rods or staves)
  • coins (often called pentacles or disks)
  • cups

Note: The terms Major Arcana and Minor Arcana are only used in esoteric practice.

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