The
Major Arcana or
trumps are a
suitIn playing cards, a suit is one of several categories into which the cards of a deck are divided. Most often, each card bears one of several symbols showing to which suit it belongs; the suit may alternatively or in addition be indicated by the color printed on the card...
of twenty-two
cardsA playing card is a piece of specially prepared heavy paper, thin cardboard, plastic-coated paper, cotton-paper blend, or thin plastic, marked with distinguishing motifs and used as one of a set for playing card games...
in the
tarotThe tarot |trionfi]] and later as tarocchi, tarock, and others) is a pack of cards , used from the mid-15th century in various parts of Europe to play a group of card games such as Italian tarocchini and French tarot...
deck. They serve as a permanent trump suit in
games played with the tarot deckTarot, tarock, tarocchi, etc., are a group of card games played with the tarot deck. The first basic rules appear in the manuscript of Martiano da Tortona written before 1425...
, and are distinguished from the four standard suits collectively known as the
Minor Arcana|thumb|[[King of Swords]] card from a Minor Arcana deckThe Minor Arcana of occult or divinatory tarot refers to the portion of a Tarot deck that consists of 56 cards. The Minor Arcana are roughly similar to the cards found in a common deck of playing cards...
. The terms "Major" and "Minor Arcana" are used in the occult and
divinatoryDivination is the attempt to gain insight into a question or situation by way of an occultic standardized process or ritual...
applications of the deck, and originate with
Paul ChristianJean Baptiste Pitois, also known as Jean Baptiste or Paul Christian was a French author, known for The History and Practice of Magic, first published in France in 1870.-Life:...
.
The Major Arcana
Each Major Arcanum depicts a scene, mostly featuring a person or several people, with many symbolic elements. In many decks, each has a number (usually in
Roman numeralsThe numeral system of ancient Rome, or Roman numerals, uses combinations of letters from the Latin alphabet to signify values. The numbers 1 to 10 can be expressed in Roman numerals as:...
) and a name, though not all decks have both, and some have only a picture. The earliest decks bore unnamed and unnumbered pictures on the Majors (probably because a great many of the people using them at the time were illiterate), and the order of cards was not standardized. Nevertheless, one of the most common sets of names and numbers is as follows:
| Number |
Name |
| None (0 or 22) |
The Fool The Fool or The Jester is one of the 78 cards in a Tarot deck; one of the 22 Trump cards that make up the Major Arcana. The Fool is unnumbered...
|
| 1 |
The Magician The Magician, The Magus, or The Juggler is the first trump or Major Arcana card in most traditional Tarot decks. It is used in game playing as well as in divination...
|
| 2 |
The High Priestess |
| 3 |
The EmpressThe Empress is the third trump or Major Arcana card in traditional Tarot decks. It is used in Tarot card games as well as divination.- Description and symbolism :...
|
| 4 |
The EmperorThe Emperor is the fourth trump or Major Arcana card in traditional Tarot decks. It is used in game playing as well as in divination.- Description and symbolism :...
|
| 5 |
The Hierophant |
| 6 |
The Lovers |
| 7 |
The Chariot The Chariot is the seventh trump or Major Arcana card in most traditional Tarot decks. It is used in game playing as well as in divination.-Description:...
|
| 8 or 11 |
Justice Justice is a Major Arcana Tarot card, numbered either VIII or XI, depending on the deck. This card is used in game playing as well as in divination.- Description :...
|
| 9 |
The Hermit |
| 10 |
Wheel of Fortune Wheel of Fortune is the tenth trump or Major Arcana card in most Tarot decks. It is used in game playing as well as in divination.-Description:To the right is the Wheel Of Fortune card from the A. E. Waite tarot deck. A. E...
|
| 11 or 8 |
Strength / FortitudeStrength is a Major Arcana Tarot card, and is numbered either XI or VIII, depending on the deck. Historically it was called Fortitude, and in the Thoth Tarot deck it is called Lust. This card is used in game playing as well as in divination.- Description and usage as in divination :A. E...
|
| 12 |
The Hanged Man |
| 13 |
Death Death is the thirteenth trump or Major Arcana card in most traditional Tarot decks.It is used in Tarot, tarock and tarocchi games as well as in divination.-Description:...
|
| 14 |
Temperance Temperance is the fourteenth trump or Major Arcana card in most traditional Tarot decks. It is used in game playing as well as in divination.- Description :...
|
| 15 |
The DevilThe Devil is the fifteenth trump or Major Arcana card in most traditional Tarot decks. It is used in game playing as well as in divination.- Symbolism :...
|
| 16 |
The Tower The Tower is the sixteenth trump or Major Arcana card in most cartomancy Tarot decks. It is not used as part of any game.- History :...
|
| 17 |
The StarThe Star is the seventeenth trump or Major Arcana card in most traditional Tarot decks. It is used in game playing as well as in divination.- Description :...
|
| 18 |
The Moon The Moon is the eighteenth trump or Major Arcana card in most traditional Tarot decks. It is used in game playing as well as in divination.-Symbolism:* Two large, foreboding pillars are shown...
|
| 19 |
The Sun The Sun is a trump card in the tarot deck. Tarot trumps are often called Major Arcana by tarot card readers.-Rider-Waite symbolism:A. E. Waite suggested that this card is associated with attained knowledge. An infant rides a white horse under the anthropomorphized sun, with sunflowers in the...
|
| 20 |
Judgment |
| 21 |
The World The World is a trump or Major Arcana card in the tarot deck. It is usually the final card of the Major Arcana or tarot trump sequence. In the tarot family of card games, this card is usually worth five points.- Description :...
|
The images on the Major Arcana are often very heavy with symbolism, with far more to the illustration than a mere depiction of the card title. The Major Arcana are usually regarded as relating to matters of higher purpose or deep significance, as opposed to the
Minor Arcana|thumb|[[King of Swords]] card from a Minor Arcana deckThe Minor Arcana of occult or divinatory tarot refers to the portion of a Tarot deck that consists of 56 cards. The Minor Arcana are roughly similar to the cards found in a common deck of playing cards...
which relate to the everyday world and matters of immediate significance.
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