Honestly, it’s usually my go-to. If you already know the Minor Arcana, you basically know how to read a regular deck of playing cards. They’re pretty much the same, except Tarot has four court cards per suit instead of three.
There’s a long debate about which came first and where each originated. I tend to think playing cards came after Tarot. Funny thing: Tarot started out as a game, while playing cards were apparently the first ones used for divination and guidance. Now the roles feel flipped.
Tarot used to be something only rich and powerful people could afford. When regular playing cards showed up they were much cheaper, so more folks could own them. Playing cards have this wild history of being banned in different places for all sorts of reasons. Card divination only really took off publicly in the 17th and 18th centuries.
Personally I think Tarot was used for guidance pretty much the way we use it now from very early on, but it was kept secret. It feels like way more than just a game. There’s so much numerology, symbolism and intentional detail in the art that it’s hard to believe it was purely recreational. Same goes for regular playing cards in my opinion. Too much precision and patterning for it to be random.
The church, governments and secret societies still have tons of hidden knowledge about the occult, the supernatural and alternative histories we don’t learn in school. They’ve been shaping public opinion for ages.
Cards were repeatedly banned by church officials and rulers who thought they led people into gambling and divination and away from religion. Card divination became more visible in the 17th and 18th centuries, but I’m convinced it was practiced earlier and kept quiet by elites. Anyone who did it publicly risked persecution or being accused of witchcraft.
Even A.E. Waite says in his book that he can’t reveal everything he knows about Tarot. That’s telling.
Back to your question - the four suits in playing cards map to Tarot suits like this:
- Cups (feelings, emotions) becomes Hearts. Element: water.
- Swords (intellect, challenges) becomes Spades. Element: air.
- Wands (creativity, passion) becomes Clubs. Element: fire.
- Pentacles (material matters, finance) becomes Diamonds. Element: earth.
Different countries use different names and sometimes different card designs, but the core meanings tend to stay the same.
Some people keep one Joker and read it as The Fool; others toss both since the Joker didn’t exist until the U.S. Civil War. I like keeping both and treating them as “something unexpected” or as The Fool. Don’t want to mess up a deck.
What I love about playing cards is they force you to use your imagination more than a fully illustrated Tarot deck does. Playing cards/Minor Arcana feel more like everyday situations and obstacles, while the Major Arcana lean into bigger spiritual and philosophical stuff. Minors, Majors, or both - all approaches have their uses. You’ll probably click with regular cards once you start working with them. Hope this helps.
