Deck (tarot)

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A specific set of tarot cards is specifically referred to in German as a deck ( English deck, generally for a set of cards ). Other sets of oracle cards used for the purpose of laying cards, such as Lenormand cards and Kipper cards, are also referred to as decks.

The number of tarot decks is downright unmanageable and runs in the hundreds and thousands. A large part of the structure, i.e. the number and naming of the cards, largely corresponds to the classic tarot sheet. The most famous representative of this group is the Tarot de Marseille .

These decks consist of 78 cards, namely 22 trump cards, the major arcana, and 56 other cards, the minor arcana. The minor arcana consist of 4 times 14 cards, corresponding to the four colors . Each color consists of 4 court cards and 10 payment cards.

The decks differ from one another in:

  • Presentation of the individual cards, especially the trumps,
  • Names of cards and suits,
  • additional information, such as astrological assignments of maps to signs of the zodiac or planets .

Decks that differ significantly from the classic decks are sometimes referred to as "free decks".

Deviations in the structure - for example in the number of cards - are rare, apart from the relatively large group of decks that only consist of the trump cards. The structurally different decks, for example, include Maxwell Miller's Universal Tarot, only 74 cards, as the artist decided to remove the page cards for astrological and numerological reasons. Often the set actually consists of 80 cards, since when the cards are printed the sheets of paper make 80 cards. Occasionally the two superfluous cards are therefore printed with additional images, for example in some editions of the Crowley Thoth Tarot designed by Aleister Crowley , with rejected designs for the magician. Usually, however, the two cards are simply printed with title information (author, title, publisher, year, copyright, etc.) and with additional information (such as a blurb).

The best known and most used decks are:

Since tarot decks are often not sold through the publishing house, i.e. they are gray literature , no deposit copies are submitted. In addition, tarot decks are generally not part of the collection areas of public or academic libraries. Bibliographical references are therefore sketchy at best, especially for decks published before 1950. For many older decks, the year of publication can therefore only be roughly determined.

literature

  • Eckhard Graf: Lexicon of the tarot as well as the oracle and self-awareness games. Nagelschmid, Stuttgart 1991, ISBN 3-927913-03-0 (Lexicon of the various tarot decks).

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