For anyone interested in reading Tarot, the hardest part is probably learning the meaning of a whole deck. A Tarot deck is a collection of 78 cards, each of which contains its own meaning. There are 22 Major Arcana cards and 56 Minor Arcana cards divided into 4 suits which are Cups, Pentacles, Swords, and Wands. Each suit consists of 10 cards numbered from Ace to Ten and 4 Court cards, in which Ace cards are replaced for card number 1 and 4 Court cards are respectively King, Queen, Knight, and Page.
Tarot cards all have upright and reversed meanings. Some cards in Minor Arcana can be associated or directly linked to cards in Major Arcana. Similarly, when combining in a Tarot spread, they produce specific reading results, making it easier for the reader to analyze the querent’s situation, as well as making querent feel the accuracy and specificity of the Tarot spread.
Most online documents only offer a short description or general meaning which makes them quite vague and confusing, especially for new beginners. The meaning of these 78 Tarot cards using images based on the standards of Rider Waite Smith and are divided into keywords, how to apply in action, support and opposite cards, detailed descriptions, applications in each Tarot spread about work, love, finance, health, mentality while offering advice for certain situations and human implications.
These Tarot meanings are only suggestive and not imposing. They will make sense based on your story and situation. For most cards, you will feel that the interpretation is very suitable, but if there is a card that reminds you of another meaning, you should not be afraid to follow your own intuition.
In some different Tarot decks, cards will have different names (however, they still have the same meaning). In this article, we only use names and card images in accordance with Rider Waite Smith standard to create readability for users.
The table below is a list of Top 50 Tarot decks for both beginners and experienced readers. The most popular and widely used of these are 3 decks according to Rider, Thoth and Marseille standards. For some decks with different themes, the card’s name can be changed, however, their general meaning still remains the same.
Top 50 Essential Tarot Decks
| 1. Rider Waite Tarot | 26. Animism Tarot |
|---|---|
| 2. Thoth Tarot | 27. Animal Totem Tarot |
| 3. Tarot of Marseilles | 28. Mystical Cats Tarot |
| 4. Deviant Moon Tarot | 29. Fantastical Creatures Tarot |
| 5. Wildwood Tarot | 30. The Tarot of Trees |
| 6. Druidcraft Tarot | 31. Lover’s Path Tarot |
| 7. Morgan Greer Tarot | 32. Decameron Tarot |
| 8. Gilded Tarot | 33. Kamasutra Tarot |
| 9. Steampunk Tarot | 34. Tarot of Sexual Magic |
| 10. Shadowscapes Tarot | 35. Manara: Erotic Tarot |
| 11. Transparent Tarot | 36. Tarot of Casanova |
| 12. Tarot of the Silicon Dawn | 37. Witches Tarot |
| 13. Cosmos Tarot and Oracle | 38. Wizards Tarot |
| 14. Circle of Life Tarot | 39. Silver Witchcraft Tarot |
| 15. Book of Shadows Tarot | 40. Green Witch Tarot |
| 16. Chrysalis Tarot | 41. Modern Spellcaster’s Tarot |
| 17. Linestrider Tarot | 42. Gothic Tarot |
| 18. Tarot of the New Vision | 43. Dark Grimoire Tarot |
| 19. Lost Code of Tarot | 44. Necronomicon Tarot |
| 20. Dreams of Gaia Tarot | 45. Tarot of Vampyres |
| 21. Osho Zen Tarot | 46. Daemon Tarot |
| 22. Sacred India Tarot | 47. Tyldwick Tarot |
| 23. Buddha Tarot | 48. Alice Tarot |
| 24. Pagan Tarot | 49. Alchemia Tarot |
| 25. Hermetic Tarot | 50. Bohemian Gothic Tarot |
| 51. Wild Unknown Tarot |
