FAQ's

Frequently Asked Questions

2. Getting started with the tarot.

What you need?     BACK

A tarot deck and the willingness and time to learn it .. and to develop your own inner wisdom and insights.

Should I buy my own tarot deck or wait for 'faith' to supply me with one?    BACK

From Maaike:
You can wait for faith if you want to, if you need a signal to know when you are ready for tarot, but it's prefectly ok to buy your own deck. That way you will know for sure that you like it.

Comment from Don:
Just realize that if you wait for faith to take a hand you may be waiting a very long time.  If the time is right and your interest is peaked go out and buy your own deck.

What are some of the more common tarot decks?     BACK

Rider Waite, Universal Waite, Thoth, Robin Wood, Aquarian Deck.

What is the best tarot deck to use?     BACK

To start your journey I recommend beginning with the Universal Waite deck which is the Rider-Waite deck redone by Mary Hanson-Roberts.  She uses the same images as in the Rider-Waite deck but they are softer in tone and much easier to look at.   Using this deck you will be able to find and learn from many source materials such as books, the internet, etc.  Later you can move to another deck, or decks if you feel the need.  Just know that if you use an 'odd-ball' deck chances are you won't find much resource material for it.

Despite my recommendation above the best tarot deck to use is the tarot deck that is '''best for you'''.  It's just probably not going to be the easiest deck to learn with if it's an odd-ball deck.

How many tarot decks should I own?     BACK

You can own as many tarot decks as your budget will allow but you will probably find that you will only do readings using 2 or 3 of your favorite decks.  Some people use different decks depending on the question and what the question is about but personally I do not prescribe to this idea.  You should be able to ask any type of question using a single deck and come up with guidance.

How many tarot decks can I read with?     BACK

I recommend learning and using a single deck to read with because I believe it takes years to really learn a deck well.  By changing from deck to deck you don't really learn a single deck completely (if that's even possible).  But I'm in the minority and many (most) people involved with the tarot will tell you that you can change and read various decks for any number of reasons.  As with many aspects of the tarot the answer to this question is up to the tarot reader.  If you think you can give good readings using several different decks then go for it.

How many cards are there in a tarot deck?     BACK

According to the A.T.A. (the American Tarot Association) there are exactly 78 cards in a tarot deck, no more, and no less.  If you have a deck with more or less than 78 cards then you are not using a 'tarot' deck but something else.  You need to 'adjust' your deck to where it has 78 cards in order to meet the criteria of having a valid tarot deck.

What are the cards that make up a tarot deck?     BACK

A tarot deck is made up if 22 Major Arcana cards and 56 Minor Arcana cards.  The Minor Arcana cards are then broken down into the Court cards which normally run ... Page, Knight, Queen, and King, and the Pip cards Ace through 10.  Some tarot decks do on contain imagery on the Pip cards to help you read them.

What does the term 'Major Arcana' mean?     BACK

The Major Arcana consist of 22 cards ranging normally from card 0-The Fool to card 21 (XXI)-The World.  These 22 cards take on a more weighty meaning in a reading (spread) and normally will deal with 'larger/bigger matters'.   The Major Arcana card  will often times be referred to as 'Trump' or 'Major Trump' card.

What does the term 'Minor Arcana' mean?     BACK

The Minor Arcana consists of 56 cards similar to a regular deck of playing cards.  The Minor Arcana ranges from the Pip cards ... Ace to 10, and the Court cards (normally called the Page, Knight, Queen, and King).  These cards refer to common feelings and routine events of daily life as opposed to the larger aspects of the Major Arcana.

What does the term 'Pip' card mean?     BACK

The Pip cards are part of the Minor Arcana and consist of the cards Ace to 10.  Ace, Two, Three, Four, Five, Six, Seven, Eight, Nine, and Ten.  Often Roman numerals are used to designate these cards .. Ace, II, III, IV, V, VI, VII, VIII, IX, and X.

What does the term 'Court card' mean?     BACK

Court cards are part of the Minor Arcana and are often referred to as the 'people cards', or the 'face cards' of the tarot.  Normally the Court cards consist of the Page, Knight, Queen, and King but some decks call them by different names, and even arrange them differently, etc.

For instance the Thoth deck calls them the King, Queen, Prince, and Princess.  In this deck the Knight is the highest ranking court card and the King (in a standard Rider-Waite deck) is the Prince.  There are four (4) Court cards for each of the suits which makes for a total of sixteen (16) court cards since there are four (4) suits in a standard tarot deck , (see next FAQ).

What are the 'Suits' in the tarot?     BACK

The tarot consists of four (4) suits ... Wands, Swords, Cups, and Pentacles.  Some decks call these suits by different names the most common being that Wands is called Rods.  No matter what they are called there are four (4) suits in a tarot deck.

What are the 'Elements' of the tarot?     BACK

There are four (4) commonly used elements in the tarot, Fire, Air, Water, and Earth.  There is also a 5th element less commonly used called 'Spirit' that is normally associated with the Major Arcana.

How are the 'Elements' of the tarot used?     BACK

Each element is normally assigned to a particular suit.  The element-suit associations you will normally see are the following.

Wands = Fire
Swords = Air
Cups = Water
Pentacles = Earth

Some decks and some writers will change these associations .. or some of them.  The ones that seem to get changed the most are:

Wands = Air
Swords = Fire

You should decide for yourself which element to assign to which suit.  Each suit has it's own meaning as does each element.  Using these, or your own definitions it is up to the individual which element to use with which suit.