Most decks in Tarot have two parts which are called the Major Arcana and the Minor Arcana. The first half, the Major Arcana normally consists of 22 cards. These are the card that have titles like The High Priestess, The Fool, The Sun, The Lovers and Death.

The second half is known as Minor Arcana, which consists of 56 cards. There are four suits with 14 cards in each suit. In most tarot decks these suits are known as Cups, Swards, Pentacles and Wands. The other names the second half is sometimes called are the lesser or lower Arcana.

There are so many different decks out there to pick from and learn. Not all Tarot decks will have the same suit names of Major Arcana names. As an example, my first deck didn’t have a devil card. I had no idea at first that a devil card existed because I trained on a deck that didn’t have one. When I got a new deck, it didn’t have the Pentacles set in the Minor Arcana. That is when I learned that much like people’s personalities Tarot decks were very different and had some slightly different guidelines as to how they were to be used.

**Photo by jackmac34**