New to Tarot: Should a Deck Have 78 Cards?

Oliver

Totally newb question here — should a standard tarot deck have 78 cards? I’ve got the major and minor arcana, so I’m guessing I have the right deck… at least in terms of what’s considered a conventional tarot deck?

Emily192

Yep, most tarot decks have 78 cards. Some deck makers throw in a couple of extra cards, so you might see decks with 80. Some people read with those extra cards, others just leave them out.

Also, some folks only use the 22 Trumps, so there are decks with just the Major Arcana.

I’ve got a Tarrochino deck myself, and it’s only 68 cards.

AnnaG

Yeah, 78 cards is what you’ll usually see in a traditional tarot deck, whether it’s for playing the card game or for divination. That said, older decks can have more or fewer cards — they might be tarocchi or tarock decks.

Serelith

Ohh that makes sense now! I was a little worried mine was missing something, but sounds like 78 is the standard base. Interesting that some decks toss in extra cards or have fewer depending on history or region — I didn’t realize there was that much variation. Kinda cool how tarot has both this very set structure and room for creativity at the same time.

Oliver

I received insight, thank you.