What Are Tarot Cards?
Tarot cards are a specific deck of illustrated cards, traditionally used for divination, reflection, and storytelling. Each card carries its own imagery and symbolism, and a full tarot deck is structured very differently from a standard 52-card playing deck — both in card count and in how the cards are organized.
Tarot has roots as far back as 15th-century Italy, where the earliest decks were originally used to play a card game rather than for divination. Over time, particularly from the 18th century onward, tarot became associated with fortune-telling and personal reflection, which is the use most people are familiar with today. Modern tarot spans a wide range of purposes — some people use it for guided self-reflection, some for entertainment, and some simply collect and appreciate the artwork.
How Many Cards Are in a Tarot Deck?
A standard tarot deck has 78 cards, split into two groups:
- Major Arcana (22 cards): These represent significant life themes and archetypes — cards like The Fool, The Sun, or Death (which, despite the name, is typically interpreted as representing transformation and endings rather than literal death).
- Minor Arcana (56 cards): These are organized into four suits — traditionally Cups, Wands, Swords, and Pentacles — each running numbered cards plus court cards, similar in structure to a standard playing card deck.
What Are Tarot Cards Used For?
Tarot cards are used a few different ways, depending on who’s holding the deck:
- Personal reflection and guidance — many people use tarot as a structured way to think through a question or situation, treating the cards as a prompt for self-reflection rather than a literal prediction
- Divination and fortune-telling — the traditional and still most common association, where a reader interprets drawn cards to offer insight about a question or situation
- Storytelling and creative inspiration — the rich symbolism makes tarot a popular tool for writers and artists
- Collecting and appreciation — many decks are designed as art pieces in their own right, independent of how they’re used
Worth noting for anyone new to the topic: tarot readings are a matter of personal belief and interpretation, not something with established scientific backing — most people who use tarot treat it as a reflective or entertainment practice rather than a literal forecasting tool.
How Do Tarot Card Readings Work?
A typical tarot reading follows a simple structure: the person doing the reading shuffles the deck (often while thinking about a specific question), then draws a set number of cards and lays them out in a spread — a specific pattern where each position has its own meaning.
One of the most common formats for beginners is the three-card spread, where each card typically represents a different point in time or aspect of a situation — for example, past, present, and future. Larger, more detailed spreads exist for more complex questions, but the three-card spread is a common starting point precisely because it’s simple to shuffle, draw, and interpret.
If you’re trying tarot for yourself for the first time, the basic process is: shuffle the deck while holding your question in mind, draw your cards in order, lay them out in your chosen spread, and interpret each card’s meaning in the context of its position.
Tarot Card Size and Materials
Tarot cards are noticeably larger than standard playing cards — a standard tarot card measures 2.75″ x 4.75″, compared to the 2.5″ x 3.5″ of a typical poker card. That extra size gives the artwork more room to breathe, which matters given how much of tarot’s appeal comes from the illustration itself.
Card stock matters too: a thicker cover-weight paper gives the deck a more premium feel and holds up better to repeated shuffling over time, and different finishes (matte, gloss, or a linen texture) change both how the cards feel in hand and how the artwork reads.
Can You Make Your Own Tarot Deck?
Yes — designing a custom tarot deck is a popular project for independent artists, and the process comes down to a few key steps:
- Choose a theme to guide your visual style across all 78 cards.
- Design each card, keeping in mind that tarot cards run larger than standard playing cards (2.75″ x 4.75″), so format your artwork to that size from the start.
- Decide on your paper and finish — a thicker cover stock gives a more premium, durable feel, and your finish choice (matte, gloss, or linen) will change how the artwork looks and feels.
- Add finishing touches, like rounded corners, if you want your deck to feel closer to a professionally published one.
- Print your deck once all 78 designs are finished.
Greener Printer’s Custom Tarot Card Printing is built specifically for this — standard tarot size or custom dimensions for oracle and affirmation decks, printed on durable recycled and FSC-certified card stock, with 78-card decks as the standard configuration and a matching tuck box available for a retail-ready finish. If you’re deciding between tarot and another card format, Card Deck Formats compares playing cards, tarot, flashcards, and trading cards side by side.
FAQ: Quick Answers About Tarot Cards
What are tarot cards?
A deck of 78 illustrated cards traditionally used for divination, reflection, and storytelling, structured differently from a standard playing card deck.
How many cards are in a tarot deck?
78 total — 22 Major Arcana cards representing major life themes, and 56 Minor Arcana cards split across four suits.
How do tarot card readings work?
A reader shuffles the deck, draws a set number of cards, and lays them out in a spread, where each position has its own meaning that shapes how the drawn card is interpreted.
What size are tarot cards?
Standard tarot cards measure 2.75″ x 4.75″, noticeably larger than a standard 2.5″ x 3.5″ playing card.
Can I design and print my own tarot deck?
Yes — choose a theme, design your 78 cards at standard tarot size, pick your paper and finish, and send the finished designs to print.
Ready to bring your project to life? Greenerprinter offers a full range of sustainable printing options. Explore some of our most popular products:
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